Salvation Through Sin
Nancie Petratos
Mormonism and Polygamy are two deeply entangled practices; one may say that Mormonism gave birth to polygamous communities in North-America. The most reprehensible and vile side of Mormon-based polygamy is the custom of underage girls being taken as polygamous wives. There are at least 30,000 people in the mid-western United States who practice Mormon-based polygamy in very private and guarded communities. Polygamous unions, one man with plural wives, take place on a daily basis in these communities; the brides are often underage and are commonly married to men much older than them. Parents of females are compelled to offer their daughters willingly into these unions as they believe it will lead them to God in their afterlife. Young girls are brainwashed at an early age to believe in plural marriage and the salvation the community believes it will bring. A man with three or more wives is believed to hold a higher ranking in the eyes of God, leading to a higher place in heaven when they reach their afterlife. The highest Priesthood leaders receive first pick of the brides, whether it be for themselves or as a gift/reward to another man in the brotherhood . The practice of marrying underage girls in Polygamist communities can only be stopped by The Church of Latter-Day Saints and other high ranking Mormon officials.
Although polygamy is practiced within Mormon based communities, The Official Mormon Church of Jesus Chris of the Latter-Day Saints (L.D.S) does not condone nor take part in such customs. There are many Mormon based groups in the United States practicing polygamy, however, the largest and most dominant is the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints (known as the F.L.D.S.). ...