Mormon Life - Polygamy tag

Post-Civil War enmity between Southerners and Mormons now erased, mostly

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 10:55:00 -0600

source: sltrib.com

A Mormon missionary in the South in 1879 wrote that, "A person traveling among the Southern people realizes that though they have been whipped by the North, yet there is a feeling of enmity existing in their bosoms, which only needs a little breeze to inflame their passions to deeds of carnage and strife."

In "Last Letter Home From Elder Joseph Standing" printed in the Deseret News, that same missionary said that "The 4th [of July] is not much cared for in the South."

Emma Lou Thayne's 'Mormon Moment'

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 11:09:00 -0700

source: huffingtonpost.com

Mormon Life says: A look back on Church history and our other "Mormon Moment." Current talk in the media sometimes calls this "The Mormon Moment." A hit musical on Broadway, "The Book of Mormon," has won multiple Tony awards. Posters in busses and on billboards nationwide show pictures of a great variety of people declaring, "I am a Mormon."

Mormons are making headlines -- again. Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, and Jon Huntsman, former governor of Utah and ambassador to China, have been running for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. Though Jon has left the race, his less identifiable Mormonism was as much a part of his persona as Mitt's more tithe-paying traditional look. But this is far from the first time Mormonism and its beliefs have been in the national news. And one of the prime objections of the public to a Mormon in office is "polygamy."

Is LDS polygamy history relevant to 2012 campaign?

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:08:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

A Washington Post editorial writer believes the history of conflict between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the United States of America over the issue of polygamy is relevant more than 100 years later because of the presidential possibilities of Mitt Romney.

"If he wins the presidency, Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and Mormon bishop, would not be the first president to confess a historically disfavored faith," writes Charles Lane on the Post's PostPartisan blog site. "But Romney would be the first who belongs to a church that the U.S. government actually tried to crush."

For Mormons, polygamy remains a PR stumbling block

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 22:48:00 -0700

source: sltrib.com

Polygamy still clings to the LDS Church’s image — even though the Utah-based faith abandoned the practice more than a century ago.

It was the No. 1 negative quality cited by 28 percent of respondents in a national Salt Lake Tribune poll who were “uncomfortable” with voting for a Mormon for U.S. president.

Poll: Most still unsure about Mormons and polygamy

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:48:00 -0600

source: sltrib.com

Mormon Life says: The latest in a seemingly endless string of polls about what Mormons believe . . . Most Americans aren’t sure whether Mormons still practice polygamy and that confusion could affect their view of LDS presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman, according to anew survey by a Mormon pollster.

Only 14 percent of 905 voters surveyed nationally by Gary Lawrence’s polling company knew that the Salt Lake City-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints abandoned the practice more than 100 years ago.

The remaining 86 percent are "either mistaken or uncertain about polygamy," said Lawrence, of Santa Ana, Calif., in a phone interview. And that, he said, could influence votes for or against Romney and Huntsman.

Suggestion to reporters: Replace polygamy coverage with something deeper

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 09:46:00 -0700

source: MormonTimes.com

It doesn’t come as a surprise to me that the most prominent story in North American this week with the word “Mormon” in it is about polygamy.

According to the Vancouver Sun, members of the FLDS Church are asking the court in Vancouver to have polygamy decriminalized in Canada because criminal sanctions offend a wide variety of legal rights, not just freedom of religion.

Along with the entire FLDS polygamy issue, this is a significant news story worth reporting and worth watching. Without a doubt, the complex relationship between polygamy and freedom of conscience in democracy isn’t going away any time soon, especially as Old World religions with the tradition of polygamy become more prominent in the United States.