“How Many Wives Have You Got?”

George D. Pyper (1860-1943) – member of the Tabernacle Choir, manager of the Salt Lake Theater, and General Superintendent of the Sunday Schools – tells this story about his time in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1897, when he was directing Utah’s exhibit at the Tennessee Centennial:

I had been pestered to death, as the saying goes, with the questions, “Are you a Mormon?” and “How many wives have you got?” so I thought I’d try an experiment, even though it might be a little dangerous. In the crowd visiting my booth was a very haughty but rather handsome woman, and the following conversation occurred:

“Are you from Utah?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Are you a Mormon?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Then bluntly, “How many wives have you got?”