Bad News For Fundamentalist Mormons

Here’s an interesting story about what looks to be an impending crackdown on a polygamous Mormon offshoot that straddles the Arizona-Utah border.

I’m not happy about the editorial’s use of the word “cult”–a term I generally don’t favor because it’s basically a term of disparagement that you can apply to anyone you don’t like. In this case the article seems to consider a “cult” to be any religious group that displays “disregard for civil rights” (which could easily be applied to Catholics and Christians in general if homosexual marriage is regarded as something that is or should be a civil right).

Nevertheless, I’m heartened to see that it looks like a long-delayed legal crackdown on the group may be in motion.

The editorial also contains interesting insights into the psychological effects of polygamy, including the fact that young men tend to get driven away, as they would provide competition for the older men who want to take multiple wives. That’s something you’d expect: Since humans have an approximately fifty-fifty gender ratio, for some men to take multiple wives, other men must be denied them. The men most likely to be able to take multiple wives will be those with more power and money, who by nature will tend to be older. Eliminating the competition is one of the best ways to ensure that they get what they want.

Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live." View all posts by Jimmy Akin