is marrying off 15yr olds and multiple wifes a big deal?

[anitarose]

I still would like to see responses from those users on this site that are in fact Mormon---like lds mormon who hasn't been around in a while. Come on, come out of the closet and respond. I would like to see in text what you folks really think about this subject. Unless, of course, you're afraid to speak for fear of reprisal, which I would understand.

a.

[ayin jade]

There are far worse religions...and lifestyles (homosexuality) than anything going on at this FLDS compound. They are wrong, they are living a lie, they are decieved...and that is their right.

Wow, you need to look closer at the polygamy cults. They are terrible. Not just scripturally or spiritually wrong, but terribly abusive.

[ayin jade]

I still would like to see responses from those users on this site that are in fact Mormon-

In arizona, where there are still these cults in places like colorado city, the LDS church supports them. One key mormon member was quoted as saying that they support the flds because they know one day they will be allowed to have multiple wives again. There is a huge religious and cultural support for them. Its why those cults still thrive in arizona and utah. The law cant shut them down given the support from the mormon church.

[Treasure]

All I can say is the this entire thing breaks my heart. They need our prayers more than anything.

[Axxman]

There are far worse religions...and lifestyles (homosexuality) than anything going on at this FLDS compound. They are wrong, they are living a lie, they are decieved...and that is their right.

Wow, you need to look closer at the polygamy cults. They are terrible. Not just scripturally or spiritually wrong, but terribly abusive.

Well...while I guess its fun to pick on any certain group we don't understand or like...but there are plenty of groups that fit that description. Last I checked we still have a constitution and the people of the FLDS still have rights under that constitution. We don't live in a Theocracy so it doesn't really matter if we like their morals or not. The fact remains that this group was raided on false pretenses...families were divided...children were removed from homes...and they were deprived of due process and freedom of speech because of their religious beliefs and this happened in the United States of America.

I am quite familiar with these cults and LDS doctrines...both former and present. I get it.

[Guest LadyC]

you're joking, right?

last i checked, the constitution prevents multiple marriages. the law prevents sex with minors. and i'm pretty sure that kicking young boys to the curb would fall under the classification of neglect, at the very least. and you're sitting back saying we're making fun of them? we're picking on them?

we don't have to understand their warped mentality to know that it is not only immoral, it is illegal. i'm shocked that you're defending their "right" to do these things.

[ayin jade]

There are far worse religions...and lifestyles (homosexuality) than anything going on at this FLDS compound. They are wrong, they are living a lie, they are decieved...and that is their right.

Wow, you need to look closer at the polygamy cults. They are terrible. Not just scripturally or spiritually wrong, but terribly abusive.

Well...while I guess its fun to pick on any certain group we don't understand or like...but there are plenty of groups that fit that description. Last I checked we still have a constitution and the people of the FLDS still have rights under that constitution. We don't live in a Theocracy so it doesn't really matter if we like their morals or not. The fact remains that this group was raided on false pretenses...families were divided...children were removed from homes...and they were deprived of due process and freedom of speech because of their religious beliefs and this happened in the United States of America.

I am quite familiar with these cults and LDS doctrines...both former and present. I get it.

Forced marriages, underage marriages, child abuse, child endangerment, multiple wives are not constitutional rights.

[Axxman]

you're joking, right?

last i checked, the constitution prevents multiple marriages. the law prevents sex with minors. and i'm pretty sure that kicking young boys to the curb would fall under the classification of neglect, at the very least. and you're sitting back saying we're making fun of them? we're picking on them?

we don't have to understand their warped mentality to know that it is not only immoral, it is illegal. i'm shocked that you're defending their "right" to do these things.

Actually...I'm defending MY rights by making sure that no one else's rights are violated. I cannot state loudly enough that I DO NOT AGREE with the doctrines or practices of the FLDS. I can clearly see the damaging effects of that lifestyle on the women and children in that situation...even if they cannot. However, it is NOT the place of the gov't to intervene and FORCEFULLY impose its will on the FREE religious will of its citizens, against their will. The people of the FLDS are there and practicing their religion of their own free will...the constitution protects their right to do so.

Now...we live in a society in which a man can have multiple sex partners...and multiple children from various sources...and can even live in the same house with them all. We could even have men who have multiple same-sex partners...and can co-habitate with them as well. The ONLY difference between them and the FLDS is religion. The FLDS practices those things as a religious freedom. This is where the gov't messed up. Turns out that there were only TWO teen girls pregnant in the raid...only half of the people rounded up were practicing polygamy...and some of the women were single (divorced) mothers. By law, NO ONE in the compound is practicing "multiple marriage" because they can't legally be married. They are only married by church standards. So in the eyes of the law, these are men co-habitating with multiple women...WHICH IS NOT ILLEGAL! What a mess. Explain to me how the gov't can take the children of a divorced single mother away from her with NO PROOF of any wrong-doing?

This entire fiasco was started by a hoax phone call from a different State!

The FLDS operates in a strange set of deeply rooted morals. Anyone who thinks of this as a way for old men to get their perverted jollies has a deep misunderstanding of mormonism in general...especially the fundamentalists. They feel as though they are giving up on happiness and love here on earth in order to achieve heavenly glory. They feel a great amount of triumph over the struggles of having multiple wives and children and the abject poverty that leaves them in. They struggle against the temptations to have a monogamous relationship here on earth. They anguish over their inability to enter into the Mormon Temple in Utah..which is often one of the biggest temptations to turn away from the Fundamentalist lifestyle. There is ALOT more to the FLDS than a group of old men having sex with girls for fun.

[MorningGlory]

There is ALOT more to the FLDS than a group of old men having sex with girls for fun.

While everything you say may be true, Axxman, it's just a matter of cutting through the manure and looking at the problem at the core of this mess. The old guys DO take girls in their early teens as 'wives'. The girls ARE forced to become their wives and countless women who have escaped these cults have come out and talked about it. It's illegal and they are pedaephiles. None of the rest of their twisted doctrines are relevant.

[I_found]

This topic is difficult for me to see in print. Thank you glory2000 for saying what I was thinking. As well if one desires to be educated about this topic consider some reading because if women/girls are not your concern, you will see it also affects the boys/men in a negative way when their presence, or interests in one of the girls, becomes a crowding issue as the older men plan out THEIR wishes with the girls.

May God bless those who need much counselling to recover from the psychological & grooming scars.

There is ALOT more to the FLDS than a group of old men having sex with girls for fun.

While everything you say may be true, Axxman, it's just a matter of cutting through the manure and looking at the problem at the core of this mess. The old guys DO take girls in their early teens as 'wives'. The girls ARE forced to become their wives and countless women who have escaped these cults have come out and talked about it. It's illegal and they are pedaephiles. None of the rest of their twisted doctrines are relevant.