The Salt Lake Tribune featured several related stories in a special Living the Principle section on Sunday. The photo galleries are rather interesting: one of present-day Hildale and Colorado City (big, really big houses and plain-looking women in pioneerish dresses) and one of the 1953 Short Creek raid (makes the present day community look pretty modern by comparison).
The timeline given under the heading Origins of Polygamy is so misleading as to be dishonest. It says "1843: Smith discloses the principle of celestial marriage." No, he shared it with a few close associates, but didn't disclose it to the general public or to the vast majority of early Mormons. It notes Orson Pratt's 1852 General Conference discourse on polygamy without stating this was the first time the Church admitted publicly it sponsored and supported the practice. In says "1862: The first federal law is passed outlawing polygamy," suggesting it was legal before 1862 which is ridiculous. The statute merely restated what was universally understood as the applicable common law prohibition against polygamy under the common law of every state and federal common law as it had been understood since the 17th century. Finally, there is no mention of the practice of post-1890 polygamy as sponsored and practiced by many of the Church's highest leaders. What a hack job. The timeline is the most inaccurate piece of work I've ever seen in the Tribune. And I only read the first ten (out of about fifty) entries!
You'd think the biggest paper in Utah would have the resources to check its historical facts. Not that I would ever know the difference, but so many of their readership would, given how much of the FLDS history is shared with the mainstream church.
However, I have to admit I'm impressed that the paper included the story on Centennial Park. For most Gentiles, all we ever hear about is that polygamists are a bunch of perverts who rape children under the guise of marriage. I have a friend who was a FLDS (not the Jeffs group) and his stories reflect a tight-knit community of God-fearing, morally upright people, much like Centennial Park was shown. (For an apostate to speak so well of them, they must be better folks than the picture we see in the media.)
Posted by: Joel Martin | Mar 16, 2004 at 06:24 PM
I think that this world is so damn closed minded that they cant see they are. The world accepts gays, atheists, murderers, having children out of wedlock, etc..... and yet they are so closed about a man taking care of more than one woman. Yes thats right, taking care of. Not abusing, not doing it just for intercourse but taking care of. And there is not one child in centennial park arizona that isnt taken care of properly. The women that are married to the man have a house, clothes, food, a father to care for their children, and this is wrong? Whats more wrong is the fact that there are children everywhere in the US who dont know their dad or mom, who dont have food, who dont have a chance to go to school, who are abused sexually, physically and mentally. Now if you want to place the blame for the mass murderers, or theifs or beggars, why dont you look at the busy lifes you lead, the jobs you have, the tv you watch, and see that maybe you are the ones abusing your kids.
Posted by: Anonymous | Jun 30, 2004 at 05:45 PM