Viewers watching this show can't help loving the sister wives and of course their children. Especially watching the sister wife giving birth to her baby. Who wouldn't love that precious baby? However in America they are considered outlaws because they are practicing polygamy. The definition of an outlaw is a person who is breaking the law. Various federal laws were passed in the last half of the 1800’s making marriage to more than one woman a felony and cohabitation a misdemeanor. The United States Supreme Court ruled that polygamy was odorous to public policy and thus the laws were constitutional and so marriage to more than one wife is a felony offense in the United States. In fact Common Law marriage does not apply to polygamy marriages or same sex marriages.
Plural marriage. One of the early tenets of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, commonly called Mormons, was the practice of plural marriage or polygamy. The effect of the Supreme Court decisions and other events caused the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to cease the practice. Wilford Woodruff, the President of the Church at that time stated in an Official Declaration that it was his advice to all members to refrain from contracting any marriage forbidden by the law of the land. The Sister Wives and their family are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
The Manifesto. The official declaration was called the Manifesto and was voted on by the members of the church in a meeting held in Salt Lake City on October 6, 1890 where the voting was unanimous in favor of the Manifesto. The Mormon Church no longer allows any member to practice plural marriage anywhere in the world. Nor can anyone who practices polygamy in any area of the world where it is legal join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The Mormon Church does not allow anyone to break the laws regarding marriage anywhere in the world
Settling Utah. The early church membership suffered persecution and was driven out of many areas of the United States. By the time they had to leave Nauvoo Illinois starting in 1846, many of the men had been killed and there were a lot of widows with families. Plural marriage allowed those women to be under the protection of a husband on the journey West to the Salt Lake Valley. At that time in the United States women could not vote nor could they own property. It was important to have a husband for status and protection. If a plural wife wanted a divorce, her husband was still responsible for her care and their children's care after the divorce.
Church Membership. The Sister Wives and their family are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints but belong to the Apostolic United Brethren church. They consider themselves a Fundamentalist Mormon family. This and other small groups have used the Mormon name to promote plural marriage but have no connection to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints which forbids members from practicing plural marriage today. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints does not promote the secret practice of polygamy nor does it allow members to secretly practiced polygamy. Any member found practicing polygamy will be excommunicated. Further information on polygamy and the Sister Wives can be found on Wikipedia.
Effect on Children. One of the problems of polygamy is that it leaves the children in limbo. They may be subject to teasing, ridicule and bullying by other children because of their unusual lifestyle and family arrangements. If it’s a polygamist marriage, a same sex marriage or a very conventional Mormon marriage the common concern should be the protection of the children and consideration of their best interests. No child should be mocked, made fun of, humiliated or mistreated in any way. They should be loved and respected no matter what their parent’s choices are. For the sake of the children, all should be tolerant of another's life style.
Wife’s Status .None of the wives after the first one has any of the benefits of being legally married to a husband. They cannot be covered by her husband's medical insurance or his retirement plan. They also have no claim on his Social Security benefits upon his death. They and her children have none of the legal protections accorded a legal wife. The only one of the Sister Wives that is legally married to her husband is the first wife. The other marriages are not recognized and are not legal marriages.
Freedom. In the United States we all have the freedom to choose our life style but that choice means we must accept the consequences of that choice. The hope of all good people is that when decisions made by a family, the family will consider how that decision affects the children.
