I was recently invited by Reynolda church in North Carolina to come and share my story about Mormon polygamy and how I came to saving faith in Jesus Christ. The response is identical every place outside of Utah where we share the story of Mormon polygamy. Shock is a mild word describing the response of Christians when they learn that the Mormon church is not a Christian denomination, and that polygamy is treated as the “savior” by Mormon polygamists.
The Bible warns us about accepting a gospel that does not meet the precise standards of the Biblical gospel of Jesus Christ:
“Galatians 1:8-9 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach
a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally
condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is
preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be
eternally condemned!”
The Mormon gospel was received by Joseph Smith which an “angel from heaven” named Moroni supposedly brought to him. Millions of Mormons and polygamists believe, accept and live this false gospel even though the Bible pronounces an eternal condemnation on it. The LDS no longer live polygamy, but by their own admission they still believe in it and in their temples they marry multiple wives to men so they can have plural wives in heaven.
Their false gospel is condemned, but the people aren’t. However, they will be condemned if they don’t heed the truth about Jesus, His redemption of Grace, and receive His FREE gift of eternal life. That is our mission, our focus and our prayer. Please pray with us for great opportunities to share this true gospel, and to help victims escape the entrapment of polygamy.
Thank you for your support of this ministry!
WE ARE available to speak to your group, association, church or organization about the Mormon Fundamentalists of today. Just call Doris: 801-649-3103, or Email: doris@shieldandrefuge.org
It is a completely different world for us who were born and raised in Mormon Fundamentalism. We were brainwashed from the cradle to believe that those not in the group were our enemies, not to be trusted. Sometimes we hear people say about the victims of polygamy, “Why don’t they just leave, just walk away?” It isn’t that simple! To help understand the dilemma we faced in our attempts to leave, we have been suggesting reading material written by escapees who have successfully entered the world outside of Mormon polygamy groups. This month our featured book is entitled, “THE LEADER’S DAUGHTER” by Nicole Mafi.
Nicole was born and raised in the Kingston polygamy group, she is one of the leader’s 100’s of daughters. She writes about what it was like growing up in her particular family, what her father was like as a leader, a father and as much as she could know, as a husband to her mother.
Nichole, like most others who are born and raised in polygamy, suffered a lot of physical, emotional, sexual and spiritual abuse! We read from page 21:
“My uncle Dylan asked me to shut the door… When Dylan looked at me, I saw something different in his eyes… and as I looked at the other boys...I suddenly felt like meat in a circle of rabid dogs. I grew uncomfortable and Dylan told me to take off my pants…”
On page 41,43 she writes when she first learned about polygamy:
“I didn’t understand polygamy until Leah moved into my mother’s house. We had never spent a lot of time with any of my father’s other wives and all the kids went to school with each other and only half of us knew who our fathers were at the time… Leah was not one of the favorite wives...she was overweight, so she wasn’t pretty. She was emotionally immature, so she didn’t understand the manipulation required to play the game in polygamy...My father knew he could treat her like dirt beneath his shoe, and she would not complain.”
“...favorite wives are generally the prettiest. Sex is used as currency. If your husband wants to have sex with you, it grants you more privileges. Favorite wives go on more trips with their husband, have nicer houses, have more nights with their husband… Favorite wives are a higher priority than non favorite wives. Leah’s advice for me was to make sure I did what I could to be a first wife. It was the only way to be sure to be one of the favorite wives.”
Nicole was abused by family, beaten by her father, went to work in polygamy group businesses at age eleven and was told she couldn’t spend any of the money she earned. As the years went by she noticed her father was marrying younger and younger brides, some of them only one or two years older than she was. She said most of them didn’t even know the wedding was going to happen until an hour before the ceremony. She became disgusted with her father.
Nicole talks about her decision to leave and the agony of finally getting away permanently from this nightmare of life in polygamy. The Leader’s Daughter can be purchased from amazon.com
"But suppose that you were married; would you be pleased with the idea of having your husband take another wife?"
"Oh, as to that, I can't tell, I should probably make a virtue of necessity."
"Poor Mrs. Murray died of a broken heart, at the unkindness of her husband; and I doubt not that the wife of this man of whom you have been speaking, will nearly go beside herself."
"Oh, she'll rave, I dare say, for she's spunk to the back bone!"
"Who is it, anyhow?''
"Mr. Stillman, jr."
"What! the husband of Louisa Beardsley?"
"Even so; but you needn't look so dumbfounded about it," said Mrs. Bradish, laughing heartily. "He can very well afford two, or even three wives. I told him so, myself. Indeed, I rather suspect the match was more than half of my making." I never knew, before, what it was to be struck dumb. Mrs. Bradish seemed really amused at my astonishment.
"Why, what is there in it, so dreadful, after all?" she said. "He will continue to love Louisa just as well, or probably better, than he does now. You know that a mother dearly loves one child, when she has but one ; when the second is born, she loves that just as well, though no sane person would suppose that her love for the elder was in the least diminished. So a man may take a second wife, though loving and reverencing the first one with his whole heart."
"I can see no resemblance between the two cases," I said. "The love of a mother for her child, and a husband for his wife are very different things."
"Well, now that polygamy is incorporated in our system, the women will have to make the best of it, as it is not likely that the husbands, after once tasting its pleasures and benefits, will be likely to relinquish it."
"Does Louisa know?"
"I expect not. She has more than once made her brags to me, that she wasn't one bit afraid that her husband would take another wife. I could hardly help laughing, then, at her ignorance of man's nature."…
"And is it possible that you could encourage the match under these circumstances?" said I to Mrs. Bradish. "It will render Louisa, your friend, miserable for life, and I confess my inability to perceive who is likely to be rendered happier thereby." "We don't expect happiness in this world, and whether or not we enjoy it in the next, depends on the self-denial we practice here," said Mrs. Bradish; and she walked away.
MRS. ALICE YOUNG CLAWSON, 1872. Life Among the Mormons; Pgs 200-201
Hi, I've been watching your show for several weeks, and I have a few questions. I'll start right with the meat of the question. When a man leaves a "group", and he's been living polygamy, what does the Bible say he should do? Especially when he has children with several "wives", how is he to conduct his personal life? Does he choose 1 wife and abandon relationships with the rest? Does he continue his commitments to his plural wives as a husband or provide for or divorce them? I'm wondering if you can help me find Bible verses that could help instruct a man in that situation.
The question has come up several times in my mind and I'm wondering if you can help. BJ
Answer:
No man should ever abandon his family. He should keep his legal wife "by full information to all" then set the other families free but continue to provide for them until they can either support themselves or she its legally remarried. God told Abraham to send Hagar and her son away, but first he provided for them.
Trouble is, it is rare that a man in Mormon polygamy supports his families while they are still polygamists and they certainly don’t when they leave. But the bible says a man who doesn't support his own family is worse than an infidel. We always suggest they find ways for the families to be supported and NOT abandon anyone. Set the plural wives free so they can find their own sweethearts in monogamy and keep in touch with and love their children.
- Pray for a mother who is seeking legal custody of her daughters in a Utah court that has already shown favoritism to her polygamist husband. This man is also on the sex offenders list.
- Pray for the LeBaron family suffering heartache from the violence and murder of nine members of one of their families. Many from this group no longer practice polygamy, and some do. However, they all need the truth about Grace through Jesus Christ.
- Pray for all who minister to polygamists in uncompromising truth and love of Jesus Christ.
|
