Comments on: Brigham Young — Marriage Broker?

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Sat, 10 May 2008 15:00:13 +0000

Glad you found me, Ray. I aim to please, and it’s a relief and a pleasure to see friends like you showing up.

By: Ray

Ray — Sat, 10 May 2008 02:56:22 +0000

This is great, Ardis.

Like anita (#1), I found the picture of “The Lion of the Lord” struggling so hard to write a properly delicate letter fascinating.

By: Ray

Ray — Sat, 10 May 2008 02:38:02 +0000

I also missed the congratulations for your first post, Ardis. This is exciting – something I definitely will check regularly and link on my own blog.

By: m&m

m&m — Fri, 09 May 2008 04:54:24 +0000

Somehow I missed the chance to congratulate you on your initial post, so here I am doing it here. And I loved this post. Methinks I will go blogroll you on my blog.

Love the title, btw.

By: Lisa B

Lisa B — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:19:38 +0000

Years ago I read a biography of the sculptor who designed Mt Rushmore. He was the product of an LDS polygamous marriage which was dissolved when found too difficult, and Mormonism abandoned. Imagine how much more quickly the SL temple could have been constructed with him on board! It occurred to me then that besides Emma, we don’t hear much about those who opposed, fought against, opted out of, or eventually left LDS polygamy.

Come to find out just last month that there is one among my own ancestors–a great-grandfather. He felt it a personal shortcoming that he could not bring himself to practice polygamy in spite of pressure to do so, and felt that he was likely shortchanging himself eternally. I find myself wondering who I will be expressing more appreciation for in the eternities: this great-grandfather who followed his personal convictions against great external pressure, or my husband’s great, great grandfather, who against personal objection followed BY’s instructions to find another wife (his fifth) while on a mission in Scandinavia. My husband is decended from and named after this grandfather and his 5th (Danish) wife.

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:00:40 +0000

Sarah, if Joseph had married a hundred 18th century women it wouldn’t bother me much … somewhere around the time of the First Vision, the youngest of them would have been of age …

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:01:21 +0000

Was Joseph marrying many 18th century women?

Ardis, good luck on your new blog! I shall check back frequently. ^_^

By: Manuel

Manuel — Thu, 08 May 2008 06:51:49 +0000

This is a nice post. For the first time I probably find Brigham Young more refreshing than Joseph Smith.

Now, JS did not arrange marriages for other people per say, but he certainly arranged some of his own with the claim that either “an angel” or “God” had told him he must marry them; such as in the case of already married Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs and the Partridge girls.

Now, how could a 18th century LDS woman contradict the “commandment” from the prophet since by so doing she would be contradicting/disobeying “God”?

This “against the wall” situation puts these women in the very difficult yet very similar position that FLDS women face when their “prophet” tells them “God” tells him they must do this, or do that; or marry this man or that man.

It’s a rather unfair position because in both belief systems, these women are faced against the “will of God.” There is not an easy way out of this type of psychological intimidation and cornering.

By: Mark IV

Mark IV — Thu, 08 May 2008 03:23:08 +0000

I think I remember a talk by Leonard Arrington where he described BY as functioning something like the Dear Abby of Utah territory, giving advice to the lovelorn. People would write him for advice, and as Justin points out in comment # 5, BY wasn’t shy about giving it.

By: J. Stapley

J. Stapley — Thu, 08 May 2008 02:18:02 +0000

Thanks, Bill. I have Jesse’s volume waiting on my shelf and your kind pointers and personal reactions are not only appreciated but encouraging.