Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2005, Page 43
leaders are direct descendants of Jesus Christ. Using his dairy herd as the model for
ensuring that the purity of the bloodline continues, the leader John Ortell Kingston has
declared intra-family marriage to be a sacred doctrine.
Given the inbreeding of the various clans, a high proportion of children are born with birth
defects, mental retardation, and physical deformities. One of Moore-Emmett‘s narrators
reports that, in the Kingston group, birth defects are viewed as ―God‘s punishment of
mothers who are not sufficiently submissive to their husbands or faithful to the church‖ (p.
68). A narrator from a different group, however, said that mothers hope for a Downs‘
syndrome baby because that means another $500 per month in government subsidy, as
well as a more compliant child (p.173). Moore-Emmett states that her interviews revealed
that many of the disfigured and disabled children in that group, afterward referred to as
―poofers,‖ had disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
Under the ―Law of Sarah,‖ subsequent wives are permitted to essentially be treated as
slaves by the first wife. As in the Old Testament, where Sarah, first wife of Abraham, held
sway over Hagar, his concubine, the first wife is sanctioned to control relations between her
husband and additional wives. The normal jealousy that would be expected in one having to
give her husband to another woman is played out in often-vicious treatment among the
women, assuring that alliances are never cemented.
The secrecy surrounding multiple ―marriages‖ has several consequences. The subsequent
marriages are neither legally sanctioned nor publicly recognized. At the weddings of
additional wives, earlier wives are often relegated to the background as ―friends of the
family‖ to preserve the lie of monogamy. However, the new bride is often prohibited from
having any wedding pictures taken because any record of the marriage would blow the
polygamists‘ cover. Children are often not told who their father is because they might
inadvertently reveal the family secret. They believe the stories concocted by their mothers,
of truck-driver fathers who will one day come home. They wait eagerly in anticipation and
wonder at every truck that passes by. Brothers and sisters think they are cousins or not
related at all, despite their living in the same house.
This social system is kept in place through inbreeding, indoctrination, and ignorance. The
control of women begins in childhood. Under the guise of modesty, girls and women are
required to wear long dresses that cover and ―shame the female form.‖ In some groups,
they remain dressed in ―frilly frocks and pinafores, white socks, and long hair in curls and
bows‖ (p. 112) in others, they wear ―long-sleeved, ankle-length dresses over leggings so
they are completely covered‖ (p. 125). Rarely are young women allowed to continue their
education past the age of 14. They may be given in marriage as young as 9, and often to
men twice or three times their age. Children are used as barter: If a man wants to marry
the young daughter of his friend, he may give his own daughter in exchange. While women
are allowed some say in the matter, the issue of choice is questionable. As Moore-Emmett
states:
There can be no consent when girls are born into polygamy and, through
isolation and limited education, do not know of any other choices. There can
be no consent when women are recruited and go thru the conversion process
without understanding how mind control takes place physically and mentally.
(p. 40)
If the first wife should protest the marriage of a second wife, polygamous Mormons use the
scriptures to enforce compliance. First wives are reminded about Emma, first wife of Joseph
Smith, who (so the story goes) is told by God that she will be destroyed if she does not
accept polygamy. Guilt and fear are powerful motivators.
leaders are direct descendants of Jesus Christ. Using his dairy herd as the model for
ensuring that the purity of the bloodline continues, the leader John Ortell Kingston has
declared intra-family marriage to be a sacred doctrine.
Given the inbreeding of the various clans, a high proportion of children are born with birth
defects, mental retardation, and physical deformities. One of Moore-Emmett‘s narrators
reports that, in the Kingston group, birth defects are viewed as ―God‘s punishment of
mothers who are not sufficiently submissive to their husbands or faithful to the church‖ (p.
68). A narrator from a different group, however, said that mothers hope for a Downs‘
syndrome baby because that means another $500 per month in government subsidy, as
well as a more compliant child (p.173). Moore-Emmett states that her interviews revealed
that many of the disfigured and disabled children in that group, afterward referred to as
―poofers,‖ had disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
Under the ―Law of Sarah,‖ subsequent wives are permitted to essentially be treated as
slaves by the first wife. As in the Old Testament, where Sarah, first wife of Abraham, held
sway over Hagar, his concubine, the first wife is sanctioned to control relations between her
husband and additional wives. The normal jealousy that would be expected in one having to
give her husband to another woman is played out in often-vicious treatment among the
women, assuring that alliances are never cemented.
The secrecy surrounding multiple ―marriages‖ has several consequences. The subsequent
marriages are neither legally sanctioned nor publicly recognized. At the weddings of
additional wives, earlier wives are often relegated to the background as ―friends of the
family‖ to preserve the lie of monogamy. However, the new bride is often prohibited from
having any wedding pictures taken because any record of the marriage would blow the
polygamists‘ cover. Children are often not told who their father is because they might
inadvertently reveal the family secret. They believe the stories concocted by their mothers,
of truck-driver fathers who will one day come home. They wait eagerly in anticipation and
wonder at every truck that passes by. Brothers and sisters think they are cousins or not
related at all, despite their living in the same house.
This social system is kept in place through inbreeding, indoctrination, and ignorance. The
control of women begins in childhood. Under the guise of modesty, girls and women are
required to wear long dresses that cover and ―shame the female form.‖ In some groups,
they remain dressed in ―frilly frocks and pinafores, white socks, and long hair in curls and
bows‖ (p. 112) in others, they wear ―long-sleeved, ankle-length dresses over leggings so
they are completely covered‖ (p. 125). Rarely are young women allowed to continue their
education past the age of 14. They may be given in marriage as young as 9, and often to
men twice or three times their age. Children are used as barter: If a man wants to marry
the young daughter of his friend, he may give his own daughter in exchange. While women
are allowed some say in the matter, the issue of choice is questionable. As Moore-Emmett
states:
There can be no consent when girls are born into polygamy and, through
isolation and limited education, do not know of any other choices. There can
be no consent when women are recruited and go thru the conversion process
without understanding how mind control takes place physically and mentally.
(p. 40)
If the first wife should protest the marriage of a second wife, polygamous Mormons use the
scriptures to enforce compliance. First wives are reminded about Emma, first wife of Joseph
Smith, who (so the story goes) is told by God that she will be destroyed if she does not
accept polygamy. Guilt and fear are powerful motivators.
