by Thomas Alford

Created on: May 22, 2008

I have a personal knowledge of the destructive power of polygamy. I am close friends with people who were brought up in a polygamous religious organization. Mind you, this organization only adopted the doctrine of polygamy about 15 years ago.

Pretty standard I guess for these kinds of sects. One day the "Pastor" declares that "God revealed to him" that he wanted him to marry more than one wife. Then he had his lackeys look up all the scriptures about polygamy and declares that if you don't believe in polygamy you are going to hell.

Of course, as these closed societies are apt to do, this man already had control of all the money coming into the work. He had conned them into a socialistic mind set that if all the money was given to the church' he would see that it was distributed as every one had need. All it meant was that he had complete control over ever aspect of their lives. Unwittingly they became indentured servants unable to even leave unless they were willing to leave house, home, family, possessions, without any ability to support themselves.

Already in this short 15 years there are reports of children 10, 11, 12 years old being forced to marry men much older. One girl I know of was forced to marry a man in his late sixties or early seventies.

Here are a couple of testimonials from girls raised in polygamy:

TAMI
"Shortly after T* kicked my husband Randy out, he declared I was to become one of his wives. I resisted. I did not love him. I didn't even believe in polygamy. I did not want to leave my husband."
" After his pressuring didn't work, he hit me where he knew he would get me: If I didn't marry him, I would go to hell. Something terrible would happen to me. I would die. I would get sick. My daughter would be demon-possessed. "
"On October 15, 1993, I married T* *. He asked me if I wanted to consummate the marriage. I said no."
" I felt like I was going to vomit. I kept praying for God to deliver me from this mess. "
" I was seventeen. He was sixty-three."

JODIE
"After hearing him say all this stuff, how I was going to die very shortly and go to hell. I finally told him crying that I lived my life for God and I wanted to do God's will.
He then made arrangements to take me to Palm Springs to "marry" me. I was terrified and asked to call my mom back in Arkansas. T* told me I could not and he would make sure I never saw my family again unless I "consummated" the marriage. He even threatened to have some of the "brothers" drive me out to the desert and leave me there

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