Mormon Polygamy: A History

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating and Thourough Study of Mormon Polygamy
Review: As a student of religious history, I found Van Wagoner's book to be an acessible and thourough, yet comprehensive and in depth study of the history of Mormon polygamy. The nature of Mormon polygamy, its origins in the revelation of prophet Jos. Smith, and a historiographical analysis of the Mormon church are skillfully woven together to form an insightful narrative. Though the author was educated at Brigham Young University, he manages to maintain a highly professional neutrality and hard factualism in dealing with a subject which is controversial not only in wider American culture but within the Latter Day Saints and Reformed Latter Day Saints churches.

The only inclusion I would quibble with is the final chapter on cases of modern polygamy by so-called mormon splinter groups; it seems superfluous and bound to be outdated long before the rest of the book, and at a certain point any serious hitorical analyst must, in fact, pick up a newspaper for themselves.

In spite of this, Van Wagoners book is a benchmark work of the highest scholarship and a must-read for any scholar of American Religious History.

Rating:
Summary: Good for LDS members like me
Review: Highly recommended because the author really bends over backwards to present an unbiased account of what really happened with Mormon Polygamy, which is hard to do since it is such as passionate issue.

What amazed me was reading Mormon Polygamy was like reading Church History. A lot of events in 1800's LDS church history are intertwined with polygamy, but you would never know.

This is not "anti" literature. If you wait for an "official" LDS book on the Mormon Polygamy, you will probably die of old age.

So this is the next best thing!

Rating:
Summary: A bit negative, which is OK unless you're LDS
Review: I am a member of the LDS church. I read this book because the 'fundamentalists' have been in the news again, and I wanted to get an objective history of mormon polygamy covering both nineteenth century polygamy and modern polygamy. Overall, I believe the book is objective. I am curious about the author, because although it says he is a BYU graduate on the cover, he doesn't shy away from quotations from enemies of the church. In fact, from my point of view, he even seems to favor the negative. Most offensive to a devout Latter-day Saint would be the questions raised about the morality, integrity, and honesty of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, etc., which are revered (even today) as prophets by the LDS faithful.

I would like to find a book contrasting pre-manifesto polygamy with modern polygamy.

Rating:
Summary: Objective, "reader friendly", descriptive survey history.
Review: In this revised and updated edition, Richard Van Wagoner's Mormon Polygamy: A History continues to be a truly informative, totally engaging, candid and comprehensive history of the practice of plural marriage (commonly called polygamy) in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons). From its inception under the founding prophet Joseph Smith, Mormon fundamentalist splinter groups continued the practice after the mainstream church abandoned the practice under federal political and military pressures. Mormon Polygamy: A History is an objective, "reader friendly", highly recommended, descriptive study that will be of continuing interest and value to students of polygamy within the framework of Mormon theology, sociology, and church history.

Rating:
Summary: Most accurate and unbiased study available in print
Review: This is a very well-researched and balanced history of Mormon fundamentalism. As a former polygamist myself, I am impressed with the author's ability to look at all the available information and report it fairly. If I were to have any criticism, it would be that he doesn't sufficiently consider the axes that some of his sources (especially 19th century ones) were grinding -- but perhaps that is because he doesn't seem to have one of his own. Most information on Mormon polygamy is _very_ biased, either in favor or against. This is one book that doesn't lean either way, but just tells the story. And whether "Latter-day Saints" like it or not, there ARE other people who are _NOT_ members of their church, but whose allegiance to the Book of Mormon and to the teachings of Joseph Smith (many now disavowed by the LDS) nevertheless qualifies them to be called "Mormon" -- and the Mormon fundamentalist polygamists are among them!!