Not every Mormon holds the same view, of course. Take a moment to read a newspaper from, say, the United Kingdom or some other place where Mormonism is an exotic curiosity, and you'll see a recurring pattern. The newspaper posts an article on the raid in Texas on the Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and people's comments soon begin equating the FLDS with the LDS.
Later, you read a passionate rebuttal saying that the LDS Church has nothing to do with polygamy or the FLDS. Then, another writer brings up the history of polygamy in the church, questioning the knowledge, honesty or motivation of the Mormons.
The discussion appears as endless as it is futile. To deny polygamy's importance to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or Mormonism is, well, to be in denial. Many Latter-day Saints prefer to avoid polygamy or to think that it has no bearing on the present, but this is pointless if we are to consider what other people think of the church. Evidence of this is found in the results of a recent Vanderbilt study on bias against Mitt Romney and Mormons. Negative opinions in the study shifted markedly when people were provided "clear, accurate information" about polygamy and other stereotypes regarding Mormonism.
From my reading of newspaper letters, article comments and blogs, it seems that defenders of the church too often provide information that is clear but inaccurate or incomplete. For example, it strikes an observer as disingenuous when told "the LDS Church has nothing to do with polygamy," as I've read in the comments to several newspaper articles in recent days. Clear? Yes. Accurate? Not so much.
What are Latter-day Saints to do? Here are a few ideas:
a) Acknowledge that we were polygamous, and describe more completely the changing status of polygamy in Mormonism: the 1890 Manifesto against polygamy, another in 1904, and the more recent excommunications of polygamists from the LDS Church. Admit that this is an ongoing issue the church has faced. Follow that statement with a clarification that many understandings of Mormonism exist, as is true of all religions, but that the vast majority of the Mormons people meet are not polygamous.
b) Remind others that it is the extreme example that gets the most attention, both in the media and in our own memory. As a result, it is inaccurate to paint all Mormons as polygamous, just as it is inaccurate to state that all polygamists are child molesters, or that all priests are, for that matter.
c) Develop a new understanding - a revelation, even - regarding Doctrine & Covenants 132, the section of Mormon scripture that forms the foundation for polygamy and celestial marriage. As part of this, discontinue the policy allowing men to be sealed to more than one woman. Such a change would make it clearer than ever that polygamy is in the past. After all, the LDS hymnal asks, "In the heavens, are parents single?" to which it answers, "No." That the current policy suggests parents are not only wed in eternity, but are sometimes even wed to more than one spouse, seriously undermines the claim that polygamy is in the past. Instead, it suggests that polygamy is in both the past and the future, and that current policy is the exception rather than the rule.
The church and the people who care about it need to develop a more effective way of dealing with the perennial questions about polygamy. Of course, my suggestions presume that Latter-day Saints come to terms with polygamy and recognize the diversity of Mormonisms. Not an easy task, perhaps, but easier than what the pioneers did and, in its own way, pioneering.
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* MICHAEL NIELSEN, Ph.D., is a social psychologist who serves on the editorial board of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. For his work in the psychology of religion he has received awards from the American Psychological Association and from Georgia Southern University, where he is professor of psychology. His Web site is www.psyrel.com.
