The psychosocial argument against polygamy
Main Text Citations & Section Notes
1
Genesis 1:28
Genesis 2:24
2
D&C 49:15-17
4
Abraham 3:22
5
Deseret News, Great Salt Lake City, U.T., September 14, 1852; page 25
Linda Walker, Fatal Inheritance: Mormon Eugenics
7
Dallin H. Oaks, October 2024 General Conference
D&C 132:3
8
1 Nephi chapters 3 to 4
9
Exodus 1:19
10
Deuteronomy 17:17
Titus 1:5-6
1 Timothy 3:2
1 Timothy 3:12
11
"Republican Party Platform of 1856 | The American Presidency Project". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
https://archive.org/details/revisedlawsofill00illi/page/198/mode/2up
12
D&C 132:65
27 October 1869, Lehi, Utah
Brigham Young, 22 February 1852 sermon
Rudger Clawson, 15 July 1886, Abraham H. Cannon's journal
13
Michelle Stone, Jennie Anderson Froiseth: Utah’s Unsung Heroine | 132 Problems: Revisiting Mormon Polygamy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie4q-n2unM0
Anderson Froiseth, Jennie (1886). The women of Mormonism Or, The story of polygamy as told by the victims themselves. Detroit, Michigan: C.G.G. Paine. pp. 19–416.
14
Jacob 2:31
Jacob 2:35
15
Jacob 2:32
Jacob 2: 33, 35
https://oneclimbs.com/2017/01/05/a-proposed-reinterpretation-of-jacob-230/
Ann Eliza Young, Wife No. 19: The Story of a Life in Bondage, Being a Complete Exposé of Mormonism, and Revealing the Sorrows, Sacrifices and Sufferings of Women in Polygamy. 1876
16
Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 4, pp. 55-57, also printed in the Deseret News, v. 6, pp. 235-236
17
Jacob 2:22
18
As personally related to the author. Name has been withheld.
20
Moroni 7:15-16
https://www.eonline.com/ca/news/1418434/why-sister-wives-kody-brown-says-falling-in-love-is-painful
23
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-97-9104-0
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/stress-quarrels-and-neglect-normal-polygamous-family/
https://www.wikiimpact.com/is-polygamy-still-practiced-and-legal-in-malaysia/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFQDnnNGrgQ
24
Jacob 3:6-7
25
Jacob 2:26
Ether chapter 7
26
Jacob 1:15
D&C 132:62
27
Carol Lynn Pearson, The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy: Haunting the Hearts and Heaven of Mormon Women and Men (Walnut Creek, Calif.: Pivot Point Books, 2016). Page 126
29
Hill and Hurtado 1992 --- McDermott, R. (Ed.). (2018). The evils of polygyny: Evidence of its harm to women, men, and society. Cornell University Press. page 14, 2nd pgh
McDermott, R. (Ed.). (2018). The evils of polygyny: Evidence of its harm to women, men, and society. Cornell University Press. Page 16, 2nd pgh
30
McDermott, R. (Ed.). (2018). The evils of polygyny: Evidence of its harm to women, men, and society. Cornell University Press. Page 77.
McDermott, R. (Ed.). (2018). The evils of polygyny: Evidence of its harm to women, men, and society. Cornell University Press. Page 78.
10 December 1851. Discourses of Brigham Young, Wilford Woodruff Journal. Volume 4, page 82
32
1 Timothy 5:8
Journal of Wilford Woodruff
33
https://www.wikiimpact.com/is-polygamy-still-practiced-and-legal-in-malaysia/
34
Greg Matsen. The Dangerous Rise of “Polygamy Denial”. Cwic Show. 27 April 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILaGQ4qV36Q
36
McDermott, R. (Ed.). (2018). The evils of polygyny: Evidence of its harm to women, men, and society. Cornell University Press. Page 14, 2nd pgh
37
(Preston SH, MacDonald J. The Incidence of Divorce Within Cohorts of American Marriages Contracted Since the Civil War. Demography. 1979;16:1–25. [PubMed] [Google Scholar])
(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22271782/ --The Puzzle of Monogamous Marriage, as quoted by https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/05/5338/ -- The Perils of Polygamy)
39
Jacob 2:4, 35
Jacob 2:17
Jacob 2:4-5
41
Carol Lynn Pearson, The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy: Haunting the Hearts and Heaven of Mormon Women and Men (Walnut Creek, Calif.: Pivot Point Books, 2016). Page 161
Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1958), 522–523
42
Carol Lynn Pearson, The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy: Haunting the Hearts and Heaven of Mormon Women and Men (Walnut Creek, Calif.: Pivot Point Books, 2016). Page 9
Carol Lynn Pearson, The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy: Haunting the Hearts and Heaven of Mormon Women and Men (Walnut Creek, Calif.: Pivot Point Books, 2016). Page 87-88
Carol Lynn Pearson, The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy: Haunting the Hearts and Heaven of Mormon Women and Men (Walnut Creek, Calif.: Pivot Point Books, 2016). Page 24-25
Carol Lynn Pearson, The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy: Haunting the Hearts and Heaven of Mormon Women and Men (Walnut Creek, Calif.: Pivot Point Books, 2016). Page 48
43
https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2018/03/19/why-polygamy-breeds-civil-war
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jun/14/usa.julianborger
McDermott, R. (Ed.). (2018). The evils of polygyny: Evidence of its harm to women, men, and society. Cornell University Press. Page 15
(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22271782/ --The Puzzle of Monogamous Marriage, as quoted by https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/05/5338/ -- The Perils of Polygamy)
https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2018/03/19/why-polygamy-breeds-civil-war
McDermott, R. (Ed.). (2018). The evils of polygyny: Evidence of its harm to women, men, and society. Cornell University Press. Page 88
McDermott, R. (Ed.). (2018). The evils of polygyny: Evidence of its harm to women, men, and society. Cornell University Press. Page 86
47
McDermott, R. (Ed.). (2018). The evils of polygyny: Evidence of its harm to women, men, and society. Cornell University Press. Page 84
McDermott, R. (Ed.). (2018). The evils of polygyny: Evidence of its harm to women, men, and society. Cornell University Press. Page 88
49
(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22271782/ --The Puzzle of Monogamous Marriage, as quoted by https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/05/5338/ -- The Perils of Polygamy)
McDermott, R. (Ed.). (2018). The evils of polygyny: Evidence of its harm to women, men, and society. Cornell University Press. Page 16, 2nd pgh
https://academicjournals.org/journal/IJPC/article-full-text-pdf/D004AFF38778
Adesehinwa Olayayinka Adenike, "Effects of family type (monogamy or polygamy) on students' academic achievement in Nigeria," International Journal of Psychology and Counseling 5, no.7 (October 2013) 153-56.
McDermott, R. (Ed.). (2018). The evils of polygyny: Evidence of its harm to women, men, and society. Cornell University Press. Page 80-84
McDermott, R. (Ed.). (2018). The evils of polygyny: Evidence of its harm to women, men, and society. Cornell University Press. page 4 -- source link on page 211
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22271782/ --The Puzzle of Monogamous Marriage, as quoted by https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/05/5338/ -- The Perils of Polygamy)
53
Lakner et al. (2024), updated using World Bank PIP
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounders/haitis-troubled-path-development
McDermott, R. (Ed.). (2018). The evils of polygyny: Evidence of its harm to women, men, and society. Cornell University Press. Page 10.
Valerie Hudson and Andrea den Boer (2004), as quoted in The evils of polygyny: Evidence of its harm to women, men, and society. Cornell University Press. Page 16
Jacob 2:31
https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/subjects-start/immigration_and_ethnocultural_diversity
McDermott, R. (Ed.). (2018). The evils of polygyny: Evidence of its harm to women, men, and society. Cornell University Press. Page 7.
https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/news/general/bc-court-upholds-polygamy-law/271111
https://sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120124093142.htm
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22794315/) (Rahmanian P, Munawar K, Mukhtar F, Choudhry FR.Arch Womens Ment Health. 2021 Jun;24(3):339-351. doi: 10.1007/s00737-020-01070-8. Epub 2020 Oct 1.PMID: 33000343
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150428141954.htm
(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22271782/ --The Puzzle of Monogamous Marriage, as quoted by https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/05/5338/ -- The Perils of Polygamy)
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-97-9104-0
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-97-9104-0
Carol Lynn Pearson, The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy: Haunting the Hearts and Heaven of Mormon Women and Men (Walnut Creek, Calif.: Pivot Point Books, 2016). Page 127
Carol Lynn Pearson, The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy: Haunting the Hearts and Heaven of Mormon Women and Men (Walnut Creek, Calif.: Pivot Point Books, 2016). Page 156
https://www.forbes.com/2007/11/29/plastic-health-surgery-forbeslife-cx_rr_1129health_slide.html
Carol Lynn Pearson, The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy: Haunting the Hearts and Heaven of Mormon Women and Men (Walnut Creek, Calif.: Pivot Point Books, 2016). Page 51
Deseret News, 26 November 1856. Accessed at https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/details?id=2574513
Heber C. Kimball. Deseret News, November 7, 1855
Joseph Smith, July 1838 - [Editorial,] Elder’s Journal, 1 (July 1838), 43.
https://archive.org/details/tellitallstoryof00sten/page/522/mode/2up?q=orson+pratt)
Carol Lynn Pearson, The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy: Haunting the Hearts and Heaven of Mormon Women and Men (Walnut Creek, Calif.: Pivot Point Books, 2016). Page 22
Carol Lynn Pearson, The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy: Haunting the Hearts and Heaven of Mormon Women and Men (Walnut Creek, Calif.: Pivot Point Books, 2016). Page 70
Jacob 2:33
Genesis 22:2
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/756399/jewish/The-613-Commandments-Mitzvot.htm
John 3:29
Revelation 19:7
Revelation 21:2
Revelation 21:9
Isaiah 49:18, 1 Nephi 21:18
Doctrine & Covenants 109:74
Ann Eliza Young, Wife No. 19: The Story of a Life in Bondage, Being a Complete Exposé of Mormonism, and Revealing the Sorrows, Sacrifices and Sufferings of Women in Polygamy. 1876
Zina Diantha Huntington Young, New York World, November 17, 1869, as cited in The Lion of the Lord, p. 230)
McDermott, R. (Ed.). (2018). The evils of polygyny: Evidence of its harm to women, men, and society. Cornell University Press. Page 75-76
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3092008/)
Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 4, pp. 55-57, also printed in the Deseret News, v. 6, pp. 235-236
Science Advances, 2025)
https://www.scrippsnews.com/us-news/the-bigger-the-age-gap-the-greater-the-risk-of-divorce
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22271782/ --The Puzzle of Monogamous Marriage, as quoted by https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/05/5338/ -- The Perils of Polygamy)
80
https://mappinghistory.uoregon.edu/english/US/US39-01.html)
82
82
Jacob 3:5-6
Journal and Autobiography of Joseph Lee Robinson, p. 50
Joseph Smith, TPJS
84
D&C 132
85
D&C 132:63-64
86
Karen Humes Hyatt, "Wo Unto You Scribes"
87
3 Nephi 14:17
90
RLDS Doctrine & Covenants 116:1
91
RLDS Church History Volume 3 pages 214-215
92
Carol Lynn Pearson, The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy: Haunting the Hearts and Heaven of Mormon Women and Men (Walnut Creek, Calif.: Pivot Point Books, 2016). Page 86
93
Carol Lynn Pearson, The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy: Haunting the Hearts and Heaven of Mormon Women and Men (Walnut Creek, Calif.: Pivot Point Books, 2016). Page 47
Jacob 2:35
94
Carol Lynn Pearson, The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy: Haunting the Hearts and Heaven of Mormon Women and Men (Walnut Creek, Calif.: Pivot Point Books, 2016). Page 87-88
95
Carol Lynn Pearson, The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy: Haunting the Hearts and Heaven of Mormon Women and Men (Walnut Creek, Calif.: Pivot Point Books, 2016). Page 87
96
https://religionnews.com/2024/03/07/who-is-leaving-the-lds-church-8-key-survey-findings/
https://wasmormon.org/personal-faith-crisis-report-research-summary/
https://mrm.org/leave-their-church
97
Jeff Strong, "Torn: Why People We Love Are Leaving the Church and What We Can Learn from Them". 2026
98
102
D. Todd Christofferson, Church News. 5 February 2015: https://www.thechurchnews.com/2015/2/5/23212665/elder-d-todd-christofferson-says-lds-churchs-doctrine-is-constant/
103
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/polygamy-moral-acceptance_n_597f6976e4b02a8434b83e4f
104
https://www.youtube.com/@MichelleBStone
105
Jacob 2:35
106
D&C 84:57-58
107
Jacob 2:2
108
Ether 4:6
Ether 4:8