Posted on 01/18/2011 6:29:06 PM PST by markomalley
A Utah polygamous family whose reality TV show launched a criminal bigamy investigation has moved out of state.
In an e-mail to The Associated Press, the Washington-based attorney who represents the family, Jonathan Turley, said Kody Brown has moved his family of four wives and 16 kids to Nevada to pursue new opportunities.
The family is featured on the TLC reality show "Sister Wives." The show first aired in the fall and triggered an investigation by Lehi police into allegations of bigamy.
"There were no pending charges against them in Utah," Turley wrote. "I see no legal reason why their family cannot live and continue to thrive in Nevada as they have in Utah."
Turley did not say why - or where in Nevada - the family had moved.
Brown is legally married to one woman, Meri Brown, but also calls three other women his spouses: Janelle, Christine and Robyn. The oldest of their children is 15.
The family practices polygamy as part of its religious beliefs.
Bigamy is a third-degree felony in Utah, punishable by up to five years in state prison, but no criminal charges have been filed against the Browns. Under the law, a person can be found guilty of bigamy through cohabitation, not just legal marriage contracts.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
“As part of their religious beliefs”....
What beliefs might that be? Even the Mormons have “sworn off” polygamy. I do know that there is a splinter group that still believes in it...but I never quite understood the grounds for this belief. All I ever heard in my experience was that the Old Testament Patriarchs practiced it... Thing is, God made it clear in His Word that this was not the acceptable practice, though He apparently (for the most part) tolerated it.
IIRC, it comes from their book "Doctrine & Covenants"
Perhaps FReeper colofornian could help out with the exact citation.
Can be found guilty of bigamy through cohabitation
I don’t agree with such a law. Does that mean if you live in an apartment building with unmarried women you are cohabitating? what if you are roomates with two women is that bigamy? How does the state know there is sex?
What I find ironic is, whether you think polygamy is a crime or not. Our govt. literally seems to subsidize it for men that have multiple children through multiple short term girlfriends..as long as THE MEN SEEM NOT TO CARE FOR ANY OF THEM !
Its a strange situation for sure.. A guy with more women than allowed , seems to have created a group that at least cares for each other..
I can’t even count all the women my wife knows that seem to be doomed to a life of being single..
What a mess we have become...
Sister-wife has a whole different meaning in Arkansas.
This isn’t funny. I just found out a couple of weeks ago that I’m a product of incest. My brother has traced our family history to the 1200’s and found my father and mother’s families were related back then. My husband could barely wait to tell me—he was giddy telling me my parents were related. That’s because he is a descendant of pirates and wanted to drag my name through the mud along with his.
Kody Brown has moved his family of four wives and 16 kids to Nevada to pursue new opportunities.
**********************
Kody Brown is a John Edwards wannabe. Or vice versa.
Oh for heaven’s sake...tell the brother to go play with himself....there’s been 800 years to clean the gene pool.....some people...
The mainstream Mormons have only "sworn off" earthly polygamy for the time being; they still believe in...
(a) ... a time when the Mormon jesus will re-institute polygamy on earth when he comes [source: Lds "apostle" Bruce McConkie, Mormon Doctrine];
(b) ... polygamy for eternity [let's say you marry 3 wives consecutively...each having died before the other came along...the Mormons believe if you were sealed to each in their temple for eternity...you'd then have three wives as a god of your own world -- providing you were a faithful temple Mormon in your lifetime]
So mainstream Mormons still actually believe in polygamy -- they just mislead people by not pointing out that their belief amounts to just "postponing" it for another time.
I do know that there is a splinter group that still believes in it...but I never quite understood the grounds for this belief.
Well in the Summer of '09, one of the prominent Lds apologist organizations held their annual conference. One of the speakers led a workshop with a title along the lines of "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Polygamy but was Afraid to Ask..."
At the workshop, the Lds apologist conceded that Joseph Smith may have opened the door to "polygamy" as early as 1831...that would involved a 17 yo live-in maid Joseph Smith had taken in -- a maid named "Fanny."
So, essentially it seems the "grounds" for this belief were quite simple: Joseph Smith's own lust.
You see, the year before when Smith published the 1830 Book of Mormon, there were about 5 negative references to polygamy in it-- a couple in the Book of Jacob; Mosiah 11:14; Ether 10:5; & one other verse.
So it's not like it seemed to grow in Smith's mind until he actually had a live-in 17 yo! Once he found he could privately get away with it for about a decade, his next obstacle was when word started getting out in Nauvoo in the early 1840s...They denied they were practicing it then...
Then came the obstacle of Emma Smith -- when she started objecting later 1842 into early 1843. By April 2, 1843, Joseph presented her with a convenient "revelation" -- D&C 132.
It's obvious from reading it, that Emma had threatened him with taking additional husbands (a what's good for the goose is good for the gander approach)...because Joseph conveniently addressed that as well in the "revelation."
All I ever heard in my experience was that the Old Testament Patriarchs practiced it...
We know of a handful of otherwise faithful men of the Bible who practiced it...Solomon wasn't one deemed as one who remained devoted to God. His father, David, who did have many wives, was one who was still deemed faithful.
So I wouldn't call Solomon a "patriarch." Jacob? He was deceived into practicing polygamy; deception is hardly of the Lord.
Abraham? Nobody referenced Sarai's maid as Abraham's wife except Sarai.
Even after Abraham slept w/her (& for all we know he might have only slept once with Hagar), everybody else -- Abraham; Hagar herself; the Angel of the Lord; Moses later in the book of Genesis; and the apostle Paul when he wrote about Hagar in Gal. 4...they ALL referenced Hagar only as Sarai's servant or slave...NOT ever as Abraham's "wife."
Smith tried claiming Isaac was a polygamist...but that's not in the Bible.
So what other patriarchs would there have been?
I took a look at this show once thinking it might be interesting and I might learn something.
I couldn’t get beyond five minutes. Just watching the man playing with his new “wife” on the beach while the others were at home trying to hide their jealousies and dealing with this huge mob of kids, it was like watching an act of total betrayal.
Everything in me reacted to it as something very wrong. They can spin it all they want, but that’s not the way God intended man to be. It’s shameful.
I’ve got a pretty good idea where a family like this would be moving in Nevada.
They’re henceforth going to be pretty far off the radar of popular culture.
“This isn’t funny. I just found out a couple of weeks ago that I’m a product of incest. My brother has traced our family history to the 1200’s and found my father and mother’s families were related back then. My husband could barely wait to tell me—he was giddy telling me my parents were related. That’s because he is a descendant of pirates and wanted to drag my name through the mud along with his.”
I studied genealogy for years, only to learn my surname is from a scoundrel !!
A guy deserted the Swedish army, left his wife and children behind in Sweden, moved to America, married another woman here, produced children.
For reasons unknown to me, men in town ran him off, leaving his American wife with four children, including my grandfather, who was essentially on his own from about age 12 (South Dakota, Wyoming & Montana-1880s and 90s).
I apologize to everyone that thought I was seriously upset about finding out hundreds of years ago there was a family connection between my parents. I will try to remember to make it clear when I’m playing around. What I said was true, but I am not worried about what happened that long ago. Thanks for reminding me how important it is to be more clear when posting!
I apologize to everyone that thought I was seriously upset about finding out hundreds of years ago there was a family connection between my parents. I will try to remember to make it clear when I’m playing around. What I said was true, but I am not worried about what happened that long ago. Thanks for reminding me how important it is to be more clear when posting!
What I find ironic is, whether you think polygamy is a crime or not. Our govt. literally seems to subsidize it for men that have multiple children through multiple short term girlfriends..as long as THE MEN SEEM NOT TO CARE FOR ANY OF THEM !
It’s certainly hypocritical to consider this not wrong while considering polygamy wrong. As far as polygamy goes, I think there is no reason to approve of it when we haven’t resolved the issue of the “Lost Boys”, or live with some crooked cops who violate a technicality which lets these men who have relations with young girls who are 14, perhaps even younger than that. That’s what’s sick and distateful about this whole thing.
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