In November of 2014, the Mormon Church officially admitted that its founder, Joseph Smith, had forty wives. While the polygamy of Mormon leader Brigham Young had long been acknowledged, founder and Prophet Joseph Smith's polygamy was not previously admitted. Mormon polygamy has long been a controversial topic, and now it has been confirmed by Mormon Church leadership its founder was a prodigious polygamist. Learning of this admission, my civil libertarian side made me think, "So what?" If these folks want polygamous relationships, and there are no underage participants (this seems somewhat in dispute with respect to Joseph Smith), then I have no problem with it. Then I remember the California ballot initiative "Proposition 8", a direct attack on marriage equality, underwritten substantially by Mormons. Mormons have long been associated with an alternative to "traditional" marriage, interwoven into their doctrines and beliefs, yet they funded an attack upon others who are seeking acceptance of their alternative view of marriage. This gets to the heart of what I don't like about much of organized religion - it is hypocritical and coercive. There is ingrained in many "religious" people some need to force their beliefs on those of us who may not share them.
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