Mr. Reed
I want to ask an awkward, uh, an icky question, an insensitive question that I think will add depth to our conversation very quickly before the sun goes down and we’re done for the evening. But only if you’re comfortable with that.
Sister Barnes
Well, we won’t know if we’re comfortable until you ask, so…
Mr. Reed
Fair point.
Sister Barnes
Maybe you just ask?
Mr. Reed
Okay. [clicks tongue]
Sister Paxton
If you don’t ask, I’m gonna leave here wondering what we missed out on.
Mr. Reed
Very well. My question is this. Um… [sighs] Now I feel it’s been built up to. Uh… Should I request a drum roll? I’m going to request a drum roll. A drum roll please, ladies!
Mr. Reed
Keep going! Keep going! Keep going! More! More! More! Now, I… I… I… my question is, how do you feel about polygamy? How do you… how do you feel about the concept of a man having multiple wives?
Sister Paxton
I mean, it’s… it’s not for me, um…
Sister Barnes
Are you asking from a biblical perspective?
Mr. Reed
Uh, Mormonism has a controversial history with the misogynist practice of men claiming multiple wives. But I am fascinated by the idea of Modern Revelation, which was used to erase this behavior from the church in 1890. I just think that’s worthy of conversation.
Sister Barnes
Yeah? Uh…
Mr. Reed
And what I mean by that is that we’re discussing a church that decided that a controversial practice was a stain on its reputation, and an actual hindrance to recruiting new members, and so it used revelation, word of God told unto the prophet to banish a provocative religious pillar that seemed unsavory in contemporary times.
Sister Barnes
Yeah, I know that, um, it may be difficult to understand, um, but, uh, polygamy was a spiritual mission needed at the time in order to grow the ranks of our membership in the wake of much hardship and bloodshed. Um… a man having plural wives meant more… more babies to help the community grow.
Mr. Reed
Hmm.
Sister Paxton
It’s, yeah, it’s sketchy for sure, to our modern brains.
Sister Barnes
And it was…it was removed from the church not just because it was grotesque or controversial, but just because it wasn’t necessary anymore.
Mr. Reed
You see, I worry, and…forgive my loud language, uh, I worry that Joseph Smith used the concept of polygamy to legitimize his affairs with other women. I worry that Joseph’s wife, Emma Smith, was upset when he slept with Fanny Alger, their sixteen year old maid. I worry that he formulated a plan to use revelation for consequence-free sex in the aftermath of that indiscretion and others like it. You know, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
Sister Paxton
Spiderman.
Mr. Reed
Voltaire.
Sister Paxton
Right.
Mr. Reed
I guess what I would pose to the room is my concern that polygamy has no spiritual bearing whatsoever. That is somewhat of a distortion, I think… The church’s own history corroborates and implies this...cynical brainwashing tactic. Is that true?
Sister Barnes
I… I… I’m sorry, I… I’m not sure where you’re getting this.
Mr. Reed
If revelation by God is filtered through man and man is flawed and man sins and man lies, then how do we know any of it’s true?
Sister Paxton
We know it’s true because of how it makes us feel.
Mr. Reed
Bingo! [chuckles] That’s exactly right! That’s exactly right. Couldn’t agree more. It’s our personal relationship with God which matters.
