Polygamy Quotes

“Making love with a woman and sleeping with a woman are two separate passions, not merely different but opposite. Love does not make itself felt in the desire for copulation (a desire that extends to an infinite number of women) but in the desire for shared sleep (a desire limited to one woman).”
― Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being

“They'll say you are bad
or perhaps you are mad
or at least you
should stay undercover.
Your mind must be bare
if you would dare
to think you can love
more than one lover.”
― David Rovics

“Some Christian lawyers—some eminent and stupid judges—have said and still say, that the Ten Commandments are the foundation of all law.

Nothing could be more absurd. Long before these commandments were given there were codes of laws in India and Egypt—laws against murder, perjury, larceny, adultery and fraud. Such laws are as old as human society; as old as the love of life; as old as industry; as the idea of prosperity; as old as human love.

All of the Ten Commandments that are good were old; all that were new are foolish. If Jehovah had been civilized he would have left out the commandment about keeping the Sabbath, and in its place would have said: 'Thou shalt not enslave thy fellow-men.' He would have omitted the one about swearing, and said: 'The man shall have but one wife, and the woman but one husband.' He would have left out the one about graven images, and in its stead would have said: 'Thou shalt not wage wars of extermination, and thou shalt not unsheathe the sword except in self-defence.'

If Jehovah had been civilized, how much grander the Ten Commandments would have been.

All that we call progress—the enfranchisement of man, of labor, the substitution of imprisonment for death, of fine for imprisonment, the destruction of polygamy, the establishing of free speech, of the rights of conscience; in short, all that has tended to the development and civilization of man; all the results of investigation, observation, experience and free thought; all that man has accomplished for the benefit of man since the close of the Dark Ages—has been done in spite of the Old Testament.”
― Robert G Ingersoll, About The Holy Bible

“Variability is one of the virtues of a woman. It avoids the crude requirement of polygamy. So long as you have one good wife you are sure to have a spiritual harem".”
― G.K. Chesterton

“If love wasn't conditional, everybody would be in love with everybody.”
― Mokokoma Mokhonoana

“May a man live well-enough and long-enough, to leave many joyful widows behind him.”
― Roman Payne, Cities & Countries

“This week, Zuma was quoted as saying, 'When the British came to our country, they said everything we are doing was barbaric, was wrong, inferior in whatever way.' But the serious critique of Zuma is not about who is a barbarian and who is civilised. It is about good governance, and this is a universal value, as relevant to an African village as it is to Westminster. If you are unable to keep your appetites in check, you are inevitably going to live beyond your means. And this means you are going to become vulnerable to patronage and even corruption. That is why Jacob Zuma's 'polygamy' is his achilles heel.”
― Mark Gevisser

“To be able to acknowledge Solomon’s first wife shows that some attention was given to Solomon’s non-polygamous marriage, when he was dedicated to a single wife. Compare “Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites” to “He married women from Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites.” The phrase containing besides Pharaoh’s daughter creates a stronger implication that it was proper for Solomon to marry only the daughter than the phrase that listed the women he married, creating a stronger sense of approval towards monogamy.”
― Lucy Carter, Feminism and Biblical Hermeneutics

“In the patriarchal societies of ancient Israel, it was considered rewarding and traditional to have multiple wives, just as it was considered rewarding to have honor and wealth, so God, in 2 Samuel 12:7-8, was possibly giving the wives as a reward to David, but not necessarily as a way to permit polygamy. Knowing that God does not change his mind or his original intentions for society [ see Numbers 23:19], we know that God’s emphasis on the oneness of two spouses in Genesis 2:24 was not to be changed, so, even with the way God rewarded David, it does not indicate that God actually approved of David’s polygamy.”
― Lucy Carter, Feminism and Biblical Hermeneutics

“I don’t think anyone’s ever shown Greer real love,” he says. “It may take some time to break down those walls, but when you do? I don’t think you’d find a more loyal wife.”

I crack open one eye and grin at him. “She just might have a shifter side piece.”

He laughs. “Maybe a fae too.”
― Rory Miles, Shadow Slayer

“Although the law does acknowledge the possibility of polygamy in ancient Israel, one should not correlate POSSIBILITY with PERMISSABILITY.”
― Lucy Carter, Feminism and Biblical Hermeneutics

“If a man were to marry a second wife, they would not only be committing polygamy, but they would also be committing adultery with the second wife, showing that polygamy, through its relationship with adultery, would be an unpermissable practice.”
― Lucy Carter, Feminism and Biblical Hermeneutics

“Also, in Genesis 2:24, it states, “This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This verse emphasizes the oneness of two spouses. God’s ideal intention for marriage was for the two spouses to be united into “one,” but if the husband is being united with multiple wives, then that would mean that he would be unable to become “one” with any of the women, since his mind is divided between his multiple wives instead of being fully dedicated and united to a single wife.”
― Lucy Carter, Feminism and Biblical Hermeneutics

“Maybe the media will for once do their job right and inform the public about these abusive communities. They should just like the rest of us, be following the rules and regulations of the land. We all need to help by finding a legal means to change this abusive society, nestled among the dusty red sand hills of the Vermillion Cliffs in southwestern Utah and the Arizona Strip.
-Colorado City, 2004
"The Ver'million' Cliffs Polygamists, A View From The Outside”
― Jenny Jessop Larson, From Brainwash to Hogwash: Escaping and Exposing Polygamy

“Our playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so others won't feel insecure around us! As we become liberated from our fears, we are free to experience life as it is meant to be! If we are to be free from oppression and control, we must take charge of our own lives and in our magnificence, stand up and speak our truth. In our doing, we let our light shine...
(Stella: She was kicked out of the Religion because she objected to her 16 Year old daughter being given in marriage to a 39 yr old polygamist man.)”
― Jenny Jessop Larson, From Brainwash to Hogwash: Escaping and Exposing Polygamy

“A POLYGAMOUS man is a PEACEFUL man.”
― PK Kasirim

“[May 29, 1843. Monday] This A.M. President Joseph told me that he felt as though I was not treating him exactly right and asked if I had used any familiarity with E[mma]. I told him by no means and explained to his satisfaction.

[June 23, 1843. Friday.] This A.M. President Joseph took me and conversed considerable concerning some delicate matters. Said [Emma] wanted to lay a snare for me. He told me last night of this and said he had felt troubled. He said [Emma] had treated him coldly and badly since I came . . . and he knew she was disposed to be revenged on him for some things. She thought that if he would indulge himself she would too.”
― William Clayton, An Intimate Chronicle: The Journals of William Clayton

“Joseph told me to day that [William?] "Walker" had been speaking to him concerning my having taken M[argaret] away from A[aron] and intimated that I had done wrong. I told him to be quiet and say no more about it. He also told me Emma was considerably displeased with it but says he she will soon get over it. In the agony of mind which I have endured on this subject I said I was sorry I had done it, as which Joseph told me not to say so. I finally asked him if I had done wrong in what I had done. He answered no you have a right to get all you can.”
― William Clayton, An Intimate Chronicle: The Journals of William Clayton

“[October 19, 1843. Thursday.]...After we had got on the road he [Joseph] began to tell me that E[mma] was turned quite friendly and kind. She had been anointed and he also had been a[nointed] K[ing]. He said that it was her advice that I should keep M[argaret] at home and it was also his council. Says he just keep her at home and brook it and if they raise trouble about it and bring you before me I will give you an awful scourging and probably cut you off from the church and then I will baptise you and set you ahead as good as ever.”
― William Clayton, An Intimate Chronicle: The Journals of William Clayton

“In the past people would not get divorced due to the shame. They would stay together with secret lovers.”
― Steven Magee

“Polygamy will be in Ukraine’s future, due to the massive loss of men through war.”
― Steven Magee

“As important and revolutionary as these things were, it was Joseph Smith's teachings on marriage that had a more visible and far-reaching effect on William Clayton's life than anything else he learned in Nauvoo. Two doctrines, “eternal marriage" and "plural marriage," went hand-in-hand, and Clayton learned of them during the last two years of his association with the prophet.

Why would the straitlaced, idealistic William Clayton, who was almost overly concerned with what people thought of him, seriously consider the practice of plural marriage when it so clearly violated all his earlier values as well as the morality and sensibilities of the society in which he lived? He had a good marriage with Ruth Moon, which had endured considerable adversity. He was also close to her family. By the time the doctrine of polygamy was presented to him Ruth had borne three children and on February 17, 1843, just two months before his second marriage, she presented him with his first son. It was no lack of love or compatibility that led him to take additional wives. The most compelling factor was his single-minded conviction that whatever Joseph Smith told him to do was right and that he must spare no pains to accomplish it. At the same time, it is clear that his affection for Sarah Crooks of Manchester was still there, and once he was convinced that the principle was true, it was only natural that he should think of her as a possible second wife.”
― James B. Allen, Trials of Discipleship: The Story of William Clayton, a Mormon Pioneer

“We shouldn't be reassured, either, when a partner insists that they have no interst whatsoever in any other human on earth. We should wonder what they are opting not to tell us about and why - and feel sad that we haven't as yet established a sufficient atmosphere of trust for the beautiful peculiarities of the sexual mind to be safely explored.”
― The School of Life, How Ready Are You For Love?: A path to more fulfilling and joyful relationships

“you’re not having relationship that teach you how to get better at relationships, you have ‘relationships’, that last maybe half a night and usually end in a blurry haze and leave a permanent bad feeling in the gut. How To Have Regrets.”
― Karen Kilgariff, Stay Sexy & Don't Get Murdered: The Definitive How-To Guide

“I think men that have not been in polygamy, and I was one of them, fantasize about polygamy. Fantasize. It is fantasy. Because you are talking about dealing with the psychological, emotional, social, and economic needs of another human being. That is what marriage is...And now, you're talking about dealing with not one other being, but with two other beings. They think about the sexual aspects of it. But even that requires emotional, psychological [strength]. I'm saying all of that is involved even in the intimacy aspect of it. So it is more than just a notion.”
― Patricia Dixon, We Want for Our Sisters What We Want for Ourselves: Polygyny: A Relationship, Marriage and Family Alternative

“So he's a good, clean, decent man, and he's an enhancement to my life and he could also be an enhancement to your life, why does that have to be dirty? Why does that have to be ugly? Why can't we love each other? But the society we live in is designed to make me feel, well, if you let him go with her that means you are less of a person or you would be devalued; no, that may mean that I am bigger.”
― Patricia Dixon, We Want for Our Sisters What We Want for Ourselves: Polygyny: A Relationship, Marriage and Family Alternative

“Family was about cultivating the best psychosocial and spiritual aspects of the individual. When I say individuals, I mean the children, the parents, everybody. This means that there would be a concerted effort to want to bring out the best of each individual member of the family.”
― Patricia Dixon, We Want for Our Sisters What We Want for Ourselves: Polygyny: A Relationship, Marriage and Family Alternative

“A woman by nature is supposed to be picky, because a woman decides the quality of our next generation by virtue of whom she sleeps with. So what we need to do first is promote the idea of women being picky. Second, we have to make sure that the choices they have to choose from are of the highest quality. Women are limiting their choices to benefit the idea of a monogamous society. The goal of polygamy for society is for everyone to seek to be the best they can be. That's what it's about. When you do that, what you find out is that those qualities become desirable, and as a result, become a part of the cycle, the cycle of history, the pact of the society.”
― Patricia Dixon, We Want for Our Sisters What We Want for Ourselves: Polygyny: A Relationship, Marriage and Family Alternative

“How a man treats his wife has to do with that individual man, whether in polygyny or monogamy.”
― Patricia Dixon, We Want for Our Sisters What We Want for Ourselves: Polygyny: A Relationship, Marriage and Family Alternative

“Rather than polygyny needing an explanation, it is monogamy that may need to be explained.”
― Patricia Dixon, We Want for Our Sisters What We Want for Ourselves: Polygyny: A Relationship, Marriage and Family Alternative