. Wife no. 19, or, The story of a life in bondage : being a complete exposé of Mormonism, and revealing the sorrows, sacrifices and sufferings of women in polygamy . ey in turn submitted without much strug-glcto the fascinations of their youthful converts. Very few ofthe missionaries failed to bring home an English wife, orat least to induce some young girl to emigrate to Zion, withthe prospect of becoming his wdfe on her arrival. At first polygamy was not preached. Indeed, so xerycareful were the elders not to mention the subject, or elseto deny pol3gamy altogether, that many of the girls sup
. Wife no. 19, or, The story of a life in bondage : being a complete exposé of Mormonism, and revealing the sorrows, sacrifices and sufferings of women in polygamy . ey in turn submitted without much strug-glcto the fascinations of their youthful converts. Very few ofthe missionaries failed to bring home an English wife, orat least to induce some young girl to emigrate to Zion, withthe prospect of becoming his wdfe on her arrival. At first polygamy was not preached. Indeed, so xerycareful were the elders not to mention the subject, or elseto deny pol3gamy altogether, that many of the girls sup-posed themselves to be the hrst and only wives of the menwhoin they married; and it was not until they reachedUtah, and were introduced to their husbands other wives,that they were undeceived. So strong was the feeling in England, that for some time after polygamy wasopenly practiced inUtah, the missiona-ries denied it, andmen who had fourand five wives liv-ing quoted largelyfrom the Book ofMormon, and otherchurch works, toprove the impossi-bility of the existenceof such a length, however,they w^ere obliged toconfess to the ti-uth,which they did by. Dliing Missionahv Wurk. causing the Reve- lation to be pub-lished in the Millennial Star, the church organ pub-lished at Liverpool. For a while it seemed almost asthough all the labors of the missionaries would go fornothing, so many apostatized. By strenuous effort andredoubled endeavor, however, many were still held in tlie PRACTICING POLYGAMY FOR CONSCIENCE SAKE . I79 church. They were told that polygamy was optional; thatwhile the leaders of the church, many of them, practiced it,ybr conscience^ sake since the Lord willed it, yet manymore had not entered the system, and probably never would,and that no one need enter it, unless they felt themselvesespecially called by the Lord. In England, as in America, the men became much moreeasily reconciled to the doctrine than the women. Thelatter had many bitter hours over it;
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Keywords: ., bookcentury180, bookdecade1870, booksubjectpolygamy, bookyear1876
