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In the Texas Penal Code under Offenses Against The Family, Bigamy is illegal. An individual commits a felony offense if (e) the person whom the actor marries or purports to marry or with whom the actor lives under the appearance of being married is (1) 16 years or older is considered a 2nd degree felony or (2) younger than 16 years of age a 1st degree felony. Comments to 25.01 under the code read: Based on reports that a polygamist cult in Texas has some parents regularly consenting to marriage of their 14 and 15 year old children, in 2005 the legislature raised the age to 16. Thus, anyone under 16 may marry only with judicial approval. Bigamy is a crime when an actor attempts to enter into a second-marriage (of any kind). The parents consenting to such an act and the person conducting such a ceremony have no provisions under the law and are therefore in violation of the Family Code.
So why would a people encourage and value the idea of multiple marriages? This is truly an offense against the family. Family, by definition, must be rooted in a one man, one woman relationship. Marriage, therefore, must refer to the bedroom and the consummation of such a sacred union. These ideas must remain objective. Yet, in our western culture these ideas have become more fluid. To illustrate the point consider this narrative from an encounter with a Samaritan woman and Jesus.
Jesus revealed that he possessed something of great value that every person needs in order to have eternal life. Jesus told the woman, “Go, call your husband and come back.” Knowing who she was and how she lived, the woman responded, “I have no husband.”
“You are right. The fact is, you have had five husbands and the man you now have is not your husband,” replied Jesus. This was not to condemn the woman but to point to the truth that Jesus knows every detail of our lives and knows the heart behind every thing we do. Our wrong thinking about marriage and about God condemns us already. There was no need for Jesus to scold the woman.
The woman was amazed and the conversation led to the true identity of Jesus and a true understanding of marriage. Jesus offered the woman living water that produces a spring of life by way of his Spirit which gives life to thirsty people. Jesus uncovered her shame and guilt with tenderness which invites us to come to Him for forgiveness and a new way of thinking. Jesus invited her to know God through himself (Christ) who satisfies and leads us into all truth.
The life the woman was looking for was not found in multiple relationships like trying on a pair of shoes until one finds the right fit. It is our sinful nature to get tired of something and want to exchange it for newer, more improved substitutes. When we meet the real Jesus our thirst for satisfaction finds its ever flowing spring.
If polygamy or bigamy were permissible then Jesus would not have addressed the issue of multiple sleeping partners which he called “husbands.” The woman knew she was unhappy with her current arrangement or else she would not have returned to her town and joyously spread the good news like an engaged bride who just met the perfect man. The whole town came out to hear Jesus and many will never thirst again.
Can you imagine living in a community where polygamy is practiced? Where children turn into adults after age 12 (no adolescence as modernity defines it)? Boys grow up beside their future wives playing in the dirt and kicking the ball around. They live in a world secluded and shielded from the modern world. They are happy as well as they know with a complete different set of norms. The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is their official identity influenced by their prophets who claim special revelation from God. It’s a simple life without the cares of “our” world and its civility.
How often do we throw out the whole for something bad in the ingredients? Our “knee-jerk” reaction to something like polygamy and uniformity leaves us as judge and jury while interpreting the book. But there is something desirous to be gleaned from this FLDS. Behind the abuse and dangers of polygamy lies an ingredient we all long to taste. The individuals belong to each other in community that makes each person valuable.
There is no self-sufficiency or individualism within the community; they all are members of one another. When one hurts; they all hurt. When one rejoices, they all rejoice. Everything is about the good and health of the community. Whereas, self-sufficiency and individualism kill this blessed unity and disconnect people.
What happened at the YFZ (Yearn for Zion) Ranch was evil. Make no mistake about it. What CPS had to do was a second evil predicated upon the first. Child safety is paramount in this business. There seems to be no middle ground in efforts to be family-centered when children are removed. However, these children are thrust into a world that is hostile to their values and imposes great threat to what was good about their way of life.
There is, inside us all, a kind of “yearning for Zion” that screams for the need to be connected; to be significant and valued. Due to the “image of God” in us all, we crave to be filled with soul satisfying acceptance. Our efforts to become self-sufficient and beautiful fall way short of satisfaction. We long to be deeply loved and to love deeply. Yet, there is something deficient about ourselves, our jobs, our money, and our pleasures that does not fill our purpose.
Religion is often an opiate to our pain and ointment applied to our conscience. Let religion not be confused with life; life that comes from a divine relationship. This relationship can only be known by self-abandonment; a dependency upon the real Jesus who is not defined or interpreted by the FLDS or any other box-brand of religion. The search for significance stops at the foot of the cross and the atonement made for our sin.
Voices from the Valley 