Raising Kids in Polygamy
Raising kids in polygamy comes with a hard truth: many children raised in plural families walk away as adults. Some join the LDS Church, some leave religion altogether. So what do plural families hope for their own kids? In the final part of my interview with Joshua, Charlotte and Melissa Erickson of Lehi, Utah, we talk about their hopes for their children, a new fundamentalist fellowship Joshua leads, and why so many fundamentalists still won’t talk to outsiders.
Don’t miss our other conversations on Mormon fundamentalism: https://gospeltangents.com/denominations/fundamentalim/
Good Spouses First
Should the Erickson children practice plural marriage? Charlotte’s answer was simple: “If they want to.” She chose polygamy and finds it worth it, but she doesn’t teach her children that it is required for heaven. “I don’t like the teaching that it has to somehow be white knuckled through because it’s a box to check to get into heaven,” she said. Melissa put her goal another way: she wants to raise sons who are such good husbands that more than one woman would want to marry them. Pointing to passages in the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants about taking the same spirit into the next life, she believes an unhappy marriage won’t magically become heaven after death. Her rule for her children: “If polygamy happens, then that’s great. If not, that’s fine too, but you must be a good spouse.”
Keeping Kids in the Faith
For Charlotte, “the faith” doesn’t mean a particular fundamentalist group. It means faith in God and the scriptures, including the full Latter-day Saint canon. She’d be fine if her children joined a group, but sad if they became atheists. One strategy the family uses is to make the biblical holidays Jesus celebrated a big deal. Their children count down to the next feast as soon as one ends (“except for Shavuot,” Charlotte joked). She sees these as holidays for all the tribes of Israel, not just the Jews.
Joshua serves as bishop of Mormon Legacy Ministries, a fellowship that holds a hybrid in-person and Zoom sacrament meeting on the second and fourth Saturdays. Why Saturday? So people who belong to other groups can attend without missing their own Sunday meetings. There is also a women’s group on Tuesdays and a Thursday class, with schedules and Zoom links at mormonlegacy.org. Joshua says the ministry doesn’t want to be a church: it performs no baptisms, ordinations or marriages, but it can refer people to those who will. He describes it as a fellowship and referral service.
Why Fundamentalists Stay Private
Why are so many fundamentalists insular? Melissa, whose own ancestors were Catholic before joining the LDS Church, points to generational trauma. Neighbors turned in plural families, grandfathers went to prison or had to disavow their wives, and plural wives were introduced as “aunts.” In Utah, polygamy remained a felony until 2020, apart from a brief window after a federal judge struck down part of the law in the Kody Brown case, a ruling later overturned on appeal. Today it is an infraction with a fine of up to $750. “I ain’t paying,” Melissa laughed. But after watching children taken from their parents in Texas, she says, it’s fair to give fundamentalists space when they aren’t willing to talk.
Wrapping Up the Series
That closes our four-part conversation with the Ericksons. We covered their move from the LDS Church to fundamentalism and the Zarahemla Foundation, Restoration scripture and priesthood authority, and patriarchal polygamy, female priesthood blessings and Black polygamists. Next up is Justin Francom, from the Missouri group that built a fundamentalist temple.
Listen to the full conversation wherever you get your podcasts.
Chapters
00:00 Should Polygamous Kids Practice Polygamy?
01:48 Charlotte: Not a Box to Check for Heaven
03:18 Melissa: Raise Good Spouses First
05:40 Helping Children Stay in the Faith
06:30 Biblical Holidays as a Family Strategy
07:39 Mormon Legacy Ministries
08:20 Why Sacrament Meeting Is on Saturday
09:47 Weekly Schedule & the 1977 Block Schedule
11:04 Joshua’s Role as Bishop
12:15 A Fellowship and Referral Service, Not a Church
13:08 Why Fundamentalists Stay Private
14:58 Utah Bigamy Law: Felony to Infraction
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