Merrywives’ Blog

MISCONCEPTION: The polygamist culture is filled with crime, and all people in that culture deal with abuse, violence and coercion.

FACT: As in any society we have dysfunctional members, but it is a misconceptions that abuse of any kind is accepted or condoned.  Plural marriage does not creat that dysfunction any more that monogamy would.

MISCONCEPTION: There is no one to whom to turn to for help within our culture. 

FACT: In Centennial Park there is a network of help provided for those in need.  These include:

Clergy, Nurses, Teachers, Other Members(who are involved in plural marriages and understand needs), Other professionals who are educated and trained to see the signs of abuse and how to deal with them, State agencies when a situation requires it.  We have invited those agencies to help and to provide training. 

MISCONCEPTION: Children in the polygamous culture have no exposure to the world around them and are deprived of a good education.

FACT: Education is very important to us.  The majority of our children complete their high school education and many go on to earn degrees in colleges and universities.  Women are able to do this, even after marriage, because of the support provided in plural families. 

MISCONCEPTION: Polygamists don’t pay taxes and expect to be supported by the taxes of the public at large. 

FACT: The property taxes in Centennial Park are as high as any in the state.  If we neglected to pay our taxes the government would not be any more lenient with us that with any other citizens of the state.

MISCONCEPTION: All polygamist families are on welfare. 

FACT: The service that is most used in our area is health insurance which, as in the rest of the nation, is a real concern.  In a recent panel discussion with the state agencies, we were told that we are under-using the services available to us in Arizona and Utah.