"For Life, the Resurrection, and the Life Ever-Lasting": James J. Strang and Strangite Mormon Polygamy, 1849-1856

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Wisconsin Magazine of History

Volume

66

Issue

4

Publisher

Wisconsin HIstorical Society

Publication Date

1983

First Page

274

Last Page

291

Abstract

In the early 1860's, a young man arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, eager, he tells us, to investigate the workings of Mormon polygamy and present another picture of the institution to an already shocked nation. Yet when he saw the Mormon women, "then I was touched."

With his brilliant wit, biting social satire, and irreverent tongue-in-cheek prose, young Samuel Clemens called the public's attention to a recognized issue of moral and political consequence. Polygamy, on of the so-called "Twin Relics of Barbarism," was the subject of numerous books, theological treatises, congressional debates, moral outcry, and public consternation. Between 1850 and 1900 the plethora of newspaper stories, magazine articles, and books on the subject overwhelmingly focused on the polygamous practices of one group in particular, the Utah Mormons.

Comments

Originally published by the Wisconsin Historical Society. Article fulltext available through remote link.
Note: This publication was reprinted in - Restoration, vol. 4 no. 2.

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