The Bold And The Beautiful

(CBS)  If you thought you knew what polygamy in America looks like-child brides, prairie dresses and upswept hair-think again: twin sisters Vicki and Valerie, who, along with another woman, consider themselves all married to the same man, manage to blend in to society.

"All together, we have 22 children. And we all live in one big house," Valerie, who is the third wife, tells correspondent Troy Roberts.

Their home is not a house in a remote compound, but on a middle class suburban street just outside Salt Lake. Valerie estimates that there are "thousands" of families like hers out there - thousands of families you would never know were breaking the law just by looking at them.

These women have jobs, wear makeup, and send their children to the local public school. Their children play video games, and their teenage son dyes his hair.

"We [are] kind of willing to, you know, not think that the outside world is such a bad place. My family doesn't live in a kind of closed society," says Vicki, who is the second wife.

It is estimated that there are close to 40,000 polygamists in the United States, and only a quarter of them belong to the FLDS. Many more live much like Vicki and Valerie.

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Suzy and Christine also live in plural marriages. "The basic thing that we have different from FLDS is that we chose who we marry. We choose when we marry. We don't believe in under-aged marriages," Christine says.

They think under-aged is under 18, and Val says, "For my own children, they may be a little bit older."

"Absolutely I'd love the girls to go to college first. Get a degree. You know, work on their own for a while. Go live in an apartment. Travel the world," Christine adds.

The practice of polygamy is a deeply held spiritual belief for them. "It's just the way that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived in the Bible," Christine says.

But they say they'd be okay if their children decided to forego it. "It not as if, you know, everyone is forcing their kids even into this lifestyle. They are allowed freedom wherever their life takes them," Valerie says.

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[skullaria-2009]

I don''t like it one bit. I think it is disgusting, but it doesn''t break my bones or pick my pocket.

People can use the Bible as an excuse for anything.

[pakg1]

There were a few questions I would liked to have been asked. For example, they can''t legally marry two women, so are they simply calling the 2nd or 3rd women "wives"?

Are they on any government assistance program?

Can the women take more than one "husband", and if not, can they not see a double standard? That it still is about men controlling once again? Does the husband do laundry and help with the children as well?

This choice is their choice to make. It is several adults willingly sharing each other and living together. My issue with the situation in TX is that the women and children are treated and traded like property, and don''t even realize that they are being abused.

[boston1954]

One man. Three wives. This is nothing more than a harem! Sick.

[cristo359]

In China they have laws against families with more than one child. Such families face punishment. The law is there and will stay forever. Only after the earthquakes an emergency law was passed for families that lost their only child, to apply for permit so they can have a new child.
Thus modern China is a single child culture.
However, there are some isolated communities who still practice multi-child raising. Some communist officials have suggested action in order to uproot the unusual communities. The practice is illegal, and after all, by raising multiple kids the standard of living drops, as family resources must be divided and kids are getting les and less. Most law abiding Chinese find such communities to be wrong and immoral.
However, I personally don%u2019t believe that the multi-child raising communities are doing anything that is immoral. And I find the people who are condemning the multi-child families to be ignorant of how nature works.

[mommakat64]

So sorry about the repeat.

ndg1979, perhaps you need to really read YOUR Bible. The Old Testament lays out G*d''s desire to make one tribe His own, and the, oh, so many tangled problems that came about...G*d punishing, G*d blessing and on and on. The NEW Testament is when G*d Himself came into our humble lives to honestly/truly instruct us about His ways. All else pales by comparison to a Being who would come to us, teach us about His love for us, and then destroy Himself FOR us.

Think about it yourself. What is more natural? Children with many adults to try to understand, and try to obey? Or one father and one mother trying to live a good, productive life together, and to raise their children to understand both sides of life?!?!

[mommakat64]

moonshadow22...but are they REALLY being honest, or are they "playing to the press"?! Please, remember that their children ARE ridiculed on the playground. Children can always and ever be cruel to each other without reason....but these children have been deemed somehow NOT normal because of their parents lifestyle...when parents foist their life style on their childrens'' daily lives...it''s abusive to the children. It''s no different than causing a child discomfort because the parent sells illegal drugs. Both kids will feel "un-natural" to their fellows. And you can take your hat off all you want, but if children don''t flower, this world loses. Yes, these women ARE hurting someone else...their children.

And, moonshadow, this country was founded on LAWS...laws that carry punishment if you disobey them...

[mommakat64]

moonshadow22...but are they REALLY being honest, or are they "playing to the press"?! Please, remember that their children ARE ridiculed on the playground. Children can always and ever be cruel to each other without reason....but these children have been deemed somehow NOT normal because of their parents lifestyle...when parents foist their life style on their childrens'' daily lives...it''s abusive to the children. It''s no different than causing a child discomfort because the parent sells illegal drugs. Both kids will feel "un-natural" to their fellows. And you can take your hat off all you want, but if children don''t flower, this world loses. Yes, these women ARE hurting someone else...their children.

And, moonshadow, this country was founded on LAWS...laws that carry punishment if you disobey them...

[mommakat64]

The standard of one wife/mother, one husband/father, seems so nuclear, but, actually, the "first family" was mother and child/cub/pup--look at so many species where the mother raises the babies by herself. Humans may have grouped together in family packs for the sake of our intensive care needing infants. But in almost all groups, mates are looked for in other groups--in-breeding was never considered a good thing, or even allowed. And in the presently evolved familial group, one mother and one father has become the best bet for raising stable children, but there are always snags. Male and female children need the input from both parents'' sexual identities. These polygamist families seem to be lop-sided, as the African/Arab male dominant cultures are. That this is any kind of lifestyle is challenged by the ridicule of the children by children who have one mother/one father families. These children are considered "not normal" sadly.

[barcar55]

The New Testament states to be the husband of one wife.

[ndg1979]

Well janeyre, it seems as if some self-reflection is in order. Who are you to say that another person is right or wrong? If you have never been wrong, you can talk. And where is it written that having more than one wife is uncivilized? Janeyre, when was the last time you read your bible?

Let''s think about something for a second here. In the article, it was mentioned by the ladies that they are following the way that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob lived in the bible. For all of you religious followers who say that polygamy is immoral - chew on this - Abraham, "the father of many nations", had several wives and therefore, polygamy was very prevalent even in man''s early history as recorded by THE BIBLE. So, is polygamy really immoral? Should it be considered unclean by any human who can trace their lineage back to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Could your ancestors be the result of an ancient polygamist relationship? If so, that would make you "children of polygamists", no matter how many generations removed you are.

I don''t endorse polygamy, nor do I show hatred to those who practice it, but you must all consider the hard truth and evidence of its causes and effects. And if in the end, you still hold hatred for polygamists, then you should also stop going to church and reading your bible for two reasons - polygamy existed in ancient times and GOD says you should not hate! If you dislike polygamy %u2013 change the bible yourself %u2013 the Catholics did.

Here endeth the lesson.