Yet another religious cult raided

[kandrathe]

Gay marriage, whether you like it or not, is based on equality just like a marriage between 2 adult heterosexuals.
Polygamists marriages are absolutely not based on equality, they are just ' a nice' bonus for those who invent a new religion or an extra stimulus for men to join that religion.
Same goes for forced marriages that are still common in countries like the middle east and India.

eppie, this was hardly conceived of as a bonus for men. It goes all the way back to the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith and a vision he claimed to have received from God which indicated that through Polygamy the church would flourish. Joe Smith Jr's new religion was a little too weird for Vermont in 1826, so he and his wife moved west to Palmyra, Pennsylvania to avoid legal entanglements. His church grew in that area until 1830, when the local community pressures began to boil again. Joe received a vision again and they moved further west to Missouri and Ohio.

According to Wikipedia, "However, due to the controversy which followed him, he was not to escape persecution for long. In March of 1832, a violent mob came to Smith's house and attacked him. According to recorded accounts of the event, the mob broke down the front door, took Smith's oldest surviving adopted child from his arms, and dragged Smith from the room. The mob beat, tarred and feathered, and attempted to poison Joseph."

Then in 1838, "2,500 troops from the Missouri state militia converged on the Mormon headquarters at Far West. They raided Far West, ransacked their homes, raped their women and killed several. Smith and several other Church leaders were brought into the Missouri Militia by Colonel George M. Hinkle under false pretenses. Hinkle then handed the prisoners over to General Lucas. They were held at Liberty Jail, and spent several months in captivity. They were later transferred to a jail in Columbia, Missouri."

So, you see that the trouble for LDS and now FLDS has its roots in the beginnings of the religion. They have always practiced what they are practicing now. I don't believe they are in it for the sex or the arranged marriages with under aged girls, but are practicing their beliefs and are in it for the bearing of many (FLDS) children. This issue of Polygamy, and arranged marriages by the leader "prophet" caused a schism in the LDS, which subsequently caused the pro-polygamists to splinter off even before Utah became a State. They migrated to Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona area and flourished, and finally re-founded their church as FLDS in 1930.

They have not changed. It is society that has encroached upon their beliefs and territory.