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How did you come to understand about Polygamy?
- Thread starter rockfox
- Start date
I imagine as the odd man out that my path will be a little different as well.
My first exposure to the concept of plural marriage was likely like everyone else i.e. via the bible. For me growing up in a house full of secular academics the bible was never emphasized, reading junior encyclopedias and the like was more encouraged. They did go to church now and then however and my regular babysitter attended the same church far more regularly. So I ended up in Sunday school fairly frequently. You know the deal, bible stories and lesson and how you interpret these lessons to apply to children in helping to form morals and behavioral norms. Well I remember stories of men with multiple wives being told but unsurprisingly the plural marriage aspect was not discussed. I remember thinking it strange but don't believe I tried to analyze it further than that is how things were back then.
Later when I was about 8 or 9 I had settled on a favorite author that I imagine has been brought up on the site in the past, Robert Heinlein. His treatment of plural marriage is Very much not my own way of looking at plural marriage...in fact I think that it is a ludicrous notion that can only work in fiction. It got me thinking however and as I already liked girls albeit in a more unsure why they are so fascinating fashion than the way of a hormonal teenager or more rational adult might. Anyway, I was thinking about the idea of two or three wives/girlfriends more or less from that point forward. Even dated a pair of best friends in high school, one of whom I am now married to.
Later as an adult and in a long term relationship before we were married we discussed the notion of polygyny as she was also an avid reader of Heinlein. I should have pursued the notion at that time but I did not for a few years after we were married.
We discussed it several times over a few years and both agreed that Heinlein had a screw loose in how he wrote about his fictional plural marriages, that he was probably a degenerate swinger in his personal life and that we would walk a far more traditional polygyny road.
My first exposure to the concept of plural marriage was likely like everyone else i.e. via the bible. For me growing up in a house full of secular academics the bible was never emphasized, reading junior encyclopedias and the like was more encouraged. They did go to church now and then however and my regular babysitter attended the same church far more regularly. So I ended up in Sunday school fairly frequently. You know the deal, bible stories and lesson and how you interpret these lessons to apply to children in helping to form morals and behavioral norms. Well I remember stories of men with multiple wives being told but unsurprisingly the plural marriage aspect was not discussed. I remember thinking it strange but don't believe I tried to analyze it further than that is how things were back then.
Later when I was about 8 or 9 I had settled on a favorite author that I imagine has been brought up on the site in the past, Robert Heinlein. His treatment of plural marriage is Very much not my own way of looking at plural marriage...in fact I think that it is a ludicrous notion that can only work in fiction. It got me thinking however and as I already liked girls albeit in a more unsure why they are so fascinating fashion than the way of a hormonal teenager or more rational adult might. Anyway, I was thinking about the idea of two or three wives/girlfriends more or less from that point forward. Even dated a pair of best friends in high school, one of whom I am now married to.
Later as an adult and in a long term relationship before we were married we discussed the notion of polygyny as she was also an avid reader of Heinlein. I should have pursued the notion at that time but I did not for a few years after we were married.
We discussed it several times over a few years and both agreed that Heinlein had a screw loose in how he wrote about his fictional plural marriages, that he was probably a degenerate swinger in his personal life and that we would walk a far more traditional polygyny road.
For me I think it was watching episodes of "Big Love" with my wife.
LOL, I thought Big Love had way too much drama in it! The reality is a lot more domestic.
We suffered through the pilot and didn't care after that.
I really liked the Darger's book Love Times Three, but some Hollywood writers' ideas about what poly might look like seemed pointless.
So what Bible stories stick out to you the most, and why?
Are we talking in general terms or with respect to polygyny?
General terms.
Noah was my favorite.
In fact I'd say he's probably still my favorite. In essence from my point of view it's the story of a prepper who's always working. Guy who has a mission and goals. MAnages an absolutely Herculean task against considerable odds. A guy that is adapting to a very bad potential future and overcoming it. Dealing with the scorn of his fellows and moving along. Obviously there's a lot more to the story than that but that's a part that piques my interest.
As a child I imagine it was the because the story was very well Illustrated and had a lot more interesting subject matter for a little kid. Animals and boats and what have you.
I enjoyed that show here and there but Vastly prefer the domestic to the dramatic.
Like everyone else I have had my share of drama.
Would prefer the future hold partnership and common goals... friendship and shared weight of tasks and responsibilities across multiple sets of shoulders.
Answering the original question, I learned it by reading the scriptures at a very young and impressionable age (8) when I assumed scripture was all true and had no idea yet that other people didn't know, believe, and live it out. When I got older and found out people don't believe the scriptures, it was already too late. I believed them already and no one could change my mind. I guess that does not help with strategy except for the age old teach them when they are young approach everyone already knows to do with whatever doctrine or religion they have.