How the Manifesto Manifests
Yesterday in Sunday School the topic of President Woodruff and the Manifesto came up. (Manifesto being the official statement from the church ending polygamy). I had never realized that the US government had treatened to take over the temples, and that would have in essence ended the work for the living and the dead. Nevertheless, President Woodruff made the statement that it was the Lord ending the practice of polygamy, not the threats of the US government.
I was sitting next to my neighbor, Alyce, and I leaned over and said, "Can you imagine being told by the prophet that Ken was no longer your husband?"
She looked up at me, startled. "I'd never thought of it like that before."
Then the aha came to me.
I am the product of several polygamous marriages. In fact, I remember my grandfather meticulously keeping photographs of his "uncles" who were incarcerated (and eventually pardoned) for continuing to practice polygamy.
I am the product of women who were in essence left without husbands. They had to take their children, their homes, and make it on their own. Do we consider how their hearts were broken? Do we consider their feelings of betrayal, of anger, and eventually of submission? Do we consider how it made those women feel about men.
It is in my DNA to be self-sufficient. It is in my DNA to be the provider, the leader, and the "power woman". Is it any wonder that I have struggled in marriage, balancing the fear that the husband will leave with the fear that I might lose control of the marriage?
This was a huge realization, and with that realization comes the necessity to end the pattern. I don't want to pass this on to my daughters and granddaughters.
There can be balance in a marriage, an equal partnership. God give me the strength and courage to find it.
I was sitting next to my neighbor, Alyce, and I leaned over and said, "Can you imagine being told by the prophet that Ken was no longer your husband?"
She looked up at me, startled. "I'd never thought of it like that before."
Then the aha came to me.
I am the product of several polygamous marriages. In fact, I remember my grandfather meticulously keeping photographs of his "uncles" who were incarcerated (and eventually pardoned) for continuing to practice polygamy.
I am the product of women who were in essence left without husbands. They had to take their children, their homes, and make it on their own. Do we consider how their hearts were broken? Do we consider their feelings of betrayal, of anger, and eventually of submission? Do we consider how it made those women feel about men.
It is in my DNA to be self-sufficient. It is in my DNA to be the provider, the leader, and the "power woman". Is it any wonder that I have struggled in marriage, balancing the fear that the husband will leave with the fear that I might lose control of the marriage?
This was a huge realization, and with that realization comes the necessity to end the pattern. I don't want to pass this on to my daughters and granddaughters.
There can be balance in a marriage, an equal partnership. God give me the strength and courage to find it.
posted by Lianne at 1:58 PM
1 Comments:
Wow. That's a lot of interesting thoughts. I hadn't thought about that piece of the Manifesto. Poor women. No wonder so many of that generation had some "issues" with the church, etc. They must have felt abandoned.
But I also see once again how God has given us lessons from the past to assist us with the future. He never abandons us, though the road may get a little lonely at times.
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