Quote:
Originally Posted by SisterofJared
The fact is, food stamp requirements do not require that all the household be husband/wife/children. A niece can live with you and you get food stamps for them. A group of unrelated people can live together and get food stamps. It's based on the number of people and the income, not relationship. So it's obviously not fraud for a man to get food stamps for his 3 wives and 12 kids.
As for it being immoral.... I'm sorry, it's no more immoral for the polygamist to get those benefits than the man with one wife and three kids. The program is an immoral program. It is socialist and is against the free agency God gave us.
I also feel empathy towards a people that are just living as they believe God commanded them to live. Yes, a modern day prophet has revealed that we are to no longer practice polygamy. However, most of the world, including FLDS, do not recognize him as a prophet of God. I think it is unconscionable to expect any person or group to violate the rules that they believe are from God. And yes, the article of faith says We believe in honoring the law of the land. But another article of Faith also states, "We claim the priviledge of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same priviledge; Let them worship who, where, or what they may."
It's time we stop prosecuting and persecuting polygamists. The fact that polygamy is even illegal is because of an interventist government policy to butt into citizens lives and regulate their business. When Joseph Smith revealed polygamy, it was not illegal. It became illegal after the fact as people were outraged at this unconventional practice. Because the people of that time, and hence the government, could not MYOB, dedicated fathers who only sought to follow a commandment from their God, were thrown in jail, and many had to flee the country. It was wrong for the government to interfere then, and it is wrong for them to interfere today.
That being so, the idea that polygamists have less right to government resources is bunk. No one should be able to redistribute wealth, not the guy with one wife and one children or the polygamist. But only for the reasons that the welfare state is immoral and anti-freedom and a pawn of satan.
Sister of Jared
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Thank you for that post. It is good to see members of the LDS church who have thought this through and see it for what it is.
One of the saddest and most disappointing things this last year for me has been the reaction of many members of the LDS church to this debacle down in Texas and the response of the LDS church itself, sending out Quentin Cook to beg the media to make a distinction and make sure everyone knew they weren't part of the LDS church. Never once did the church express concern for the FLDS families or the children torn from their parents. They didn't have to condone plural marriage but some sympathy at least for the children would have been nice. But instead they were most worried about the image of the church and how the situation would affect that image.
This year was the first time I was ever angry at the LDS church. I may have left and don't agree with it's teachings but I was never angry at it until this year.