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BRADY WILLIAMS HAS five wives, 24 children but no organised religion.
The newest polygamous family from Utah on reality TV considers itself progressive and independent. Williams and his wives slowly withdrew from the fundamentalist Mormon church in their rural community outside of Salt Lake City during the mid-2000s after re-evaluating their core beliefs.
The family no longer teaches the tenets of fundamental Mormonism to their children at home, opting instead to take from other teachings such as Buddhism to instill good, morale values in their two dozen children, who range in age from 2-20.
“Since we have left the religion, it’s now about love and it’s about commitment, and it’s about happiness as a family,” said Brady Williams, 43, a project manager in his brother’s construction business. “It’s not about the fear of hell or the promise of heaven.”
It wasn’t the first time Brady Williams has crossed religious lines. As a teenager, his parents left mainstream Mormonism and joined polygamy. He said that transition was very difficult, but not as hard as leaving the fundamentalist church his five wives all grew up in.
Family members pray for them to repent and return
The women still have family members in the church who pray for them to repent and return. They haven’t been ostracised by family and friends in the community, but town leaders have made it clear to Brady Williams, a former church leader, that they prefer the family leave town.
Dealing with that scrutiny may help the Williams as they brace for newfound attention now that TLC has debuted the one-hour special about the family, called My Five Wives. The show, which airs again tonight in the States, could turn into a full series depending on ratings.
Non-affiliated plural families are actually quite common among the estimated 38,000 fundamentalists who practice or believe in polygamy, most living in Utah and other western states, said Anne Wilde, co-founder of a polygamy advocacy group called Principle Voices. The group estimates that about 15,000 are independent like the Williams.
History of polygamy
The two largest organised polygamist churches are Warren Jeff’s Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on the Utah-Arizona border and the Apostolic United Brethren in northern Utah, of which the Williams used to belong.
A statue of Mormon pioneer leader Brigham Young stands in front of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Temple in Salt Lake City. Pic: AP/PA archive.
The practice of polygamy is a legacy of the early teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The mainstream church abandoned polygamy in 1890 as Utah moved toward statehood.
The family lives in two large multiplexes built by Brady Williams that sit across a valley from a breathtaking mountain range. One is a two-storey building that resembles a motel with three green doors on the bottom level, each the house of one of the wives. The other two wives live in the ground floor of an adjacent four-plex.
The house in which the Williamses live. Pics: AP Photo/Rick Bowmer/PA Images.
How it works day-to-day
Two of the wives work outside the home and one in the construction business. The other two are taking college courses. Two of the wives are cousins, and all have been married to Brady Williams for at least 14 years.
The five wives take turns fixing dinners on weeknights for 30 hungry people. Rosemary, the third wife, likes to experiment with new recipes while the other wives stick with the old standbys like spaghetti.
“It’s like having Thanksgiving dinner five nights a week,” Brady Williams said.
The family is taking some risk in coming out: polygamy is illegal in Utah and the trailblazers for polygamous families on reality TV, the Browns of the “Sister Wives” show, fled Utah for Las Vegas in 2011 after a local prosecutor opened an investigation after the first season aired.
No charges were filed, but the family uprooted their lives and moved permanently to Nevada. The Browns challenged Utah’s prohibition on plural marriage and a ruling is pending from a federal judge.
Law not enforced once it involves consenting adults
The Utah Attorney General’s office does not enforce the law against consenting adults unless there is another crime involved such as child abuse, domestic violence or fraud, said spokesman Paul Murphy.
Rosemary Williams, the third wife, said the fear of prosecution is always in the back of their minds, though they feel there is more acceptance for polygamous today than when the Browns came out. Brady Williams said the increasing social and legal acceptance of gay marriage has helped society open up toward plural marriage. But he’s still concerned, which is why the show isn’t saying exactly where they live for the family’s safety.
At home with the Williamses. Pic: AP Photo/Rick Bowme/PA Images.
In addition to the Browns and now the Williams family, TLC also has done a special featuring the Darger family of Utah. HBO’s fictional show about a polygamous family, “Big Love,” ran for five seasons.
Negative myths
These shows create nervousness among plural families but the net impact is positive for the polygamous community because they help dispel many of the negative myths, said Wilde, of Principle Voices.
The Williams family said it chose to do the TV show after declining previous offers to show that polygamy can be healthy and stable.
“There is an unhealthy stigma attached to polygamy,” Brady Williams said. “There is nothing wrong with consenting adults living and loving how they choose.”
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Postal voting for emigrants wouldn’t be palatable here. The establishment wouldn’t allow it because it’s their policies that have forced people to migrate in the first place
US citizens abroad pay tax to their own government. Totally different scenario than here.
Firstly this isn’t a federal election it’s run by the Democratic Party for it’s members to decide their nominee for the presidential election, secondly do you understand the percentage of US citizens abroad who are eligible to vote in national elections is a fraction compared to the number of Irish citizens that are abroad and would be eligible under similar legislation, it has nothing to do with the establishment it’s that our situation is vastly different regarding the percentage of emigrants who would be eligible when compared to countries that do allow emigrants to vote
Do you ever question why there are so many of our people abroad?, our state has failed its youth time and again and we treat them like.. “shut the door on the way out”. What are we so worried about, it’s not like there are millions mad to line up and vote in our elections. If there was even a 5 year limit put on it or something I think people should get a chance to have a say on the future of their country. If I had no intention of coming back I wouldn’t go to the bother of trying to vote, why would I
Fair point Ian, I’ll get my coat
1/6 (officially, so it’s probably closer to 1/5 in reality) of our eligible voters are alienated by our establishment, cast off like those aboard the coffin ships centuries ago. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
The same people who on at least a weekly basis read Irish newspapers, watch Irish television, buy Irish products, play GAA, and regularly Skype home are deprived their right to have a say in the affairs of the country they were forced to leave.
http://www.globalirish.ie/2016/i-was-wrong-but-emigrants-will-get-voting-rights-eventually/
US citizens only pay tax on their income earned overseas over and above 100,000 USD.
Paying tax is not a requirement in order to vote. A large percentage of Irish residents don’t pay any net tax into the system. Some have never paid a cent of income tax. Should they be deprived of their right to vote?
The other argument that ‘the number of emigrants is such that they would distort the voting pattern’ is an interesting one.
One can just as easily argue that so many working age emigrants, especially 20-40 year olds leaving Ireland has already severely distorted voting patterns locally. Just because you don’t see their votes doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a major impact.
Many countries allot a couple of legislators for their overseas residents to vote for to ensure they continue to have a voice and input in their homeland. They don’t necessarily get to vote for the President although some certainly can like US citizens.
Also emigrants aren’t all of one voice of course, they have disparate political opinions and backgrounds and concerns.
I hate this myth that Irish abroad don’t pay tax so therefore shouldn’t have a vote. We don’t pay tax on our income however you are still liable for Irish tax on any income on Irish assets or worldwide capital gains/investment income until you are no longer tax resident in Ireland which takes 3 years from you leaving the country.
Don’t forget that’s 100k cash salary… And there’s no such thing as taxable benefits or benefit in kind for Americans abroad.
Most Americans working abroad rack up $100′s of thousands of employee paid for benefits, housing, mortgage paid on US property, healthcare, car, private school fees for kids, several business class flights home a year as employer paid for as allowances related to working abroad that aren’t taxable.
I know one who has a €20k a month lease on a crazy size penthouse. Always complaining he can’t take that as salary.
I just can’t help but finding it funny,one table and polling box..they still have to have a sign “VOTE HERE”
Sparky did you see any of the spoiled votes here despite all the signs saying how to vote correctly. I only wish they had a sign saying vote Bernie.
The man America needs right now is Bernie Sanders, sadly, it looks like instead of that they’ll have a choice between Trump & Hillary, and that is not a good pair to have to pick from!
I hope when Sanders loses he’ll have the cojones to endorse Jill Stein for the Green Party, who has far more in common with him than Hillary.
Very true James. I have not heard her name mentioned in any media though.
Clinton seems to have it sewn up at this stage.
Americans abroad can vote as can French, Germans,Brits…but not Irish. We of the Irish diaspora demand our right to vote in home elections. Attention UN and European Court.
Tldr
Tldr?
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