Voices in Harmony Excerpt - My Father Was Arrested

MY FATHER WAS ARRESTED!

It was still dark at 6:00 a.m. that Monday morning of March 7, 1944, in Salt Lake City. The sudden alarming commotion jarred my five-year-old heart into an anxiety I could not identify.

My eyes and ears and mind were aroused to an alertness most five-year-olds wouldn't dream of. My feet hardly touched the floor as I flew to the hallway to discover the cause of the rude awakening. The scenes and episodes that followed are indelible and shall forever remain a scar, the kind that pulls at the heart, a soul-stirring stimulant of searching to know the reasons for it all.

Through the early 1900's, [Mormon] "Fundamentalists", of necessity, lived on the underground. Later on my father and a few others were asked to live the patriarchal law openly [Plural marriage or polygamy]. So we did-all in one home. All went to the same school. We were as normal as any other folks on the street. Our three-story "castle" was actually a quaint humble cottage of peace and love and harmony, the kind that seems enough to last a lifetime, or two and indeed it has left its hallowed impression-the love and harmony, I mean. The home, with all its secret hideaways and antique enchantments, brings fond memories to us all.

Each of us has a story worth telling of the grand old days when, in spite of severe poverty, we knew we were rich in what counted most-family, the celestial kind. [Mormon theology] Every kind of good experience was ours.

Our parents, four of them, consisted of dad and three of the sweetest mothers this earth has produced. These three queens were mothers to all of us, and we were full brothers and sisters-no "halves" anywhere. Love was paramount-love of truth, love of God, love of family.

But let's go back to that morning in 1944. I stood at the top of the stairs looking down through the still darkened home (and, for some almost suspicious reason, the power was off that morning) to the front door just a few feet from the bottom of the stairs. With my eyes strained, I could barley make out two policemen who had just been let in the door (after they nearly broke it down), each with a flashlight in his hand. One of them referred to the other as "Sheriff Beckstead." The racket of shouts and demands was coming from every direction, for it seemed every window on the ground floor had a policeman stationed at it.

Two policemen had forced their way through the basement door and made their way up to the main floor to let two more plain-clothed men in the back door, with the help of more flashlights. They had no search warrant, but that didn't stop them from a fast and thorough rummaging through whatever they could get their hands on to confiscate for their intended benefit. Most of my brothers and sisters and my three mothers quickly began to emerge from their rooms in their nightclothes-each one wide-eyed with wonder and asking the same question, "What on earth is happening?" since I was smaller than most, I darted through and around the crowd and was at the bottom of the stairs almost before I knew it-just in time to see one of the policemen roughly grab one of my mothers by the arm and demand a match with which to light his cigarette.

He held his flashlight as he waited, but had no charity for her long search in the dark (about two minutes) for the matches. He lost no time giving her a piece of his crude mouth. I was shocked and scared for I had never witnessed such offensiveness. My mother was assisted by one kind man to replace a fuse in the fuse box, and then the power went on. (All of the above happened almost simultaneously, it seemed.)

Immediately the two policemen who had come in the front door began demanding the husband and father. Having been told he was upstairs, they gained the top [of the stairs] by four or five leaps, but were met on the top landing by two of my very brave sisters who had locked wrists together and secured their other arms around the pole at either side at the top of the stairs, determined thereby to thwart the progress of these two intruders. There I was again, right behind the bullies, and oh, was I proud of my sisters, whom I would forever love for their courage and daring!

The two strong policemen took only a moment, however, to break through the stronghold and, in the process, gave me a kick that sent me faltering backwards four or five steps where I landed in a heap. Upstairs, they located my father's bedroom/office in the center of the hallway and gave the door a bang! The door opened instantly, for dad had already begun to open it. Then they grabbed my angel father, one on each arm. "What?" he exclaimed, wide-eyed. "You're under arrest!" they shouted. "Aren't you going to let me get my pants on?" he asked in dismay. "We'll give you exactly one minute!" they snapped as they shoved him backwards and he landed on his back! Needless to say, all this alarm and shock had its effects, for by then many of us were crying or muffling hysteria. In that one minute the officers began snapping questions at my mother.

She tried her best to give them exactly what they demanded, but my father caught her attention as he came from his room, still buttoning his trousers in front with one hand and carrying his shoes and shirt in the other. "Don't answer them! He demanded. "You don't have to answer anything at all." But when they persisted with their questions, to some of the children as well, he spoke more emphatically, "Do not answer them." They grabbed him roughly, and I saw my father wince in pain as they shoved a gun to his ribs, treating him as though he was a criminal. Without the slightest animosity he said, "I'll go peaceably if you'll let me." (He later showed us the huge bruises over a good portion of his back.)

They forced him down the stairs, past the sobbing family members, and out into the early dawn where he got into the back of a police car and sat between two policemen. They left speedily with sirens screaming to wake up the neighborhood and make sure that everyone knew of their great accomplishment. After daddy left, you can imagine the bewilderment and depth of confusion that enveloped us. What now? What would our future be? What we didn't know until later was that the same scene was being enacted just three miles away at the home of our uncle and his family, as well as others very dear to us.

Newspaper headlines all over the world declared the stories of relentless trails and persecution, of intimate and sacred family relationships of Fundamentalists for more than a year-and intermittently for many years thereafter. The only competition that these headlines met with was the throes of the great world war that was going on, and the war news often took second page. Also mentioned were the changes in the LDS Church presidency following the death of President Heber J. Grant. Church, State and FBI officials were determined to make a show of the "Fundamentalist's" arrests to the world.

During one of the earlier trails, when my father was asked if he had anything to say, he stood before the judge, with neither fear nor shame, and declared these profound words: "Justice has not been served! The July 3, 1944, issue of Life contained the pictures of my father's family for all the world to see. Sad to say, our courts are not courts of justice, but rather courts of law! More than a year later (May 14, 1945), following all the trails and heartache, 15 of the 46 men arrested were sentenced to from one to five years [in prison].

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VOICES IN HARMONY

http://www.principlevoices.org/index.php?topic=VoicesinHarmony

Authors and Compilers:
Mary Batchelor * Marianne Watson * Anne Wilde

About the Book

This book is a unique collection of original essays
written by plural wives in their own words.

Some of the plural wives who submitted essays for
inclusion in this book are speaking publicly for the
first time. In the past many of these women have
chosen to remain silent rather than risk revealing
their identities. This publication has provided them
with a medium wherein they could feel comfortable in
sharing their thoughts, ideas, feelings and emotions.
Along with their stories, the reader will find
important and enlightening background material
discussing events and doctrines leading up to
contemporary polygamy.

This book meets the authors' four aims: (1) to present
a positive voice for plural marriage, (2) to
demonstrate that a significant number of women have
freely chosen to accept this lifestyle, (3) to help
dispel false stereotypes, and (4) to allow plural
wives to speak and be heard.

This book reveals that plural wives are diverse,
independent and balanced and have found meaning and
fulfillment in their chosen lifestyle. Voices in
Harmony will surely take its place among other
significant historical and scholarly works.

~ Excerpts from the Preface, by Carolyn Campbell

Endorsements

D. Michael Quinn
Affiliated Scholar in the Center for Feminist
Research, ..University of Southern California. Author of
"LDS Church Authority and New Plural Marriages,
1890-1904," Dialogue 18, Spring 1985 & Mormon
Hierarchy, Signature Books.

"This is a book without parallel for those interested
in studying modern American family life. Even the most
casual reader will be interested in its statistical
profiles of 100 women who have lived as wives in
polygamous households. These women's personal essays
do not fit the outsider's stereotypes. From
19-year-olds to women of retirement age, these plural
wives are intelligent, articulate, and integrated
within modern society. An outsider may regard their
faith as odd and their devotion to plural marriage as
even stranger, but this book reveals these plural
wives as diverse, devout, intelligent, and interesting
women."

Professor Martha Sonntag Bradley University of Utah.
Author, Kidnapped from That Land: The Government raids
on the Short Creek Polygamists

"This collection of testimonials from women living
plural marriage adds a missing link in our efforts to
better understand the principle. With poignancy, a
sense of the spirit, and a deep respect for plurality,
these women speak to their own experience and tell us
how plurality feels to them. As such, it is an
important contribution to the growing body of
literature about the practice of plural marriage. For
them an affirmation of their chosen lifestyle, for us
a window into the fascinating private world of
plurality."

Ken Driggs
Attorney at Law
Author of several articles on Mormon History and the
law. Ken has also written about Fundamentalist Mormon
polygamists. (see www.kendriggs.com)

"Fundamentalist Mormons have rarely been allowed to
tell their own story, especially the women who elect
to enter plural relationships. This book listens
respectfully to these women who write about their
lives based upon belief and tradition, and they should
be taken seriously. These plural wives explain their
unorthodox choices--choices made in religious faith
and in a commitment to a Mormon way of life left
behind over 100 years ago by the largely successful
LDS Church. There simply is nothing else available
with gives the reader these insights."

Professors Irwin Altman & Joseph Ginat Co-authors,
Polygamous Families in Contemporary Society. Dr.
Altman is a Distinguished Professor of psychology,
University of Utah. Dr. Ginat is Professor of Social
and Cultural Anthropology, University of Haifa,
Israel.

"An excellent review of theological, historical and
legal underpinnings of fundamentalist Mormon polygamy.
Of special interest are the 100 essays by women who
describe their marriages and relationships with
co-wives in contemporary plural families. Specifically
designed to counteract public statements by those
opposed to plural marriage, the volume in general, and
the personal accounts in particular, offer a unique
perspective on modern plural family life. The volume
is well worth reading; it can contribute to informed,
constructive, and rational discussions and policy
making regarding this unusual American family
lifestyle."

Professor B. Carmon Hardy History Professor,
California State University at Fullerton. Author,
Solemn Covenant; The Mormon Polygamous Passage

"Historians always value firsthand accounts. This
gathering of personal observations by contemporary
polygamous women is, therefore, especially
significant. It is a most timely project, important to
everyone interested in this fascinating topic."

How to Order

To order your copy or copies of Voices in Harmony:
Contemporary Women Celebrate Plural Marriage, please
send your check or money order for $20 per book (plus
$3 shipping), payable to PRINCIPLE VOICES at the
following address-

Principle Voices
c/o 3332 E. Fort Union Blvd.
Salt Lake City, UT 84121

For any questions, please email us at
mary@principlevoices.org. Voices in Harmony is also
available through Amazon at www.amazon.com.

Obtain the book here:

http://www.amazon.com/Voices-Harmony-Contemporary-Celebrate-Marriage/dp/...