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I love Big Love on HBO.This is what started my fascination with polygamy, so I started reading about it in my spare time. The I got this book Shattered Dreams by Irene Spencer. It is a memoir about her life as a polygamist. She was a fourth generation polygamist born in 1937, she got married when she was 16 to her half sister's husband, and became his second wife which is significant since it began his walk as a polygamist. She was married to him for 28 years and had 14 children with him (13 single births and one infant adoption), he had 10 wives and 58 children when he died at the age of 51 in a car accident.
The really interesting thing about her story is hearing the guilt and condemnation she lived under to earn eternal glory and become a goddess with her sister wives and husband in their own world. After her husband died she met another man, married him and started living a life of monogamy. She has 119 grandchildren and 39 great-grandchildren3 of her 13 children are practicing polygamy at this time. One of her sons, not practicing the principle, asked her to come to Anchorage Alaska where he took her to his church. She knew he had become a Christian so she took her book of Mormon with her to correct his misgivings and went to the church to hear what he was being taught. During her first visit there she truly received Christ. After almost 50 years of living with the fear of eternal damnation she heard the gospel and experienced God's loving grace. That was the most amazing part of the story and I had only picked the book up to learn more about polygamy. It was such a testament to me and reminded me of what life is like without Jesus.
http://www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/authorslounge/articles/2007/august/article25447.html
