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Comment by throwaway85825 | Hacker News Reader

The founder of mormonism married a child and given that mormon doctrine is just whatever he said definitionaly it's an official sanctioned thing.

Some coercion? It was entirely external pressure. Some of the mormons haven't even stopped polygamy today.

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> Some of the mormons haven't even stopped polygamy today.

Using the term 'Mormon' to refer to the the entire family tree including splinter sects is just a recipe for confusion. Adherents to splinter sects, excluding RLDS, number in the tens of thousands compared to millions of CoJCoLDS. The problems with CoJCoLDS are damning on their own without needing to conflate facts with fringe groups.

Go on, without looking it up, name the three dominant schools of Islam.

And what? If someone said "some Muslims haven't even stopped slavery today," my statement would apply equally there.

I've heard several LDS adherents talk about these people and I get the impression that they really don't appreciate the practices or the negative media attention that the polygamists bring to their faith. It's rather out of character for each of the people I heard this from to speak ill of anybody at all so I'm pretty sure they feel strongly about it.

As an atheist I don't claim loudmouth internet "GoD iSnT ReAl ShEePlE" edgelords so I understand the frustration.

In the 1800s, when children had mining and factory jobs and didn't go to school past age 12. Trying to position that as Mormonism condones child abuse is bonkers, imo

So because children were forced to work dangerous jobs it's okay for adult religious leaders to have sex with them? I'm not sure I follow that.

You should research polygamy in the mainline (Brighamite) sect if you haven't already. One of the last marriages to the the mormon prophet Lorenzo Snow was to a 15 year old. Snow was 57 at the time. This was not normal despite any assertion about children working.

Source: www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/1c2omo0/the_wives_of_lorenzo_snow/

Who was considered an adult changed over time as our society changed. When there were no schools, most labor was physical, etc. then puberty was often seen as the natural line between children and adults because a 14-15 year old could have all the attributes and adult had: job, income, status, etc. As we moved to a society where school was mandatory till 18 (and now nearly till 22), our attitudes about when people become adults also changed. Now we are at a point where a 20-30 year old adult being with an 18 year old is seen as taboo, even though all are adults, this is largely because as a society we have moved to a point where childhood has extended from 18 now until one is secure in career and finances (mid 20s).

I'd still maintain that marrying with large age gaps isn't child abuse, and when you claim child abuse is condoned by the Mormons you know what people assume vs what it actually is. You are just trying to be inflammatory.

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