“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Matthew 5: 14-16
Accepting opportunities to grow
This scripture was weighing very heavily on our minds this past spring as we considered accepting an opportunity that we never imagined would come to us. It took many months of prayer and consideration for us to come to a decision. Plural marriage is a lifestyle and a belief that has received so much negative publicity. Very few media outlets ever report good stories concerning adherents to plural marriage and Mormon Fundamentalist beliefs.
We’ve even heard it said that polygamists are safe in Utah as long as we keep our heads down and stay in the shadows. In a land that professes to offer liberty and justice for all, we sincerely believe that there is no reason that consenting adults peacefully practicing their religious beliefs together should be forced to live their lives in the shadows.
Being on a reality TV show
This past March we were approached by a producer from a large television network about the possibility of our family participating on a reality tv show. We hadn’t considered that we would ever be asked to appear on a show like this, so it was a bit shocking. We know the reputation that reality tv has, and we were concerned about whether our family would be portrayed accurately or not. It took us several months of deliberation to come to our decision to appear on the second season of “Seeking Sister Wife”. We still aren’t sure if our family will be presented faithfully, but one thing this does accomplish for us is that it gives us an opportunity to present a positive side of plural marriage.
We want to portray plural marriage positively
Being that this is reality tv, we can’t be assured that it will present our family in a positive light. We know that there will always be naysayers, malcontents, and narrow minded bigots who will look at any family living the way that we are, and they will simply be unable to accept that a family in our situation could be happy and loving. We understand that putting our family out there like this can open us up to a lot of scrutiny. We’ve been very vulnerable in our journey so far, and will continue to be moving forward. At the end of the day it’s important for us to let people know that we don’t choose to live this way because it’s easy, or popular. We don’t believe this way because it’s glamorous. We suffer from the same hardships, trials, and faults as people in any other loving relationship. We’ve never intended to sugar coat or varnish the hard and controversial aspects of our beliefs.
Letting our light shine
We are fully aware that there are people in our lives, and people who will watch this show who will not approve of what we believe and what we are trying to accomplish. We have no doubt that there will be people who will feel that we are most certainly not portraying an example of something that is holy, and sacred. In the end our thoughts always turn to our predecessors in this faith.
They strived to raise a banner for all the world to see. They toiled relentlessly to build their Zion, a community for the pure in heart. In all of this they suffered decades of persecution and hardship. We very much believe that we, as well as many other good and righteous families subscribing to ideals of early Mormonism, are in many ways the inheritors of their struggle and their blessings. We believe in a gospel that doesn’t change based on popular opinion. So while there may be some who feel we are not letting our light shine forth, all that we can do is our best to live up to what we believe that God has called us to be.