The 19th Wife

The topic that kept me interested enough to finish this 15-disc audio book was the history of Mormonism and their belief in polygamy.  In this book, the autobiography of Anne-Eliza Young was intertwined with the present day story of Jordan Scott.  Anne-Eliza was officially deemed the title of The 19th Wife of Brigham Young, when in reality she was probably number 27.  Although there is no record of the exact number of wives he had, it is widely speculated that Brigham Young had 57.  Meanwhile, in 2001, Jordan Scott was exiled from a polygamist colony in Southern Utah at age fourteen, when he is involved in a scandal.  Six years later, he returns to Mesa Dale to visit his mother who is in prison for allegedly murdering her husband.  She was also wife number nineteen.   In between these two story-lines are excerpts from historical documents from the BYU library and the diaries of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and Chauncey Webb; not to mention several newspaper articles from both time periods (late 1800's and 2006-2007.)

Before I go on, I must make it clear that modern Mormons do not believe in or practice polygamy.  In this book, Anne-Eliza describes her apostasy from the Mormon religion in an effort to eradicate plural marriage.  In 1890, President of the Latter-Day Saints, Wilfred Woodruff, put an end to polygamy.  Those that insisted on keeping the faith of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young -- which included the belief that Celestial Marriage as the only way to enter into the eternal kingdom -- broke off from the Mormon church and became known as the "Firsts," or The First Latter-Day Saints.  Aaron Webb became their first profit and they moved their colony to Red Creek, Utah, which is now known as Mesa Dale.

I just gave away the ending of the book, but if you read any history of the Mormon church, that is what you will find.  As a fan of historical fiction, I found the book to be fascinating and informative.  It is actually a fictional story of Jordan Scott intertwined with the non-fiction accounts of early Latter-Day Saints.  After living in Utah for a year during my early twenties and visiting the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City numerous times, I still knew practically nothing about the Mormon religion.  I'm ashamed of my ignorance.

The 19th Wife describes Joseph Smith's visions and how the very beginning of the religion was formed.  They were responsible for a large part of the western migration and for bringing thousands of immigrants to our country to worship with them in Zion.  It also describes why they believed in plural marriage.  I was extremely impressed with the layout of this book and the knowledge it gave me.  In order to understand the fictional story of Jordan Scott, it was important to have the historical background described to the reader throughout the majority of the book.  Some parts were shocking; I found myself absolutely appalled.  I was grateful to be reading the account of Anne-Eliza and how she escaped from under Brigham Young's power to spread the word about the evils of polygamy.  However, the story was told in such a way that I was torn between loathing and feeling empathy for the faithful followers of Young and their unbending belief in plural marriage.  For this exact reason, I can understand why so many women did not follow Anne-Eliza's path and instead stayed with the church and in their homes with their multiple sister-wives. 

As with any story involving cultural and religious history, I was left satisfied and enriched.  While some might find this book insulting or "hoaky," I found it very insightful.  I would recommend it to anyone interested in the topic.