I was out east this week and went out to dinner with my clients and of course they asked me were I was from in the first two minutes, to which I replied, "Utah".

As soon as I said it, I realized I had just dictated the conversation for the evening and sure enough, the questions about Warren Jeffs and polygamy came flyng fast and furious. After the evening's fun, it occured to me that I should write a little FAQ about polygamy, the FLDS church and Warren Jeffs since the media is of course, sensationalizing this story for their own purposes.

So why would I presume to try to inform you on the subject? I've lived in Utah for eight years and taken a more than passing interest in its history and culture. I think I have every book published on Mormon polygamy in the last 30 years and have read many Mormon history articles, theses and other source material. I know and have discussed polygamy with actual polygamists.

I think I'll write a series of posts starting today and through the weekend to deal with various aspects of the practice and the current situation of polygamy here in the intermountain west. They'll be clearly marked, so if you aren't interested you can just skip to something else.

First up: History.