Hi Cinepro,
If a guy blogged about why he would sleep with Eliza Snow ("she was a great poet, and had fantastic breasts, and I love breasts and poetry"), or Emma Smith (she was a take-charge kind of woman who knew what she wanted, and I really like that...) we would probably consider him slightly odd, and maybe disturbed.
But what does it say about Joseph Smith that a woman in 2008 could even write something like that? There are certainly "Joseph Smiths" in our day, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised that there would be Zina Huntington's in our day as well(?).
Just like there are all sorts of men who would easily forget their wives, families, and marriage vows to sleep with a beautiful woman regardless of her character, so too there are plenty of women who would gladly sleep with a famous and powerful man regardless of his character.
Just look at movie or sports stars.. a certain type of woman thinks sleeping with (attaching to) a famous guy validates her worth.
Regarding the girls and women who became Joseph Smith's "wives", some most likely did it out of fear, some due to total obedience, some for the eternal rewards, some for higher status and prestige, and lots of combinations of the above. :-)
There are many LDS women I know today who would not think twice of leaving their husbands to become one of Joseph Smith's wives if they had the option. There are also women I know who would obey anything the prophet said even if it meant secretly sleeping with a leader of the church without their husbands knowing. And of course, like in the early days of the church women could "trade up", leaving their husbands (even without a divorce), to become the wife of a more powerful, "righteous" man, I'm pretty sure lots of women would trade up if they could.
Lots of LDS men hoping for the day they get a harem may discover that they end up with nothing because there are a lot more higher status guys, (and young male offspring of the higher status guys), that will get all the desirable women. (Hopefully they will have stopped the practice of sexually using girls in heaven).
The promise of eternal rewards combined with the powerful force of absolute obedience to leaders, seem to replace rational thinking, care, integrity, honesty, decency, and even love, in many organizations, cults, and religions that use the above techniques for control.
~td~
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