User blogs
Dear Friends, It is nice to see that there are so many believers in Christ here on the site. Moreover, many people classify themselves as “Spiritual” and that signals, to me any way, that they recognize things beyond just the natural world. What I wanted to share with you today, is a revelation I had about what a “man” is.
In Genesis 1:26 God says,
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
The part I think is very interesting is that God did not
say, let Me make man in My image and likeness.
Man is made in the image of Himself and someone (s) else. What I have come to personally believe is
that we are made in the image of God and His Seraphim.
The part, though, that is relevant to those who wish to find
a life partner is that to be a whole man, you need both and man and a
woman.
God says, in Genesis 1:27,
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them”
Therefore, it is necessary to have both a
man and a woman in order to be made in the image of God.
Thus, beyond the biological imperative to
mate, there is a spiritual component that we feel deeply. Many describe their mate as “their better
half” or “the one who completes me.” This,
in a very real sense, is absolutely true and we instinctively know this in our spirits.
Therefore, when looking for a mate or
mates, we recognize and understand that we are seeking completion and not
just physical satisfaction.
I have often thought that those who only look for sex in multiple mate
relationships, leave more than 90% of what God created intimacy to be on the
table.It is the spiritual uniting
between a man and woman that is the better part of any relationship, with our
souls and bodies coming into play as a supporting role.
Moreover, when we make love we realize that we are completing someone that God made very good. We honor the other person and care for them as God would care, knowing that they are His creation.
Big hugs and lots of love,
Michael
Dear Friends, The nice thing about the net is that we can meet people from all over. The difficult thing about the net is the potential for long distance relationships. In fact, unless you live near a large, metropolitan area, you are almost guaranteed to have some distance between you. Since one of my wives is from another country, I know what this is like.
The fact is, true love conquers all, even a ocean's worth of separation. However, there has to be something really special between you to make it work. For us, we were drawn together by the Holy Spirit. I remember being in the middle of Africa, where very few people spoke English, and I looked a woman praising God during worship. My spirit felt like it wanted to jump out of me and go be with her and I heard God say, "She is to be your wife." I knew, that I knew, that I knew, that I was supposed to be her husband. The rest is a long story of many miracles, which I might share later, but the point I want to make today is that the type of love that will make a long distance relationship work is from above. If there is a spiritual connection with your potential mate, it will draw you together no matter what the obstacles. All of my three mates have been like this and I feel strongly that any other mates will be powerful, spiritual partners too.
What is not always understood, for many who are drawn to this lifestyle, it is a spiritual need within them. Natural minded people think it is all about sex, but that is simply not true. For a couple or a group to be open to share their love and lives with each other, many times it is God who is directing them to do so.
Poly is a difficult family relationship for a few reasons. For one, most of us are not brought up in that type of culture, so we have no real world examples that work. For another thing, at least in western countries, it is not an accepted form of relationship. Thankfully that is changing. There are finances, sleeping arrangements, child care issues, and many other areas that need to be worked out between people with love and patience. For us, what has gotten us through challenging times, is knowing deep in our hearts and spirits that it is God who called us to this type of life.
I note many people on this site identify as Christians. I recommend that you pray and seek only those mates that are spirit lead and know God deeply. Furthermore, seek to let God connect you spiritually first, no matter what the distance, because a mate given by God that lives in another state is better than someone who is not authored by God who lives next door.
If God is involved and authoring your union, distance is irrelevant and I know this for a fact. The right one is worth the effort!
Big hugs and lots of love,
Michael
Dear friends,
We have been living this lifestyle for over 30 years and we have found a few things to be true. I'd like the share them with you in case they could help someone find their perfect match.
1. If a woman is serious, she will demonstrate that very early in your relationship. If a relationship goes more than a month or two of online, without recent pics, phone calls, and plans to see you, chances are they are not serious.
2. If a woman has problems with this lifestyle in any meaningful way, it is not going to get better with time. Plural marriage is stressful and they at least need to start out well.
3. If a someone leads with sex, that is automatically suspicious. Some people just want to hook up and that is their choice, however, if you are wanting a lasting relationship, intimacy should come into play only after their is a heart commitment that justifies it.
4. More mature couples are a good choice for younger women, they have figured things out in life, are stable, and often times more patient. However, a younger woman will need to consider that they will have to realize that a certain level of maturity is expected of them too. If both parties are online with that, then all will be well.
5. Listen very carefully to what people say in the first hour of meeting them. It is uncanny, but most people will reveal who they are and what they will do within that time. If you listen well, and do not let the possibility of a relationship blind you, then you can pretty much figure out how things are going to go from the start. For instance, if someone says they cheated on a former lover in the first hour of conversation, they are giving you fair warning.
Big hugs and lots of love,
Michael
Dear Friends,
One thing that is difficult to find on the net is transparency. We all have experienced instances where we thought we knew someone well, only to be ghosted for no apparent reason. Thus, all our trust levels are set on various degrees of cautious. The good thing is, that despite of the inherent challenges of meeting someone online, nevertheless, we are here!
There are all kinds of reasons people are curious about the poly lifestyle and each one of those are valid in their own way. For us, we have been "called" to this lifestyle. Called to us, since we are Christian believers, means that we feel God wants us to live this type of family arrangement. It is a spiritual desire to love more than one person and create a loving family unit.
For some time, a few months, I felt like God wanted me to become a paying member of this site, however, I semi-resisted the notion, because we already have a very nice family situation. The more that I felt God goad me to join, the more I tried to understand why. The short answer to that is, "just because God said so." A somewhat longer explanation is that I believe there is someone here that we are supposed to meet. Obviously, that would be as a potential partner for our family, but maybe not. We are open to both.
I said this in order to be open and honest with everyone so that we might be transparent. One thing that I try to be is forthright with people so that there is less chance of misunderstanding or hurt feelings. In the end, our goal is to love and be caring for others and we hope that those we meet will have a similar heart.
The other thing I wanted to share is that we are not your typical Christian believers. I was looking at one profile where the woman seemed one way, but in my spirit I saw her differently. How people present themselves is not to say they are not open to know God if they really met Him.
If you are serious about learning more about our family, we would definitely like to meet you. Seeing if there is an opportunity for friendship is a great place to start. Like many, we are not primary looking for intimate relationships, we just assume that intimacy is a given at some point if a spiritual connection develops.
As I said, I am not disparaging anyone for how they feel or believe, I just wanted to open up a bit and let those who may be interested know a more about where we are coming from.
Big hugs and lots of love,
Michael
Dear Friends,
When we first began our journey into plural marriage, it seemed so mysterious. Coming from a Pentecostal background, you can imagine that we never came in contact with such a life style. Surprisingly, it was the practicalities that were the most difficult to manage.
What I have found is that each woman needs a certain amount of space. If at all possible, they need their own bedroom and their own bathroom. They can share, but never seem to like doing so. I thought at first, since they share a man, they would be willing to share everything else. However, that is not how our experience has gone.
For me, having everyone close is advantageous. I've done separate houses, but that is just a lot of work and travel. So, we've come to a compromise: I have everyone in a big enough house that they have their own spaces. I understand that that is not always possible, but I can tell you, at least for us, it has proved to be easier to live with.
Another thing, which seems obvious when you think of it, is that each woman should be encouraged to do what they do best. Everything, contrary to what people might assume in such a situation, is not same-same. People are just different, and it is wise to encourage each woman to excel in what they do best. While there needs to be some equitable division of chores and other responsibilities, some women love to cook more than others, while some like laundry better.
In the end, no matter what persuasion you are from, it comes down to practical matters that allow many people to live in harmony together. I cannot be a top down control, but rather a grass roots realization that we all work for the good of our family. When the women all believe that loving one another and helping where they can help best is a great idea, everything works out pretty well.
Big hugs and lots of love,
Michael
Nice to meet everyone,
I have looked at this site for a while and it is nicely done. Until now, I haven't felt to join. However, over the last couple of months I've felt that I should take a serious look. I feel like there is someone we ares supposed to meet here. So, we took the plunge!
What is most important in our lives is being Spirit led. That is we want to hear what God speaks to us personally, and do His will when he wants to do it. I mention this because it is an organizing principle of our entire family.
We have a lot of experience with this type of life choice and know pretty much what works and doesn't work for us. I believe that you first get to know a person, then meet them (fairly soon), and only after both people feel it is right, explore whether or not it is a good match.
Additionally, we call ourselves Divine Mates and not polygamists. We feel that marriage, as is commonly practiced, is not really what God intends. Therefore, to us anyway, polygamy is just a bigger, badder for of marriage. Therefore, what is most important in our estimation is a spiritual connection authored by God where everyone feels drawn together by His Spirit.
Other than our life style, we are very ordinary and middle class American family. We believe that people who are meant to be with us are a blessing and we will be a blessing to them. To us, love only multiplies, it does not divide.
I don't know if you can contact us or if we must contact you first. We plan to say hi to few people that seem like they have something in common with us. let's see where it goes from there.
Big hugs and lots of love,
Michael and family
History of Marriage Laws (Marriage Compact, part two)
Marriages are as old as mankind itself, and certainly predate government. We can find examples of both monogamy and polygamy in the King James Bible, and even much older, but that is not the point of this section.
Most state and federal statutes today
are a restatement of older laws that have been handed down over time.
You may already know that most western law is derived from English
commonlaw which, in turn, derived from Mosaic Law (Moses).
We tend to think of weddings as ceremony, but when you look at the elements of ceremony you often find solid reasons in law for those elements to be in there.
The first element of a lawful wedding has always been public notice. A weddingoften affects more than just those who marry, whether for good or ill. Others may have been interested in a particular man or woman; families may consider themselves joined by a marriage between two of their members; entire dynasties have been created through marriage. One or another may move to a different town, in which case one town may lose a blacksmith, or a teacher, or other craftsman, while another town gains one.
I’m sure we’ve all been to a wedding and heard the preacher say these words, “If anyone knows of a reason why these two should not be joined in the bonds of Holy Matrimony, let him speak now, or forever hold his peace!?”Consider that if prior notice is not given, how might someone who does know of a reasonhave the opportunity to speak up?
Proper notice has taken different forms over the years, from public announcements at church, to written notice posted at the general store or saloon, to printing a wedding announcement in the local newspaper of record. I suppose it might be considered lawful now to give notice on Facebook, although I would personally like to see Facebook decline in significance in western culture. For a very long time it has been considered proper to give at least thirty days notice prior to a wedding.
Certain marriages have been prohibited, at various times and places throughout history. Examples include marriages between close family members, different races or religions, same gender, and multiple (plural) partners.
Different locales have varying views on age, some younger than others. It has long been customary in most places that people younger than the usual minimum agecould still marry with parents’ permission.
When you look closely, a wedding
is very much like a contract. Vows are exchanged, in the presence
of witnesses. In most cases some kind of property changes hands
(lawful consideration),
even if it is only rings.
Traditionally it has been churches which managed and imposed all these rules. The idea of a marriage license was first thought up by the churches. Gradually, government began taking over this role. Today, when most people plana wedding, they also think theyneed to go down to city hall, or the county seat, and obtain a marriage license. I’ll write more about the marriage license in the next section, "Understanding Government Encroachment."
I’m a new member here, my name is Greg.
Just like everyone else using this site, I have my own particular way of looking at the world. I decided to write this blog because even though I’m sure there are folks here who have lived polygamy, and know much more about it than I, still, I may be able to contribute something of value.
I’ve never actually practiced polygamy, or personally known anyone who does, but I’ve been interested in the subject, and attracted to the lifestyle for many years; long before any of the TV shows came out.
I married for the first (so far the only) time when I was thirty-one. It was a monogamous marriage that lasted twenty-eight years, and we raised four children.
She was Mormon. I never joined the church, although I attended many times over the years. I like the Mormons; they are mostly good people who believe in self-reliance, as I do. They take care of their own, and in some ways I admire them, but I think a lot of their views are superficial. I didn’t realize until after we were married, how rabidly anti-polygamy the mainstream Mormons are. In spite of this, Big Love, and Sister Wives became two of my wife’s favorite shows. Of course any discussion that led to talk of bringing a sister wife into our family was quickly shot down.
I quietly accepted my family would never be plural, and never pushed the issue. Our marriage split, more than two years ago, in spite of my best efforts to keep it together. Now that I’m single again, I see an opportunity to do things differently this time around, which led me to join this site.
I’m not an attorney, but I am interested in the law and have studied for many years. My real interest is in the basis of law, the fundamental underpinnings.
A few years after I was married, among other things, I learned about an instrument called a "Marriage Compact" (MC). The MC has been used by the educated and monied people of the world, for thousands of years. You could think of the MC as a kind of prenuptial agreement, although the scope of a true MC is much broader. Pre-nups deal almost exclusively with protecting the premarital assets of one or more parties, whereas an MC can be detailed enough to cover nearly every aspect of a marriage.
Very few people these days except, of course, the folks from the very old monied families, have ever heard of the MC. I believe if I had known about it, and used one with my first marriage, my ex-wife and I would still be happily married today. If we were not, then our divorce would have been considerably less expensive.
I’ve read enough of the blogs and forum posts here to see that this site tries, at least, to function as the glue to hold together a kind of loose-knit community. I’d like to be a part of that, so I’m writing to share what I know about the MC, in hopes it may help others here to have greater success in their marriages.
Monogamy vs. Polygamy
As I see it, Polygamy shares many social problems with Monogamy. These are really just people problems. Sometimes people don’t get along. Maybe they start with different, or even unrealistic expectations. In monogamy it can be maddeningly difficult sometimes to get two people to agree on the simplest of issues. Add a third, fourth, or more to the mix, and I’m sure it can be like trying to get a unanimous vote in Congress.
Where polygamy differs is in its limited acceptance. In most places in the United States, polygamy is illegal. This puts whole families in danger. Families who are peaceful, and otherwise law-abiding, must worry about the safety and freedom of every family member, for no other reason than how they choose to privately live their lives.
This worry goes beyond the fear of law enforcement. As I understand it, many plural families are made up of a husband and first-wife, who were married by virtue of a marriage license, followed by additional wives who have no protection under the law. Those additional wives have no claim on marital assets, no rights of inheritance, and little or no help from the courts in case of dispute, divorce, or abuse.
What’s more, families are potentially vulnerable to unscrupulous sister-wives who might bring a child into the marriage and then leave the family, taking with her the child, and a sizeable portion of the family’s wealth through child-support or other means.
Before I write about how the Marriage Compact can help with these issues, I’m going to try and give you a better understanding of how things got to be the way they are. The next segment will be titled, "History of Marriage Laws".
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