Michael here, to reply to Carl's post. Carl is right in the sense that most Mormons do not wish to practice polygamy themselves. Nevertheless, it remains a part of the belief system. Mormons believe that marriages solemnized in the temple are eternal. A Mormon man whose wife dies can marry again, in the temple, and with the belief that the second marriage also is for eternity. A somewhat recent example is the marriage of LDS Apostle Russell M. Nelson to Wendy Watson after the death of his first wife. If one believes that marriage extends beyond mortality, and marries more than one person, then the logical conclusion seems obvious.

Most Latter-day Saints are uncomfortable with polygamy. We tend to avoid its presence in our history, and we prefer not to consider the implications of our beliefs/doctrines in the hereafter.

My statement that "People who understand the history of the religion are more open minded about the idea of polygamy" should be amended, as there is an important wrinkle to add. I am presently analyzing the data from a survey of people's beliefs regarding polygamy. In that study, Mormons who knew a polygamist and were more knowledgeable about polygamy through that experience had more positive opinions of the practice, compared with Mormons who did not know a polygamist. However, Mormons who are more familiar with the history of polygamy - but did not themselves know a polygamist - were actually less devout, and more likely to have abandoned the church. Part of this research is being published later this year in The Archive for the Psychology of Religion; other parts will follow.

I hope this clarification helps.