What a hard life Irene has led. As the second wife, she was expected to share her husband with his first wife and also recruit more wives for him. Only with seven wives would her husband be assured of his full heavenly reward, and only by believing in The Principle (polygamy) would Irene also be rewarded in heaven. Children were the reason for the marriages; the more children, the more glory in heaven. These families believed that they would be together eternally if they all followed The Principle. Irene writes movingly about jealousy, poverty, the grinding routine of caring for multiple children, the agony of sharing the man she loved with other women, and the fear of civic authorities who might tear their family apart.
I found this especially poignant because of the raid this month on a polygamous family compound in Texas, and the 400 children who are separated from their parents while civic authorities try to determine whether illegal acts were committed.
An amazing story of faith and courage.
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