As seen on the hit TLC reality show Sister Wives, the Browns present a "picture perfect" polygamist family – doting father Kody balanced between his four sister wives and 13 children. Yet recent revelations from son Paedon Brown in an exclusive interview peel back the façade.
Behind the scenes, the controversial beliefs and dysfunctional dynamics in this prominent Mormon fundamentalist clan contributed to estrangement and enduring trauma.
The Allure and Agony of Plural Marriage
Why would spiritually-devout women agree to share a husband?
- Polygamy derives from early Mormon doctrines encouraging men to take multiple wives to "raise righteous seed" on Earth and gain higher status in heaven.
- For ladies in cloistered fundamentalist groups, marrying as a plural wife guarantees celestial exaltation and community identity when options are limited.
- Despite renunciation from modern LDS, pockets of fringe believers uphold founder Joseph Smith‘s original vision.
The Browns belong to the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB). Though not as extreme as notorious groups like FLDS, social liberty and autonomy still become heavily compromised.
Stats on US polygamists estimate around 30-50 thousand mainly concentrated in Utah/Arizona. Tight-knit in isolated rural areas, precise data remains unclear. [1]
The Heavy Price Women Pay
Behind the façade of stable "sisterly" relationships, experts observe:
- Women often endure intimacy deprivation, economic dependence, and threat of replacement.
- Rampant competition and jealousy between sister wives happens despite public denial. [2]
- Plural wives frequently experience depression, domestic abuse, and "plyg drift". [3]
In the prime of life, females get pressured to accept endless pregnancies and childcare burdens as new sister wives enter the partnerships.
Thus, the lived reality of polygamy inflicts psychological harm – even described as an abusive institution by survivor advocates. [4]
Paedon Lifts the Veil on The Browns‘ Beliefs and Rules
The Browns ascribe to a patriarchal order where women obey priesthood holders without question – sealing themselves to one shared husband "for eternity" over their own needs.
- Wives cannot refuse sex or intimate touch lest they "break vows". Privacy gets forsaken.
- Standards for modest clothing and media consumption are ultra-strict.
- Kody‘s "ridiculous rules" and temper caused constant tension.
This exemplifies the suffocating conformity fundamentalists demand. But faith requires self-imposed submission. And the doctrine of "continuing revelation" lets leaders manipulate followers. [5]
Homeschooling and Isolation Leave Scars
Like most polygamist clan offspring, the Brown children underwent homeschooling – a convenient method for keeping outside influence at bay.
- Social development suffers without diverse peer interactions. Abuse hides more easily absent mandated reporters. [6]
- Worldview becomes narrowed when filtered through dogmatic parents during vulnerable identity formation.
As Paedon revealed, he first got exposed to unapproved secular media and ideas after getting kicked out. This starved curiosity and impulse for independence festered into backlash against his parents’ beliefs.
Toxic "Blood Atonement" Dogma Haunts Pandora‘s Box
A disturbing doctrine called “blood atonement” leaves damaging imprints still visible through Paedon‘s lens.
- Based on pioneer era teachings, "redeeming the blood" of sinners through their death earns God’s mercy upon them. [7]
- This includes apostates who abandon or criticize teachings of the faith and LGBTQ identities.
- Though AUB formally rejects violence, the sacralized brutality mindset lingers.
Under the thumb of fanatical leaders, demonizing those who leave or question the group’s beliefs offers control through terror. The desire to enforce righteousness, purity, and salvation at any cost inevitably corrupts.
Clash Between Revelation and Reason on Health Choices
Mormon scripture emphasizes using faith before medicine while shunning substances deemed "unclean" – stance that lingers with fundamentalist offshoots. [8]
Paedon testified his father prohibited vaccines or modern healthcare for all of his 18 biological children.
Homeopathy, herbs, chiropractic adjustments took precedence over evidence-based practices – even during life-threatening crises.
- distrust of government oversight and science arises from persecution complex
- children left vulnerable without informed consent
Such revelations illuminate worrisome implications of fanatical belief.
Mariah’s Coming Out Rocks Family Foundations
When a family member embraces truths outside approved doctrine, immense conflicts erupt.
Paedon shares around his lesbian sister Mariah revealing her identity to their horrified parents:
- Threats of disownment and eternal condemnation initially erupted from Kody in line with AUB teachings against homosexuality. [9]
- Accusations of bigotry and painful rifts split the family despite later acceptance.
- Similar crises around gender/sexual identity plague many conservative religious homes as generations clash over clashing truth claims around the self.
The daughter they thought they knew becoming someone unacceptable based on private revelations provokes a volatile reaction. But ultimately, living authenticity proves the higher moral calling.
Final Reflections on Growing Up Plural
Every family has issues. Yet the pressures in plural households command a far heavier toll psychologically, as Paedon bravely spotlights.
- Craving connection with spread-thin sister moms amid competing siblings under patriarchy’s shadow
- Questioning the beliefs engraved since birth once the veil of innocence lifts
- Losing cherished relatives from unquestioned doctrine pitted against human needs
The traumas and trials of the Brown family represent millions across history who got pressured or trapped to bend selves to external dogmatic demands rather than inner truth. As understanding grows, may their sacrifices enlighten the path towards more ethical coexistence between diversity of beliefs, identities, and paths in the human family.
References:
[1] Embry, Jessie L. “Mormon Polygamous Families.” CWLA, 2020, https://www.cwla.org. [2] Jauk, Daniela Keller. “The ‘Good’ Polygamist Wife.” Human Nature, vol. 28, no. 4, Dec. 2017, pp. 406–430. [3] Rebecca Kimbel and Amanda J. Thomas, “Polygamy in Primetime: Media, Gender, and Politics in Mormon Fundamentalism”, Brandeis University Press, 2020. [4] POLYGAMY: Abuse, Incest, Pedophilia and Child Trafficking, ex-Sister Wives star Christine Brown Claims”, OK Magazine, Feb 15, 2023. https://okmagazine.com/ [5] Decker, Ed. “Mormonism, Mormon Doctrine and the Manipulation of Truth.” Saint Alive in Jesus, 1997, saintsalive.com.[6] Stevens, Laura A. “Homeschooling and Child Abuse: An Analysis of Child Abuse Fatalities and News Coverage of Abuse in Homeschools.” Rutgers Law School, 2013. [7] Gruss, Deena. “The ‘End’ of Blood Atonement?: Mormon Preventive Death in the Reformation Transitional Period of Mormonism and What it Reveals about Lived Religion.” Journal of Religion & Society, vol. 20, 2018. [8] “Word of Wisdom.” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2022. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org [9] Cragun, Ryan T., and Joseph Hammer. “‘The One Who Hurts Her Hurts Us All’: Polygamy, Same-Sex Marriage, and Relational Persons.” Journal of Marriage and Family, vol. 82, no. 2, Mar. 2020, pp. 735–755.