Often called the “Dean of Mormon History” and the “Father of Mormon History,” he taught at Utah State University and Brigham Young University, as well as at UCLA and the University of Genoa (Italy); founded the Mormon History Association; and served, from 1972 to 1982, as LDS Church Historian.
The response of the men who were introduced into polygamy between 1841 and 1846 was anything but enthusiastic. The same was true of the women who were offered the chance of becoming plural wives. Apart from the fact that the new system collided with moral assumptions they had grown up with, there were practical difficulties that made polygamy less attractive. For the men to support additional wives was seldom easy.
Leonard Arrington and Davis Bitton
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