Sanjiv Bhattacharya

Last updated

Sanjiv Bhattacharya is a British journalist, based in the US. He was born in London and graduated from the University of Cambridge where he studied philosophy. His book Secrets and Wives: The Hidden World of Mormon Polygamy explores the polygamy west, including the Kingstons, who for over a century have also practiced incest breeding techniques, believing they are descendants from Abraham and Jesus.

A former features editor and current contributing editor for British GQ , he has written for several magazines and newspapers including The Observer , [1] The Daily Telegraph , [2] The Times , The Los Angeles Times , [3] Marie Claire , [4] Maxim and Details . [5] He writes generally about social issues, fringe groups, the entertainment industry and boxing.

In 2006, he wrote and presented the Channel Four documentary The Man With 80 Wives , [6] [7] about Warren Jeffs, the fugitive prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He was subsequently commissioned by Simon & Schuster to write a book of investigative journalism about Mormon polygamy.

In 2008, he was appointed Editor of GQ India. [8] [9]

He lives in Los Angeles, California.

Related Research Articles

Polygamy is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more than one husband at the same time, it is called polyandry. In sociobiology and zoology, researchers use polygamy in a broad sense to mean any form of multiple mating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mormonism and polygamy</span>

Polygamy was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890 by between 20 and 30 percent of Latter-day Saint families.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints</span> Latter-Day Saints denomination

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a religious sect of the fundamentalist Mormon denominations whose members practice polygamy. It is variously defined as a cult, a sect, or a new religious movement. The organization has been involved in various illegal activities, including child marriages, child abandonment, sexual assault, and human trafficking including child sexual abuse. The church has been disavowed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heavenly Mother (Mormonism)</span> Mormon deity

In the Latter Day Saint movement, Heavenly Mother, also known as Mother in Heaven, is the mother of human spirits and the wife of God the Father. Collectively Heavenly Mother and Father are called Heavenly Parents. Those who accept the Mother in Heaven doctrine trace its origins to Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. The doctrine became more widely known after Smith's death in 1844.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mormon fundamentalism</span> Advocates of some early Mormon doctrines

Mormon fundamentalism is a belief in the validity of selected fundamental aspects of Mormonism as taught and practiced in the nineteenth century, particularly during the administrations of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and John Taylor, the first three presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mormon fundamentalists seek to uphold tenets and practices no longer held by mainstream Mormons. The principle most often associated with Mormon fundamentalism is plural marriage, a form of polygyny first taught in the Latter Day Saint movement by the movement's founder, Smith. A second and closely associated principle is that of the United Order, a form of egalitarian communalism. Mormon fundamentalists believe that these and other principles were wrongly abandoned or changed by the LDS Church in its efforts to become reconciled with mainstream American society. Today, the LDS Church excommunicates any of its members who practice plural marriage or who otherwise closely associate themselves with Mormon fundamentalist practices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warren Jeffs</span> American sex offender and cult leader (born 1955)

Warren Steed Jeffs is an American cult leader who is serving a life sentence in Texas for child sexual assault following two convictions in 2011. He is the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a polygamous cult based in Arizona. The FLDS Church was founded in the early-20th century when its founders deemed the renunciation of polygamy by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be apostate; there is no affiliation between the FLDS Church and the LDS Church.

Bountiful is a settlement in the Creston Valley of southeastern British Columbia, Canada, near Cranbrook and Creston. The closest community is Lister, British Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Origin of Latter Day Saint polygamy</span> Inception of plural marriage in Mormons

Polygamy in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or plural marriage, is generally believed to have originated with the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith. According to several of his associates, Smith taught that polygamy was a divine commandment and practiced it personally, by some accounts marrying more than 30 women, some of whom had existing marriages to other men. Evidence for Smith's polygamy is provided by the church's "sealing" records, affidavits, letters, journals, and diaries. However, until his death, Smith and the leading church quorums denied that he preached or practiced polygamy. Smith's son Joseph Smith III, his widow Emma Smith, and the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints challenged the evidence and taught that Joseph Smith had opposed polygamy. They instead claimed that Brigham Young, the head of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, introduced plural marriage after Smith's death. In 1852, leaders of the Utah-based LDS Church publicly announced the doctrine of polygamy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Green (polygamist)</span> American Mormon fundamentalist (1948–2021)

Thomas Arthur Green was an American Mormon fundamentalist in Utah who was a practitioner of plural marriage. After a high-profile trial, Green was convicted by the state of Utah on May 18, 2001, of four counts of bigamy and one count of failure to pay child support. This decision was upheld by the Utah State Supreme Court in 2004. He was also convicted of child rape, on the basis that he had impregnated his wife Linda when she was 13. The wife in question was his stepdaughter before they were married; she was the daughter of his first polygamous wife. In total, he served six years in prison and was released in 2007.

<i>Big Love</i> American drama television series

Big Love is an American drama television series created by Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer that aired on HBO from 2006 to 2011. It stars Bill Paxton as the patriarch of a fundamentalist Mormon family in contemporary Utah that practices polygamy, with Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny, and Ginnifer Goodwin portraying his wives. The series charts the family's life in and out of the public sphere in their Salt Lake City suburb, as well as their associations with a fundamentalist compound in the area. It features key supporting performances from Amanda Seyfried, Grace Zabriskie, Daveigh Chase, Matt Ross, Mary Kay Place, Bruce Dern, Melora Walters, and Harry Dean Stanton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lost boys (Mormon fundamentalism)</span> Term for young males excommunicated or pressured to leave a polygamous Mormon community

"Lost boys" is a term used for young men who have been excommunicated or pressured to leave polygamous Mormon fundamentalist groups, such as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). Although sometimes officially accused of apostasy or disobedience, it is thought that they are mainly pressured to leave by older adult men to reduce competition for wives within such sects, usually when they are between the ages of 13 and 21.

Latter Day Saints and Mormons have been portrayed in popular media many times. These portrayals often emphasize controversial subjects from the history and beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other branches of the Latter Day Saint movement.

John W. Bryant is an American Mormon fundamentalist. He was the founder and first leader of a sect that is today known as the Church of the New Covenant in Christ now headquartered near Salem, Oregon.

Polygamy is the practice of having more than one spouse at the same time. Specifically, polygyny is the practice of one man taking more than one wife while polyandry is the practice of one woman taking more than one husband. Polygamy is a common marriage pattern in some parts of the world. In North America, polygamy has not been a culturally normative or legally recognized institution since the continent's colonization by Europeans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latter Day Saint polygamy in the late-19th century</span>

Possibly as early as the 1830s, followers of the Latter Day Saint movement, were practicing the doctrine of polygamy or "plural marriage". After the death of church founder Joseph Smith, the doctrine was officially announced in Utah Territory in 1852 by Mormon leader Brigham Young. The practice was attributed posthumously to Smith and it began among Mormons at large, principally in Utah where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had relocated after the Illinois Mormon War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Current state of polygamy in the Latter Day Saint movement</span>

Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, privately taught and practiced polygamy. After Smith's death in 1844, the church he established splintered into several competing groups. Disagreement over Smith's doctrine of "plural marriage" has been among the primary reasons for multiple church schisms.

Dorothy Allred Solomon is an American author and educator committed to informing people about the pros and cons of polygamous lifestyles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miles Park Romney</span> Mormon pioneerr (1843–1904)

Miles Park Romney was a prominent American builder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was born in Nauvoo, Illinois, the son of Miles Romney. He was the president of the St. George Social Hall Company and the St. George Dramatic Association, and also served as a chief of police, attorney-at-law, newspaper editor, and architect. One of his sons, Gaskell Romney, was the father of George W. Romney and grandfather of Mitt Romney.

Brent W. Jeffs is an American author, advocate, and former member of the influential Jeffs family in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

References

  1. Bhattacharya, Sanjiv (23 May 2004). "Juice on the loose". The Guardian. London.
  2. Bhattacharya, Sanjiv (24 February 2007). "Leader of the pack". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  3. Los Angeles Times To love, honor and belly scratch
  4. "Meet Dr. 90210 Surgeon To the Stars - Marie Claire Magazine - Yahoo!7 Lifestyle". au.lifestyle.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 5 November 2009.
  5. http://www.details.com/sex-relationships/sex-and-other-releases/200703/meet-the-mandingos Meet the Mandingos
  6. Belcher, David (20 July 2006). "On the prowl for a preacher". The Herald (Glasgow) . Archived from the original on 20 July 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
  7. Johns, Ian (20 July 2006). "Low marks for the heartless head". The Times . London. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
  8. Brook, Stephen (7 April 2008). "GQ to launch Indian edition". The Guardian . London. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
  9. "Air India beats British Airways hands down". DNA . 16 April 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2010.