“Polygamy” means one man having more than one wife. I think we all know that. There are also men and women who have sexual relations with multiple partners. We know that, too.

This is a strange topic: polygamy is a practice often associated with religious groups. I don’t want to start an argument here, but comedians once joked about Mormons and plural marriage. Polygamy was practiced by many members of the Latter-day Saint movement until about 1890.

Since then, the practice has been restricted and officially banned by the LDS Church, also known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Apparently, it is no longer an issue among most current members.

If you ever visit Salt Lake City, Utah, most people you meet will probably approve of and practice monogamy.

When I was younger, I worked as a college instructor and administrator. That was my career for many years, and I remember applying for an instructor position in an Arizona town.

I should have done some research, but I didn’t. Instead, I went to the interview.

If you want more details: I flew to Las Vegas, Nevada, and drove a rental car to my interview in Colorado City, Arizona. The trip took several hours.

When I arrived, I was shocked by the town. The community was—and still is—associated with the FLDS, a splinter group of the LDS. FLDS stands for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and some members of the group practice plural marriage.

The FLDS is a splinter group of the LDS. I understand that many members practice plural marriage and are taught that God wants believers to do so. So, no, polygamy is not dead. Readers can research the topic online using search terms such as “FLDS” and the name of the town.

I did well in the interview and was offered a job in another town. I declined the offer and found work elsewhere. If anyone from that college is reading this, I apologize for wasting the interview committee’s time. If I had done some research, I would have stayed home. The local religion and culture were not something I wanted to live near.

Some Muslims also practice polygamy and some claim it is becoming an issue in Western countries.

There is another chapter to this story.

I once read a book about a young woman who escaped from the FLDS, and I met people in my area who were activists opposing the religious practice of polygamy. For several years, my wife and I attended meetings and helped whenever we could.

Eventually, the groups disbanded, and my life moved on to other things. Still, for a time, I became almost an expert on polygamy and religion.

Here is another chapter in the story: READ: Ohio Pastor Announces Second Wife, Embraces Polygamy As Biblical

Can you believe it? A Baptist minister, pastor, or “prophet” in Ohio recently announced that he had married a second woman. He then claimed that polygamy was biblical.

The practice is more common than many people realize. I do not support or agree with it. I am writing as a Christian, and the Bible says:

An overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well. (1Timothy 3: 2 to 4)

The passage continues:

Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. (verse 12)

We also have these words:

Appoint elders in every town as I directed you, if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. (Titus 1: 5 to 9)

Those words are nearly two thousand years old and come from a time when plural marriage was practiced in some societies. In this passage, church leaders are described as monogamous and responsible for managing their households well.

You may have noticed that, in the video embedded in the article about the Ohio pastor, the speakers discussed religious people who had been excluded from churches because of their plural marriages.

Polygamy may be more common than we realize, and it may be practiced by someone in our wider community. I learned this through the meetings I used to attend.

For me there is a bigger story: What is truth? If we say something in a religious style, it somehow seems to be truth.

Belonging to a religion is not the same as following Jesus and knowing God. Making a personal commitment can be very different from belonging to a group and accepting everything it teaches.

That is an important lesson: