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American Morning
Utah Company Capitalizing on Practice of Polygamy in Utah
Aired February 18, 2002 - 09:45 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: The Olympic Games in Salt Lake City have put the entire state of Utah under a pretty bright spotlight. The Mormon church is trying to use the opportunity to polish up its image and sort of demystify some practices of the Mormon religion.
One piece of Mormon history that just doesn't want to go away is polygamy, the practice of having multiple spouses that was, of course, outlawed a century ago. But that's not stopping one company from capitalizing on it.
That story now from our own Rusty Dornin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was perfectly acceptable for early male Mormon settlers to marry over and over and over again. But by 1890, the Mormon church outlawed polygamy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The big joke outside of Utah is that everybody in Utah is polygamous, which totally isn't true.
DORNIN: But the practice hasn't disappeared either. Last year, Utah polygamist Tom Green was convicted of bigamy, focusing the world spotlight on the banned tradition.
Now the world is coming to town for the Olympics. Some businesses here are making the most of multiple marriages. If you want to hit the slopes, billboards beckon to come up chair lifts built for four.
DAN MALSTROM, BRIGHTON SKI RESORT: Some people are worried, you know, that it's going to put a bad image out for Utah and so on, but those, I think, are completely unfounded. Really all it says is that we can joke about it, too.
DORNIN: If you drink beer, how about a polygamy porter. T- shirts and hats remind customers to not forget the wives.
(on camera): One billboard company owner refused to put up the ads. He told the brewer he thought it was in bad taste. But that statement turned out to be a sweet sound for the brewer.
GREG SCHIRF, SCHIRF BREWING: When they chose not to put up, I almost gave this poor guy a commission, because that's when the publicity took off.
DORNIN (voice-over): Publicizing an aspect of Moronism some church members would rather ignore.
DAVID NEWCOMB, MORMON CHURCH MEMBER: More than anything, I think it's just ignorance. Because I don't know, you don't see anybody walking around with more than one wife.
DORNIN: For others, well, it's funny.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wife, wife, wife, husband on the back and then...
DORNIN (on camera): So you're laughing I take it -- what do you think about that?
KEITH NELSON, MORMON CHURCH MEMBER: Well, I mean, that's part of the history around here.
DORNIN (voice-over): But can the Mormon church see the humor?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do. We live with that just fine, you know we're not offended by it. We don't get exercised over it.
DORNIN: Even so, Mormons aren't a market that worry beer brewers. After all, Mormons don't drink.
SCHIRF: You can't lose a customer you don't have.
DORNIN: Poking a little fun at a practice some would rather the world forget.
Rusty Dornin, CNN, Salt Lake City, Utah.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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