Texas and Washington have no idea. Apparently, how young is too young is all a matter of cultural perspective. In Saudi Arabia, girls are married off as young as eight — and should consider it a privilege — according to this report in the London Daily Mail:
Sheikh Abdul-Aziz Al Sheikh, the country’s grand mufti, told Al Hayat newspaper that those saying ten or 12-year-old girls are too young to marry are being ‘unfair’ to them. . .
Responding to a question about parents who force their underage daughters to marry, the mufti said: ‘We hear a lot about the marriage of underage girls in the media, and we should know that Islamic law has not brought injustice to women.’
The mufti said a good upbringing will make a girl capable of carrying out her duties as a wife and that those who say women should not marry before the age of 25 are following a ‘bad path’.
‘Our mothers and before them, our grandmothers, married when they were barely 12,’ said Al Sheikh, according to the Al-Hayat newspaper.
There are no statistics to show how many marriages involving children are performed in Saudi Arabia every year.
OK, so I’m not advocating marriage at age 8 or 10 or even 12. But I’m curious to know if any social scientists out there have any hard data on the long-term pros and cons of marriage at 8. Come on, I know you’re out there. Make my day! 
More at the Daily Mail.
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Alexie
suppose we take away the evils of the world the homosexuality, the murders, the abortions(same thing as murder), the stealing, the government coruption, the seeking your nieghbors destruction,
all you would have left is the FLDS way of life!
mhojho— I am with you. My heart is with FLDS.
My mind is not.
(a) One problem, quite a few people seem to take offense at someone living the FLDS way of life. Although I agree with you that they should just shut up and mind their own business… but they also say FLDS need to be saved from themselves… or from their prophets… maybe there’s something to it?
(b) Bigger problem, FLDS create an unbalanced flow of men (“lost boys”) that the rest of the society has to absorb.
(c) Still bigger problem is in their fertility rates. In the long term, this is not sustainable. Eventually, something in the spirit of Chinese one-child policy will have to be done. Imagine that.
I would be happy to be proven wrong about these. My heart and my mind shall then be on one side.
Alexei, the problems you talk about — supposed surplus of men, fertility rates — are interesting, but not effectively dealt with at the state level through mandates. For example, the communists in China forbid more than one child. Now what is happening there is that families kill or abort their daughters are producing a surplus of men. So attempting to solve a projected problem is causing more problems. In England it used to be a problem that there were too many prostitutes and single mothers. One wise man (I forget the philosopher’s name) speculated that if only men were permitted to take more than one wife, these women would be supported and not forced into a life of prostitution.
State-level mandates (socialism) is usually not the answer. Nature has a way of evening out the inconsistencies by itself. For example, in Russia there always has been a surplus of women for some unknown reason. These women are the ones you see on the “Russian brides” catalogs, seeking husbands in the West. Also, perhaps someone knows the numbers of the disparity of gay men versus gay women. If this is large, than you have another inconsistency “problem.” Will the state step in then and alter the constitution to forbid certain forms of association that should be up to the individual’s free choice? Hopefully not.
Joey — so you’re saying, let Nature and God sort it out.
Fine with me. Not so fine with local folks who re-elected both Doran and Walther, if I’m not mistaken.
alexei
I’m confused about the fertility rates!
Lost Boys? They lost themselves through disobedience.
One cannot do anything about a son who flat refuses to
live his own religion and it usually comes to a point
where the boy can’t take anymore counsel from those
who have the right to give it, (thier parents) and leaves,
as far as being a burden on society, isn’t that what society
wants? The FLDS to conform to the worlds way of thinking!
The spirit of the chinese is abortion! the FLDS culture and abortion do not mix and never will! What are you going to do line them up and shoot them? Rulon Jeffs the prophet at the time told the people, get rid of your guns! No one really knew why he said that at the time, it was pure insperation and now we see why,(the raid at the YFZ)! The only reason the men were not gunned down is because they would not resist(physically) . It was done through obediance, so please don’t try to “save them” from thier prophets!
Saved from ourselves? LOL, You mean raising children to live up to Gods commandments? Alexei go to the truth will prevail website, take
a good look at those children and ask yourself, are these the children of
pedophiles? And be honest with yourself !! By thier fruits you shall know them, and please don’t regurgitate all the nonsense that carolyn flora and others say. I was FLDS, why is it that people will only believe the bitter exmembers? The trick is, use your own brain, go see what is really happening! Who is truly happy the FLDS or flora and those who are bitter?
Mhojho — I appreciate your feelings on the subject. My own feelings are not very different from yours.
IMO, FLDS are generally happy with their ways and hardly need to be saved from themselves; however, if many people think they should — as may be the case — this becomes a problem on its own. Which is why I mentioned that alongside other things.
FLDS is a good way of life. But pursuing it clashes with other ways of life–arguably—especially in the long term. Maybe a compromise will be worked out. Or maybe more laws will be crafted to attack FLDS from every possible angle — and, before long, their communes disintegrate in Texas… and possibly elsewhere.
We can expect new laws that would aim — ostensibly — to “amend” the FLDS ways. All constitutionally, mind you. (Maybe, require them to provide financial assistance to any member who chooses (or is pressed) to leave. Limit their home-schooling. Raise age of consent even higher.) Such laws shall tread the fine line between “improving” FLDS and destroying them.
My too-provocative initial question was meant to bring these issues into focus.
Alexei
I think in your effort to be provocative you have convinced yourself that the FLDS way of life is wrong and somthing has to be done about
the evil Flds! (or at least thats how it comes accross to me)like they did in Joseph Smiths time; well keep at it I guess!
if thats what makes you tick. To force the Flds to compromise is unconstitutional and a trick that the LDS church fell for and one the FLDS will never go for. Like I said earlier what they going to do gun them down?
Sorry Mhojho. You make me understand I was reckless to throw such a bomb in.
FLDS-haters are to be found on the ‘net; you must’ve thought I’m one of them.
You suggested no compromise is warranted. But FLDS have compromised already: they renounced underage sealings. I am not cheering. I would trust FLDS to decide when their girls marry without government interference . Yet compromises will happen whether you or I want them.
Alexei
Underage marriage has NEVER been FLDS doctrine, it may have happened, but it has never been a religious law, hence no compromise.
it is unbelievable that these people think that a an eight year old should get married that’s crazy what right mind would do that to a child who hasn’t gotten the opportunity of being a child first of finding true love at ht right time with the right man who has a descent age to marry her!!!!!
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