In Utah, you can legally have only one wife; any additional marriages are not recognized as legal unions (they may be considered spiritual or religious only).
Can you have multiple wives in Utah?
Yes, you can participate in multiple spiritual marriages, but only one marriage is legally recognized under Utah law.
Under Senate Bill 102, which took effect in 2020, Utah lowered polygamy from a felony to an infraction—as long as everyone involved consents. Still, the state only issues marriage licenses for a single legal spouse. Any extra unions are usually considered “spiritual” marriages, so they don’t come with legal perks like inheritance or tax benefits. If you want to dig into the specifics, check out the Utah State Legislature page on SB 102.
Can you have 5 wives in Utah?
You may have any number of spiritual wives, but Utah law permits only one legal spouse, so having five wives would still mean just one legal marriage.
There’s no limit on how many consensual, non‑legal relationships you can have, but only the first marriage license actually gives you civil rights and responsibilities. Folks in those communities often call the extra spouses “sister wives” for religious reasons, even though they carry no legal weight. This point comes up in legal analyses from the Legal Information Institute (Cornell Law School).
What state can you have 2 wives?
No state allows legal marriage to two wives; polygamy is illegal in all 50 states, though some states like Utah have reduced penalties.
Although a handful of states have downgraded polygamy to a minor offense instead of a felony, none of them will actually issue a marriage license for more than one person. So, claiming you have two legal wives simply doesn’t hold up anywhere in the country. For a quick look at how each state handles bigamy, see the National Conference of State Legislatures summary.
Can you marry 2 wives in USA?
No, marrying two wives simultaneously (bigamy) is illegal throughout the United States; penalties vary by state but can include fines and imprisonment.
While the federal government stays out of regulating marriage, every state has its own laws against bigamy, and the act is treated as a crime everywhere. Depending on the situation and any prior record, a conviction could land you anything from a misdemeanor to a felony, possibly with fines or jail time. For a broader view, check out the U.S. Department of Justice page on marriage fraud.
How many husbands can a Mormon have?
According to LDS doctrine, a woman can be sealed to only one husband for eternity, while men may be sealed to multiple wives.
This idea comes from the church’s view of eternal families and shows up in its temple sealing policies. If a woman is divorced or widowed, she can ask to have a previous sealing canceled before being sealed to someone else, but she can’t be sealed to more than one husband at the same time. You can find the official position on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints site.
Men may be sealed to more than one wife in temple practice, though the LDS Church prohibits new plural marriages today.
Back in the day, a few early church leaders did practice plural marriage, but after the 1890 Manifesto the church put a stop to it and now will excommunicate anyone who enters a new polygamous union. These days, doctrine holds that marriage should be monogamous for both men and women, and sealings are limited to one living spouse unless an earlier sealing has been canceled. For more background, see the church’s Gospel Topics essay.
Is it a sin to marry two wives?
Many religious traditions, including mainstream Christianity, view polygamy as a sin because it violates the marital commitment to one spouse.
Most mainstream Christian traditions—including the Catholic Church, Protestant denominations, and the Eastern Orthodox Church—see polygamy as a sin because it breaks the promise of marriage to just one person. They teach that marriage is a monogamous covenant, so taking on a second spouse while the first marriage is still intact counts as adultery. Although the LDS Church once allowed polygamy under what it believed was divine direction, it now says the practice goes against God’s law for today. You can read more about ethical takes on this in the Pew Research Center studies on religion and marriage.
What is having two wives called?
Having two wives is called polygyny, a specific form of polygamy where one man has multiple female spouses.
The word “polygamy” is a catch‑all for any plural marriage, but when the extra spouses are women we call it polygyny. Polyandry—where one woman has multiple husbands—is much less common and shows up mostly in certain Himalayan and African communities. You’ll find these definitions in standard anthropological sources like Wikipedia’s polygamy entry.
What religion allows multiple wives?
Certain fundamentalist Mormon groups and some Islamic traditions permit polygyny, whereas the mainstream LDS Church does not.
Some fundamentalist Mormon groups—like the Apostolic United Brethren—still practice plural marriage, drawing on those early teachings. In Islam, polygyny is permitted under certain Quranic guidelines (up to four wives), although many Muslim‑majority countries put regulations or restrictions on it. For a side‑by‑side look at how different religions treat polygamy, see the Encyclopædia Britannica article.
Can u get married to yourself?
Self‑solemnization (self‑uniting marriage) is legal in a few U.S. states, but not in Utah; you cannot legally marry yourself in Utah.
A handful of states—Colorado, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia—let couples officiate their own wedding without an officiant, as long as they meet the licensing rules. Utah, on the other hand, insists on an authorized officiant for a marriage to count, so a self‑uniting ceremony simply wouldn’t be valid there. For more on state marriage laws, check the National Conference of State Legislatures.
What happens if you marry someone who is already married?
The later marriage is void or voidable, and the person who knowingly entered it may be charged with bigamy.
When someone gets married while they’re still legally tied to another person, the state considers that second marriage invalid right from the start—no matter what the couple believes. The spouse who was unaware can usually pursue an annulment, and the person who knew about the existing marriage might face criminal charges that range from a misdemeanor to a felony, depending on where it happened. For a clear breakdown, see Cornell Law School’s Wex legal dictionary.
How many wives can you have in Mexico?
Mexican law recognizes only monogamous civil marriages; polygamy is illegal, so you may have only one legal spouse.
According to Mexico’s Federal Civil Code, you can’t be married to more than one person at a time—any attempt to go through a second marriage while the first is still active is simply null and void. Religious ceremonies that don’t meet the civil requirements don’t create a legal marriage either. You can find the specifics in the Mexican Chamber of Deputies publication of the Civil Code.
Which Mormon has the most wives?
Historically, Brigham Young had about 55 wives, the highest number among early LDS leaders.
Brigham Young, who served as the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑day Saints, married 55 women over the course of his life—though not all of those marriages were happening at the same time or were consummated. Older tables sometimes mistakenly credited Heber J. Grant with that many wives, but the records show he actually had far fewer sealings. The verified numbers come from church archives and scholarly sources like BYU Studies.
Can a Mormon marry a non Mormon?
Yes, a Mormon can marry a non‑Mormon, but the temple sealing ceremony is reserved for faithful members.
The LDS Church does allow civil marriages between members and non‑members, and those unions are legally recognized. Still, if you want to take part in a temple sealing—which the church views as key to eternal family unity—both people need a current temple recommend, meaning they have to live up to church standards. You can read about this policy on the Church’s official website.
What are Mormons not allowed to do?
Mormons follow the Word of Wisdom, which prohibits alcohol, tobacco, coffee, tea, and illegal drugs, and they also avoid premarital sex and same‑sex relationships according to church teachings.
The Word of Wisdom (Doctrine and Covenants 89) lays out health guidelines that members are encouraged to follow—though, honestly, not everyone sticks to every rule to the letter. The church teaches that living by it tends to bring both spiritual and physical blessings. Beyond that, the law of chastity reserves sexual relations for marriage between a man and a woman. For the full details, see the Gospel Topics essay on the Word of Wisdom.
