Mary Mackert, The Sixth of Seven Wives: Escape from Modern Day Polygamy, xpolygamist.com, 2001.
In order for Utah to become a state, in 1890, the LDS
Church issued “The Manifesto” which officially put an
end to the practice of polygamy amongst its members. But
the practice of “the principle” did not end, and today
there are some 65,000+ people within the United States
living this lifestyle. Mary Mackert was born into one of
the larger groups of “fundamental Mormons”. With this
book, she provides significant insight into her life as
a teenager in a polygamous family, and then as the sixth
wife of a man more than thirty years her senior, where
she stayed for sixteen years.
Growing up with “the principle”
Unlike most practicing polygamists, Mary Mackert’s
father grew up in the Dutch Reformed Church. He
converted to fundamental Mormonism when his first wife,
Midge, insisted that he either join the group with her,
or be divorced. After joining the group, they moved to
Salt Lake City, where Clyde Mackert met his second wife,
Donna. Donna’s younger sister became his third wife, and
was the mother of Mary Mackert.
When Mary was fifteen, Clyde Mackert took a fourth wife
– Maurine – ignoring the guidelines for taking a new
wife. He didn’t seek the prophet’s approval. He only
followed his desire for this beautiful and worldly
woman. Maurine was raised LDS, but was not a faithful
member (a “Jack Mormon”). She also was divorced, and had
four children.
Continual “cover ups”
Polygamy is illegal in the United States, so those who
live “the principle” use a myriad of deceptive devices
to prevent detection of their illegal lifestyle. Mary’s
birth certificate says that her father is Roy Mackert, a
man who does not exist. Children are not allowed to call
their father “Daddy” when outsiders are present, and
they must call each of the mothers in their family,
“Aunt”, and the other men in the group, “Uncle”. Some
men place their wives in separate homes that are some
distance apart – even in separate cities, allowing each
“family” to look legitimate to the neighbors. But even
with these widely separated family units, the children
are discouraged from associating with children “in the
world” for fear they might slip and reveal the truth
about their families. The result is a very lonely life
for the children.
In other instances, when the man cannot afford separate
homes, all of his wives and children live in the same
house. In those cases, he only allows “the world” to see
him with one wife. The others must have their private
time with him either within the confines of the house,
or after dark when no one can see. Young women who marry
into this type of arrangement are referred to as “poofers”.
The announcement is made that they are getting married,
and then “poof”, they are gone, rarely if ever to be
seen again by those who know and love them.
Love vs. the “Law of Placing”
Up until Mary was about nine years old, young people
were allowed to court, fall in love and get married,
just like young people “in the world”. But then “Uncle
Roy” (Leroy S. Johnson), who was the “prophet” at that
time, revealed the “Law of Placing”. From that time
forward, when a young woman reached marriageable age,
she was taken to the prophet for a “revelation” as to
whom she would marry.
After Clyde’s marriage to Maurine, her son, Johnny,
became the love of Mary Mackert’s life. They did
everything possible to keep their love for each other
secret, but to no avail. Once their love was discovered,
the family tried to keep the two apart. Finally, Johnny
was sent away on a “work mission”, leaving Mary to pine
for his love, having promised to wait for him to return.
But Mary also wanted to be held in high esteem by the
group. So, at the age of seventeen, just a few months
before she would be considered an “old maid”, Mary
submitted to the leadership of the prophet, married Bill
Draper and became a “poofer”. None of her brothers and
sisters knew whom she had married; she simply dropped
out of sight. And she would not have to face Johnny when
he returned from his mission and explain to him why she
had broken her promise to wait for him.
Unlike the normal “Law of Placing” process, Mary was
told to select the man she would marry. This confused
her. She thought the “revelation” was supposed to be
given to the prophet, not to her. But, since she was
told to do so, Mary selected Bill Draper because of his
position in the church, and also because he was
apparently still producing children. Above all, Mary
wanted children.
Living “the Principle”
Their wedding day – after the ceremony and during
the ride home – was the first time that Mary and Bill
Draper ever talked. He took her to the house, showed her
which room was hers (the living room, converted to a
bedroom), and then left her alone on her wedding night,
sleeping instead with his fifth wife, Elizabeth. Draper
had married Elizabeth just two months earlier, and they
were “still on their honeymoon”.
Mary would spend the next sixteen years vying for Bill
Draper’s attention, time and affections. During that
entire time, he only told her he loved her once – when
she was eight months pregnant with her first child.
Although she and Bill had some happy times together
during the short time she was living away from the main
house at “the ranch” and helping to restore the place,
in the end, Mary learned that Bill only spent time with
her because she was where he needed to be at those
times.
Like any normal woman, Mary craved the affection – and
the love – of her husband. But she was also a
peacemaker. When jealousy and infighting erupted between
her sister wives, Mary sought ways to smooth things
over, to protect the weaker sister wives, and to make
the home a peaceful one. It was only when she finally
rebelled after sixteen years of marriage that Mary
refused to be the peacemaker any longer. All she wanted
was to be out, and to have her children with her.
Mary’s place in the family was established. Since she
was so young and had no education that would allow her
to earn good money outside of the home, she became the
“work horse”, carrying the load of cleaning and cooking
for her sister wives and their children. The women and
children wore “pioneer” clothing, making them stand out
in any crowd, so Mary rarely left the house, and never
when she was pregnant. The sight of several pregnant
women coming and going in the same house would be a dead
giveaway to the felony being committed therein.
In keeping with the other secretive measures, all babies
were delivered at home by the group’s midwives. If a
woman went into labor at an inconvenient time for Aunt
Minnie to come deliver the baby, every effort was made
to stop the woman’s labor, endangering both her and the
baby.
During her sixteen years with Bill Draper, Mary suffered
several bouts of severe depression. During these times,
she would sleep more than she would be awake, because
sleep allowed her to ignore her feelings. One of these
bouts of depression occurred in the months following her
wedding during which she remained a virgin. Even though
Bill slept with her on her nights in the “rotation”, he
refused to make love to her. He had yet to make love to
his fifth wife, Elizabeth, and was still “courting” her.
Finally, desperate to have the one thing she truly
wanted – a child – Mary seduced Bill Draper. The next
morning, she regretted it. As she says, “Bill had taken
my most precious gift, my virginity, without first
winning my heart, and I felt robbed.”
Many times, Mary thought about running away, but always
lost her courage. Two years into the marriage, when she
had finally summoned enough courage to leave, she found
that she was finally pregnant. Eventually, Mary would
have five boys, and miscarry the one little girl that
she carried.
After sixteen years, when Mary finally summoned the
courage to run away, she was caught and brought back.
While she was being held prisoner in her own room, Bill
came in and threatened her with the doctrine of blood
atonement. Then, after forcing her to have a meeting
with Rulon Jeffs, who had taken the role of prophet when
Leroy Johnston died, Bill Draper set Mary free.
After her escape, Mary pressed charges. However, the
scales of justice failed her. Even though polygamy is a
felony, the judge and the prosecutor in the case chose
only to charge Bill with domestic dispute, warn him of
the consequences of future improprieties, fine him fifty
dollars, and set him free.
Bill Draper died on February 21, 1992, seven years after
Mary left him. He was survived by thirty-five children.
Four of his seven wives were still with him at this
death. During the last few years of his life, because of
his failing health and inability to support them, his
family required public assistance to survive
Fundamental Mormonism – the way
Mormonism used to be
Even though the LDS Church vehemently denies that the
fundamentalist groups are Mormons, the vast majority of
all fundamental Mormons come directly from the Mormon
Church. They are either third or fourth generation
fundamentalists (descendants of early polygamists who
fled to Mexico after the Manifesto), or they are recent
converts who have begun to study the doctrines of the
LDS Church that are no longer taught. Polygamy is the
most obvious of these old doctrines, but blood
atonement, the “United Order”, and others are also
taught and practiced.
Fundamental Mormons believe that one day they will be
granted access to the LDS temples. While they wait and
hope for this eventuality, temple endowments are
performed and marriages are “sealed for time and
eternity” by the prophet of the group. Polygamous
“marriages” between men in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s to
young girls of fourteen and fifteen years of age are
common. In most families, children are home schooled,
and their education is limited in attempts to prevent
any curiosity that might arise about the outside world.
Recently, the leadership has forbidden things like
access to the internet, watching television, listening
to the radio, and associating with “apostates” (those
who have left the polygamous group).
Conclusion
Although the style of this book is somewhat unwieldy, it
contains an invaluable look inside the mind of a woman
who has lived through the horrors of polygamy and
escaped. Throughout the book, we are given continual
insight into the wide range of emotions that filled not
only Mary, but her sister wives, as they struggled with
this unnatural and illegal lifestyle.
Overall, the book provides a broad-spectrum look at how
the teachings of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and the
other early Mormon leaders continue to dictate the
lifestyle of thousands of fundamentalist Mormons today.