I wish TLC would have kept this show for more seasons. I really liked this family, I am always looking online for current info about them. I remember when Kody & wives went to rally where Joe Darger was speaking. If you look thru that crowd, you will see Brady. Anyways, now that he's renounced patriarchy, and he is not speaking for his wives, it would be amazing to see any of his wives interviewed by Sam & Melissa! Equality means he's not the centre anymore. Please interview Rhonda, Noni, or Rosemary. Let's hear from the women!
I love Brady and his wives. They weren't perfect but so much kinder to each other than we saw with the Browns. When My 5 Wives was on they said they had already left the church and didn't believe in the religion or polygamy anymore, but he wasn't going to leave any of his wives so they were staying together. The show came to an end because his 3rd wife, Rosemary, revealed she had been sexually abused by her father. With everything going on with Honey Boo Boo and the Duggars with pedophilia TLC overreacted and canceled the next season of their show.
I never could understand why they would want to shut it down. It’s not like the abuse was still happening, TLC made a stupid decision to stop this show but keep Sister Wives on. I feel that he treats his wives well, I can’t stand polygamy but it takes a humble man to realize his religion is wrong & leave it. He used to be a church Bishop & that’s where he realized that the AUB was wrong. He isn’t trying to get his kids to live this life!
I always thought that his wives seemed very lovable, yet massively damaged from having to share their husband. Extremely damaged. Jealous, powerless, weepy, insecure etc.
I couldn’t love Brady’s story more. I’ve always said that ALL God or The Universe wants, is for us to be good people. All those other rules and beliefs don’t matter.
I have no idea why I follow so many ex-fundamentalists, but, I'm always fascinated to hear stories of people who left or evolved their views. I think it started because I followed a few families (the duggars, etc) over the years and have loved watching some of the kids find their own way. I've just found y'all's channel and I'm loving your content!!
I think Brady was taught to share, but I think Brady has still not stopped educating himself and trusting his own conscience and heart to come to the understanding of what feels noble and honorable to be a good person. He doesn’t just regurgitate brainwashed material. He is still working to be the best man he can be despite his upbringing or culture.
I've thought this exact sentiment a few times when it comes to people like Sam and Melissa, and all the other people who have started to question the extreme beliefs that they were raised in. The core values that they were raised in, how to stand up for what's right, to never waiver in your beliefs, learning and how to teach others what you have learned.... Not to mention what it looks like to be a hard worker, and to never give up when things get tough.... All those exact qualities that were ingrained in them through their upbringing are the same qualities that helps them now as they speak out against it. They were taught to stand up for what was right no matter what. And that doesn't change inside or outside the church they were raised in.
I haven’t been on this channel in a while and this is my first introduction to Brady- this guy is GREAT! I at first was ready to roll my eyes when he was talking about “the guy from Wisconsin sent to a wilderness camp…” and yet… what an actual introspective person to see that this kind person is a “better” person
It was so refreshing to have such a wholesome interview. (Not that yours aren’t but I hope you know what I mean.) My natural tendency is to outright renounce and reject my upbringing for the abusive and cultish horror show it was. Sam’s ongoing speaking of his childhood and this interview also help create space within me to acknowledge the moments of neutrality in my home, the babysitter who loved and nurtured me, and the occasional of kindness from older ladies in the church. It used to be critical for me to believe there was nothing but abuse and evil there because that helped keep me from getting sucked back in to the horror so I could build a life in my own from nothing. Having strangers on the internet model acknowledging good in the midst of dangerous systems that are abusive for so many helps me acknowledge the good in myself that was there the whole time. Often it wasn’t safe to act on it but there many times I was despite being in survival mode. That helps me see my proud heritage in myself and that brings with it healing where I hadn’t recognized wounding. Thank you for the work you do.
What an amazing, thoughtful and eloquent man. I loved his and the family's show back in the day and although it didn't have the drama I just knew that they were a solid group of folks. I am so glad he is still proactive with his profound ideas and pure love. I wish the williams all the best. Thank you Melissa and Sam for yet more great content.
Amen, amen and amen! When you said, “Do you feel like what Christ has asked us to do is a LOT shorter list than what the church has asked us to do?” That’s the answer to following a religion bs following Christ (or God). God don’t call us to separate ourselves because of an allegiance to sone man-designed RELIGION. He called us to follow Him and HIS lead. Loved this!!!!
A personal relationship with Christ is something so special that I’m grateful that my Grams always said to let God lead me & didn’t force crazy beliefs on me. I was raised in a cultic faith by my parents, they don’t have a written disconnection policy but they don’t need to cause the brainwashed leaders have made sure their hardcore members pass the idea along. This place seems like it’s good but that’s cause they hide the evil. I so wish I could expose the cultic faith that destroyed my immediate family!!!
I have always taken Brady with a grain of salt. His love of public speaking makes me uncomfortable; his ego is sizable. But I will always respect him for the way he credits his wives' strength and bravery. When he said "My wives were born and raised to say yes," I GASPED because he understands acutely the way his wives were brainwashed, and that they went through an agonizing and exhausting effort to change their core beliefs. I have to respect a man who not only understands but appreciates their struggles.
You're not wrong. I respect Brady, but I think any man who accumulates five wives has a massive ego lol even if he "fell madly in love" with all of them.
The AUB will force people to take on wives, I hate polygamy but I don’t think that his ego is as connected. He was brainwashed but he started to realize that something was wrong as a bishop when he was trying to counsel families on issues he had no idea were part of how other polygamous families lived. An ego driven man would never be able to admit that he was wrong & make changes!
Sam and Melissa, thanks so much for covering this interview. It was very interesting and gave great insight into Brady and the Williams family as well. Loved your commentary and personal details into your lives too. At least for me, I feel I understand your family and the Williams family a little bit more now. That would be beyond fantastic if you could get Brady on your channel for an interview. I'd love to hear all of you "compare notes"! Thanks again, I loved everything about this❤❤❤❤❤!
I thought the comment about having to live polygamy or you would lose your first wife was interesting. I’ve never heard that before. I was glad to hear him say that his wives were raised to say yes. I’m glad he realizes the level of conditioning they were under and how much harder things were for them. 100% agree with him about religious fundamentalism.
What a great episode!! I am not raised religious and I was fascinated with both shows (sister wives & 5 wives) and I love the perspective Sam & Melissa added to this interview. I have often wondered why religious people automatically presume that I am not a good person when all I do is live according to the best part of my good intentions. Of course I falter sometimes as any human does, but when I know better I do better. I respect everyone so why don't they respect me- this episode gave me a lot of insights and answers ♥
I was sad when this show didn’t continue but I’m actually glad it didn’t. I think maybe it was best for them. Perhaps being so much in the spotlight isn’t really good for a family. I hope he and his family are all doing well.
YAY YOU GOT THE INTERVIEW!! You guys rock!! Love you both, Sam and Melissa sooooo much!! ETA: you found an interview!! lol but I’m sure you’ll get a chance to interview him soon!!!
I am blown away that you two would not have watched Big Love. It really kicked off the contemporary interest in Polygamy - and then FLDS etc. I would love to hear your responses to BL.
I hope Brady would consider coming on your show. I also would just like to see the women interviewed. My guess is without the religious component, they wouldn't repeat the choice they made now; but, since it was already made, they are not going to break up the family and leave the man they love.
Just FYI the Brown's would say Meri was in "mergers and acquisitions" and Meri would be the "bait" to lure other wives and go find Kody a wife - that's how they got Robyn. So their philosophy is different than Brady, Brady said he would never allow that.
Brady is a bit rare even for the AUB. He did become a bishop and seventy on the younger side. But he was a golden boy, like he said. Checking all the boxes and got a bunch of wives pretty young even by AUB standards.
Hey, I've been wanting to watch this interview, but couldn't really be asked so now I'm watching it with you guys haha. Wild that they turned down a Big Love reaction show. I absolutely would have watched it. I think if you decide to give Big Love another shot you might like it. They actually did have a polygamy consultant, Caroline Jessop. Maybe others too, but I know she helped with the show because she talked about it in her book. The compound Bill comes from is based on the FLDS. There's a take over that's kind of similar to Warren and Rulon Jeffs. There's another polygamous group in the series called the Greens and they live in Mexico. You can tell they took inspiration for those characters from the LaBarons. I won't spoil all of it, but just to give you an idea.
Big Love was obviously a scripted show but I felt it was well done! My 5 wives was so pleasant to watch but the Brown family is painful to watch. Knowing that one of the Brown adult children has taken their life makes me want it to end, having a father that ignores most of his biological kids isn’t going to lead to anything good.
Letting go of the patriarchal authority and giving all wives a vote might have saved the Brown family, or at least prevented the money grab that was the move to Flagstaff!
Especially as Kody was not leadership material. He made very poor financial decisions. He moved the family around a lot & this was hard on all the kids. The kids had to leave schools & friends. Kody did not care if this disrupted the kids lives. He only cared re Robyn & himself. Sad
What I got from this is know matter what your walk in life is; don’t be judgmental…you never know what someone else is going through. Try to be kind, accepting and genuinely loving towards others. For myself peeling back the layers of the onion has been realizing how quick I am to judge others without really knowing them or knowing them and actually not accepting them at all because of their lifestyle….thats so harsh of me and I really hadn’t deeply thought about it until I watched this episode.
A “checklist” takes away being good for the sake of being good. It takes away being a genuinely good person. A checklist makes you good for the sake of doing what someone else tells you to do for the sake of getting into heaven, and you’re doing the checklist for the selfish reason of getting into heaven, not for the selfless reason of loving others with no conditions or to help others with no expectations
Great to hear your perspective. I listened on Apple podcasts but wanted to comment here. Lindsay Hansen Park interviewed Brady on a Year in Polygamy if you are interested. The similarities between Islam and the LDS are very interesting. Polygamy is widespread in some Islamic groups. There are even laws in some countries like India that only apply to Muslims that permit polygamy. Mohamed married a little girl as polygamous wife. When we see these little girls being sold by their families in Afghanistan as brides they can point to their first profit. Not unlike Warren Jef's pointing to Joseph Smiths teenage wives.
Thank you for mentioning. I have noticed in Seeking Sister Wives that there seem to be a lot of similarities. While I don’t agree with the practice I like to try to understand why people justify polygamy enough to live it. It was never God’s plan or Adam would have had multiple wives!
Big Love is actually based on The Darger family who reside in Herriman Utah and are indeed polygamist. I dont know how much pull yhey had in the making of the show but it is supposed to be based on that family. He ran for Mayor in, I believe it was 2017 or maybe it was before. They also wrote a book, Love Times Three
it was actually based on his parents polygamist relationship. He mentions it in his and his wife’s book. The storyline about the first wife getting nominated for mother of the year came directly from Joe Darger’s mother’s life.
Not quite. Neither of you are entirely correct. Only one very specific tiny storyline was based on Shauna Barlow's nomination (Joe Darger's mother), who subsequently married and slept with her daughter's husband, after Joe Darger's dad died. They left out the part of why she sure as hell was not "mother of the year" material on the show... (She was also both child bride herself and two of her sisterwives were underage as well.) Plus a picture of Joe Darger's three wives on the cover of a magazine founded by Anne Wilde (the same polygamy activist and White supremacist who negotiated the Brown family for TLC) inspired the gay show runners to do "Big Love"- the LDS had just bankrolled campaigns against gay marriage and they wanted to flip the bird at the LDS with the show by pointing out how massively weird some of Joseph Smith's teachings are.
Holy cow! You guys got the interview 🎉 I followed their FB for a while but then it went silent with no more updates. ETA: I got prematurely excited. I just saw the thumbnail 🤦🏽♀️
It is so awesome that all his kids are such functional well educated individuals, they were afforded the opportunity to mix with society normally. Also interview the wives and these grown kids. I have always wondered what happened with the breast cancer that one wife (Rhonda) had? I can see why TLC dropped them - because they didn't subscribe to the religion
TLC dropped them allegedly because Rosemary admitted that as a young girl her father (not sure if biological father or stepfather) had sexually abused her. So even though they weren’t going to be dealing with the abuser at all they cut them after the issues with Honey Boo Boo & another situation. I think they made a big mistake, they were so much more pleasant to watch than Sister Wives. With the direction that has gone maybe they could have ended Sister Wives by now! Just wish they could have them come back to see how the wives & children are especially the older ones.
Another thing to notice in difference to sisterwives / my 5 wives was that interactions in sisterwives was like little splashes or spots of actual flim rolling and mostly narrative couch time to explain that moment were in my 5 wives it was mostly flim rolling explaining the scene the moments and splashes of narrative giving more personal information perspective
😊I liked the show My Five Wives. They appeared to have respectful relationships. And I don't even believe in polygamy. It was an interesting way of learning about different lifestyles. Whereas Sister Wives, Kody and his wives seemed a hot, uncomfortable mess ! Even if they were a traditional monogamous relationships they would still be messy, crazy, abusive. But it stays around due to the drama. I think Brady and his wives showed real life and not made up drama. So, in my opinion that is the reason the show was canceled.
And unlike Kody… Brady has a real job, his own construction business and his wives worked and they support their family together. They aren’t scammers. Unlike Kody & Robyn.
Big Love is loosely based on the AUB. While there are dramatic elements to the show a lot of the subjects broached are real. The lost boys...the prophet... Jealousy among the wives. I love that show.
The show got me interested in the concept of religious polygamy. It is important that religious beliefs are what makes polygamy important to the men & women who follow & believe in the faith. Read the book: Under The Banner of Heaven if you want to learn the origins of polygamy as created by Joseph Smith.
@@jewelgazerthe boys within the polygamy compounds are used as forced labor. Some are kicked out as teens so there are more females available to marry older men & make more babies. The boys are kicked out of the compounds away fr family & friends. They are forcible separated fr their Mothers. They are purposely orphaned. It is evil to do this because the compounds want to save young women for men higher up in the leadership.
I love Big Love! It’s what hooked me into looking into what Mormonism is all about. It was so long ago and I’m still interested 😂 Obviously it’s fictional entertainment. But it shows the difference between mainstream LDS and a fictional FLDS. It does go over the top in the drama as TV does in some areas.
I have no problem with ethical polyamory but anytime someone is being subsumed to the other, it’s not good no matter how many people are in the relationship.
Big Love does show some of what compound polygamy is like & how religious polygamy works outside the confines of living on a polygamy compound. In Big Love, two polygamist husband's run a profitable hardware Home Depot store. Some of the wives work jobs. One wife runs a profitable MLM. The two families feature are deeply religious. They even show some Temple rituals. The Big Love people even open family casino. The character & kids work hard. No laziness as seen by Kody. Kody never is shown working any kind of job that brings in real money. It is the Brown wives who deal with the kids & have side jobs. In Utah, Janelle had a good paying job & she managed the family finances until princess I have demands Robyn showed up. She brought $30,000 shopping debt & 3 minor kids to Kody's marriage with her. Her Sister Wives Closet was financial no go. Robyn has 3 adult kids who do not work. The oldest son has a college degree! Why can't those kids have some outside the home job?
I recently rewatched Big Love, and I still love it. It was meant to be entertainment, not super-realistic, but I believe there were LDS and polygamous sect consultants. I think of it more as an impressionistic soap opera.
There are many ppl I've heard say that the brown family ( sister wives ) was the exception to the rule in polygamy but to be honset I don't see that , i see my 5 wives family as the exception! In sisterwives there kids did benefit from moving out of Utah and in a more welcoming environment that they no longer had to hide there family and was able to experience real life in the real world , witch is an exception but with the Willams there kids don't need that , they already have that through there parents . Brady trys very hard to have special realsinships with each of his wives and stays to deal with the hard stuff that maybe he is rubbing his head like oh man what did I just get into, but he dose not run away or pull the keep sweet and shut up card that kody pulls ! The difference of the 2 family's is the man , the leader of the family and how he built/ lead his family !
I was raised mainstream LDS and my grandmother told me that the men used to marry multiple wives as a favour to them because there were more women than men, (through death, disease, war etc). So they adopted that practice as a charitable way to help these poor women, and when that was no longer necessary, they stopped. To this day I wonder if that is what she really believed, had that been told to her and she just accepted it, or was it her way of whitewashing a historical practice that she knew the church has shame about.
It is my understanding that the show did not return because of his wife , Rosemary, allegations of abuse regarding her Father. I don’t know if it was the family’s decision or TLC’s.
That is so sad. Sucks that it ruined the show because of someone’s past behavior not a part of the show. They could use that money for all those babies.
The allegations had nothing to do with the show being canceled. The show was canceled because the Williams family didn’t bring the drama like the brown family does. Brady Williams has actually stated that for a fact.
I remember watching his shows and in season 2, one of his wives had her cancer return? Maybe I’m misremembering, but if that’s correct I’m wondering how she’s doing.
Very good episode. I'm friends with Rosemary on FB ... I'll send her this video and see if they contact you for an interview. How can she contact you? Brady is awesome! The story of the tattoo guy... Man that really made me think. I left the mainstream Mormon church over 20 years ago. The story of me leaving is very interesting and inspiring. It is true that when you leave you continue to ring the truths to others of why you left and the truth about the Mormon church and it's real history. I do that daily.
Have you been approached by producers about filming a show where you are helping the FLDS members rebuild their lives and helping change places of pain into places of serenity?
In one of the first seasons of Seeking Sister Wives, one family said you needed at least three wives in order to be a God and Goddess of your own planet. Absent three wives, you ascend to being an angel only and not with the spouses you have. That was one reason Robyn was destroyed about the implosion. She may have wanted all of Kody’s time and love, but Kody wasn’t required to give that equally. He was required to have at least three wives and if that happened the entire spousal group would become gods of their own planet. Also, one perspective that I realized as listening to Brady (and I watched all of the shows as a non Christian, I am fascinated by comparative religion), Kody married his third wife, Christine, who was an AUB blueblood. For the longest time, she was the last one. He didn’t love any of them so he didn’t know how dysfunctional it all was UNTIL he met Robyn. Robyn had chemistry with him and he wanted her. He stopped being intimate with most of his wives. Meri and Christine have discussed this. Christine was pregnant with last child when he met Robyn. I have no idea about Janelle. Janelle’s leaving the family was the one person I thought he would be calm about but Kody lost it the most with Janelle. When Christine left, he still had three wives. He was doing what he was taught he was required to do for Meri…he provided for her but he wasn’t required to do anything after efforts for more children are over. Kody converted to AUB around his dad doing so. I really would LOVE to have Brady and Kody have a lengthy podcast discussing their current perspectives. When Meri’s first child came out as gay (but before coming out as a trans non binary person) Kody was more tolerant than I expected. As he said, “how can I ask people to accept how I want to structure my family and not have the same respect for others to exercise their rights to do the same thing?” Meri was most affected by the idea she would never be a grandma. Her child, while still presenting as female lesbian, reminded Meri that families can be created through a number of paths and that she was open to IVF at one point, although they didn’t choose that path.
My niece married a man who was raised in mainstream Mormonism. He left the beliefs, and his parents call my niece a Jezebel and a satan for basically taking him away. In one hand, I get it. I’d be heartbroken if my children left our faith and I’d want them to reclaim it, but I wouldn’t ever call their partner a Jezebel or Satan!
I am so glad you guys reacted to this! I found it absolutely fascinating. Particularly the story about Justin. I, too, kinda pride myself on being a "phenomenally good christian" despite being an atheist. LOL I don't break any commandments or anything! I'm a good person because I want to be, not because there is gold at the end of the rainbow. Also, I TOTALLY agree that when I was fundie I was *so fundie* but now that I'm an atheist, I'm a bit of a fundie atheist. It's hard to lose that fervor. It's part of who I am.
Every time he says he fell head over heels in love with all 5 of his wives, it makes my heart hurt. It sounds almost like he’s justifying it. Where is the empathy for his first wife? I have just one question for him and all polygamists: how would he feel if their first wife fell head over heels in love with other men while married to him? If plural marriage isn’t okay in both directions, then it is nothing but absolute extreme misogyny and cruelty.
Your opening spoke to me. Go into the world and spread the gospel, it's your job to save souls for Christ. Well when I find out it's all made up to keep us in our places, better believe that's what I'm spreading now. Speakers of truth will always speak THEIR truth!
I really think that tlc really wanted them to Amp up drama , give content and embellsh storylines and they were not willing to do that and so it was dropped
I wish TLC would have kept this show for more seasons. I really liked this family, I am always looking online for current info about them. I remember when Kody & wives went to rally where Joe Darger was speaking. If you look thru that crowd, you will see Brady. Anyways, now that he's renounced patriarchy, and he is not speaking for his wives, it would be amazing to see any of his wives interviewed by Sam & Melissa! Equality means he's not the centre anymore. Please interview Rhonda, Noni, or Rosemary. Let's hear from the women!
Interview all 5 or at least ask all 5. I was impressed with these women, and Brady and wanted to see more of the show, learn more about their lives.
I loved this family too. I like watching normal. It's still so interesting ❤
I really liked this family too. Brady seems like such loving, caring husband and father. I would have loved watching more of them.
I’ve never watched this soap opera, nor watched any GUIP shows about. Disgusting.
I liked this family as well!
I love Brady and his wives. They weren't perfect but so much kinder to each other than we saw with the Browns. When My 5 Wives was on they said they had already left the church and didn't believe in the religion or polygamy anymore, but he wasn't going to leave any of his wives so they were staying together. The show came to an end because his 3rd wife, Rosemary, revealed she had been sexually abused by her father. With everything going on with Honey Boo Boo and the Duggars with pedophilia TLC overreacted and canceled the next season of their show.
That's because American TV wants to show the worst of human behavior rather than the best!
Oh wow! I heard it was low ratings.
I never could understand why they would want to shut it down. It’s not like the abuse was still happening, TLC made a stupid decision to stop this show but keep Sister Wives on. I feel that he treats his wives well, I can’t stand polygamy but it takes a humble man to realize his religion is wrong & leave it. He used to be a church Bishop & that’s where he realized that the AUB was wrong. He isn’t trying to get his kids to live this life!
I always thought that his wives seemed very lovable, yet massively damaged from having to share their husband. Extremely damaged. Jealous, powerless, weepy, insecure etc.
@@user-ur5zm8zo3w yes they were crying and unhappy all thj time.
I couldn’t love Brady’s story more. I’ve always said that ALL God or The Universe wants, is for us to be good people. All those other rules and beliefs don’t matter.
I have no idea why I follow so many ex-fundamentalists, but, I'm always fascinated to hear stories of people who left or evolved their views.
I think it started because I followed a few families (the duggars, etc) over the years and have loved watching some of the kids find their own way.
I've just found y'all's channel and I'm loving your content!!
I think Brady was taught to share, but I think Brady has still not stopped educating himself and trusting his own conscience and heart to come to the understanding of what feels noble and honorable to be a good person. He doesn’t just regurgitate brainwashed material. He is still working to be the best man he can be despite his upbringing or culture.
I've thought this exact sentiment a few times when it comes to people like Sam and Melissa, and all the other people who have started to question the extreme beliefs that they were raised in. The core values that they were raised in, how to stand up for what's right, to never waiver in your beliefs, learning and how to teach others what you have learned.... Not to mention what it looks like to be a hard worker, and to never give up when things get tough.... All those exact qualities that were ingrained in them through their upbringing are the same qualities that helps them now as they speak out against it. They were taught to stand up for what was right no matter what. And that doesn't change inside or outside the church they were raised in.
I wish Brady or one/all of his wives would come on this podcast. That’d be awesome
Future here: Brady did and now I wish his wives would come on and be interviewed.
I haven’t been on this channel in a while and this is my first introduction to Brady- this guy is GREAT! I at first was ready to roll my eyes when he was talking about “the guy from Wisconsin sent to a wilderness camp…” and yet… what an actual introspective person to see that this kind person is a “better” person
It’s a beautiful story❤
It was so refreshing to have such a wholesome interview. (Not that yours aren’t but I hope you know what I mean.) My natural tendency is to outright renounce and reject my upbringing for the abusive and cultish horror show it was. Sam’s ongoing speaking of his childhood and this interview also help create space within me to acknowledge the moments of neutrality in my home, the babysitter who loved and nurtured me, and the occasional of kindness from older ladies in the church. It used to be critical for me to believe there was nothing but abuse and evil there because that helped keep me from getting sucked back in to the horror so I could build a life in my own from nothing. Having strangers on the internet model acknowledging good in the midst of dangerous systems that are abusive for so many helps me acknowledge the good in myself that was there the whole time. Often it wasn’t safe to act on it but there many times I was despite being in survival mode. That helps me see my proud heritage in myself and that brings with it healing where I hadn’t recognized wounding.
Thank you for the work you do.
What an amazing, thoughtful and eloquent man. I loved his and the family's show back in the day and although it didn't have the drama I just knew that they were a solid group of folks. I am so glad he is still proactive with his profound ideas and pure love. I wish the williams all the best. Thank you Melissa and Sam for yet more great content.
Amen, amen and amen! When you said, “Do you feel like what Christ has asked us to do is a LOT shorter list than what the church has asked us to do?” That’s the answer to following a religion bs following Christ (or God). God don’t call us to separate ourselves because of an allegiance to sone man-designed RELIGION. He called us to follow Him and HIS lead.
Loved this!!!!
A personal relationship with Christ is something so special that I’m grateful that my Grams always said to let God lead me & didn’t force crazy beliefs on me.
I was raised in a cultic faith by my parents, they don’t have a written disconnection policy but they don’t need to cause the brainwashed leaders have made sure their hardcore members pass the idea along. This place seems like it’s good but that’s cause they hide the evil. I so wish I could expose the cultic faith that destroyed my immediate family!!!
I have always taken Brady with a grain of salt. His love of public speaking makes me uncomfortable; his ego is sizable. But I will always respect him for the way he credits his wives' strength and bravery. When he said "My wives were born and raised to say yes," I GASPED because he understands acutely the way his wives were brainwashed, and that they went through an agonizing and exhausting effort to change their core beliefs. I have to respect a man who not only understands but appreciates their struggles.
You're not wrong. I respect Brady, but I think any man who accumulates five wives has a massive ego lol even if he "fell madly in love" with all of them.
The AUB will force people to take on wives, I hate polygamy but I don’t think that his ego is as connected. He was brainwashed but he started to realize that something was wrong as a bishop when he was trying to counsel families on issues he had no idea were part of how other polygamous families lived. An ego driven man would never be able to admit that he was wrong & make changes!
This was my favorite TLC family ❤
Excellent podcast…I learned so very much! Thank you
😊
What an awesome interview. Good to see a more positive spin on the lifestyle that wasn't a trainwreck. Thank you for sharing Sam & Melissa!
Born and raised to say yes. Such a huge revelation.
This was a very thoughtful conversation! Thank you.
This was a really interesting discussion. Thank you!
This was a great episode! I hope you can get him on some time.
Sam and Melissa, thanks so much for covering this interview. It was very interesting and gave great insight into Brady and the Williams family as well. Loved your commentary and personal details into your lives too. At least for me, I feel I understand your family and the Williams family a little bit more now. That would be beyond fantastic if you could get Brady on your channel for an interview. I'd love to hear all of you "compare notes"! Thanks again, I loved everything about this❤❤❤❤❤!
I thought the comment about having to live polygamy or you would lose your first wife was interesting. I’ve never heard that before. I was glad to hear him say that his wives were raised to say yes. I’m glad he realizes the level of conditioning they were under and how much harder things were for them. 100% agree with him about religious fundamentalism.
This was an incredibly enlightening video! I hope you all can have Brady on sometime. You can tell he speaks from such a place of love.
What a great episode!! I am not raised religious and I was fascinated with both shows (sister wives & 5 wives) and I love the perspective Sam & Melissa added to this interview. I have often wondered why religious people automatically presume that I am not a good person when all I do is live according to the best part of my good intentions. Of course I falter sometimes as any human does, but when I know better I do better. I respect everyone so why don't they respect me- this episode gave me a lot of insights and answers ♥
This was a great episode. Absolutely brilliant
This was a super interesting video. Thanks!
Great job guys!
Thank you! 😊
Thank you for sharing. I love his thoughts ❤
Extremism is Extremism , no matter what slant you put to it .
No kidding!!!!
WOW! I really like Brady - I wish they showed him speaking more deeply about his beliefs like this on the show. Great discussion!
Great interview! Great coverage! Thanks for sharing 🤗
Thank you for sharing this
Made me so humble
Doing God is to be good
I would definitely watch that interview and you guys would be the best to do that interview
I was sad when this show didn’t continue but I’m actually glad it didn’t. I think maybe it was best for them. Perhaps being so much in the spotlight isn’t really good for a family. I hope he and his family are all doing well.
yes wish his family was kept longer on the show on TLC
YAY YOU GOT THE INTERVIEW!! You guys rock!! Love you both, Sam and Melissa sooooo much!!
ETA: you found an interview!! lol but I’m sure you’ll get a chance to interview him soon!!!
Thank you! ❤️
I am blown away that you two would not have watched Big Love. It really kicked off the contemporary interest in Polygamy - and then FLDS etc. I would love to hear your responses to BL.
OMG, that is so amazing! Good for Brady and his Family, living delusion free.
I love your videos, you have really interesting subjects and you both add so much value of your own!
Thank you! 😊
Way to go Sam and Melissa! I have much respect for Brady, and I think he will eventually come on your show!
I hope Brady would consider coming on your show. I also would just like to see the women interviewed. My guess is without the religious component, they wouldn't repeat the choice they made now; but, since it was already made, they are not going to break up the family and leave the man they love.
Just FYI the Brown's would say Meri was in "mergers and acquisitions" and Meri would be the "bait" to lure other wives and go find Kody a wife - that's how they got Robyn. So their philosophy is different than Brady, Brady said he would never allow that.
Very interesting interview.
I loved their show. Wished so much for new seasons.
Awesome video, thank you! I learned a lot ❤
Love listening to you on a Saturday morning ❤
Thank you 😊
Let’s go Brady!!! I’m so interested in what’s happening with your family!!!
I’ve heard His 3rd wife was the leader of the AUB’s leader at the time he was in the AUB.
This show was much better than Sisters Wife’s. With Cody Brown.
Brady and his family seem like they are a great and inspiring group of people
Brady new look on life and his testimony is aligned with what many people believe. ❤
Wow .. I like him . He is a stand up guy. I believe his wives stuck around because he does do right by them and their children.
Brady is a bit rare even for the AUB. He did become a bishop and seventy on the younger side. But he was a golden boy, like he said. Checking all the boxes and got a bunch of wives pretty young even by AUB standards.
I wish tlc would have kept this show on longer to watch his change out of the aub
Hey, I've been wanting to watch this interview, but couldn't really be asked so now I'm watching it with you guys haha. Wild that they turned down a Big Love reaction show. I absolutely would have watched it. I think if you decide to give Big Love another shot you might like it. They actually did have a polygamy consultant, Caroline Jessop. Maybe others too, but I know she helped with the show because she talked about it in her book. The compound Bill comes from is based on the FLDS. There's a take over that's kind of similar to Warren and Rulon Jeffs. There's another polygamous group in the series called the Greens and they live in Mexico. You can tell they took inspiration for those characters from the LaBarons. I won't spoil all of it, but just to give you an idea.
Thank you so much for this insight!
Big Love was obviously a scripted show but I felt it was well done! My 5 wives was so pleasant to watch but the Brown family is painful to watch. Knowing that one of the Brown adult children has taken their life makes me want it to end, having a father that ignores most of his biological kids isn’t going to lead to anything good.
Letting go of the patriarchal authority and giving all wives a vote might have saved the Brown family, or at least prevented the money grab that was the move to Flagstaff!
Especially as Kody was not leadership material. He made very poor financial decisions. He moved the family around a lot & this was hard on all the kids. The kids had to leave schools & friends. Kody did not care if this disrupted the kids lives. He only cared re Robyn & himself. Sad
What I got from this is know matter what your walk in life is; don’t be judgmental…you never know what someone else is going through. Try to be kind, accepting and genuinely loving towards others.
For myself peeling back the layers of the onion has been realizing how quick I am to judge others without really knowing them or knowing them and actually not accepting them at all because of their lifestyle….thats so harsh of me and I really hadn’t deeply thought about it until I watched this episode.
A “checklist” takes away being good for the sake of being good. It takes away being a genuinely good person. A checklist makes you good for the sake of doing what someone else tells you to do for the sake of getting into heaven, and you’re doing the checklist for the selfish reason of getting into heaven, not for the selfless reason of loving others with no conditions or to help others with no expectations
Like living under the law
Love Brady and his family! I would watch this family 100%
Great to hear your perspective. I listened on Apple podcasts but wanted to comment here. Lindsay Hansen Park interviewed Brady on a Year in Polygamy if you are interested. The similarities between Islam and the LDS are very interesting. Polygamy is widespread in some Islamic groups. There are even laws in some countries like India that only apply to Muslims that permit polygamy. Mohamed married a little girl as polygamous wife. When we see these little girls being sold by their families in Afghanistan as brides they can point to their first profit. Not unlike Warren Jef's pointing to Joseph Smiths teenage wives.
Lindsay’s interview of Brady is really really good. Even better than this interview. It has some of the same stories but dives deeper.
Thank you for mentioning. I have noticed in Seeking Sister Wives that there seem to be a lot of similarities. While I don’t agree with the practice I like to try to understand why people justify polygamy enough to live it. It was never God’s plan or Adam would have had multiple wives!
Gosh I loved this show.
Big Love is actually based on The Darger family who reside in Herriman Utah and are indeed polygamist. I dont know how much pull yhey had in the making of the show but it is supposed to be based on that family. He ran for Mayor in, I believe it was 2017 or maybe it was before. They also wrote a book, Love Times Three
it was actually based on his parents polygamist relationship. He mentions it in his and his wife’s book. The storyline about the first wife getting nominated for mother of the year came directly from Joe Darger’s mother’s life.
Not quite. Neither of you are entirely correct. Only one very specific tiny storyline was based on Shauna Barlow's nomination (Joe Darger's mother), who subsequently married and slept with her daughter's husband, after Joe Darger's dad died. They left out the part of why she sure as hell was not "mother of the year" material on the show... (She was also both child bride herself and two of her sisterwives were underage as well.) Plus a picture of Joe Darger's three wives on the cover of a magazine founded by Anne Wilde (the same polygamy activist and White supremacist who negotiated the Brown family for TLC) inspired the gay show runners to do "Big Love"- the LDS had just bankrolled campaigns against gay marriage and they wanted to flip the bird at the LDS with the show by pointing out how massively weird some of Joseph Smith's teachings are.
Holy cow! You guys got the interview 🎉 I followed their FB for a while but then it went silent with no more updates.
ETA: I got prematurely excited. I just saw the thumbnail 🤦🏽♀️
Same! 🙈 I was amazed at the quick turn-around. 😅
It is so awesome that all his kids are such functional well educated individuals, they were afforded the opportunity to mix with society normally. Also interview the wives and these grown kids. I have always wondered what happened with the breast cancer that one wife (Rhonda) had? I can see why TLC dropped them - because they didn't subscribe to the religion
TLC dropped them allegedly because Rosemary admitted that as a young girl her father (not sure if biological father or stepfather) had sexually abused her. So even though they weren’t going to be dealing with the abuser at all they cut them after the issues with Honey Boo Boo & another situation.
I think they made a big mistake, they were so much more pleasant to watch than Sister Wives. With the direction that has gone maybe they could have ended Sister Wives by now! Just wish they could have them come back to see how the wives & children are especially the older ones.
@@SummerLove316 So if you're a sexual assault victim TLC doesn't want to hear about it?
Another thing to notice in difference to sisterwives / my 5 wives was that interactions in sisterwives was like little splashes or spots of actual flim rolling and mostly narrative couch time to explain that moment were in my 5 wives it was mostly flim rolling explaining the scene the moments and splashes of narrative giving more personal information perspective
😊I liked the show My Five Wives. They appeared to have respectful relationships. And I don't even believe in polygamy. It was an interesting way of learning about different lifestyles.
Whereas Sister Wives, Kody and his wives seemed a hot, uncomfortable mess ! Even if they were a traditional monogamous relationships they would still be messy, crazy, abusive. But it stays around due to the drama.
I think Brady and his wives showed real life and not made up drama. So, in my opinion that is the reason the show was canceled.
Yeah, TLC sure goes for sensationalism doesn’t it?? Same as 90 day fiancé lol
And unlike Kody… Brady has a real job, his own construction business and his wives worked and they support their family together. They aren’t scammers. Unlike Kody & Robyn.
The fact that Brady feels polygamy should die out with the people who are still practicing it, it really shows how bad he sees it to see!
Big Love is loosely based on the AUB. While there are dramatic elements to the show a lot of the subjects broached are real. The lost boys...the prophet... Jealousy among the wives. I love that show.
The lost boys is sooo sad - what those young boys are faced with is so daunting.
The show got me interested in the concept of religious polygamy. It is important that religious beliefs are what makes polygamy important to the men & women who follow & believe in the faith.
Read the book: Under The Banner of Heaven if you want to learn the origins of polygamy as created by Joseph Smith.
@@jewelgazerthe boys within the polygamy compounds are used as forced labor. Some are kicked out as teens so there are more females available to marry older men & make more babies. The boys are kicked out of the compounds away fr family & friends. They are forcible separated fr their Mothers. They are purposely orphaned. It is evil to do this because the compounds want to save young women for men higher up in the leadership.
@@g.flesch9731Polygamy can be practiced without religion. Also polyamory is practiced by many more people than you realize and done without religion
The Lost Boys are from the FLDS not from the AUB
I love Big Love! It’s what hooked me into looking into what Mormonism is all about. It was so long ago and I’m still interested 😂 Obviously it’s fictional entertainment. But it shows the difference between mainstream LDS and a fictional FLDS. It does go over the top in the drama as TV does in some areas.
Sam, your mic has been a little too hot on the last couple of videos. Love your insight and your approach, guys.
You need some more episodes of Big Love. The pilot different from the rest of it.
Good job with this.... this is Brady
He is the complete opposite of Kody Brown.
I have no problem with ethical polyamory but anytime someone is being subsumed to the other, it’s not good no matter how many people are in the relationship.
Exactly. We have free will & forcing women to the will of a man is awful. It is 2024! Equality for women is not a part of polygamy.
There’s nothing ethical about polygamy.
Agreed @@paulan7218
I can’t seem to find part 2 ?
You should have posted the link to the video so people have the option to watch it.
Brady seems like a good teamleader for the family.
“Cruise control into heaven!” 😂 What a phrase.
I am binge watching “Big Love “- it’s not supposed to look like real polygamy. It’s ridiculous, funny, and pure entertainment.
Big Love does show some of what compound polygamy is like & how religious polygamy works outside the confines of living on a polygamy compound. In Big Love, two polygamist husband's run a profitable hardware Home Depot store. Some of the wives work jobs. One wife runs a profitable MLM.
The two families feature are deeply religious. They even show some Temple rituals. The Big Love people even open family casino. The character & kids work hard. No laziness as seen by Kody. Kody never is shown working any kind of job that brings in real money. It is the Brown wives who deal with the kids & have side jobs. In Utah, Janelle had a good paying job & she managed the family finances until princess I have demands Robyn showed up. She brought $30,000 shopping debt & 3 minor kids to Kody's marriage with her. Her Sister Wives Closet was financial no go.
Robyn has 3 adult kids who do not work. The oldest son has a college degree! Why can't those kids have some outside the home job?
I recently rewatched Big Love, and I still love it. It was meant to be entertainment, not super-realistic, but I believe there were LDS and polygamous sect consultants. I think of it more as an impressionistic soap opera.
I completely forgot about this show!!! Thank you!
I couldn’t get into it because it wasn’t accurate! 😂
I am so so so impressed by the feminist values of this man!! So many hot takes.
There are many ppl I've heard say that the brown family ( sister wives ) was the exception to the rule in polygamy but to be honset I don't see that , i see my 5 wives family as the exception! In sisterwives there kids did benefit from moving out of Utah and in a more welcoming environment that they no longer had to hide there family and was able to experience real life in the real world , witch is an exception but with the Willams there kids don't need that , they already have that through there parents . Brady trys very hard to have special realsinships with each of his wives and stays to deal with the hard stuff that maybe he is rubbing his head like oh man what did I just get into, but he dose not run away or pull the keep sweet and shut up card that kody pulls ! The difference of the 2 family's is the man , the leader of the family and how he built/ lead his family !
I liked this show too. All of them likable Vs sister wives where Kody, Robin and Mary are SKEEEEVY-
I was raised mainstream LDS and my grandmother told me that the men used to marry multiple wives as a favour to them because there were more women than men, (through death, disease, war etc). So they adopted that practice as a charitable way to help these poor women, and when that was no longer necessary, they stopped. To this day I wonder if that is what she really believed, had that been told to her and she just accepted it, or was it her way of whitewashing a historical practice that she knew the church has shame about.
It is my understanding that the show did not return because of his wife , Rosemary, allegations of abuse regarding her Father. I don’t know if it was the family’s decision or TLC’s.
That is so sad. Sucks that it ruined the show because of someone’s past behavior not a part of the show. They could use that money for all those babies.
Oh interesting! Thank you for sharing this.
The allegations had nothing to do with the show being canceled. The show was canceled because the Williams family didn’t bring the drama like the brown family does. Brady Williams has actually stated that for a fact.
@@paulan7218 I said it was my understanding..not speaking gospel here. Just talking to folks about what I read on the Internet.
I remember watching his shows and in season 2, one of his wives had her cancer return? Maybe I’m misremembering, but if that’s correct I’m wondering how she’s doing.
Very good episode. I'm friends with Rosemary on FB ... I'll send her this video and see if they contact you for an interview. How can she contact you?
Brady is awesome! The story of the tattoo guy... Man that really made me think. I left the mainstream Mormon church over 20 years ago. The story of me leaving is very interesting and inspiring. It is true that when you leave you continue to ring the truths to others of why you left and the truth about the Mormon church and it's real history. I do that daily.
That would be amazing! The best way to contact us is by email at growingupinpolygamy@gmail.com
Thank you!
Have you been approached by producers about filming a show where you are helping the FLDS members rebuild their lives and helping change places of pain into places of serenity?
In one of the first seasons of Seeking Sister Wives, one family said you needed at least three wives in order to be a God and Goddess of your own planet. Absent three wives, you ascend to being an angel only and not with the spouses you have. That was one reason Robyn was destroyed about the implosion. She may have wanted all of Kody’s time and love, but Kody wasn’t required to give that equally. He was required to have at least three wives and if that happened the entire spousal group would become gods of their own planet. Also, one perspective that I realized as listening to Brady (and I watched all of the shows as a non Christian, I am fascinated by comparative religion), Kody married his third wife, Christine, who was an AUB blueblood. For the longest time, she was the last one. He didn’t love any of them so he didn’t know how dysfunctional it all was UNTIL he met Robyn. Robyn had chemistry with him and he wanted her. He stopped being intimate with most of his wives. Meri and Christine have discussed this. Christine was pregnant with last child when he met Robyn. I have no idea about Janelle. Janelle’s leaving the family was the one person I thought he would be calm about but Kody lost it the most with Janelle. When Christine left, he still had three wives. He was doing what he was taught he was required to do for Meri…he provided for her but he wasn’t required to do anything after efforts for more children are over.
Kody converted to AUB around his dad doing so. I really would LOVE to have Brady and Kody have a lengthy podcast discussing their current perspectives. When Meri’s first child came out as gay (but before coming out as a trans non binary person) Kody was more tolerant than I expected. As he said, “how can I ask people to accept how I want to structure my family and not have the same respect for others to exercise their rights to do the same thing?” Meri was most affected by the idea she would never be a grandma. Her child, while still presenting as female lesbian, reminded Meri that families can be created through a number of paths and that she was open to IVF at one point, although they didn’t choose that path.
We have 9 my mum would go through us all till she got the one in trouble 😊
My niece married a man who was raised in mainstream Mormonism. He left the beliefs, and his parents call my niece a Jezebel and a satan for basically taking him away. In one hand, I get it. I’d be heartbroken if my children left our faith and I’d want them to reclaim it, but I wouldn’t ever call their partner a Jezebel or Satan!
I am so glad you guys reacted to this! I found it absolutely fascinating. Particularly the story about Justin. I, too, kinda pride myself on being a "phenomenally good christian" despite being an atheist. LOL I don't break any commandments or anything! I'm a good person because I want to be, not because there is gold at the end of the rainbow. Also, I TOTALLY agree that when I was fundie I was *so fundie* but now that I'm an atheist, I'm a bit of a fundie atheist. It's hard to lose that fervor. It's part of who I am.
Your audio the last 2 videos has been crap! Love you guys!!
We apologize for the bad audio and have fixed it for future videos.
Can you guys do a interview with the dargers
Does he still have 5 wives ?
Brady is at least likeable unlike Kody
He is the exact same as Cody except for the short hair he is a POS
Every time he says he fell head over heels in love with all 5 of his wives, it makes my heart hurt. It sounds almost like he’s justifying it. Where is the empathy for his first wife? I have just one question for him and all polygamists: how would he feel if their first wife fell head over heels in love with other men while married to him? If plural marriage isn’t okay in both directions, then it is nothing but absolute extreme misogyny and cruelty.
What does Brady do to financially support his many wives and kids?
I wish this show ran longer and not the sw show. I ❤ this family
I cant imagine being married in any fashion, and my husband wasnt completely in love with me & vice versa
Your opening spoke to me. Go into the world and spread the gospel, it's your job to save souls for Christ. Well when I find out it's all made up to keep us in our places, better believe that's what I'm spreading now. Speakers of truth will always speak THEIR truth!
When was this interview done what year
They said 2018 at the very end of the video ;)
I wish we knew more about this family nowadays. Too bad they can’t go back on tv.
I really think that tlc really wanted them to Amp up drama , give content and embellsh storylines and they were not willing to do that and so it was dropped
I sent a message to Rosemary with a link to this video. Send me a way to contact y'all. I'll message it to her. 😊
growingupinpolygamy@gmail.com
This is our email and the best way to contact us. Thank you 😊