Plural Wife by Mabel Finlayson Allred

Author:Mabel Finlayson Allred
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Utah State University Press
Published: 2013-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

David Laddie Is Born

In the meantime, we moved again to a large, redbrick, two-story home that was built by Charles E. Rich, a prominent early church leader who lived the “Principle.” This house had been home to him and some of his family. Not long after we moved, my first baby was born on September 1, 1939. It was a boy, and I’ll never forget the wonder and sheer joy of having something this precious to be mine and his Daddy’s to love forever! We named him David, after my brother, David, and Laddie after Rulon’s brother Marvin, whose second name is Laddie. (David, by the way, is still my favorite boy’s name). David is exactly three months younger than Louis. They seemed almost like twins as they grew older. Melba and I very often dressed them alike for several years.

Athlene had her first baby––a girl, six months after my David was born. LaNae was permitted to stay with us for only three months, when a sudden illness took her life, and she went to be with other angels. My heart ached for her parents!

After, a brief separation of our family from each other, we all moved back to our home again––the Charles E. Rich home on 8th West. Soon after our return to our home, a woman came from California, where she worked, to Salt Lake City to visit her parents, and her father, a “Group” member, asked Rulon to take her into our family. After some confusion concerning this request, she did come into our family in July of that year [1940]. Her name was Leona, [Jeffs], and she, like Myrtle, was a crack secretary/stenographer in her late twenties, like Myrtle.

The Church, its policy being what it was concerning the Principle of Plural Marriage, excommunicated Rulon, Myrtle, Athlene, Melba, and me from the Church we all dearly loved! This took place in 1940. Ruth had never been baptized into the Church, so, obviously there was no reason to take action against her.

In the spring of 1941, Athlene and I decided to go to work at W.T. Grant’s department store. I worked in their nice-sized luncheonette as a waitress. Melba was expecting her second baby, and was willing to care for my David––a year and a half old. Three months later, just a week or two after Melba’s baby girl, Diane, was born, I was very busy at work on a Saturday morning, (our busiest day of the week), when, suddenly I couldn’t go on working. I had to go home! I got permission to leave and took the right bus home.

I walked into the house, through the living room and dining room into my bedroom, where I threw myself face-down on the bed, and sobbed and sobbed as though my heart would break! Melba came running in saying, “What is the matter!!” All I could do was sob, “I don’t know!”

The next day I broke out in an angry red rash all over my body except for my face.

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