The billboards are no joke.
The bigger-than-life advertisements springing up along the Wasatch Front sport photos of key figures in the early history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and proclaim in bold letters that plural marriage is a "sacred pioneer heritage."
And the ad campaign for a book on the subject is working, at least generating interest, if not sales, and even some complaints to the state from some who say it promotes an illegal practice.
That was expected by Shane LeGrande Whelan and his wife, Rhonda, of Woods Cross. The couple plans to continue to market the book titled "More than One" for as long as they can, with more billboards to come, in a personal quest to "change the hearts" of LDS Church members about plural marriage.
The Davis County couple says polygamy has been "trashed" in newspaper and television news reports about polygamists such as Tom Green, who was convicted recently in 4th District Court of child rape for fathering a child with a 13-year-old.
"People have a very negative opinion about plural marriage," Whelan said. "We realized there are a lot of negative books out there."
Books on polygamy are nothing new. Hundreds have been written on the subject, pro and con, primarily with an academic bent. But Whelan's book may be the first book written, in modern times, by a member of the LDS Church, for average members of the LDS Church who may not be well versed on the subject.
Rhonda said she comes from a polygamist family that fled to Canada to avoid prosecution.
"I felt that it was in defense of my ancestors. It's a heritage that we should be proud of," Rhonda Whelan said.
The practice of polygamy has been forbidden among members since LDS Church President Wilford Woodruff told members in 1890 to stop the practice. It is now punishable by excommunication, said Coke Newell, a church spokesman.
And it's been a sensitive topic, both politically and culturally, that had even Olympic organizers worried that the international media would dwell on it while covering the games.
Indeed, the Whelans couldn't find a publisher. They said they were rejected by every LDS-oriented publishing firm for being too controversial.
So last winter, the couple decided to mortgage their house and publish the book themselves. It also helped that Whelan owns his own marketing company.
The couple says it has sold or given away more than 3,000 copies since the book was published last December.
Officials with Young Electric Sign Co., which displays some of the billboards for Whelan, stand by the controversial ad campaign.
"The Youngs are good members of the (LDS) church," said Kirk Brimley, special services manager for Young Electric Sign Co.
"We don't necessarily agree with the philosophy of (the book), but we don't want to be in a position of censorship."
Brimley said some thought was put into accepting the account. "We don't accept accounts which are illegal or immoral or go against community standards," he said, but he pointed out they also carried ads for Budweiser during the Olympics. Brimley said the "More Than One" billboards were found to be controversial but "at least not illegal."
Ron Barton, a special investigator for the Utah Attorney General's Office, has been deemed the state's "polygamy czar." Barton's job is to investigate those who practice plural marriage.
"I had one woman call me who said she saw a billboard advocating polygamy," Barton said. "She said she was offended by it . . . I told her it was just a book."
Vicky Prunty, executive director for Tapestry Against Polygamy, says she finds the book disturbing. Prunty, who says she left an abusive polygamous relationship, said "More Than One" paints a romanticized picture of plural marriage.
"We have women coming out of polygamy who don't have homes, who don't have their children," Prunty said.
E-MAIL: gfattah@desnews.com