Polygyny

The marriage of one man to several women at the same time. It often takes the form of "sororal polygyny", where two or more sisters share the same husband.

Polygyny is the most common form of polygamy and is practised in a traditional sense in many African and Middle Eastern cultures.

Traditionally, polygyny was practiced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons), as they believed that they needed to have at least three wives in order to be accepted into heaven. However, this practice was renounced by the Church in 1890. This led to the creation of a number of schisms involving relatively small groups who today describe themselves as Mormon fundamentalists and who still practice polygamy. These groups include the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS Church), which was led until 2007 by Warren Steed Jeffs, who himself is said to have upwards of 60 wives (including approximately 20 of his late father's widows).