Fundamentalist Mormonism

From RationalWiki

Fundamentalist Mor(m)onism consists of splinter groups from Mormonism who have usually split qaway from the main church due to their continued practice of polygamy^[1] - er, "plural marriage". These smallish groups often live in self-imposed isolated communities and often end up taking on the nature of cults due to their continued isolation and persecution complex.

The largest, and generally most newsworthy, is the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS) led by Warren Jeffs, who was recently sentenced on federal charges of arranging forced marriages of underage girls in his church to older men. The FLDS is based in three isolated communities, the Hilldale, Utah/Colorado City, Arizona community on the Utah - Arizona border; Eldorado, Texas where their temple is located; and Bountiful, British Columbia. In Hilldale/Colorado City and Bountiful, the FLDS is the main - or only - presence in those towns; until recently in Hilldale and Colorado City it was impossible to buy any real estate because it was all owned by an FLDS-controlled trust (FLDS members practice holding all goods in common, a practice abandoned by the main LDS church very early in their history). Their presence in Eldorado is on the 1700 acre "YFZ Ranch" outside of town. On April 4, 2008, Texas Child Protective Services began removing a reported 183 women and children from the YFZ Ranch and placing them in protective custody, and on April 5 a standoff ensued when authorities attempted to enter the church's secretive temple. ^[2]

Another significant group is the Kingston Clan, officially the Latter Day Church of Christ, with about 2000 members scattered throughout Utah, mostly members of the extended Kingston family. They own a large number of real estate holdings and businesses through a cooperative company, the Davis County Cooperative Society.

There are also the lone cranks, usually excommunicated from the main LDS church once they enter into a polygamous marriage, and occasionally one of them pickets the Mormon temple in Salt Lake City with "plural marriage is necessary for salvation" and like signs much to the guffaws and amusement of tourists.