The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a denomination of Mormon fundamentalists within the Latter Day Saint movement, and may be America's largest polygamous group. The church is not affiliated with the more prominent Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, from which it splintered in the early 20th century. The current leader of the church is Warren Jeffs, who became leader on the death of his father Rulon Jeffs in 2002. The headquarters are in Hildale, Utah, which is a twin city with Colorado City, Arizona. Mormon fundamentalism is a conservative branch of Mormonism that believes or practices what its adherents consider to be the fundamental aspects of Mormonism. ... The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the Mormonism movement or the Mormon movement) is a religious movement beginning in the early 19th century that led to the set of doctrines, practices, and cultures called Mormonism and to the existence of numerous churches, the majority of which call themselves Latter... The term polygamy (literally many marriage in late Greek) is used in related ways in social anthropology and sociobiology. ... The Salt Lake City temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the largest attraction in the citys Temple Square. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Warren Steed Jeffs (b. ... Hildale is a city located in Washington County, Utah. ... Utah is one of the Four Corners states, and is bordered by: Idaho (at 42°N) and Wyoming (at 41°N and 111°W) in the north, by Colorado (at 109°W) in the east, at a single point by New Mexico to the southeast (at the Four Corners Monument... Twin cities are two towns or cities that are geographically close to each other and may seem to form a single unit, often referred to collectively. ... Colorado City is a town located in Mohave County, Arizona. ... State nickname: The Grand Canyon State, The Copper State Other U.S. States Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Governor Janet Napolitano (D) Senators John McCain (R) Jon Kyl (R) Official language(s) English Area 295,254 km² (6th)  - Land 294,312 km²  - Water 942 km² (0. ...

Membership and headquarters

The number of members of the church is unknown; however, their population is estimated at between 6,000 to 10,000 in the twin communities of Colorado City, Mohave County and Hildale, Washington County. The church also has a colony in Bountiful, British Columbia and purchased land in Eldorado, Texas. In the Arizona/Utah and British Columbia towns, the church is the primary influence and reason for being. Colorado City is a town located in Mohave County, Arizona. ... Location in the state of Arizona Formed 1864 Seat Kingman Area  - Total  - Water 34,886 km² (13,470 mi²) 409 km² (158 mi²) 1. ... Hildale is a city located in Washington County, Utah. ... Washington County is a county located in the state of Utah. ... Bountiful is a small community in British Columbia. ... Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu (Splendour without diminishment) Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Lieutenant-Governor Iona Campagnolo Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Area 944,735 km² (5th) • Land 925,186 km² • Water 19,549 km² (2. ... Eldorado is a city located in Schleicher County, Texas. ...

The Church believes a man must marry at least three women to enter heaven. The sect appeared to be in turmoil in June 2005, after reports it had excommunicated between 400 and 1000 young males in order to make more young women available to older men. Its assets were frozen and a warrant issued in Arizona on Friday 10th June 2005 for the arrest of its leader, Warren Jeffs, for arranging a wedding between an underage girl and a 28-year-old man who was already married.

Distinctive doctrines

The church teaches plurality of wives, who are required to be subordinate to their husbands, as a general requirement for the highest eternal salvation of men, Godhood. It is generally believed in the church that a man should have three wives to fulfill this requirement. Leader and Prophet Rulon T. Jeffs married 22 women and fathered more than 60 children. Critics of this belief say that its practice leads unavoidably to bride shortages and likely to child marriages, incest, and child abuse. The term polygyny (neo-Greek: poly+gyne woman) is used in related ways in social anthropology and sociobiology. ... Child marriage is a practice in which the parents of a small child (even infants) arrange a future marriage with another childs parents. ... Incest is sexual activity or marriage between very close family members. ...

The church currently practices "The Law of Placing" under which all marriages are assigned by the prophet of the church. Many outside of the church, and some inside, view this practice as unduly authoritarian though it helps address by edict the problem of wife shortages. Under the Law of Placing, the prophet elects to give or take wives to or from men according to their worthiness.

In its spring 2005 "Intelligence Report," The Southern Poverty Law Center named FLDS to its "Hate Group" listing because of the church's racist teachings. Prophet Warren Jeffs has said, among other things, "The black race is the people through which the devil has always been able to bring evil unto the earth." [1] The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American non-profit legal, educational, and intelligence-gathering group for the purposes of advocacy for civil rights and against racism. ... A hate group is an organized group or movement that advocates hate, hostility or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, religion, or other sector of society. ...

Critics claim that Warren Jeffs has indicated his desire to institute the doctrine of "blood atonement", in which serious sins can only be atoned by the sinner's death. Former church member Robert Richter reported to the Phoenix New Times that Jeffs repeatedly alluded to this doctrine in church sermons. Richter also claims that he was asked to design a thermostat for a high temperature furnace that would be capable of destroying DNA evidence if such "atonements" were to take place [2]. In Mormonism, blood atonement is a controversial doctrine attributed to some early Latter-day Saint leaders, most notably Brigham Young, that there are certain sins such as murder to which the Atonement of Jesus does not apply, and that forgiveness requires that they have their blood spilt upon the ground...

History

The area of Hildale and Colorado City have a long history of polygamy, dating from the early decades of the 20th century. According to FLDS accounts, Brigham Young visited the area and stated that "this is the right place [and it] will someday be the head and not the tail of the church [and]...the granaries of the Saints." Hildale is a city located in Washington County, Utah. ... Colorado City is a town located in Mohave County, Arizona. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Brigham Young (June 1, 1801 – August 29, 1877) was the second prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church; see also Mormonism). ...

The cities were once known as Short Creek, founded in 1913 as a ranching community; however, it soon became a gathering place from polygamist members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1935, the LDS Church excommunicated Short Creek's polygamist residents who refused to sign an oath renouncing polygamy, after which the Fundamentalists became more organized under the direction of John Y. Barlow, their leader, and later Joseph White Musser. The location on the Utah-Arizona border was ideal because the group could avoid raids by one state by moving across the invisible state line to the other. 1913 (MCMXIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... The Salt Lake City temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the largest attraction in the citys Temple Square. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In 1951 Joseph White Musser, the leader of the group following the death of John Y. Barlow, raised controversy with the call of Naturopath Rulon C. Allred to the presiding Priesthood Council (which governed the spiritual affairs of the Fundamentalists). This, along with his objections to the growing practice of arranged marriages to underage young women in Short Creek, led to a split between those loyal to that community and those loyal to Joseph White Musser. Those who followed Musser are today known as the Apostolic United Brethren, and Rulon C. Allred became their leader upon Musser's death, at which point the group in Short Creek followed LeRoy Johnson, a Priesthood Council member, instead. 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... The Apostolic United Brethren (hereafter AUB) is a Latter-day Saint movement, best known as a Mormon Fundamentalist group (see Mormon fundamentalism) which believes in Plural marriage. ...

In 1953, Arizona police authorities organized what became known as the "Short Creek Raid", in which numerous leaders were arrested and taken to Kingman, Arizona. However, public sentiment turned against the authorities after newsreels showed children being taken from their mothers and fathers being thrown in jail. This turn in public sentiment thus doomed the political career of Governor John Howard Pyle. 1953 (MCMLIII) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Kingman is a city located in Mohave County, Arizona. ... John Howard Pyle (1906-1987) was the 12th governor of Arizona and served between 1955 and 1959. ...

In 2003 the church received increased attention from the State of Utah when police officer Rodney Holm, a member of the church, was convicted of unlawful sexual conduct with a 16- or 17-year-old and one count of bigamy for his marriage to and impregnation of plural wife Ruth Stubbs. The conviction was the first legal action against a member of the church since the Short Creek Raid. 2003 (MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 2003, Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer was released, a piece of investigative journalism revealing inside details about FLDS. Specifically, Krakauer looked at the practice of polygamy among fundamentalist Mormons and placed it in the context of the history of the Mormon religion as a whole, with heavy focus on the Lafferty brothers, who murdered in the name of their faith. Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith is an historical novel written by Jon Krakauer. ... Jon Krakauer (born April 12, 1954) is an American non-fiction author and mountaineer, well-known for outdoor and mountain-climbing writing. ... The term polygamy (literally many marriage in late Greek) is used in related ways in social anthropology and sociobiology. ...

In November 2003, church member David Allred purchased "as a hunting retreat" the 1,371 acre (5.5 km²) Isaacs ranch 4 miles northeast of Eldorado, Texas on Schleicher County Road 300 and sent 30 to 40 construction workers from Colorado City-Hildale to begin work on the property. Improvements soon included three 3-story houses--each 8,000 to 10,000 square feet (740 to 930 m²), a concrete plant and a plowed field. After seeing high-profile FLDS critic Flora Jessop on the ABC television program Primetime Live on March 4, 2004, concerned Eldorado residents contacted Jessop. She investigated and on March 25, 2004 held a press conference in Eldorado confirming that the new neighbors were FLDS adherents. On May 18, 2004, Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran and his Chief Deputy visited Colorado City, and the FLDS church officially acknowledged that the Schleicher County property would be a new base for the church. It has been reported in the media that the Church is building a temple at the YFZ Ranch, which has been supported by evidence including aerial photographs of a large stone structure (approximately 88 feet wide) being built. A local newspaper, The Eldorado Success, reported that the temple foundation was dedicated January 1, 2005 by Warren Jeffs. If true, the FLDS will be the fifth Latter Day Saint denomination to build a temple, and the fourth outside of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to operate a temple for live ordinances besides baptism. Eldorado is a city located in Schleicher County, Texas. ... Flora Jessop is a critic and former member of the FLDS church, a polygamous off shot of the Mormon church. ... Primetimes logo Primetime is a general-interest American news magazine show which debuted on ABC in 1989 with co-hosts Sam Donaldson and Diane Sawyer and originally had the title Primetime Live. ... March 4 is the 63rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (64th in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 18 is the 138th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (139th in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Schleicher County is a county located in the state of Texas. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Warren Steed Jeffs (b. ... A Latter Day Saint is a person who identifies with the Latter Day Saint movement, and believes that Joseph Smith was a prophet called of God and Jesus Christ. ...

On January 10, 2004, the church suffered major upheaval when Dan Barlow, the mayor of Colorado City, and about 20 men were excommunicated from the church and stripped of their wives and children (who would be reassigned to other men), and the right to live in the town. As a result, a few teenage women reportedly fled the towns with the aid of anti-polygamy advocates. Two of the young women, Fawn Broadbent and Fawn Holm, soon found themselves in a broadly publicized dispute over their freedom and custody. They fled state custody together on February 15, and have been on the run in multiple states since. January 10 is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... February 15 is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

In October 2004 disaffected members of the church reported that David Allred purchased a 60 acre (240,000 m²) parcel of land near Mancos, Colorado (midway between Cortez and Durango) about the same time he bought the Schleicher County property. Allred told authorities the parcel is to be used as a hunting retreat. 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December See also: October 2004 in sports Deaths in October • 29 HRH Princess Alice • 25 John Peel • 24 James Cardinal Hickey • 23 Robert Merrill • 19 Paul Nitze • 18 K. M. Veerappan • 16 Pierre Salinger • 10 Christopher Reeve • 9... Mancos is a town located in Montezuma County, Colorado. ... Cortez is a city located in Montezuma County, Colorado. ... Durango (Navajo: Kinłání) is a city located in La Plata County, Colorado. ...

Allegations of welfare fraud, tax fraud, incest, statutory rape, physical, emotional and psychological abuse--hidden by a veil of secrecy, isolation, and deprivation--in the FLDS dominated communities have been widely reported in 2004 throughout United States media. It has been estimated that 33% of the men, women and children in the group are receiving state and federal aid, though 0% unemployment was reported in the 2000 census. This article contrasts tax evasion, tax avoidance, tax resistance and tax mitigation. ... Incest is sexual activity or marriage between very close family members. ... The term statutory rape is sometimes used when national and/or regional governments, citing an interest in protecting minors, consider people under a certain age to be unable to give consent, and therefore consider sexual contact with them to be equivalent to rape regardless of the minors consent. ... Physical abuse is abuse involving contact intended to cause pain, injury, or other physical suffering or harm. ... There is no single accepted definition of emotional abuse which, like other forms of violence in a relationship, is based on power and domination. ... Psychological abuse refers to the humiliation or intimidation of another person, but is also used to refer to the long-term effects of emotional shock. ... Abuse is a general term for the misuse of a person or thing, causing harm to the person or thing, to the abuser, or to someone else. ... The United States Census of year 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13. ...

Allegations also have been made that in the four and a half years ending in 2004, the FLDS has excommunicated over 400 teenaged boys, some as young as 13, for seemingly trivial offenses. Former members claim that the purpose of these excommunciations is that in a polygamous society these young men present competition to the older men for multiple wives, and that the boys must go. Six such teenaged boys have filed a conspiracy lawsuit against Jeffs and Sam Barlow, a former Mohave County deputy sheriff and close associate of Jeffs, for a "systematic excommuncation" of young men to reduce competition for wives. Excommunication is a religious censure which is used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community. ... Location in the state of Arizona Formed 1864 Seat Kingman Area  - Total  - Water 34,886 km² (13,470 mi²) 409 km² (158 mi²) 1. ...

On July 11, 2005, eight men of the church were indicted for sexual contact with minors. At least some of them surrendered to police in Kingman. July 11 is the 192nd day (193rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 173 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Kingman is a city located in Mohave County, Arizona. ...

References

1. Southern Poverty Law Center. In His Own Words. Intelligence Report. (Spring 2005)
2. Dougherty, John. Wanted: Armed and Dangerous. Phoenix New Times (10 Nov. 2005).

External links

• Religion News Blog Current and archived news articles on the FLDS, collected by Apologetics Index

News Articles

• Doughery, John. "Polygamy in Arizona: A New Times Special Report", Phoenix New Times, 2005.
• Egan, Timothy. "Polygamous Community Defies State Crackdown", New York Times, October 25, 2005.
• "Meet the New Neighbors", The Austin Chronicle, July 29, 2005
• "The lost boys, thrown out of US sect so that older men can marry more wives", The Guardian, June 14, 2005
• "Texas not planning raid to arrest Jeffs", The Salt Lake Tribune, June 14, 2005 Google cache
• "Lost to the Only Life They Knew: Officials say more than 400 teenage boys have fled or been driven from a polygamous sect", The L.A. Times, June 13, 2005
• "FLDS leader faces felony charges", The Salt Lake Tribune, June 11, 2005.