Winston Blackmore

Last updated
Winston Blackmore
Born (1956-08-25) August 25, 1956 (age 68)
British Columbia, Canada
OccupationPolygamous church leader
Known for"Canada's best-known avowed polygamist"
Spouses27
Children150
Parents
  • Ray Blackmore (father)
  • Anna Mae (mother)

Winston Blackmore (born August 25, 1956) [1] is the leader of a polygamous Fundamentalist Latter Day Saint religious group in Bountiful, British Columbia, Canada. He is described as "Canada's best-known avowed polygamist". [2] He has 150 children with his 27 "spiritual" wives, some of whom he has admitted were underage. [3] [4]

Contents

Leadership and excommunication

The polygamous community at Bountiful was founded by Blackmore's father, Ray Blackmore, and his older cousin, Harold Wooley Blackmore. Ray later removed Harold and took full control of Bountiful. [4]

Winston Blackmore was born to Ray and Anna Mae Blackmore on August 25, 1956. He was the ninth of her 13 children. Anna Mae was the first of Ray's six wives and the only one he was legally married to. [1]

For two decades, Blackmore was the bishop of the Bountiful, British Columbia group of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS Church), a polygamist community in the Creston Valley. Upon the death of Rulon Jeffs, Winston Blackmore was considered as one of two potential successors for the role of the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, with the other being Warren Jeffs. Jeffs ultimately succeeded his father, largely due to having played an increasingly significant role in the church during the period preceding Rulon's death. More than half of the Canadian branch members left the FLDS Church to stay with Blackmore as their leader. [5]

In September 2002, Warren Jeffs excommunicated Blackmore; [6] [7] however, Blackmore asserts that he left the church of his own accord. [8] The community of Bountiful was split nearly in half—about 400 people followed Blackmore, and the rest followed Jeffs. [7] Blackmore went on to found the Church of Jesus Christ (Original Doctrine) Inc. [9]

Canadian polygamy case

Blackmore and another community leader, James Oler who had replaced Blackmore as FLDS bishop, were arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in January 2009 and charged with polygamy. [10] The charges were later thrown out owing to questions about how the Crown selected its prosecutors. [10]

The case was reopened by the provincial government in 2014, with the British Columbia Supreme Court confirming that polygamy is against the law in a constitutional case. [11] Blackmore's lawyers attempted to appeal the case, which was overruled in May 2016. Blackmore's trial began on April 18, 2017. [12]

On July 24, 2017, Blackmore was found guilty of polygamy in the British Columbia Supreme Court. [13] He and Oler face up to five years in prison for violation of Section 293 of the Criminal Code of Canada. [14]

On May 15, 2018, in Cranbrook, British Columbia, special prosecutor Peter Wilson recommended a jail sentence of between 90 days and six months for Blackmore and a term of one month to 90 days for Oler. [15] On 27 June 2018, Justice Sheri Ann Donegan sentenced Blackmore to six months' house arrest. Oler was sentenced to three months' house arrest. [16]

Family

As of August 31, 2019, Blackmore has married 27 wives and has 150 children. [17] [16]

He is the nephew of former Social Credit Party of Canada leader John Horne Blackmore who, though not a polygamist himself, was excommunicated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1947 for "teaching and advocating the doctrine of plural marriage". As an MP, the elder Blackmore urged Parliament to repeal the anti-polygamy law and succeeded in removing specific references to Mormons in the law.[ citation needed ]

Blackmore is also related to anti-polygamy activists Carolyn Jessop, a former FLDS member and author, and Ruby Jessop. [18] His family operates J R Blackmore & Sons Ltd, a timber milling business. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints</span> Latter-Day Saints denomination

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a religious sect of the fundamentalist Mormon denominations whose members practice polygamy. It is variously defined as a cult, a sect, or a new religious movement. The organization has been involved in various illegal activities, including child marriages, child abandonment, sexual assault, and human trafficking including child sexual abuse. The church alleges no connection to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest Latter-day Saint denomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mormon fundamentalism</span> Advocates of some early Mormon doctrines

Mormon fundamentalism is a belief in the validity of selected fundamental aspects of Mormonism as taught and practiced in the nineteenth century, particularly during the administrations of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and John Taylor, the first three presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mormon fundamentalists seek to uphold tenets and practices no longer held by mainstream Mormons. The principle most often associated with Mormon fundamentalism is plural marriage, a form of polygyny first taught in the Latter Day Saint movement by the movement's founder, Smith. A second and closely associated principle is that of the United Order, a form of egalitarian communalism. Mormon fundamentalists believe that these and other principles were wrongly abandoned or changed by the LDS Church in its efforts to become reconciled with mainstream American society. Today, the LDS Church excommunicates any of its members who practice plural marriage or who otherwise closely associate themselves with Mormon fundamentalist practices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warren Jeffs</span> American sex offender and cult leader (born 1955)

Warren Steed Jeffs is an American cult leader who is serving a life sentence in Texas for child sexual assault following two convictions in 2011. He is the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a polygamous cult based in Arizona. The FLDS Church was founded in the early-20th century when its founders deemed the renunciation of polygamy by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be apostate. According to the LDS Church it disavows any relation between it and the FLDS Church.

Bountiful is a settlement in the Creston Valley of southeastern British Columbia, Canada, near Cranbrook and Creston. The closest community is Lister, British Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rulon Jeffs</span> Fundamentalist Mormon church leader (1909–2002)

Rulon Timpson Jeffs, known to followers as Uncle Rulon, was an American polygamist and religious leader who served as the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a Mormon fundamentalist organization based in Colorado City, Arizona, United States, from 1986 until his death in 2002. He was the father of later FLDS Church leader and convicted felon Warren Jeffs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lost boys (Mormon fundamentalism)</span> Term for young males excommunicated or pressured to leave a polygamous Mormon community

"Lost boys" is a term used for young men who have been excommunicated or pressured to leave polygamous Mormon fundamentalist groups, such as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). Although sometimes officially accused of apostasy or disobedience, it is thought that they are mainly pressured to leave by older adult men to reduce competition for wives within such sects, usually when they are between the ages of 13 and 21.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leroy S. Johnson</span> Fundamentalist Mormon leader (1888–1986)

Leroy Sunderland Johnson, known as Uncle Roy, was a leader of the Mormon fundamentalist group in Short Creek, which later evolved into the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, from the mid-1950s until his death.

Carolyn Jessop is an American author and former Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints member who wrote Escape, an autobiographical account of her upbringing in the polygamist sect and later flight from that community. She is the cousin, by marriage, of Flora Jessop, another former FLDS member and advocate for abused children. Carolyn Jessop now lives in the Salt Lake City area with her children.

Polygamy is the practice of having more than one spouse at the same time. Specifically, polygyny is the practice of one man taking more than one wife while polyandry is the practice of one woman taking more than one husband. Polygamy is a common marriage pattern in some parts of the world. In North America, polygamy has not been a culturally normative or legally recognized institution since the continent's colonization by Europeans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Current state of polygamy in the Latter Day Saint movement</span>

Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, privately taught and practiced polygamy. After Smith's death in 1844, the church he established splintered into several competing groups. Disagreement over Smith's doctrine of "plural marriage" has been among the primary reasons for multiple church schisms.

Irene Spencer was an American author and a widow of Verlan LeBaron, brother of former prophet Joel LeBaron of the Church of the Firstborn of the Fulness of Times, a fundamentalist Mormon offshoot.

Wendell Loy Nielsen was the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, replacing Warren Jeffs, at that time imprisoned on charges related to sexual assaults against minors.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Kingdom of God is a Mormon fundamentalist church in the Latter Day Saint movement. The sect was founded by Frank Naylor and Ivan Nielsen, who split from the Centennial Park group, another fundamentalist church over issues with another prominent polygamous family. The church is estimated to have 200–300 members, most of whom reside in the Salt Lake Valley. The group is also known as the Neilsen Naylor Group.

James Marion Oler is the bishop of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Canada and has been convicted of being a practicing polygamist. The polygamy case brought against Oler is considered "the first major test of Canada's polygamy law." As of 2014, he is reported to have 13 children.

Ruby Jessop is an American former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) and child bride known for her family connections, her 2013 escape from an FLDS-controlled polygamous community, and the criminal probe prompted by her escape.

Rebecca Musser is an American author and activist. She was a wife of the late Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints prophet Rulon Jeffs and escaped the compound before bringing legal proceedings against the church. In the film Outlaw Prophet: Warren Jeffs, Musser is portrayed by actress Sabina Gadecki.

Nephi Jeffs is an American Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints leader. He is the bishop of the Short Creek Stake, and is his brother Warren Jeffs's personal secretary.

The Church of Jesus Christ Inc. is a Mormon fundamentalist denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement, and is also known as the Blackmore Group. There are approximately 700 members of this group.

Rachel Jeffs Blackmore is an American author and former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She is the daughter of the church's prophet, convicted pedophile Warren Jeffs.

References

  1. 1 2 Bramham, Daphne (2017-07-21). "Daphne Bramham: Even guilty verdicts in polygamy trial won't end saga". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2019-08-31.
  2. ↑ "A polygamy trial in Canada tests the limits of conjugal freedom". The Economist. May 2, 2017.
  3. ↑ Smith, Alanna (2019-03-04). "Property owned by convicted polygamist Winston Blackmore on the block". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 2019-08-31.
  4. 1 2 3 Bramham, Daphne. "The Bountiful Four: Who are they?". www.vancouversun.com. Retrieved 2019-08-31.
  5. ↑ "Leaders of Canadian FLDS branch, offshoot convicted in polygamy case". The Spectrum. July 25, 2017.
  6. ↑ Canadian Press, "Court rules against B.C. polygamous leader Winston Blackmore, issues $150,000 in penalties", National Post , 28 August 2013.
  7. 1 2 Canadian Press, "Polygamous family deemed unworthy of special tax status", CBC News, 4 May 2012.
  8. ↑ "16x9 | Inside Bountiful: Polygamy investigation" – via www.youtube.com.
  9. ↑ "LDS Church wins, Canadian polygamist loses in fight for 'Mormon' name". Salt Lake Tribune . 14 January 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2015. Finally giving up the fight, Blackmore has agreed to change his group's corporate name to "the Church of Jesus Christ (Original Doctrine) Inc.
  10. 1 2 The Canadian Press (August 11, 2011). "B.C. polygamy evidence helps Warren Jeffs conviction". CBC.ca . Retrieved 2012-02-25.
  11. ↑ Fraser, Keith. "Accused polygamist Winston Blackmore loses court appeal". www.theprovince.com. The Province. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  12. ↑ "Polygamy trial set to begin for Winston Blackmore, accused of marrying 24 times - CBC News". CBC. 2017-04-18. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  13. ↑ "Winston Blackmore and James Oler found guilty of polygamy by B.C. judge". CBC News. 2017-07-24. Retrieved 2018-07-19. Two former religious leaders in B.C. have been found guilty of polygamy after marrying more than two dozen women over the course of 25 years.
  14. ↑ Branch, Legislative Services (August 27, 2021). "Consolidated federal laws of canada, Criminal Code". laws-lois.justice.gc.ca.
  15. ↑ The Vancouver Sun (May 16, 2018). "Prosecutor recommends jail time for Winston Blackmore and James Oler". vancouversun.com . Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  16. 1 2 Kathleen Joyce (June 28, 2018). "2 men with 29 wives and 160 children between them sentenced to house arrest following polygamy conviction". Fox News . Retrieved 2018-06-28.
  17. ↑ ctv.ca (June 30, 2009). "B.C. polygamist wedded nine girls under 18". CTV BC . Retrieved 2009-06-30.
  18. ↑ Bramham, Daphne. "Escape from Polygamy". The Secret World of Polygamy. Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 2013-10-21. Retrieved 2013-07-20.
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