Mormonism is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 30s.
Polygamy was practiced by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890 by between 20 and 30 percent of Latter-day Saint families. Note that there are various denominations that are considered Mormons and they have different beliefs and practices.
The True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days (TLC) is a breakaway sect of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is headquartered in Manti, Utah, United States, where as of 2004 it maintained a membership of 300 to 500 adherents. The church maintains a meetinghouse in downtown Manti, and in the past also owned the Red Brick Store, also downtown.
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is one of the largest of the fundamentalist Mormon denominations and one of the largest organizations in the United States having members who practice polygamy. The fundamentalist Mormon movement emerged in the early 20th century when its founding members were excommunicated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, largely because of their refusal to abandon the practice of plural marriage after it was renounced in the "Second Manifesto" (1904).
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 and Brigham Young, the first two 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.
Warren Steed Jeffs is the President of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a polygamous Mormon denomination. In 2011, Jeffs was convicted of two felony counts of child sexual assault, for which he is currently serving a sentence of life plus twenty years.
Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith is a nonfiction book by author Jon Krakauer, first published in July 2003. He investigated and juxtaposed two histories: the origin and evolution of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and a modern double murder committed in the name of God by brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty, who subscribed to a fundamentalist version of Mormonism.
Bountiful is a settlement in the Creston Valley of southeastern British Columbia, Canada, near Cranbrook and Creston. The closest community is Lister, British Columbia.
The Apostolic United Brethren (AUB) is a Mormon fundamentalist group that promotes polygamy. The AUB has had a temple in Mexico, since at least the 1990s, an endowment house in Utah since the early 1980s and several other locations of worship to accommodate their members in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.
The Mormon colonies in Mexico are settlements located near the Sierra Madre mountains in northern Mexico which were established by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints beginning in 1885. The colonists came to Mexico due to federal attempts to curb and prosecute polygamy in the United States. Plural marriage, as polygamous relationships were called by church members, was an important tenet of the church—although it was never practiced by a majority of the membership.
"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). They are alleged to be pressured to leave by adult men to reduce competition for wives within such sects, usually when they are between the ages of 13 and 21.
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.
Polygamy is the practice of having more than one spouse. Polygyny is the specific practice of one man taking more than one wife: it 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.
Possibly as early as the 1830s, followers of the Latter Day Saint movement, were practicing the doctrine of polygamy or "plural marriage". After the death of church founder Joseph Smith, the doctrine was officially announced in Utah by Mormon leader Brigham Young in 1852, attributed posthumously to Smith, and the practice of polygamy began among Mormons at large, principally in Utah where The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had relocated after the Illinois Mormon War.
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.
Ogden Wedlund Kraut was an American author who wrote about his independent Mormon fundamentalist beliefs. He was set apart as a "seventy" by Joseph W. Musser, a leader of the early Mormon fundamentalist movement. He also served as a missionary in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in southern California. He was one of the last missionaries to serve in the church "without purse or scrip", and wrote a book about his experiences. He wrote books, some self-published, on Mormon fundamentalist topics. His 95 Theses, named after a document by Martin Luther, includes specific charges against doctrinal changes in the LDS Church.
The Council of Friends was one of the original expressions of Mormon fundamentalism, having its origins in the teachings of Lorin C. Woolley, a courier and bodyguard for polygamous leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who was excommunicated in 1924.
Lindsay Hansen Park is an American Mormon feminist blogger, podcaster, and the Executive Director for the Salt Lake City-based non-profit Sunstone Education Foundation.
Gospel Tangents Podcast is a podcast hosted by Rick Bennett featuring interviews with individuals and scholars on Mormon topics. The podcasts are focused on all aspects of Mormonism, principally on the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but includes offshoots including the Community of Christ, The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite), Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) and Mormon fundamentalism. The range of guests includes faithful, critical, former Mormons, and non-Mormons.
