Fundamentalist Mormons
How the FLDS and Other Groups Confuse the Public about the Faith
Polygamy may still be part of Mormon doctrine, but the physical practice was abandoned with Wilford Woodfruff's Official Declaration of 1890.
The Mormon Church and polygamy are inextricably linked in the minds of the public, despite the best efforts of the leadership of the largest denomination to distance itself from the practice of plural marriage. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints no longer allows male members to have more than one living wife; Official Declaration 1 of 1890 officially ended the practice of polygamy for the largest Mormon denomination.
Many people unfamiliar with the LDS faith and practices will associate Warren Jeffs with the Utah-based organization, even though Warren Jeffs and the cult he leads have never been a part of any mainstream Mormon denomination.
Why the Public Still Associates Mormonism with Polygamy
When Wilford Woodruff announced that the church would end the practice of polygamy with Official Declaration 1 in 1890, many Mormons continued the practice in secret and some broke off from the main church to found their own denominations which still continued the practice. Groups that practice plural marriage are known as Fundamentalist Mormons among Mormons and Ex-Mormons.
Stories like the raid on the Texas FLDS compound in Texas and shows like HBO's Big Love continue to shed light on the controversial pratice of polygamy. The PBS documentary The Mormons contains a section that documents how polygamy still haunts the Mormon faith, despite the largest Salt Lake-based denomination having abandoned the practice over a century ago.
Many Fundamentalist Mormon groups, including the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, believe that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was in error when abandoning their practice of plural marriage and is now in a state of apostasy. They continue the will of the Lord by continuing the practice of plural marriage as outlined in Doctrine and Covenants Section 132.
Doctrine and Covenants Official Declaration 1 Ends the Practice of Polygamy
Woodruff Wilson stated directly that there was nothing in his teachings that encouraged Mormons to engage in what had 60 years before been called celestial or eternal marriage, and added that anyone caught practicing polygamy would be subject to church discipline.
The FLDS: Mormons Who Are Not Mormons
The arrest and conviction of Warren Jeffs brought attention to Fundamentalist Mormons, as does the story that broke early in the spring of 2008 about a fundamentalist compound that was owned by the same group being raided by the authorities. According to Bent Husnaker of Utah's ABC 4, an FLDS compound in El Dorado, Texas, was raided and many women and children removed from the building.
The FLDS are not the only fundamentalist Mormon group, but they are the largest such group. Gordon B. Hinckley, the former president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, stated that there is no such thing as a fundamentalist Mormon and tried to distance the organization he represented from the FLDS.
The statement ignores the usage of the members and cultural Mormons that put the term fundamentalist in front of a Mormon group that practices polygamy. No Mormon today legally has more than one living wife and if a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is caught practicing plural marriage, he will be excommunicated.
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