Inside 'The Order,' One Mormon Cult's Secret Empire But that's like spitting in the ocean.'. thus marking the first time news media reported this human and civil rights nightmare accurately since the 1850s. While building his polygamous empire, John Ortell raised pigeons and Holsteins, prized black-and-white milk cows. Kingston Clan : r/FundieSnarkUncensored - reddit Double murder in Utah: Tragedy Strikes the Cast of A&E's - reddit It is these discredited ideas that foster this genetic legacy. "The genetic defect has been traced back to one of the community's founding patriarchs, the late Joseph Smith Jessop, and the first of his plural wives, according to medical literature, the Mormon Church genealogy database and residents of the community familiar with Jessop and Barlow family histories. [17] That same year, Ardous Kingston Gustafson, a mother of four and founding Co-op member, was jailed on Christmas Eve when she could not produce membership lists that were to be used to target plural families for further arrest and harassment. "Isaac Wyler, also a former follower of the church led by fugitive Warren Jeffs, told KSL that he was related by marriage to some of the victims. . I began to think polygamy might be a genetically unsound marriage practice. 1,000 GOAL. The groups, whose members believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven, are offshoots of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "'The "gene" that Warren is really selecting for,' Wyler says, 'is the "obedience gene. Meanwhile, as Mormons wait patiently and faithfully for multi-wifery's official return, the words of their founding Church fathers sound praise to polygamy past, present and future: --The Mormon God's Declaration of Righteous Genetic Combinations: Monogamy is a Christian Blight on Humanity, While Polygamy is the Lord's Way to Produce Fresh, Virile Men; Good-Lookin' Women; and Super Strong Stock to Carry Civilization Into Eternity. ", (Aimee Larsen Stoddard, "Fundamentalist Latter-day Saints Genealogy and Polygamy Problems," 7 October 2010, under "Birth Defects in Mormon Fundamentalist Cult," posted by "halley, 20 February 2011, at: http://www.renewamerica.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=13723) "Tarby says he quickly realized he was dealing with a very unusual condition that he could not diagnose. Desert Tech Ownership Warning : r/longrange - reddit "'The kids that I have seen have terrible seizure disorders and developmental delays,' says Dr. Aleck. One of the most controversial splinter groups of Mormonism, the Latter Day Church of Christ, has been led by members of the Kingston family since it was founded in 1935. Despite its on-going public relations effort to convince Americans that Mormons don't really support polygamy (and despite the belief of many devout Mormons that polygamy came from God as revealed church doctrine which will eventually be reinstated when Jesus returns to the Earth), a quarter of Americans surveyed also have expressed the opinion that most Mormons embrace the idea of plural marriage: "A . These wives sometimes became known, sometimes not. "I know these people personally.'. We dont expect any of the claims to prevail in a court of law.. Latter Day Church of Christ - Wikipedia . Kingston Clan. 'In the meantime, the taxpayers have to pay the bills. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. As people age the chances of children inheriting mutant genes increases. They have no movement. . . The FLDS already has moved several hundred men, women and children to the compound, many of whom very likely carry the fumarase deficiency gene. Faced with the forced marriage to an uncle, Rugg left the Kingstons. I do not know what we would do if we had only one wife apiece. . . . "Recently, another cousin fathered a child born with spinal bifida, inherited paralysis, an anomaly related to nephritis. After all, polygamy is illegal in the US. The Genetic Catastrophe That Has Sprung from Polygamy "During this early period, polygamy was practiced secretly by the Mormon leadership, men who covertly preached and expanded polygamy while publicly deceiving the general Mormon population about the practice. . [30] This practice lasted only a short time and was abandoned sometime before 1940. "The same right of marriage approval was wielded by John Ortell Kingston, who began the incestuous lineage. Photocopy in authors possession. "The clan's other numerous incestuous couplings among consenting adults . . "Tarby said the victims require constant care from parents and close relatives. . To date Mormons have only paid lip service to stopping polygamy. . Thanks for contacting us. 5, p. 22. shocking stuff AFAIK it's quite contrary, for example MENA / Pakistan people very often marry 1st cousins. Young is the owner of Desert Tech, a Utah gun manufacturer. [N]ew disease classifications belong at the door of the Mormon Church leadership. [7] Members of the Latter Day Church of Christ are also members of the Davis County Cooperative Society (a separate organization and legal entity) which practices the law of consecration and United Order. . And in 1999, David Ortell Kingston Jeremy Kingston's uncle was sentenced to the Utah State Prison for up to 10 years for committing incest with the 16-year-old niece who became his 15th wife. ", -The Prophet Brigham Young, "Journal of Discourses," vol. . . lucky The Kingston Clan is where Jessica, Andrea, and Shanell escaped over a decade ago. . . 129-30, ("Is Homosexuality or Monogamy the Ruin of Civilization?," at: http://www.i4m.com/think/sexuality/homosexual_ruin.htm) ", (Linda Walker, "Fatal Inheritance: Mormon Eugenics," under "Science as Culture," originally written in the fall of 1991, updated in the summer of 1999, citations included, at: http://human-nature.com/science-as-culture/walker.html) . . Men make all decisions affecting her health. SALT LAKE CITY A local non-profit with ties to the polygamous Kingston group is facing multiple questions and accusations regarding its taxes. "'My father manipulated and controlled people,' Rugg says. "But this is a very unlikely scenario for FLDS faithful, who practice a religious doctrine that requires men to be strictly obedient to religious leaders and requires women to give birth to as many children as possible to increase the sect's numbers. "The fact that fumarase deficiency had shown up in one child was startling enough--there had only been a handful of cases reported worldwide. . refuse to accept advice from any outsider, including doctors such as Tarby, who has treated their children for years. "Among the polygamous Kingstons, a number of children have been born with birth defects, among them one born with two vaginas and two uteruses but no vaginal or bowel opening. One brother, John Daniel Kingston, was taken to court for neglecting this children. They purportedly have 10 children, the girl told police. and several polygamist men serve in local government positions, including as mayors . Brother Elden had received a new dispensation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'd never heard of them, a polygamist, fundie cult where even 14 year olds could . . [Andrea] Moore-Emmett [author of 'God's Brothel: The Extortion of Sex for Salvation in Contemporary Mormon and Christian Fundamentalist Polygamy and the Stories of 18 Women Who Escaped'] contends that [in polygamy] incest, statutory rape, torture, physical abuse, forced marriages, and trafficking of girls is rampant. . "Nearly everyone in Colorado City, Arizona, and the adjacent town of Hildale, Utah, was a member of a fundamentalist Mormon sect that practices polygamy and had long encouraged multiple marriages between close relatives. The brother missionaries have been in the habit of picking out the prettiest women for themselves before they get here, and bringing on the ugly ones for us; hereafter you have to bring them all here before taking any of them, and let us all have a fair shake. Her subject at the convention was mormon child sexual abuse. [46], In July 2019, Jacob Kingston, Isaiah Kingston, and two others pled guilty to participating in a fraud scheme masterminded by Lev Derman, a non-member and Armenian national. One Former LDS Fundamentalist Polygamist group understands - XMission [11] Some members had begun the practice of plural marriage years before the establishment of the cooperative. "Her book . 'If the community gets larger, the number of people with fumarase deficiency gets larger. "Genetics of Incest: Pre-eclampsia is a condition that can be traced genetically from one generation to the next and is prevalent among some Kingstons, Rugg says. The Kingstons represent an intriguing branch on the Mormon fundamentalist tree. As a symbol of their renunciation of worldly goods, the outer clothing contained no pockets in which possessions could be carried, although later an inside pocket was provided for the sanitary measure of carrying a handkerchief. . . All went bareheaded and barefoot. Early persecution seems to have conditioned Kingston leaders to maintain the utmost secrecy, but third generation officers seem to use ignorance as a tool to enhance control of their followers, especially of women. Click to reveal The baby survived, but has cerebral palsy. 'A lady comes in and helps her. ", -Apostle Orson Pratt, "Journal of Discourses," vol. 13, p. 195, "We breathe the free air, we have the best looking men and handsomest women, and if they (non-Mormons) envy us our position, well they may, for they are a poor, narrow-minded, pinch-backed race of men, who chain themselves down to the law of monogamy, and live all their days under the dominion of one wife. Inside the Kingston Kingdom: Former employee reveals clan's secrets 'Escaping Polygamy' Star: My Dad Hid My Mom's Cancer Medicine - Us Weekly . Kingston began preaching polygamy amongst fellow members of the LDS Church and distributing pamphlets and the book he had co-written, Laman Manasseh Victorious: A Message of Salvation and Redemption to His People Israel, First to Ephraim and Manasseh. present a troubling scenario for law enforcement: these are crimes of a sexual nature committed in private in a closed society. In addition, placing the law of consecration at the pinnacle of divine laws is inconsistent with scripture and restoration history. . . My aunt and uncle outlived two of their five children and two more may have nephritis. Children inherit disabling illnesses. "'This problem is going to get worse and worse and worse,' predicts . Gallup Panel survey [conducted in August 2006] show[ed] that Americans are much more likely to believe most Mormons endorse practicing polygamy than to believe most Americans support it. . Mormons who believe that polygamy is a heaven-sent doctrine that will eventually be re-implemented on Earth by God (current Church claims of non-use notwithstanding), have a friend in go-to LDS Apostle, Bruce R. McConkie, who confidently declared: "Obviously, the holy practice [of polygamy] will commence again after the Second Coming of the Son of Man and the ushering in of the millennium. Breeding within, as Mormons did--endogamous polygamy--is virtually never practiced. "'I had never seen a patient with it,' Tarby says. Exhibiting LGBTQ+ tendencies can indicate impure blood, according to the lawsuit. [41][42] Despite this, the latest suit alleges marriages as young as 16 within the Latter Day Church of Christ have continued. "Other possible genetic traits include: microcephaly, a malformation of the skull in which the infant has a small head (ex-members say two children with microcephaly have died and eight others are institutionalized); blindness; spina bifida; Down syndrome; kidney disease and abnormal leg and arm joints. The children live in the twin polygamist communities of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah. . 'I try in my own, quiet way and tell them to outbreed. . "Although it is a felony under Utah law for close relatives to have sex, only one Kingston--John and LaDonna's fifth son, David Ortell--has been criminally charged with incest. LuAnn Kingston, a former member of the clan who in 1995 at age fifteen was forced to marry her first cousin, shared: The joke used to be that if you werent married by 17, you were an old maid.[5], Within the Kingston Group, the primary polygamists are the immediate Kingston family and heirs. "Parents who share a common ancestor are consanguineous. Satan will try to stop the power of the Lord and that power is where the Lord has given his covenant of consecration and that is: to the Davis County Co-op of Bountiful, Utah. Elden received the covenant of consecration and also the plan of temporal salvation.[2]. The girl, born to John Ortell and Isabell Johnson, was not the product of an incestuous marriage. . Women, meanwhile, allegedly gain status by being pure of blood and obedient, becoming the first wives of higher-ranking numbered men, and bearing many children. It alleges sex trafficking, sexual battery and child abuse, and seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages. . (The Church lost its authority to give covenants.) . ", -Prophet John Taylor, "Millennial Star," vol. "Farm Roots of Incest: Marriages in the Kingston clan must be sanctioned by [the] current head of the church . . . 'Her body tried to miscarry many, many times.'. And, "We cannot and will not condone or support anyone found to be engaged in any fraudulent behaviors. This nurse has a polygamous background, so does her husband. . This means all other covenants were of no effect through which source they can. Below are further horrific details of the Kingston clan's "God-given genetic calamity, brought to you courtesy of Joseph Smith's Mormonism, as reported in the "Salt Lake Tribune" article, "When Incest Becomes a Religious Tenet": ". . . The Kingstons claim that Elden received a new dispensation is problematic in another way. For Mormon patriarchs lusting in their hearts for the Polygamy Reunion Tour, hope springs eternal. Early polygamy was rife with incestuous and eugenic ideas and practices as well. . Yet, this practice may hide the actual genetic kinship and can further exacerbate genetic problems. my question is: How come MORmON god does not get on board with His own programs? Unfortunately, there are also numerous reports of members who lived in squalor in order to advance the monetary gains of the Co-op. . Among the participants was Charles W. Kingston. 'They just don't worry about the effects of intermarriage.'. '90% of the community is related to one side or the other,' said Bistline, a former member of the sect, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. [8][3] There are approximately 3,500 members,[9] some of whom are known to practice polygamy. "In addition, the Mormon Church touts itself as the quintessential traditional family values church . One outspoken Mormon matriarch who attended the same Sunday meeting for 50 years commented about the health of the polygamous descendants versus the monogamous descendants, 'You see it in the obituaries. 75.119.192.80 . The adoption of children among family members sometimes disguised sterility. "Then, as generations of polygamous Kingston children have been taught, they demurred to questions about their father. They operate in Salt Lake Valley, Utah. Second, that prophet organizes his followers into missionary forces that dispense the truth to all the world, utilizing the priesthood to perform saving ordinances. The three marriages between second cousins have produced at least eight children afflicted with fumarase deficiency, according to a report in the May 2000 'Annals of Neurology' (based on the study conducted by the group led by Tarby and Aleck), interviews with doctors treating the disease and anecdotal evidence gathered from the community. "Roughly one in four Americans say 'most Mormons' support the practice of polygamy . . . But residents who are aware of fumarase deficiency fear that the number of children afflicted with the disease will indeed increase. "Community historian Ben Bistline said most of the community's 8,000 residents are in two major families descended from a handful of founders who settled there in the 1930s. . . From the "Phoenix New Timms" article, "Forbidden Fruit: Inbreeding Among Polygamists Along the Arizona-Utah Border is Producing a Caste of Severely Retarded and Deformed Children": "Colorado City resident Isaac Wyler says FLDS Prophet Warren Jeffs is trying to create the 'perfect race.'. . Reading the ignorant responses of the polygs - particularly in the face of the evidence all around them - makes my blood boil. It is a common and intentional practice in the Order to require girls and women to submit sexually to their husbands even if the sexual submission is against their will because having children results in workers for the benefit of the Order, the lawsuit states. Carolyn regularly worked at and tended . This is why the state and federal government enacted legislation against polygamy. . The records of the marriages sealed at the Nauvoo Temple before the general exodus to Utah in the 1840s, may be the most important ones of all; yet, these are . We specifically read that the law of consecration is designed to administer to the poor and the needy (D&C 42:35). Tarby. Investigate the Kingston Clan: wealthiest polygamous cult in the U.S . [The Lord] had to institute another New and Everlasting Covenant which he gave to another 25 year old boy on the highest mountain east of Bountiful on the first day of the year, 1935. . "'We don't have a dad,' the little boy said. "The leaders must also understand the ethical considerations of continuing behavior, he says, that is bringing children into the world who suffer tragic deformities. . Jacob Kingston pleaded guilty to 41 charges, including conspiracy to commit mail fraud, aiding/assistance in filing a false claim, money laundering and obstruction. . Not one defect, but many. Much of what we have reviewed appears frivolous and unfounded, Gustafson said in an emailed statement. . "'Warren has to be really careful that he doesn't lose his position as a god to these people,' Wyler says. 'Maybe it will just self-destruct,' historian Bistline says of the fundamentalist church he quit 20 years ago because of a dispute over religious doctrine and property ownership. KUTV When several businesses inside the Kingston polygamist empire, including Washakie Renewable Energy, was raided by federal agents Wednesday, officials where tight lipped. Fear began to overwhelm me, for the future, and for my own son. 'We do know there are biological hazards. July 1, 2020. . The group also teaches its members that only those with so-called pure blood will survive the apocalypse, according to the lawsuit. "Several Kingston offspring of incestuous couplings also have been born without fingernails, a disease that could be linked to a number of genetically caused abnormalities, although an exact diagnosis is impossible without closer study of medical records. For a more detailed view the the Kingston's historysee Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism: The Generations After the Manifesto (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2006). Why is this? The accusers describe a patriarchal doctrine known as The Law of One Above Another, which they claim designates everyone a rank in the groups hierarchy. [39], The organization continues to publicly denounce the practice of child marriage,[41][39] and maintains that marriages within the group are not coerced. . . First, the truth and the priesthood keys are dispensed from heaven to a prophet on earth. Unfortunately, it's still the innocent who suffer due to Joseph Smith's lies. . "Including Utah, 37 states outlaw first-cousin marriage. . 'If you cross a Barlow and Jessop, you stand a high risk of getting this condition,' Tarby says. Therefore, to keep the bloodline 'pure,' the Kingstons intermarry--half-brothers and sisters, uncles and nieces, aunts and nephews, and so forth. . Brigham Young calling some one else a thief especially "women thieves" ABSOLUTE HILARITY ! . "Now 16, Rugg's sister was married to and subsequently left one of her half-brother's sons. "The few dissenters in the community say the serious genetic problems that are beginning to surface are an indication that the closed FLDS society could eventually collapse. This is inadequate information for purposes of establishing the true incidence of consanguinity within a family or community. "The widespread presence of the fumarase deficiency gene in the bloodlines of the founding families of Colorado City is going to make reaching any such goal extremely difficult. The Twelve Apostles of Mormonism then acted to increase this familial relationship by marrying other relatives until in 1877, at the end of Brigham Youngs reign as Mormon Prophet and King, the polygamous hierarchy became l00% interrelated. 'As soon as I saw her, I knew she had the same thing as her brother,' Tarby says. Members of a powerful polygamous group in Utah claim they were forced into underage marriages with their relatives to keep their blood pure, were raped by their husbands and had to perform child labor, according to a bombshell lawsuit. It gets pretty bleak when it gets that close.' "It is Moore-Emmett's belief that the LDS Church who started polygamy in this country should take responsibility and provide financial aid and other resources for those polygamous families who have been abused. . The Kingstons - Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism . One of the most devastating hereditary malformations is fumarase deficiency, a rare genetic condition marked by severe mental retardation and seizures. I think most people are made aware of the problems caused by inbreeding (a nicer word than incest) when they are still young teenagers. The Kingstons are a Mormon splinter group, founded in the 1930s by Mary's great-uncle Elden. Supposedly, these sacrifices are part of the united order. "I never knew if I carried this deadly disease or if any preventative measures would halt its insidious march. . Federal agents raid Utah offices of polygamous Kingston Group What Happened to 'Escaping Polygamy' Star Ava AKA - Distractify . When a group inbreeds, as polygamists have, more and more lethal gene matches occur. Although it is a felony under Utah law for close relatives to have sex, only one Kingston -- John and LaDonna's fifth son, David Ortell -- has been criminally charged with incest. "'It makes you sick; it turns your stomach,' she says. . [w]omen do not have the freedom to consider how often she can give birth and maintain her health. Well, law enforcement often tends to look the other way in cases like polygamy, unless specific reports reach the agencies. This is why those laws need to be enforced. [21][26], The Latter Day Church of Christ is based on a belief in Jesus Christ and the restoration of his gospel in these latter days. ", ("Understanding Polygamy," from "Humanists of Utah, an Incorporated Utah Non-profit Corporation Has a Mission to Promote Joyful Living, Rational Think)ing, and Responsible Behavior," July 2005, at: http://www.humanistsofutah.org/2005/UnderstandingPolygamy_July-05.html) . "With no other options available, more FLDS families will be faced with the difficult burden of caring for children suffering with fumarase deficiency. . . . But it must needs be done in mine own way; and behold this is the way that I, the Lord, have decreed to provide for my saints, that the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low (D&C 104:16). . Escaped members report some patriarchs believe it is their duty to give a daughter her first marriage lessons. Women and girls, after theyre married, submit to their husbands and men answer to higher-ranked men, the suit alleges. By l980, this theory changed dramatically as many other Utah families accepted the diagnosis. http://www.azcentral.com/health/news/articles/0209PolygamyBirthDefect09- http://www.childbrides.org/taxes_PNT_forbidden_fruit.html, http://www.rickross.com/reference/polygamy/polygamy25.html. [15][16] The Grand Jury was described as "The polygamist hunting Davis County Grand Jury" by the Ogden Standard-Examiner in 1959. "Frequent and powerful seizures are among the most disturbing characteristics of the disease. . "While discussing health problems at a family gathering with some of my cousins wives, we discovered astonishingly that three out of four of us, all polygamy descendants, had borne a son with a clubfoot. "There is too little empirical data of uncle-niece, half-brother/half-sister mating to draw firm conclusions about the IQ, survival rates, birth defects or longevity of their offspring, he says. WRE has since become defunct. . Consanguinity also causes rare recessive disorders to mask as dominant. Consanguinity is a reason why families bear children of only one sex--all sons or all daughters. ", (Bruce, R. McConkie,'Mormon Doctrine,' 2nd ed., under "Plural Marriage" (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, Inc., 1966], p. 578) While Charles W. Kingston was the first to oppose the Church, the primary mover in the Kingston Group was his son Elden. Grant determined to keep marrying until he found a woman to bear him living sons. One child born with an incomplete liver died. . If both parents carry the gene, the likelihood that their offspring will be affected by the disease or become carriers of the gene greatly increases, medical experts say. . 'I've seen some children that can talk and communicate a little,' Wyler said. . For a man of God to be confined to one woman is small business. . Where Are Escaping Polygamy Cast Members Now? - The Cinemaholic Connie Rugg [is] one of John Ortell's estimated 65 children and one of a handful of Kingston relatives who have fled the clan. Moore-Emmett suggests that the heavily Mormon Utah government is unduly tolerant of polygamy and reluctant to acknowledge the abuses of many polygamous families. Mormons can now see why American citizens passed laws intended to stop polygamy, a relic of unwise prophecy, laws continuously disregarded in Utah, a state controlled by the Mormon Church, if they will only look. Members today wear normal modern clothing, although they are encouraged to be modest and keep a high standard of dress. . Through diligent money management and hard work, the Davis County Cooperative Society became very financially successful. Have you also noticed all the genetic and other debilitating defects, deformities and diseases that comes along with your poisoned patriarchal plurality-of-wives club? The Kingston family is quite real and is a polygamous unit. [11] On February 7, 1941, the community founded by Elden Kingston officially declared themselves the Davis County Cooperative Society Inc. . . . Let's revisit the boastful words of Mormon Church Prophet John Taylor and Mormon Church Apostle Heber C. Kimball, both quoted earlier: -Taylor, "Millennial Star," vol. ', "Wyler says he has seen some fumarase deficiency children who can walk, but others can barely move and spend their entire lives prone. Doctrinally, members of the LDCJC try to adhere to the teachings of the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. [9][34], Active members and a recent independent research article by a professor from Santa Clara University have attributed the practice to "endogamous preference and the small size of the groups population". . Convinced they are breeding a pure white master race, they blame the mother if a deformed baby is born then preach she was unrighteous or unclean. Even the few highly educated people there . "Of all the arguments against incest, says Jorde, the likelihood that genetic abnormalities will be passed to succeeding generations is the most persuasive. Daughters of men in the Co-op would be married off at young ages. With the dawn of the twenty-first century, lawsuits and education among Kingston followers would combine to create new obstacles, as leaders perpetuate this financially spiritual hybrid organization.