The primary difference between the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) and the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS) is the practice of polygamy. Since giving up the practice of plural marriage in 1890, the mainstream LDS church has sought to distance itself from this illegal and generally socially unacceptable practice, while the FLDS church continues to live the polygamous lifestyle to this day. However, theologically, both the LDS and FLDS churches share common beliefs about polygamy.
Brief History of Polygamy in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, believed and taught that polygamy was ordained by God. Smith preached polygamy to early Mormon church members in Nauvoo, Illinois, even though the practice was against the law. After Smith was killed in part for his promotion of polygamy, his successor, Brigham Young, led Mormons out of Illinois to the Utah Territory where he believed they would be able to more freely practice plural marriage.
However, Mormons encountered difficulty in Utah over their practice of polygamy as well. The LDS church soon found itself embroiled in a heated power struggle with the federal government over the legality of plural marriage. Indeed, the U.S. government was strongly opposed to polygamy, which factored heavily into Congress’s denial of Utah’s repeated attempts to become a state.
Mormons in Utah felt increasing pressure from the federal government, which sought to end the practice of polygamy. In fact, Congress eventually passed the Edmunds-Tucker Act that severely threatened the LDS church by calling for the organization to be dissolved and for governmental seizure of church property. It is an understatement to say that Utah would not have been granted statehood if plural marriage had continued.
Under immense pressure, then president of the LDS church Wilford Woodruff issued an informal press release, which became known as the Woodruff Manifesto, calling for Mormons to stop practicing polygamy. However, according to the article “Polygamy’s odyssey: A brief history of the Mormon tenet” published on PhoenixNewTimes.com, only a decade earlier, Woodrufff had declared that he had received a revelation that anyone who tried to stop the church from fulfilling the “Patriarchal Law of Abraham” would be “damned.”
FLDS Break with LDS Church Over Plural Marriage
The LDS church declared that it would excommunicate those who continued to practice polygamy, though many Mormons, including some Mormon leaders, who remained in the mainstream LDS church continued to engage in plural marriage.
Nevertheless, rather than discontinue the practice of what they believed to be plural marriage arrangements ordained by God, many Mormons split off into renegade groups so they could continue living a polygamous lifestyle. The splinter groups, of which the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was just one, believed that the LDS church had been cowed by the government’s threats.
Differences Between FLDS and LDS Beliefs Regarding Polygamy?
The mainstream LDS church claims that it has no association with the FLDS church. The Mormon-Polygamy.org’s article “'Mormon’ Polygamy: Misconceptions” quotes the late president Gordon B. Hinckley as saying, “I wish to state categorically that this Church has nothing whatever to do with those practicing polygamy. They are not members of this Church. Most of them have never been members. They are in violation of the civil law.”
Hinckley attempted to draw clear distinctions between the LDS and FLDS, but examining the history of the LDS church reveals that the two groups are not as diametrically opposed as the LDS church makes them seem. The two churches do not disagree on theological points of plural marriage but only on whether polygamy is allowed by God during the current day. As a case in point, the LDS church continues to allow widowed men to remarry for “time and all eternity” in temple ceremonies, ensuring that these men will be wedded to multiple women in the afterlife.
Additionally, the LDS church has condemned the illegal practices of FLDS groups’ marrying of underage girls to adult males, yet the LDS church’s own history contains similar dubious practices. Scholars contend that Joseph Smith married at least 28 women, some of whom were as young as 14 years old and some of whom were already married.
Kathleen Flake, Vanderbilt University professor, commented in the USA Today article “Mormons distance themselves from polygamist groups,” "The biggest challenge facing the LDS church is not distinguishing their present from the fundamentalist present, but getting people to understand the difference between their past and the current practice of the fundamentalist groups.” It has been suggested that this is such a difficult undertaking because there is little difference between past and present-day practices.
To read about issues with the polygamous lifestyle, see article Fundamentalist Latter-day Saints Genealogy and Polygamy Problems.
Current Views of Polygamy by Mormons and Fundamentalist Mormons
Polygamy has been a sensitive tenet for Mormons since the founding of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the topic continues to be a difficult public relations issue for the LDS church today. Undeniably, the LDS church’s practice of and belief in the sanctity of plural marriage has never been looked upon favorably by society at large.
The arrest and trial of FLDS leader Warren Jeffs in 2007 as well as TV shows like the popular HBO TV series "Big Love," featuring a fictional polygamous family living in Salt Lake City, and the TLC reality show "Sister Wives," featuring a Utah man, his four wives, and 16 children, have continued to stir the polygamy pot and put the LDS church on the defensive. Yet, on examination of the history of the LDS church and fundamentalist Mormon sects, it seems that the belief systems of the groups regarding polygamy do not fundamentally differ; the groups only disagree about whether it is acceptable for men to take multiple wives in the present day.
Sources:
“LDS and FLDS Very Similar in Belief and Practice,” Blogs.SLTrib.com.
“‘Mormon’ Polygamy: Misconceptions," Mormon-Polygamy.org.
“Mormons distance themselves from polygamist groups,” USAToday.com.
“Polygamy’s odyssey: A brief history of the Mormon tenet,” PhoenixNewTimes.com.
“Protecting the Church’s Identity,” Newsroom.LDS.org.
Aimee Larsen Stoddard - Aimee is a professional writer/editor. She has a BA in English and is currently completing an MS in Theology.
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