A Look Inside the Infamous Kingston Polygamist Clan: Introduction

I want to begin a series about the Kingston Polygamist Clan that is located primarily throughout the Salt Lake Valley.

This topic can be pretty in depth so I want to start out answering a few of the more simple questions people have on the subject as to not overwhelm readers. Hopefully this will give you, the reader, some more familiarity with the topic before I delve into the more complex parts of Mormon Fundamentalism; aka polygamist cults.

To start out, polygamy was introduced into Mormonism with their first prophet Joseph Smith. It was abolished in the Mormon Church in 1890 when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Edmunds-Tucker Act. This only stopped polygamy from being lived out in the open. Different individuals were sent to live and practice “God’s law of Celestial Marriage” in different parts of the world. Some men and their families were told to remain hidden throughout the Western United States. These practices have continued to the present day. There are practicing Mormon Fundamentalist groups in the USA, Mexico, Canada, and England with the majority of members residing throughout the Western United States.

Many splinter groups have formed since the practice of polygamy was abolished in the mainstream Mormon faith. The main groups include the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints (FLDS), Later Day Church of Christ (the Kingston group; aka The Order), the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB), and various different independent groups.

I was able to explore all of the different groups as a teenager but I will primarily focus on the Kingston clan as this was the group I was enmeshed in for the first 19 years of my life.

I don’t want to go too in-depth into the intro because it could become a series in itself and is quite complex.

I do hope that this very brief explanation at least gives you a little back information. I'll cover everything else in brief posts throughout the series.

I'm excited to begin this journey with you as I feel that this topic should be more widely known. These groups have lived "in the dark" far too long.