All went bareheaded and barefoot. . Even the few highly educated people there . 3, p. 291, "I have noticed that a man who has but one wife, and is inclined to that doctrine, soon begins to wither and dry up, while a man who goes into plurality [of wives] looks fresh, young, and sprightly. lucky For 5 episodes that aired on Viewpoint on Mormonism between 9/14-18, 2020, click these: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Interview with Doris Hanson Part 1 Part 2 By Eric Johnson Summary. "Tarby says he quickly realized he was dealing with a very unusual condition that he could not diagnose. '", (John Dougherty, "Forbidden Fruit: Inbreeding Among Polygamists Along the Arizona-Utah Border is Producing a Caste of Severely Retarded and Deformed Children," in "Phoenix New Times," 29 December 2005, at: http://www.childbrides.org/taxes_PNT_forbidden_fruit.html) "Dr. Tarby, who routinely treats fumarase deficiency children at a state-funded clinic in Flagstaff, says, 'They are funny-looking kids [with] biggish heads and coarse, thick features.' "Medical experts say the incidence of the disorder will increase because the FLDS community is refusing to accept recommendations to reduce the likelihood of producing babies with fumarase deficiency. "John and Charles' brother, Merlin Barnum Kingston, married and had children with four nieces and a half-sister, say ex-members, including one of his own daughters. , says he has firsthand knowledge of multiple fumarase deficiency children in each of the three families. "'My guess is this man had used some of these inbreeding practices in his herd so he was probably in the camp that believed superior genetics could be propagated in a particular line,' Green says. [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". Members today wear normal modern clothing, although they are encouraged to be modest and keep a high standard of dress. The Kingston Group is believed to have a few thousand members, mostly in Utah and Idaho. The children live in the twin polygamist communities of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah. This story has been shared 112,868 times. Breeding within, as Mormons did--endogamous polygamy--is virtually never practiced. "Tarby and a team of doctors from Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix and the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson began researching the disease and soon discovered that fumarase deficiency was occurring in at least two other families living in the same isolated community that practiced an unusual custom. "Warren Jeffs, like Joseph Smith before him, has emphasized the importance of obedience among members of the church. . 'I know this off the top of my head," Wyler says. I promised myself to find out the truth when I grew up. If two descendants of hierarchical polygamy marry, the chances for genetic defects increase if the families were ever interrelated. This is the equivalent of a religious rationalization for the practice of incest. [1] Charles William Kingston, Autobiography, 2324; spelling and punctuation standardized. [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. 'Escaping Polygamy' Star: My Dad Hid My Mom's Cancer Medicine - Us Weekly unavailable to researchers. According to Kingston teachings, this scripture should not be taken too literally, and all of the efforts commenced through Joseph Smith came to a dead halt in 1934, thereby necessitating Elden Kingston to initiate a new dispensation. [21] Over the past 25 years, many members have become college-educated and live in middle-to-upper-middle-class homes throughout their communities. 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. Kingston members today generally claim that keys were received anew from heavenly messengers directly to Elden in 1935, although it appears he left no formal testimony to that effect. Blood Cult | Southern Poverty Law Center . . Lawsuit accuses polygamous Kingston Group of child marriage, rape There is no doubt about that at all. ", -The Prophet Brigham Young, "Journal of Discourses," vol. After all, polygamy is illegal in the US. [I]t appears that Joseph Smith Jessop and his first wife also passed on the rare genetic disorder fumarase deficiency. 'And yet nobody wants to do anything about it. "'One lady I know, she just cannot physically pick [her son] up anymore to get him into the bathtub,' Wyler says. But in a 2News . "If both parents are descendants of polygamy, the children may be at even greater risk. "Dr. Theodore Tarby has treated many of the children at clinics in Arizona under contracts with the state. If male, some of these same 'worker bees' marry only once. The founders of that ancient empire were robbers and women-stealers, and made laws favoring monogamy in consequence of the scarcity of women among them, and hence this monogamic system which now prevails throughout Christendom, and which had been so fruitful a source of prostitution and whoredom throughout all the Christian monogamic cities of the Old and New World, until rottenness and decay are at the root of their institutions both national and religious. "These groups are white supremacists and inbreeding is an essential doctrine in keeping the bloodline pure. . Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. . "Some fumarase deficiency children, he says, develop a small degree of motor skills over time: 'They don't remain infantile their entire life. 'I've seen some children that can talk and communicate a little,' Wyler said. They have been known for systemic inbreeding, child sex abuse, physical abuse, child labor, and tax evasion. [14] Some of their secrecy might be attributed to a fear of arrest for living in plural marriages, as had happened in 19591960 when being investigated by the Davis County Grand Jury, which some members claimed was organized by LDS Apostles Mark E. Peterson and Spencer W. He tells community residents that they should undergo genetic screening before marriage, but they've ignored the suggestion, Tarby said. Where Are Escaping Polygamy Cast Members Now? - The Cinemaholic They do develop to some degree, but it's way behind their peers.'. . . "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. Their brains, he says, 'are strangely shaped' and are frequently missing large areas of brain matter that has been replaced by water. Precisely where Elden obtained valid priesthood authority is a matter of dispute. While engaged in that enterprise, he reportedly received an angelic visitation. "Joseph Smith Jessop and his first wife, Martha Moore Yeates, had 14 children. Isaac Wyler, another lifelong Colorado City resident who was excommunicated from the FLDS in January 2004. Through diligent money management and hard work, the Davis County Cooperative Society became very financially successful. 'Most of what you print is lies, lies, lies.' Kingston was able to name only nine of his thirteen children by a second woman, Rachael Ann Kingston. "'I knew I would have to marry my [half-] brother ever since I was 12,' says the woman. when doctors pronounced us a special and important family. For Mormon patriarchs lusting in their hearts for the Polygamy Reunion Tour, hope springs eternal. . We recall that Joseph Smith made no effort to implement the law of consecration while in Nauvoo (see D&C 105:34). In recent years, former members have lobbied for law enforcement to take action against the sect. "It is important that Mormons fight the tendency to discount history and the actions of their leaders in favor of a faith- promoting history while neglecting important facts. They have no movement. "'People don't like to talk about their fumarase babies for obvious reasons,' Wyler says. . They own many businesses and have ties with hundreds of businesses here in Utah and our neighboring states. 'So often when you have an uncle-niece, or half-brother-sister, you have a situation where abuse is going on,' Jorde says. and several polygamist men serve in local government positions, including as mayors . Daughters of men in the Co-op would be married off at young ages. ", -Apostle Heber C. Kimball, "Journal of Discourses," vol. . . Connie Rugg [is] one of John Ortell's estimated 65 children and one of a handful of Kingston relatives who have fled the clan. . Because the Lord introduced it to his servants in a revelation given to Joseph Smith, and the Lord's servants have always practiced it. "The ultimate decision on marriages rests with FLDS Prophet Warren Jeffs. Kingston clan: Unlikely whistleblower helps uncover alleged half "What was going on in my Utah pioneer family? "Sterility is another consequence of consanguinity and the evidence of many sterile polygamous wives is overwhelming. "Like his father-in-law, John Y. Barlow became one of the towering patriarchs of the fundamentalist Mormon community and served as FLDS prophet from 1935 until his death in 1949. . . . KKK Groups Still Active in These States in 2017 - US News & World Report 'We do know there are biological hazards. 'If the community gets larger, the number of people with fumarase deficiency gets larger. The sisters were born into the Salt Lake City-based group and since they didn't choose the lifestyle, they decided to escape. . . . D. Michael Quinn, former Brigham Young University professor, states, 'The Mormon practice of polygamy enabled men to marry daughters, nieces, cousins, granddaughters and former wives of other General Authorities.'. Many members of the fundamentalist community don't even know it's occurring. . . Naming a father could expose the truth, unveil secrets of paternity and subject the clan to further scrutiny from those who don't approve of incest. ". . David Kingston was released from prison in 2003. Nobody, from the police to [the governor], cares that these children are abused from conception to marriage.'. Performance & security by Cloudflare. 'And their claim is they marry closely to preserve the royal bloodline, so to speak.'. . 'I said, "You're married to somebody you're related to. "The clan's other numerous incestuous couplings among consenting adults . . From the article, "Mormon Polygamy: Frequently Asked Questions": "[Mormon] Church founder, Joseph Smith, said he received a revelation from God, which is still canonized Mormon scripture as Doctrine and Covenants Section 132. It appears my kinship group is suffering from clusters of rare recessive genes. The State of Utah stated: "It was a specific investigation that we were approached by [federal law enforcement] to participate in." "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. Excerpts from the article "Understanding Polygamy," distributed by "Humanists of Utah": " . . From the article, "Fundamentalist Latter-day Saints Genealogy and Polygamy Problems": "The gene pool is . [43] Responding to child marriage allegations in September 2022, the organization told The Guardian that "current policy prohibits plural marriage for members under 18" and "once an individual has made a decision on who to marry, members are encouraged to seek the blessing of their parents, family and/or church leaders, but to say that one individual chooses or heavily influences who will marry who is entirely inaccurate". . Half and full siblings are marrying in religious ceremonies. . "Tarby said there could be hundreds of victims in coming generations. I'd never heard of them, a polygamist, fundie cult where even 14 year olds could . Wyler says he once saw a fumarase deficiency child suffer a seizure while she was sitting with her mother and two other children also suffering from the disorder. "There is no cure for the disease, which impedes the body's ability to process food at the cellular level. In response to questions from the newspaper, Kent Johnson, a spokesman for the Davis County Cooperative. . "Frequent and powerful seizures are among the most disturbing characteristics of the disease. . . They are Utah-based, unlike the FLDS where the escapes are mainly Arizona-based. The Kingston sisters were able to help her escape although Ava wanted to stay with her family, she knew she couldn't give up her sense of self and continue watching the cycle of abuse continue. [10], According to his autobiography, Charles W. Kingston became disenchanted with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in 1926 because it abandoned plural marriage. The FLDS already has moved several hundred men, women and children to the compound, many of whom very likely carry the fumarase deficiency gene. But it is unclear how such assets are exalting the poor or making the rich low. . . "When asked, a little boy and girl at the home acknowledged who their mother is. . Elden received the covenant of consecration and also the plan of temporal salvation.[2]. Members of the Kingston polygamous family facing fraud charges strike Some Kingston followers might justify their financial conglomerate by comparing it to the wealthy Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [39], The organization continues to publicly denounce the practice of child marriage,[41][39] and maintains that marriages within the group are not coerced. Certainly the British and French education systems make it clear quite early on (13-14 yrs old). Articles of Incorporation of the Davis County Cooperative Society, 7 February 1941. We dont expect any of the claims to prevail in a court of law.. [23][36] These relationships are defined as incestuous according to Utah's Criminal Code 76-7-102 (2021), which states: "Related person" means a person related to the provider or actor as an ancestor, descendant, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, or first cousin, and includes: (i) blood relationships of the whole or half blood without regard to legitimacy; (ii) the relationship of parent and child by adoption; and (iii) the relationship of stepparent and stepchild while the marriage creating the relationship of a stepparent and stepchild exists. The Doctrine and Covenants admonishes the Saints to look to the poor and the needy, and administer to their relief that they shall not suffer (D&C 38:35). . Various congenital and genital defects, dwarfism, fused limbs, fingernails lacking, mental illness and mental retardation, spina bifida, and microcephalous are some of the diseases and mutations. . [31][32][33] During this time, some non-members and ex-members began claiming the practice stemmed from theories of genetic purification held by past leaders. As Kingston wife charged in child's death, former clan members - KUTV There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. It gets pretty bleak when it gets that close.' . We've received your submission. The couple had lived together since the age of 7, when the mother of the woman's half-brother died. . "The rate at which Kingstons marry each other is 'frightening,' she says. "For us parents the future health and happiness of ourselves, our children and grandchildren are at stake. . . He believed he had superior bloodlines.' . When asked to name his offspring by plural wife Mattingly Foster, Kingston came up with about five names before faltering, saying he was very nervous. After viewing a list of the children, he then attempted to name them but once more fell shortprompting the judge to supply the final child's name for him. ", "Utah investigated the polygamous Kingston Group for welfare fraud 2 years ago. "State investigators found no wrongdoing among members of the Davis County Cooperative Society, also known as the Kingston Group. . Or was it true no one knew the answers, because they could not be known, because no one wanted to know? . . "[52][46][53] In a recent lawsuit, ex-members allege that the WRE case was an example of the concept of "bleeding the beast." . "[2], According to a 2011 document prepared by the attorneys general of the states of Utah and Arizona, the church describes itself as emphasizing family values, education, self-sufficiency, and the belief that every child is a priceless blessing. Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints elders, who control the community, have labored to keep the public from finding out why the disorder is manifesting. 'It's like any inbred disorder,' Tarby says. "This gene cluster effect happens when people with common ancestors marry and bear children. What members of Utah polygamous clan did with $512M in falsely obtained thus marking the first time news media reported this human and civil rights nightmare accurately since the 1850s. "Intermarriage among close relatives is producing children who have two copies of a recessive gene for a debilitating condition called fumarase deficiency. That means the number of cases likely will grow. A recently created critical website can be viewed atwww.kingstonclan.com. 'There are people that have married their nieces, people who have married their aunts,' he said. "Ex-members' claims of incest are bolstered by court records claiming John Ortell 'failed either to support or acknowledge' three children by his niece, (Susan) Mary Gustafson. "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. ", (Joseph Carroll, "One in Four Americans Think Most Mormons Endorse Polygamy; Only 2% Think Most Americans Support Polygamy," by Gallup News Service, Princeton, New Jersey, 7 September 2006, at: http://www.gallup.com/poll/24388/one-four-americans-think-most-mormons-e). [13][verification needed], The Latter Day Church of Christ is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, with a presence in Bountiful, Utah. The Cooperative itself was established in 1935. "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. "Another of Rugg's full sisters, Andrea Johnson, died in 1992 of complications of pre-eclampsia, a condition of pregnancy that was not treated until after the young girl, swollen with toxic fluid, was rushed to the emergency unit at University Hospital. . . 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. July 1, 2020. Since polygamy remained a hidden and illegal practice, disguised family records occurred. When a group inbreeds, as polygamists have, more and more lethal gene matches occur. . "Parents who share a common ancestor are consanguineous. Certainly if MORmON Jesus had done this, we would hear all about it from the LDS as *proof* that God was doing his modern work via MORmONISM, but alas there is no such manifestation ! The Ku Klux Klan is the oldest American hate group, and while the number of active KKK chapters declined in 2016, members of the Klan are trying to regain ground. Article continues below advertisement For the sisters, escaping polygamy is really real. From an "Associated Press" news report, "Doctor: Birth Defects Increase in Polygamy Community": "A rare, severe birth defect is on the rise in an inbred polygamous community on the Arizona-Utah border, according to a doctor who has treated many of the children. 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. . "'The kids that I have seen have terrible seizure disorders and developmental delays,' says Dr. Aleck. "Marriages among first and second cousins have been common for decades in the community, where religious doctrine requires men to have at least three wives to gain eternal salvation. . "For Colorado City and Hildale to avoid more fumarase, polygamist leaders must use their authority to make sure that those potentially carrying the fumarase gene are not allowed to marry, says geneticist Aleck. Since the natural male-to-female ratio is roughly 50-50, the ratio must be manipulated so that there are more females than males for polygamy to work. The suit was filed against the groups leader Paul Eldon Kingston and 21 other members. [12] In 1977, Elden's brother Ortell Kingston began to file for legal recognition of the church later organized as The Latter Day Church of Christ. . refuse to accept advice from any outsider, including doctors such as Tarby, who has treated their children for years. "Recently, another cousin fathered a child born with spinal bifida, inherited paralysis, an anomaly related to nephritis. Since most Kingston children are born in homes under the scrutiny of trusted and secretive family midwives or clan leaders, documentation of medical abnormalities is rare, but not unprecedented. However, Grant claims she endured years of sexual abuse by a half-brother as a child. Tarby recounts a conversation he had with a member of the Barlow clan in which he tried to explain why so much fumarase deficiency was occurring among Mormon polygamists. . 'I try in my own, quiet way and tell them to outbreed. "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. ", -Prophet John Taylor, "Millennial Star," vol. Outwardly, she appeared to have no sex organs. . This denial is hollow considering the record. Tarby. Source: Twitter Jessica with her husband and three daughters. "'Polygamy leads to sexual predation, and that leads to genetic problems,' says . Order girls are taught from birth that their primary purposes in life are to be obedient, a submissive wife, and to bear as many children as possible, the suit states. 'They don't believe anything written about Colorado City [by outsiders, even medical experts] carries much truth,' Tarby says. It alleges sex trafficking, sexual battery and child abuse, and seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages. . . John Gustafson, a representative of the Davis County Cooperative Society, an affiliate of the Kingston Group, disputed the lawsuits claims. . 129-30, ("Is Homosexuality or Monogamy the Ruin of Civilization?," at: http://www.i4m.com/think/sexuality/homosexual_ruin.htm) Not only were there possibly too few fathers making it easier for defects to clump in the large interrelated kindred but succeeding generations of children from these isolated rural Mormon towns married within a few kindred as well. "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. . "Yet, Aleck says, some children are more seriously affected by the disorder than others. . A Kingston Family Primer. . While Charles W. Kingston was the first to oppose the Church, the primary mover in the Kingston Group was his son Elden. 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. A young child is also one of the accusers in the suit with allegations the child was raped by his or her father, who allegedly raped the mother. . . 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. Upon Ortells death in 1987, leadership passed to his son Paul Elden Kingston. . "Then, as generations of polygamous Kingston children have been taught, they demurred to questions about their father. Now, this might well be the case, with the . . "All of these men have or had multiple wives and scores of children. I am convinced they do. . . 15, p. 227, "Monogamy, or restrictions by law to one wife, is no part of the economy of heaven among men. "', "'Joseph Smith was also selecting for the "obedience gene." 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. Social Endgame Clan of Active Adults I Raid Teachings I Pvp Players [3] Charles Elden Kingston discourse, 1940 New Years Meeting, 8:40 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., 11; emphasis in original. 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. 'As soon as I saw her, I knew she had the same thing as her brother,' Tarby says. . Much of what we have reviewed appears frivolous and unfounded, Gustafson said in an emailed statement. The samples could be tested for the gene at the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix. . "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. He estimates the test would . "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. . . And it is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are mine. When you pair up those undesirable genes, something strange will pop out.'. "A few years later [my cousin's] sister . . They operate in Salt Lake Valley, Utah. "Every person carries some lethal genes. J. Ortell Kingston aggressively pursued a financially-expansive agenda for the Davis County Cooperative Society Inc.[25] in the hopes of improving the financial condition of his followers. . I do not know what we would do if we had only one wife apiece. Fear began to overwhelm me, for the future, and for my own son. Federal agents raid Utah offices of polygamous Kingston Group living in Colorado City and Hildale are blood descendants of the Barlows and the Jessops, says Benjamin Bistline, a lifelong resident of the area who has published a book . "Tarby said the victims require constant care from parents and close relatives. . . . 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.