Characteristics Of The Fundamental Mormon Subculture

The Fundamental Mormons are a subculture with a worldwide population under 60,000 primarily located throughout the Western United States and Western Canada. While the Fundamental Mormons set themselves apart with their interpretation of scripture and isolation from society, it is the unusual practice of plural marriage that sets them apart. The practice of polygamy was abandoned in the 1800’s in an effort for the Mormon religion to adjust to the behaviors of the dominant culture. The abandonment of polygamy led to the division of the Mormon religion into modern-day Mormons and Fundamental Mormons. Isolation, arranged marriages, polygamy, and child abuse are some of the characteristics of the subculture of Fundamental Mormonism.

How does the

fundamental view of Mormonism differ from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) church’s modern-day practices? The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), Fundamental Mormons, ancestors parted company with the LDS church over a dispute of polygamy. According to Merriam-Webster, polygamy is defined as “marriage in which a spouse of either sex may have more than one mate at the same time.” (“Polygamy” para. 1) However, in the Mormon religion polygamy is limited to the husband having two or more wives. Polygamy was first discussed publicly at the Mormon church’s general conference in 1852. This public information prompted an ongoing dispute between the U.S. government and the Mormon people. In the succeeding decades, Congress worked unwearyingly to pass laws in order to prohibit polygamous marriages. With the purpose of attaining statehood status, the Mormon church complied with the governments demands and denounced the act of polygamy within the church. The abandonment of Polygamy initiated the division within the Mormon community. A number of Mormons felt that the practice of plural marriage was wrongfully abandoned by the church. The division within the church was increasingly prominent and those who were unwilling to give up polygamy broke away from the church. Those who broke away from the LDS church formed a subculture that became what we know today as FLDS. The FLDS church went to the extent of accusing LDS church of apostasy, they felt that the LDS church should make decisions solely based on God’s will, and not in order to assimilate into the mainstream American culture. Fundamental Mormons have no affiliation with the LDS church, and the church ensures to disassociate themselves with this subculture as it does not represent the beliefs of modern day Mormons. Today, any member of the LDS church who practices polygamy will be excommunicated. Even though the LDS church has no further affiliation with the FLDS church, it is important to understand where the ideology of the fundamental Mormon church originated.
The separation of LDS and FLDS led to further isolation of the most well-known sect of Fundamental Mormons located on the state line of Arizona and Utah.

The isolated FLDS community consists of about 10,000 people who are sheltered from the realities of the modern-day world. The president and Prophet of the FLDS church is named Warren Jeffs. In order to keep the masses from thinking independently and straying from the ideas of the prophet, Warren Jeffs discourages any access to television, the internet, newspapers, and outside entertainment. By limiting the people’s exposure to outside news sources, Jeffs can control the information the community receives, and therefore alter their perception of events occurring in the world. Members of the FLDS church are taught to hate outsiders and are fed false information about the events and people outside of the compound. The members of the church live within the confines of the church in a commune community where gates and walls keep the people in, and the outsiders out. FLDS women and girls are known to wear extremely modest prairie style dresses with long uncut hair typically worn

up.
How did a person like Warren Jeffs come to power in this church? For Jeffs, who grew up in the FLDS church, the practice of plural marriage has been occurring for generations upon generations within his family. Jeffs is his father’s 14th child. His father, who became the prophet of the FLDS church in 1986, had dozens of children with his multiple wives, but Jeffs had a special relationship with his father from the start due to his premature birth and slim chance of survival. Throughout Jeffs life, he asserted his competence and obedience as he paved the way to becoming his father’s successor. Immediately after Jeffs fathers passing, Jeffs took it upon himself to marry all of his father’s remaining wives as a way of asserting his power over all of the church’s followers. As the new Prophet of the FLDS church, all of the members looked to Jeffs for instructions and guidance. People blindly follow all of his demands without question because they believe that each prophet is selected by God himself. As part of Jeffs duties as the Prophet, he is responsible for assigning wives to husbands. Within the confines of the commune Jeffs assigns young girls to husbands as soon as they become capable of bearing children. Jeffs assigns young girls to husbands because the naturally occurring 1:1 male to female ratio forces the age limit down in order to supply multiple wives for each man. “A 2008 raid on the FLDS compound… resulted in evidence of the assault of underage girls….” (“Warren Jeffs.” Para. 1) The evidence derived from the raid of the FLDS compound led to the conviction of Prophet Warren Jeffs that exposed the physical and emotional trauma that young girls face after premature marriage and early age child bearing.
Individuals who believe in polygamous marriages respect the FLDS church as a fundamental sect that is entitled to its own beliefs and practices.

However, there is evidence of negative conditions that result from the practice of plural marriage. Firstly, “Polygamy has long been associated with gender inequality… and this remains the case.” (“The Practice of and Reasons for Polygamy” para. 13) Women who practice Fundamental Mormonism with the FLDS church are taught that their main purpose in life is to bear children and tend to their husband’s needs. They are required to fulfill these expectations without exception or choice. Moreover, “Social scientists studying various societies often reiterate that the practice of polygamy leads to women being oppressed, threatened or disempowered.” (“The Practice of and Reasons for Polygamy” para. 15) In the case of the FLDS church, women have no choice in who or when they marry, when and how many children they bear, they have limited access to education, and no opportunity for work outside of the home. In order to ensure women in the community live up to these expectations, the church requires women to keep quiet and breaks down their ability to think

independently.
Fundamental Mormons are a group of people in the United States and Canada that have values and beliefs that differ substantially from the rest of society. Fundamental Mormons broke from the LDS church over the issue of polygamy. This radical variation in familial lifestyle separates them not only from the LDS church, but from religion and society as a whole. This extreme isolation in lifestyle has led to the physical and geographic isolation of this group. While Fundamental Mormons are just a small subculture of less than 60,000 people, their practices tarnish the reputation and interpretation of the Mormon religion as a whole. It was interesting for me to learn that a subculture can exist despite the overwhelming agreement that its practices are unlawful, unhealthy, and clash dramatically with cultural norms.