Abstract
In this chapter, I provide an overview of Mormon fundamentalist polygamy with a focus on the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB) and Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), the two sects that study participants were members of before they left. Next, I describe allegations of illegal activities within some Mormon fundamentalist sects and recent legal battles, including a history of failed government raids. Finally, I explore some of the themes described in existing life stories from women who left polygamous communities.
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- 1.
The AUB have also referred to themselves as “The Priesthood” or “The Work” (Decker, 2012).
- 2.
Also known as the “Short Creek Group” and now prefer to be called the “United Order,” although they are still popularly known as FLDS (Decker, 2012).
- 3.
The Kingston group was estimated to have US$200 million in business holdings in 2004 (Moore-Emmett, 2004).
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Parson, L. (2019). Understanding Mormon Fundamentalist Polygamy. In: Polygamy, Women, and Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02798-8_2
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