Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS Church) is a Mormon fundamentalist denomination that practices plural marriage and traces its origins to a break with the mainstream Latter-day Saint movement.

1890 Manifesto: A declaration by Latter-day Saint president Wilford Woodruff that ended the church’s official authorization of new plural marriages. The FLDS Church’s emergence is tied to members who rejected the abandonment of plural marriage.
Plural marriage: A marital arrangement in which one person has multiple spouses, simultaneously or sequentially. The FLDS Church treats plural marriage as a religious commandment and a defining practice.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: A worldwide church founded in the nineteenth century whose members are commonly called Latter-day Saints or Mormons. It officially ended new plural marriages, a decision the FLDS Church rejects.
Child marriage: A marriage in which at least one spouse is below the legal age of adulthood or marriage. Under Warren Jeffs, underage girls were assigned as wives, prompting criminal investigations and prosecutions.
Short Creek Raid: A 1953 Arizona law-enforcement raid on a Mormon fundamentalist community at Short Creek. The raid brought national attention to the community from which the FLDS Church later emerged.
Priesthood: Religious authority or ordained office understood as conferring responsibilities and powers within a faith community. FLDS leaders claim priesthood authority to direct doctrine, marriage, and community affairs.
Apostolic United Brethren: A Mormon fundamentalist group that practices plural marriage and developed separately from the FLDS Church. It shares fundamentalist roots while maintaining a distinct leadership and community structure.
Texas raid on the Yearning for Zion Ranch: A 2008 law-enforcement operation at an FLDS ranch in Texas that removed hundreds of children from the property. The raid exposed allegations of abuse and intensified public and legal scrutiny of FLDS leadership.
Rulon Jeffs: A leader of the FLDS Church from 1986 until his death in 2002. His leadership preceded Warren Jeffs’s rule and shaped the church’s modern organization.
Religious fundamentalism: A movement that seeks to preserve or restore beliefs and practices regarded as foundational to a religion. The church’s name and identity express resistance to changes in mainstream Mormon practice.

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