. Sounds like I left a few out, he said after being reminded of how many children he had fathered in that family.[6]. . . . If the FLDS faithful believed that Jeffs was relying on science to determine marriages rather than divine revelation from God, he could lose control of the church. "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. . . The children live in the twin polygamist communities of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah. "Then, as generations of polygamous Kingston children have been taught, they demurred to questions about their father. This is a rare disorder and medical descriptions of trisome infants are too dreadful to describe here. . Several people also wonder if parts of 'Escaping Polygamy' is dramatized. . Surely, there were too many deaths. "'One lady I know, she just cannot physically pick [her son] up anymore to get him into the bathtub,' Wyler says. joined the Mormons in Zion, the new Promised Land, trading a life of mining for religious hope. my question is: How come MORmON god does not get on board with His own programs? One of the most devastating hereditary malformations is fumarase deficiency, a rare genetic condition marked by severe mental retardation and seizures. . "Some genes linked to conditions like microcephaly and dwarfism are 'autosomal recessive,' and are found among the 22-linked pairs of chromosomes that do not include the X and Y sex chromosomes, says Lynn Jorde of the University of Utah's Eccles Human Genetics Institute, a leading genetics research center. Jacob Kingston told prosecutors the company was capable of producing some amounts of biodiesel, but in no year did it ever produce more than 8.5 million gallons. At the time this inbreeding took place these prophets preached and practiced modern eugenic science, the science of controlling the traits of future populations through selective breeding for idealized traits like blond hair, blue eyes and tall stature. "Andrea's son, now 7, lives with his father, Jason Kingston--Andrea's half-brother--and Rosalind, his niece. "The disease is not widely known about even in Colorado City, a place where even normally public events such as marriages are conducted in secret. . [in order] to reduce competition for wives. His father wrote: Brother Elden received a new covenant up on the top of the highest mountain that is east of Bountiful, Utah. "The genetic defect has been traced back to one of the community's founding patriarchs, the late Joseph Smith Jessop, and the first of his plural wives, according to medical literature, the Mormon Church genealogy database and residents of the community familiar with Jessop and Barlow family histories. . Grant determined to keep marrying until he found a woman to bear him living sons. . Jeffs is following a long-established practice -- started by Smith 170 years ago -- of excommunicating those who do not strictly adhere to church leaders' commands. "'I had never seen a patient with it,' Tarby says. Still, if children are caught up in an abusive or incestuous situation, Williams would encourage policing. "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. This denial is hollow considering the record. My great-grandfather, like scores of English immigrants eager to escape a life of poverty, . 'Escaping Polygamy' is a docuseries on Lifetime which follows the work of three sisters, who were able to break free from the polygamous Kingston Clan, known as the Order. These defects could be life threatening like nephritis and spinal bifida, or merely debilitating like asthma. "It is possible that positive genetic traits could be passed along through human inbreeding. . . 'They think it is a test from God,' says Wyler, who was born and raised in the FLDS before he was booted out. Literally, if they're 8 years old, it's like taking care of a baby.' The Kingstons are a Mormon splinter group, founded in the 1930s by Mary's great-uncle Elden. . "Religious leaders control all marriages in the community, and many of these relatives have married or likely will marry in the future. Once a baby is born with the condition, Aleck says, 'You really can't treat the underlying disorder.' Many members of the fundamentalist community don't even know it's occurring. "FLDS marriages, Wyler and other community experts say, are an extension of a breeding program that began with Mormon Church founder Joseph Smith in the 1830s. In the 1940s and 50s, Kingston followers designed and wore unique outer garments, the wearing of which led other people to refer to them as blue-coats. Men and boys wore a blue coverall-type suit tied with strings, while women and girls wore plain blue dresses. "Her book . . Initially, she tried to conceal her marital relationship. . [3] Charles Elden Kingston discourse, 1940 New Years Meeting, 8:40 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., 11; emphasis in original. . "A Secretive Refrain: . . [i]n a secret church ceremony. He did not consider this lack of sons might be his genetic inheritance, not his multiple wives. ", -The Prophet Brigham Young, "Journal of Discourses," vol. This means it may be genetically unwise for children of the early leaders to marry other children of early leaders, even now; yet, this tendency still exists in Mormonism. Eldens father related that Elden told him that was ordained by J. Leslie Broadbent (Lorin Woolleys successor) in 1934, although precisely what that ordination represented is unclear. Upon Ortells death in 1987, leadership passed to his son Paul Elden Kingston. Thanks for contacting us. he says. [28][29], During the first years of the Davis County Cooperative Society, Elden Kingston and his followers wore unique blue denim outer garments that led to people referring to them as "blue-coats." Much of what we have reviewed appears frivolous and unfounded, Gustafson said in an emailed statement. 'But just on general principles, the offspring of uncle-niece, or half-siblings have an elevated level of genetic disease. . . An MRI of the brain of one fumarase deficiency child showed that more than half the brain was missing. He believed he had superior bloodlines.' ", ("Mormon Polygamy: Frequently Asked Questions," at: http://www.i4m.com/think/polygamy/polygamy_summary.htm). . Like any fundamentalist Mormon sect, the Kingston Clan is very hierarchal. Women and girls, after theyre married, submit to their husbands and men answer to higher-ranked men, the suit alleges. The man's response was, "Up here, we are all related," Tarby says. The enzyme irregularity causes severe mental retardation, epileptic seizures and other effects that often leaves children unable to take care of themselves. "In May, the girl said she was belt-whipped by her father inside a Kingston-owned barn in Box Elder County for fleeing the marriage, and was abandoned in the home of another of John Daniel's wives. . . The Kingston family first embraced polygamy around 1931 when, according to author Max Anderson, Charles W. Kingston helped produce a pamphlet that contained a version of Lorin C. Woolley's claims that former LDS Church President John Taylor had set aside a select group of men to carry on polygamy even as the church publicly disavowed the practice. The lone man suing said three Order men raped him when he was 16 or 17 and that when he left the group and announced he was gay, was tracked down and severely beaten by a group of boys acting at the direction of the Order, the lawsuit alleges. "Intermarriage among close relatives is producing children who have two copies of a recessive gene for a debilitating condition called fumarase deficiency. . 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. _____, --Petri Dishes of the Genetically-Destructive Effects of Mormon-Driven Polygamy: "Modern"-day Utah and Cross-Border Towns. 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. Reading the ignorant responses of the polygs - particularly in the face of the evidence all around them - makes my blood boil. Isaac Wyler, another lifelong Colorado City resident who was excommunicated from the FLDS in January 2004. They have no movement. "In the FLDS community, marriages with cousins and other relatives are common, Bistline said. ". "Tarby says he quickly realized he was dealing with a very unusual condition that he could not diagnose. The trial of the man, David Ortell Kingston . For Mormon patriarchs lusting in their hearts for the Polygamy Reunion Tour, hope springs eternal. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmhjgaB2Hi8. 'He wanted to control his children and grandchildren through genetics. 'If you cross a Barlow and Jessop, you stand a high risk of getting this condition,' Tarby says. . Moore-Emmett suggests that the heavily Mormon Utah government is unduly tolerant of polygamy and reluctant to acknowledge the abuses of many polygamous families. Nearly all the Mormon founding families were relatives, so the first polygamists enjoyed relations to different degrees when the divine experiment began. "'Polygamy leads to sexual predation, and that leads to genetic problems,' says . Jacob Kingston pleaded guilty to 41 charges, including conspiracy to commit mail fraud, aiding/assistance in filing a false claim, money laundering and obstruction. 5, p. 22. She says her parents, Merlin Barnum Kingston (John Ortell's brother) and Joyce Fransden, were uncle and niece. . "I remembered the studies conducted on my brother and I as children at the University of Utah . Children are allowed to attend public school and many go on to college. Jacob O. Kingston, the company's CEO, pleaded guilty Thursday to 41 charges including money laundering, fraud, conspiracy and witness tampering and obstruction of justice, according to a court. . "'We don't have a dad,' the little boy said. They are quick to point out to reporters that they no longer practice polygamy and excommunicate members who continue to do so. "'I knew I would have to marry my [half-] brother ever since I was 12,' says the woman. From her article, "Fatal Inheritance: Mormon Eugenics": "[My] cousin], [her sister] and I all grew up to marry and start families of our own. . . . "Genetics of Incest: Pre-eclampsia is a condition that can be traced genetically from one generation to the next and is prevalent among some Kingstons, Rugg says. [23] The group claims no preference for any particular family or surname stating members join every year "from a variety of different backgrounds and surnames. While engaged in that enterprise, he reportedly received an angelic visitation. . 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. Satan will try to stop the power of the Lord and that power is where the Lord has given his covenant of consecration and that is: to the Davis County Co-op of Bountiful, Utah. 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). Jeremy Kingston was sentenced to a year in prison in 2004 for taking LuAnn Kingston, his cousin and aunt, as his fourth wife in 1994; their relationship began when he was 24 and she was 15. [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. Because God loves that man, and because he honors his word. For a man of God to be confined to one woman is small business. They have been known for systemic inbreeding, child sex abuse, physical abuse, child labor, and tax evasion. The complaint against the Kingston Group also known as the Order was filed in Salt Lake City last week by 10 people, including Amanda Rae Grant, who starred in the A&E docu-series Escaping Polygamy.. From the article, "Fundamentalist Latter-day Saints Genealogy and Polygamy Problems": "The gene pool is . For a more detailed view the the Kingston's historysee Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism: The Generations After the Manifesto (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2006). '90% of the community is related to one side or the other,' said Bistline, a former member of the sect, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. "[52][46][53] In a recent lawsuit, ex-members allege that the WRE case was an example of the concept of "bleeding the beast." 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. "Farm Roots of Incest: Marriages in the Kingston clan must be sanctioned by [the] current head of the church . 'I know this off the top of my head," Wyler says. "In 1996, the now 31-year-old Kingston mother of two slow-growing children sought explanations at Primary Children's Medical Center. . died of multiple sclerosis, also leaving a family of small children behind. The girl, born to John Ortell and Isabell Johnson, was not the product of an incestuous marriage. "There is no cure for the disease, which impedes the body's ability to process food at the cellular level. [41][42] Despite this, the latest suit alleges marriages as young as 16 within the Latter Day Church of Christ have continued. 13:1). In the 1940s, members of the Co-op wore blue bib overalls. Mormons can now see why American citizens passed laws intended to stop polygamy, a relic of unwise prophecy, laws continuously disregarded in Utah, a state controlled by the Mormon Church, if they will only look. Thanks for signing up! "The same right of marriage approval was wielded by John Ortell Kingston, who began the incestuous lineage. [I]t appears that Joseph Smith Jessop and his first wife also passed on the rare genetic disorder fumarase deficiency. [45] Members allege to have been targeted for audit at a rate over 9x the published IRS average for the general population, with no pattern of fraud being found outside of a couple of bad-actors. . . [19] For many years, members of the Co-operative lived in poor conditions, and those in need had no legal way to apply for assistance. In recent years, former members have lobbied for law enforcement to take action against the sect. . But that's like spitting in the ocean.'. ', "Wyler says he has seen some fumarase deficiency children who can walk, but others can barely move and spend their entire lives prone. "Now 16, Rugg's sister was married to and subsequently left one of her half-brother's sons. And her ex-husband's parents, Merlin and Carolyn Kingston, were uncle and niece. The scheme included filing for $512 million in federal renewable-fuel tax credits from 2010 to 2016 through a company named Washakie Renewable Energy LLC. But women who are disobedient and fail to bear children including because they miscarry face ostracism, the lawsuit claims. It appears my kinship group is suffering from clusters of rare recessive genes. "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. . I think most people are made aware of the problems caused by inbreeding (a nicer word than incest) when they are still young teenagers. Arrow Real Estate and Property Compliance, Fountain of Youth Health and Athletic Club. 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.