Latter Day Church of Christ

For the church formally established by Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1830, see Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints).

The Latter Day Church of Christ^[1] is a Mormon fundamentalist denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement, and is also known as the Kingston Clan, the Kingston Group, The Order, the Davis County Cooperative, and The Co-op Society.^[2] There are approximately 3,500 members of this group.^[3]

Establishment

Paul E. Kingston, current head of the Latter Day Church of Christ

The church was created in 1977 by the joint owners of the Davis County Cooperative Society Inc.,^[4] a cooperative created in 1941 to manage and hold the financial assets of the group. The Latter Day Church of Christ is based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

In the early 1920s, Charles W. Kingston was closely associated with Lorin C. Woolley, Joseph Musser, and other prominent Mormon fundamentalists living in the polygamous community of Short Creek, Arizona. They had been excommunicated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) due to their refusal to renounce polygamy as required by the Second Manifesto issued in 1904 by then-LDS Church President Joseph F. Smith. By 1935, following the death of J. Leslie Broadbent, the Kingstons had split from the Short Creek Mormon fundamentalists by embracing the claim of Elden Kingston, Charles W. Kingston's son, that he had been set apart as Broadbent’s Second Elder and was Broadbent's rightful successor.

Elden Kingston relocated along with his family to Davis County, Northern Utah. He claimed that an angel visited him in a cave in northern Davis County, Utah, and directed him to establish a United Order, or self-supporting society. Elden Kingston answered by forming the Davis County Cooperative Society in 1941. The corporation produces goods and services that are used by members, and sold or traded to other cooperatives and to the public.^[5]

Finances

Over the decades the Co-op has maintained extreme secrecy while developing an extensive cooperative system with assets now valued over $150 million.^[6]

Financial holdings include: a 300-acre (1.2 km²) dairy farm in Davis County; a 3,200-acre (13 km²) farm in Tetonia, Idaho; and 1,200 acres (4.9 km²) in Terreton, Idaho; a cattle ranch and coal mine in Emery County; a discount store; a grocery store; restaurant supply in many western cities including Tucson, Phoenix, Denver, Las Vegas, Boise, and Portland. It has been rumored that they owned the United Bank but has now been confirmed as incorrect.^{[citation needed]} J. Ortell Kingston aggressively pursued a financially expansive agenda for the Davis County Cooperative Society Inc. and the wealth of the Kingston clan grew.^[7]

Beliefs

The Latter Day Church of Christ claims to maintain the original beliefs and teachings of Joseph Smith Jr., viewing other sects in the Latter Day Saint movement as incorrect. The Latter Day Church of Christ has continued the practice of polygamy since inception; additionally it practices close—occasionally incestuous—marriage to maintain "pure bloodlines" that they claim to trace to Jesus Christ.^[8][9] The Latter Day Church of Christ also practices the Law of Consecration, the United Order, and the "Law of Satisfaction."

During the first years of the church, Kingston and his followers wore unique outer garments that led to people referring to them as "blue-coats." Men and boys wore blue coverall-type suits tied with strings; women and girls wore plain blue dresses. As a symbol of their renunciation of worldly goods, the outer clothing contained no pockets in which possession could be carried, although later an inside pocket was provided for the sanitary measure of carrying a handkerchief. All went bareheaded and barefoot.^[10]

The community practices plural marriage and there have been numerous legal issues regarding this in the state of Utah. However, most civil cases against Kingston clan members have been for having polygamous relationships with members of their own extended family.^[7]

The "ordained" male members of the Kingston clan are designated by numbers: “Brother #1,” “Brother #2,” “Brother #3,” etc. The children are numbered thus: If the ordained man is #47, his first wife is #147, the first male child is 1471 and the first female child 1472; the second wife's children would be #2471, #2472, #2473, and so on, with girls having even numbers and boys having odds. Charles W. Kingston taught that “Every individual...no matter what authority, standing, or station he is in, is responsible to the one above him in exactly the same way as if that individual was the Savior himself....We must look at the one above us in the same light as we look at the Savior.”^[11] This doctrine is known as the Law of Satisfaction and it places immense importance on honoring all participants with lower numbers, who are higher in the hierarchy.

The church says it believes that every child is a priceless blessing and that it emphasizes family values, education, and self-sufficiency. Children are allowed to attend public school and some go on to receive college educations. The church recently established a private school, which almost all of the children now attend.^[2]

Controversies

Intra-family marriages

The theories on genetics that could be used to "purify" the Kingston-family pedigree were reportedly developed at the Kingston Dairy, owned by the co-op in Woods Cross, Davis County, Utah.^[3][12] Use of these theories encouraged incestuous marriages of close relatives in order to "perfect" the Kingston bloodline.^[12] Those marriages, if proven, could be considered illegal under Utah's consanguinity laws.^[13] Connie Rugg, formerly one of Ortell’s plural wives, stated: "Ortell Kingston experimented [with] inbreeding with his cattle, and then he turned to his children.”^[3]

Some examples include:

Example of Intra-family Marriages within the Kingston Clan

John O. Kingston Jeremy O. Kingston[a] LaDonna Peterson Lunna Kingston[b] Mary Gustafson Charles W. Kingston Joseph O. Kingston Clyde Gustafson Lunna Gustafson Mary Gustafson

Marriage of Jeremy Ortell Kingstona and Aunt/Cousin LuAnn Kingstonb

• Kingston Clan member Jason Ortell Kingston married his half-sister, Andrea Johnson, who became pregnant in 1992. She suffered from preeclampsia (toxemia) before being brought in for medical treatment. A C-section was performed to save the baby, but Andrea died. Utah state officials believe that obstetrical care was withheld because of the possibility that the incestuous relationship would be discovered.^[14]
• Jeremy Ortell Kingston was sentenced to a year in prison in 2004 for having taken LuAnn Kingston, who was his cousin and aunt, as his fourth wife in 1994.^[15]
• Kingston Clan member David O. Kingston married 15-year-old Mary Ann Kingston, who attempted to run away but was apprehended by her father, who then beat her. He was arrested and pled “no contest” to the charge of child abuse and served seven months in jail. David O. Kingston was convicted of incest and unlawful sexual conduct and sentenced to a 10-year prison term, of which he only served 4 years. Mary Ann later filed a $110-million lawsuit against members of the Kingston Clan, alleging intentional sexual abuse of a child and intentional infliction of emotional distress.^[16]

Child marriage

Latter Day Church of Christ also used to practice child marriage of girls just attaining puberty. Kingston Clan leaders having a "pure bloodline" have priority over almost any other members when choosing plural wives.^[3] With this advantage, girls as young as 13 were coerced into marriage as new plural wives.^[17]

Financial fraud

Despite the wealth of the Kingston Clan leaders, plural wives have been found living in almost inhuman conditions.^[18] Often wives' homes consisted of only small rundown clapboard houses with peeling paint and broken windows.^[6] Connie Rugg stated: "The men in the Kingston group do little or nothing to support their many wives and children".^[6] Sometimes wives will "go gardening," scrounging through garbage cans to provide food for their children and themselves.^[6]

The Latter Day Church of Christ has also been accused of engaging in welfare fraud and tax evasion.^[19] They have larger families which is typical of the older LDS teachings. John Ortell Kingston was accused of tax evasion and fraudulently obtained welfare by having his wives claim to be single mothers, claiming that he was not the father of their children. Ortell's holdings were estimated at $70 million. In 1983, the State of Utah sued Ortell Kingston for repayment of welfare subsidies his plural wives had received. While admitting no wrongdoing, Ortell paid the state $250,000 and the case was dropped.^[20]

Leaders

• Paul Elden Kingston, (1987– )
• John Ortell Kingston (1944–1987)
• Elden Kingston (1935–1947)
• Charles W. Kingston (founding patriarch, supported leaders from 1935 until his death in 1975)

Kingston Group Assets

The Utah holdings of the Davis County Cooperative^[21] are estimated at more than $2 million.^[3] including the following:

• A-1 Disposal
• AAA Security
• Advance Vending
• AM Security Alarm Co.
• American Digital Systems
• ANR Company Inc.
• Arrow Real Estate
• Bail Bond Specialists
• Best Distributing Amusement Games
• C.O.P. Coal Development Co.
• C.W. Mining Co. (Related entities: Co-Op Mine; CoOp Mining Co.)
• Coalt Inc.
• D.U. Company Inc.
• Davis County Cooperative Society Inc.
• Desert Tactical Arms
• Johns Market
• Family Stores True Value
• Fidelity Funding Corp.
• Fountain of Youth Health & Athletic Club
• Garco Industrial Park
• H.K. Engineering Inc.
• Hiawatha Coal Co. Inc.
• Holtz Inc.
• IA Castle Corp.
• Kalvin Property Company
• Kingston Dairy
• Little Red School House Montessori
• Men's Shoe Repair and Men's Store
• Mountain Vendors Machine Distributors
• Mountain Coin Machine Distributors
• N.U.B. Corp.
• National Business Management Inc.
• P.M.C. Inc
• PGAC Inc.
• RE Company Inc.
• Speciality Consulting Services Inc.
• Spezialized Inc.
• Sportsman's Bail Bond Specialists
• Sportsman's Fast Cash
• Sportsman's Pawn Shops
• Standard Industries Inc.
• Standard Restaurant Equipment Company
• The Larken Ranch
• U.P.C. Inc
• North Low Creek Irrigation & Power Co.
• Westmark Inc.
• Western Enterprises

See also

• Factional breakdown: Mormon fundamentalist sects
• Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
• List of Mormon fundamentalist churches
• List of Mormon fundamentalist leaders
• Mormon fundamentalism
• Plural marriage

References

1. ^ Utah business entity number 689669-0140.
2. ^ ^{a b} Utah Attorney General’s Office and Arizona Attorney General’s Office. The Primer, Helping Victims of Domestic Violence and Child Abuse in Polygamous Communities. Updated June 2006. Page 23.
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} Moore-Emmett, Andrea (2004). God's Brothel. San Francisco, CA: Pince-Nez Press. pp. 28, 67, 85, 88, 146 & 146. ISBN 1930074131. 
4. ^ Utah business entity number 561222-0140.
5. ^ Articles of Incorporation of the Davis County Cooperative Society, 7 February 1941. As found in Shields, Steven L. (June 1, 1990). Divergent Paths of the Restoration. Independence, MO: Herald Pub House. pp. 134–35. ISBN 0942284135. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d} D. Michael Quinn, "Plural Marriage and Mormon Fundamentalism", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 31(2) (Summer 1998): (page 19, fn. 56), accessed 2009-03-27. His information source was an interview with "Jane Doe Kingston," a member of the clan.
7. ^ ^{a b} Hales, Brian C. "John Ortell Kingston". MormonFundamentalism.com, accessed 2009-06-06
8. ^ "Leader of polygamous church pleads guilty to incest". Chicago Tribune. November 7, 2003. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2003-11-07/news/0311070344_1_latter-day-saints-clan-church-of-jesus-christ. Retrieved October 13, 2010. 
9. ^ "Patterns of Polygamy Davis County's Kingston clan - County's polygamy roots run deep". Davis County Clipper. July 31, 2008. http://www.clippertoday.com/view/full_story/327601/article-Patterns-of-Polygamy-Davis-County-s-Kingston-clan---County?. Retrieved October 13, 2010. 
10. ^ Lyle O., Wright (1963). Origins and development of the Church of the Firstborn of the Fullness of Times : a thesis. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University. 
11. ^ ”Autobiography of Charles W. Kingston,” 141-142, spelling and punctuation standardized.
12. ^ ^{a b} Greg Burton, "When Incest Becomes a Religious Tenet", Salt Lake Tribune, 25 April 1999, accessed 06 Jun 2009
13. ^ Utah Code: Title 30 Husband and Wife: Chapter 1 Marriage: Section 1 Incestuous marriages void.
14. ^ Nii, Jenifer K. (August 25, 1998). "Probe into death in clan reopens By staff writer". Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret News. http://archive.deseretnews.com/archive/648550/Probe-into-death-in-clan-reopens.html. Retrieved June 10, 2006. 
15. ^ Thomson, Linda (October 31, 2003). "Kingston pleads guilty to incest charge". Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret News. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20031031/ai_n11426081/. Retrieved June 10, 2006. 
16. ^ Rivera, Ray (July 23, 1998). "16-Year-Old Girl Testifies Of Beating". Salt Lake City, UT: Salt Lake Tribune. 
17. ^ Tracy, Kathleen. The Secret Story of Polygamy. Chicago, IL: Sourcebooks, 2001, page 95.
18. ^ Ana Breton, "Polygamist's home found in squalor" Salt Lake Tribune, 11 August 2007
19. ^ Salt Lake City Tribune, Aug 16 and 23, 1998, and Jan 1999
20. ^ Ray Rivera " Utah Attorneys Key Figures in Polygamist Kingston Clan" Salt Lake Tribune, July 19, 1998, accessed 06 Jun 2009
21. ^ Adams, Brooke (August 14–17, 1998). "Kingston Inc.: Polygamy's Entrepreneurial Empire: A Company, a Clan, a Corp. with a Plan.". Salt Lake City, UT: Salt Lake Observer. http://www.xmission.com/~plporter/lds/kingston.htm#Holdings. Retrieved June 10, 2006.