Editing Mormons (section)

=== Fundamentalist Mormons ===

Members of sects that broke with the LDS Church over the issue of polygamy have become known as [[Mormon fundamentalism|fundamentalist Mormons]]; these groups differ from mainstream Mormonism primarily in their belief in and practice of [[plural marriage]]. There are thought to be between 20,000 and 60,000 members of fundamentalist sects (0.1–0.4 percent of Mormons), with roughly half of them practicing polygamy.<ref>Martha Sonntag Bradley, "Polygamy-Practicing Mormons" in [[J. Gordon Melton]] and Martin Baumann (eds.) (2002). ''Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia'' '''3''':1023–24; ''[[Dateline NBC]]'', January 2, 2001; Ken Driggs, [https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V24N04_46.pdf "Twentieth-Century Polygamy and Fundamentalist Mormons in Southern Utah"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225032210/https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V24N04_46.pdf |date=February 25, 2014 }}, ''[[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought]]'', Winter 1991, pp. 46–47; Irwin Altman, "Polygamous Family Life: The Case of Contemporary Mormon Fundamentalists", ''[[Utah Law Review]]'' (1996) p. 369; Stephen Eliot Smith, "'The Mormon Question' Revisited: Anti-Polygamy Laws and the Free Exercise Clause", LL.M. thesis, [[Harvard Law School]], 2005.</ref> There are many fundamentalist sects, the largest two being the [[Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints]] (FLDS Church) and the [[Apostolic United Brethren]] (AUB). In addition to plural marriage, some of these groups also practice a form of [[Christian communism|Christian communalism]] known as the [[law of consecration]] or the [[United Order]]. The LDS Church seeks to distance itself from all such polygamous groups, excommunicating their members if discovered practicing or teaching it,<ref>{{cite web |url = http://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/style-guide |title = Style Guide |date = April 9, 2010 |publisher = LDS Newsroom |access-date = November 11, 2011 |quote = When referring to people or organizations that practice polygamy, it should be stated that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not affiliated with polygamous groups. |archive-date = June 13, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190613210818/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/style-guide |url-status = live }}; The church repudiates polygamist groups and excommunicates their members if discovered – {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=91}}; {{cite web |url = https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna25396937 |title = Mormons seek distance from polygamous sects |year = 2008 |publisher = NBC News |access-date = July 10, 2014 |archive-date = November 2, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221102040703/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/style-guide |url-status = live }}</ref> and today, a majority of Mormon fundamentalists have never been members of the LDS Church.<ref>{{Cite journal |journal = Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought |url = https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V31N02_19.pdf |author = Quinn, Michael D. |issue = 2 |date = Summer 1998 |title = Plural Marriage and Mormon Fundamentalism |page = 7 |volume = 31 |doi = 10.2307/45226443 |jstor = 45226443 |s2cid = 254325184 |access-date = February 1, 2012 |archive-date = October 29, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121029155811/https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V31N02_19.pdf |url-status = dead }}</ref>