Latter Day Church of Christ

The Latter Day Church of Christ[1] is considered a Mormon fundamentalist denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Also known as the LDCJC.[2] It is a religious organization created by members of the Davis County Cooperative Society or DCCS in 1977. The Cooperative itself is sometimes referred to by members as The Order.[3] Upon the creation of the LDCJC, not all members of the DCCS became members of the church, although most retain dual membership to this day.[4][2] There are approximately 3,500 members.[5] It is notable for being one of the few Mormon denominations that still practices polygamy.[6]

For the church formally established by Joseph Smith in 1830, see Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints).
Latter Day Church of Christ
ClassificationRestorationist
OrientationLatter Day Saint movement
TheologyMormon fundamentalism
PolityHierarchical
Trustee in Trust
(Leader)		Paul Elden Kingston
AssociationsDavis County Cooperative Society Inc.
HeadquartersSalt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
FounderOrtell Kingston (Elden Kingston was founder of the Davis County Cooperative Society)
OriginJanuary 1, 1935
Bountiful, Utah, U.S.
Members3,500

Establishment

According to his autobiography, Charles W. Kingston became disenchanted with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in 1926 because of its abandonment of plural marriage. Kingston began preaching polygamy amongst fellow members of the LDS Church as well as distributing pamphlets and the book, Laman Manasseh Victorious: A Message of Salvation and Redemption to His People Israel, First to Ephraim and Manasseh, which he had co-written. This eventually resulted in his excommunication from the LDS Church in 1929. By 1935, his followers began moving to Bountiful, Utah, with the intention to live under a United Order communalist program as defined by Joseph Smith in the Doctrine and Covenants.[7] On February 7, 1941, the community founded by Elden Kingston officially declared themselves the Davis County Cooperative Society Inc. The corporation produces goods and services that are used by members, and sold or traded to other cooperatives and to the public.[8] In 1977, Elden's brother Ortell Kingston began to file for legal recognition of the church later organized as The Latter Day Church of Christ.[9]

The Latter Day Church of Christ is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, with a presence in Bountiful, Utah.[6]

Finances

Over the decades, the Cooperative has maintained extreme secrecy while developing an extensive system with assets once estimated at over $150 million.[10] Some of their secrecy might be attributed to a fear of arrest for living in plural marriages, as had happened in 1959–1960 when being investigated by the Davis County Grand Jury, which some members claimed was organized by LDS Apostles Mark E. Peterson and Spencer W. Kimball.[11][12] The Grand Jury was described as "The polygamist hunting Davis County Grand Jury" by the Ogden Standard-Examiner in 1959.[13] That same year, Ardous Kingston Gustafson, a mother of four and founding Co-op member, was jailed on Christmas Eve when she could not produce membership lists that were to be used to target plural families for further arrest and harassment.[14][3]

The Cooperative had its birth during the Great Depression when many families were finding it hard to provide for their families.[15] For many years, members of the Co-operative lived in poor conditions with those in need having no legal way to apply for assistance.[16] Long-time leader John Ortell Kingston lived in a small one-story clapboard house in Salt Lake City up until the time of his death in 1987.[17] Over the past 25 years, many members have become college educated and live in middle, to upper-middle class homes throughout their respective communities.[18][19] Currently the group claims that although different skillsets bring different financial outcomes, there is no homelessness within the DCCS and internal programs exist for those experiencing financial poverty.[20]

Member's financial holdings are believed to include: a 300-acre (1.2 km2) dairy farm in Davis County; a 3,200-acre (13 km2) farm in Tetonia, Idaho; a coal mine in Emery County;[21] 1,200 acres (4.9 km2) in Terreton, Idaho; a cattle ranch and a discount store; Desert Tech Firearms; a grocery store; and a restaurant supply in many western cities including Tucson, Phoenix, Denver, Las Vegas, Boise, and Portland.

J. Ortell Kingston aggressively pursued a financially expansive agenda for the Davis County Cooperative Society Inc.[22] in the hopes of improving the financial condition of his followers.[17]

Beliefs

The Latter Day Church of Christ is based on a belief in Jesus Christ and the restoration of his gospel in these latter days.[23] It is not affiliated with the mainstream LDS Church. Doctrinally, members of the LDCJC try to adhere to the teachings of the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price.[3] Members of the Latter Day Church of Christ are also members of the Davis County Cooperative Society (a separate legal entity) which practices the law of consecration and United Order.[7] Some members had begun the practice of plural marriage years before the establishment of the cooperative.[24][25]

During the first years of the Davis County Cooperative Society, Kingston and his followers wore unique blue denim 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 denim dresses. As a symbol of their renunciation of worldly goods, the outer clothing contained no pockets in which possessions could be carried, although later an inside pocket was provided for the sanitary measure of carrying a handkerchief. All went bareheaded and barefoot.[26] This practice lasted only a short time and was abandoned sometime before 1940. Members today wear normal modern clothing, although they are encouraged to be modest and keep a high standard of dress. [3]

Plural marriage is practiced by some members of the LDCJC and members make their own choice in who they marry.[3] Some members of the church are also believed to practice consanguineous marriage, or marriage to relatives within the group. This practice has been attributed to "endogamous preference and the small size of the group’s population" according to recent research from the University of California.[19] The group claims no preference for any particular family or surname stating members join every year "from a variety of different backgrounds and surnames."[20]

Following the teaching of Brigham Young who on January 27, 1860, said "I am a God to this people and so is any man who is appointed to lead Israel or the kingdom of God",[27] 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."[28] This doctrine is known as the Law of One-above-another. (See the Book of Abraham Chapter 3,[29] from the Pearl of Great Price as produced by Joseph Smith, as well as John 13:13–20.)[30]

According to a 2011 document prepared by the attorneys general of the states of Utah and Arizona, the church describes itself as emphasizing family values, education, and self-sufficiency, and that every child is a priceless blessing. Children are allowed to attend public school and many go on to college.[4]

Controversies

Consanguineous marriages

In the late 1990s, three members of the LDCJC faced legal trouble for entering into consanguineous relationships.[31][32][33] During this time, some non-members and ex-members began claiming the practice stemmed from theories of genetic purification held by past leaders.[5][34] However, active members and recent independent research has more plausibly attributed the practice to "endogamous preference and the small size of the group’s population".[19][35] Some of these marriages were considered incestuous, according to the laws of the state of Utah.[22]

These cases included:

Example of a consanguineous relationship in the LDCJC
Mary Gustafson
LuAnn Kingston[b]
John O. Kingston
Jeremy O. Kingston[a]
LaDonna Peterson
Charles W. Kingston
Joseph O. Kingston
Orlean Kingston
Luwanna Gustafson
Clyde Gustafson
Marriage of Jeremy Ortell Kingstona and Aunt/Cousin LuAnn Kingstonb
Hales (2006), Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalists, p. 399
  • Jason Ortell Kingston was alleged to have a relationship with his half-sister Andrea Johnson, who became pregnant in 1992. She suffered from preeclampsia before being brought in for medical treatment. A C-section was performed to save the baby, but Andrea died. Salt Lake County officials opened an investigation into the possibility that obstetrical care was withheld to conceal the relationship.[31]
  • Jeremy Ortell Kingston was sentenced to a year in prison in 2004 for his relationship with LuAnn Kingston, his cousin and aunt, as his fourth wife in 1994. At the time of marriage, Jeremy was 24, and LuAnn was 15.[33]
  • David Ortell Kingston married his 16-year-old niece Mary Ann Kingston, who attempted to run away but was apprehended and savagely beaten by her father, John Daniel Kingston. Mary counted 28 lashes before passing out.[32] He was arrested and pleaded “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 four years. Mary Ann later filed a $110-million lawsuit against members of the Cooperative, alleging intentional sexual abuse of a child and intentional infliction of emotional distress, but the lawsuit was eventually dropped.[36]

Under-aged marriage

As is stated above, three members of the LDCJC faced legal trouble for entering into under-aged marriages in the late 1990s.[31][33][36] However, for more than a decade, the group has publicly spoken out against child-bride marriages and the Cooperative has a policy encouraging its members to marry within the legal age of consent.[37][38][39][40]

Financial fraud

In 2016, the State of Utah with federal law enforcement raided various properties in connection with the Kingston family or Davis County Cooperative Society with the intention of finding welfare fraud. The State of Utah stated: "It was a specific investigation that we were approached by [federal law enforcement] to participate in." After two years of investigating, they did not find any welfare fraud. "State investigators found no wrongdoing among members of the Davis County Cooperative Society, also known as the Kingston Group."[41] Members claim they have been broadly and unfairly targeted by authorities for the negative actions of a small few.[42] 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.[43]

In July 2019, Jacob Kingston, Isaiah Kingston, and two others pled guilty to participating in a fraud scheme masterminded by Lev Derman, a non-member and Armenian national. 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. One of the guilty pleas states they “cycled” fraud proceeds through a number of international partners and then back to Washakie’s bank accounts, falsely claiming them as loans or profits. A small percentage of these (less than 6%) were to Order related businesses, with many of these businesses claiming they provided services in "good faith" and that Jacob hid the scheme from business partners as well as Co-op leadership.[44][45] The remainder of the transactions (over 94%) were to entities associated with Lev Derman, who prosecutors allege was the mastermind of the scheme. Derman was found guilty of masterminding the scheme in March of 2020.[46] As part of the plea deal and restitution, the company forfeits rights to a number of assets including their bio-fuel plant in Plymouth, Utah. WRE has since become defunct.[47][48]

Frustrated, Davis County Cooperative leadership and members swiftly condemned the fraudulent behavior stating that "[Jacob] broke from tradition in many ways" and stressing "to members and non-members alike that this behavior is not in line with our beliefs or principles." and "We cannot and will not condone or support anyone found to be engaged in any fraudulent behaviors.."[49][43][50]

Leaders

Member Assets

The Utah holdings of Davis County Cooperative members were once estimated at more than $150 million,[5] and are believed to include the following:

  • A-1 Disposal
  • AAA Alarm
  • AAA Security
  • Advance Vending
  • AM Security Alarm Co.
  • American Digital Systems
  • ANR Company Inc.
  • Arrow Real Estate
  • Bail Bond Specialists
  • Best Distributing Amusement Games
  • Brown Company Farms
  • C.O.P. Coal Development Co.
  • Coalt Inc.
  • D.U. Company Inc.
  • Davis County Cooperative Society Inc.
  • Desert Tech[51]
  • Johns Market
  • Family Stores True Value
  • Fidelity Funding Corp.
  • Garco Industrial Park
  • H.K. Engineering Inc.
  • Hiawatha Coal Co. Inc.
  • Holtz Inc.
  • IA Castle Corp.
  • Lake Elsinore Casino
  • Kalvin Property Company
  • Kingston Dairy
  • Men's Shoe Repair and Men's Store
  • 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
  • Washakie Ranch
  • Washakie Renewable Energy[47]

See also

References
  1. Utah business entity number 689669-0140.
  2. Osmond, Amy (December 2010). "Organizational Identification: A Case Study of the Davis County Cooperative Society, the Latter Day Church of Christ, or Kingston Order". J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah.
  3. Foster, Craig (2019). American Polygamy. Charleston, SC: The History Press. pp. 197, 198. ISBN 978-1-4671-3752-2.
  4. Utah Attorney General's Office and Arizona Attorney General's Office. The Primer, Helping Victims of Domestic Violence and Child Abuse in Polygamous Communities Archived 2013-01-27 at the Wayback Machine. Updated June 2006. Page 23.
  5. Moore-Emmett, Andrea (2004). God's Brothel. San Francisco, CA: Pince-Nez Press. pp. 28, 67, 85, 88, 146 & 146. ISBN 1-930074-13-1.
  6. "I left Mormonism". January 29, 2009 – via YouTube.
  7. Autobiography of Charles W. Kingston, pp. 141–142
  8. 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 0-942284-13-5.
  9. Utah business entity number 561222-0140.
  10. Quinn, D. Michael (Summer 1998), "Plural Marriage and Mormon Fundamentalism", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 31 (2): 19, fn. 56, archived from the original on 2013-10-21, retrieved 2013-09-16 His information source was an interview with "Jane Doe Kingston," a member of the clan.
  11. "Salt Lake Tribune". Davis County Clipper. July 7, 1959. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
  12. Autobiography of Charles W. Kingston, pp. 60–64
  13. "Jury to Peak at Records Tuesday; Lets Woman Go Home for Christmas". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. December 25, 1959.
  14. "Judge Issues 30-Day Term To Davis Jury Witness". The Salt Lake Tribune. December 24, 1959.
  15. Foster, Craig (2019). American Polygamy. Charleston, SC: The History Press. p. 81. ISBN 978-1-4671-3752-2.
  16. Breton, Ana (August 11, 2007), "Polygamist's home found in squalor", The Salt Lake Tribune
  17. Burton, Greg (August 16, 1998). "Kingstons Cling to Vision of LDS Lifestyle". The Salt Lake Tribune.
  18. Foster, Craig (2019). American Polygamy. Charleston, SC: The History Press. p. 198. ISBN 978-1-4671-3752-2.
  19. Mueller, Michelle (2019). "Escaping the Perils of Sensationalist Television Reduction". Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative Religions. 22: 70.
  20. "DCCS - FAQ". www.dccsociety.org. Retrieved 2021-01-17.
  21. Hales, Brian C. "The Kingstons". mormonfundamentalism.com.
  22. Hales, Brian C., "John Ortell Kingston (Elden's Brother) Leads 1948-87", MormonFundamentalism.com, archived from the original on 2013-10-18, retrieved 2013-09-16
  23. "DCCS - FAQ". www.dccsociety.org. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  24. "Clan leader pleads guilty to incest". Chicago Tribune. November 7, 2003. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  25. Ginos, Becky (July 31, 2008). "Patterns of Polygamy Davis County's Kingston clan - County's polygamy roots run deep". Davis County Clipper. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  26. Wright, Lyle O. (1963). Origins and Development of the Church of the Firstborn of the Fullness of Times (Thesis). Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University. OCLC 13952557.
  27. (PDF), Sandy, Utah: FAIR Conference, 2009 https://www.fairmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2009_Brigham_Youngs_Teachings_On_Adam.pdf Missing or empty |title= (help)
  28. Autobiography of Charles W. Kingston, pp. 141–142, spelling and punctuation standardized.
  29. Book of Abraham, Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ
  30. The Gospel of John: The King James Translation, Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ
  31. Nii, Jenifer K. (August 25, 1998). "Probe into death in clan reopens". Deseret News. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  32. Nichols, Judy (October 15, 2003). "Wives suing to bring end to abuse under polygamy". The Arizona Republic. p. A1. As found in: Harris, Sam (January 22, 2007). "God's Hostages". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2013-09-13.
  33. Thomson, Linda (October 31, 2003). "Kingston pleads guilty to incest charge". Deseret News. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  34. Burton, Greg (April 25, 1999), "When Incest Becomes a Religious Tenet", The Salt Lake Tribune, Archive Article ID: 100EEB119553820E (NewsBank)
  35. Adams, Brooke (October 24, 2006). "Incest could be behind probe of Kingston family". The Salt Lake Tribune.
  36. Rivera, Ray (July 23, 1998), "16-Year-Old Girl Testifies Of Beating", The Salt Lake Tribune, p. B1, Archive Article ID: 100F3A528F528F0F
  37. "Shurtleff: Child bride polygamous marriages appear to have stopped". www.ksl.com. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  38. "DCCS - FAQ". www.dccsociety.org. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  39. News, Deseret (2008-06-19). "Polygamists are urged to make public statement". Deseret News. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  40. News, Deseret (2007-09-09). "No longer performing child-bride marriages?". Deseret News. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  41. Carlisle, Nate (February 7, 2018), "Utah investigated the polygamous Kingston Group for welfare fraud 2 years ago. It didn't find any.", The Salt Lake Tribune
  42. "C250 - Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee". le.utah.gov. Retrieved 2021-01-17.
  43. "DCCS Self-Sustaining Policy, Contributions to the Community". www.dccsociety.org. Retrieved 2021-01-17.
  44. "The Polygamist Accused of Scamming the U.S. Out of $500 Million". Bloomberg.com. 2019-06-24. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  45. "Former WRE CEO testifies about money paid to DCCS Entities". www.dccsociety.org. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  46. "Jury Finds Los Angeles Businessman Guilty in $1 Billion Biodiesel Tax Fraud Scheme". www.justice.gov. 2020-03-16. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  47. Voreacos, David (July 22, 2019). "Polygamists Admit $512 Million Fraud for U.S. Fuel-Tax Credits". Bloomberg. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  48. "CEO And CFO Of Utah Biodiesel Company And California Businessman Charged In $500 Million Fuel Tax Credit Scheme". August 24, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  49. "WRE Defendants arrested and awaiting trial". www.dccsociety.org. Retrieved 2021-01-17.
  50. "Trial postponed for last defendant in fraud case involving members of the Kingston polygamous family". KSTU. 2019-07-22. Retrieved 2021-01-17.
  51. "Fallout from Washakie fraud could cost polygamous Kingston Group members their businesses and homes". sltrib.com. The Salt Lake Tribune. 29 July 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2019.https://www.sltrib.com/news/2019/07/29/fallout-washakie-fraud/
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