The History of Mormonism and Fundamental Polygamy Cultural Anthropology 101 December 26, 2008 The History of Mormonism and Fundamental Polygamy Since the conception of the Mormon religion, its history has resulted in the division of the church. The Mormon religion is now divided into two sects, the Latter-Day Saints or LDS is an up and coming religion in the world of today which follows the 1890 manifesto proclaimed by the church denouncing the practice of polygamy, the second called the Fundamental Latter-Day Saints or FLDS is the more primitive version of the Mormon religionwhich still practices polygamy. Polygamy is the practice of marriage with multiple spouses (Miller, 2007). In the FLDS church a man takes multiple wives, while the LDS church practices monogamy, where one man takes only one wife (Miller, 2007). Though the practice was outlawed in the United States, the FLDS sect of the Mormon religion has continued to gain negative attention throughout history due to their continued practice of polygamy in defiance of the law. The FLDS face constant accusations of abuse, incest, and violence amongst rival sect families, and have been a constant source of embarrassment to the LDS church (White & White, 2007). The Mormon religion was founded in 1830 amidst the Industrial Revolution by self-proclaimed prophet Joseph Smith (White & White, 2007). As the prophet, Smith held all power to make decisions for the church and its followers (Miller, 2007). Using personal life experiences, Smith formed the basis that family and community needed to be restructured, to do so he formed the Mormon Churchand redefined family and marriage through religion. In 1831, after an extra-marital affair, Smith claimed he had experienced a revelation which later led to the introduction of polygamy or plural marriage into the religion. By 1835, Smith was practicing plural marriage in the state of Ohio. In the Mormon religion, polygamy was used as the church’s idea of the creation of...