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All images by Jim Urquhart / Reuters
Girls play on a trampoline near a home built into a rock at the Rockland Ranch community outside Moab, Utah, Nov. 2, 2012.
Jim Urquhart, Reuters — The "Rock," as it is referred to by the approximately 100 people living there in about 15 families, was founded about 35 years ago on a sandstone formation near Canyonlands National Park in Utah. Polygamy was a part of the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was brought to Utah by faithful Mormons in the late 1840s. The mainstream Mormon church abandoned the practice in 1890, but an estimated 37,000 Mormon fundamentalists continue the practice today and believe plural marriage brings exaltation in heaven.
EDITOR’S NOTE, Nov. 15: This post was originally headlined "Mormons practice faith from Utah cavern." It has been updated to more specifically reflect the small fundamentalist community depicted in these photographs.
Enoch Foster, a fundamentalist Mormon practicing polygamy, prays before a meal with his first wife Catrina Foster, second from left, and several of his 13 children from two wives in their home blasted from a rock wall at the Rockland Ranch community outside Moab, Utah, Nov. 2.
Fundamentalist Mormons, some of whom are monogamous and others who practice polygamy, harvest the community garden along with their children at the Rockland Ranch community outside Moab, Utah, Nov. 3.
Bradee Barlow, a fundamentalist Mormon practicing polygamy, holds her newborn daughter Lucy while she shops at the store room at the Rockland Ranch community outside Moab, Utah, Nov. 2.
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Do you not know how to read the article says about 37,000 are fundamentalists! There are millions of LDS.
I am surprised they did not mrun this before the election.
Being a Moron, it gives me wings!!
a moron?........... good luck with that..........seams to be working thus far........
This is your front page news? What a bunch of idiots you are at MSNBC.
Why bother reading the articles if all you are going to do is criticize how poorly they are written? Perhaps Faux News is more your speed?
Love how MSNBC likes to twist things around and deceive people. They are like the devil. They put this on the front page like it's real news and display it like this is how all Mormons are. The title doesn't say "Fundamentalists". Stupid.
Why bother reading the articles if all you are going to do is criticize how poorly they are written? Perhaps Faux News is more your speed?
Julie, you are cutting and pasting back to back hate spew, that makes you hater lib troll of the topic
the title now doesn't even say Mormons. It says "polygamists"...doesnt even say their religion. Maybe they changed it.
WHAT DO MORMONS THINK OF POLIGAMY?
Anyone who enters into a plural marriage is immediately excommunicated from the Church! End of story. So, the questing arises – Why did Mormons practice it during the early days of the Church? First a little background.
Plural marriage dates back to Old Testament times. It was allowed by God so that he might raise up a people unto himself (the Jews). The doctrine that made it ok then is the same doctrine that made it ok for a short time when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was first being established. Its purpose was to raise up a people to take the everlasting gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. There is a Bible prophecy directly relating to this. It is Rev. 14:6-7. When you read it please note that if the same exact same gospel that Jesus and his Apostles preached was still on the earth, then there would be no need for God to send this angel to restore that gospel in the latter days.
The doctrine on plural marriage was also spelled out anciently in the Book of Mormon. Jacob 2:27-30 reads as follows:
27 Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none;
28 For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts.
29 Wherefore, this people shall keep my commandments, saith the Lord of Hosts, or cursed be the land for their sakes.
30 For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things.
It is verse 30 that explains under certain circumstances the Lord has commanded plural marriage and gives his reason for doing so.
As to Mormons conveniently ending plural marriage because of wanting Utah to receive statehood – That may have been a secondary reason as far as the Lord was concerned. However, it really has no relevance because God's purpose for commanding plural marriage had been accomplished as evidenced by the fact that we now have grown to over fourteen million members, and send out more than 25,000 new missionaries each year unto every nation, kindred, tongue and people who are willing to listen.
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have the wisdom to belong to the only restored church in existence. It is the only church on the face of the earth having apostles as were in the ancient church, the only having a prophet leading the church, and the only having temples for doing the saving ordinances for the living and the dead. It is not a protestant church and it never embraced the creeds that those other churches follow. Yes, my name is out here. I am happy to be a Mormon!
Its a "cult?" Oh, you mean like Islam?
rockin moron it is a cult, as is the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Eagles, Masonics, Moose. A cult being a group that sets itself apart from others with the same beliefs.
This group seems to be half FLDS, half LDS.... People need to understand that polygamy is NOT “sister wives” and “big love”. UT, AZ, TX and other states "turn a blind eye" to true polygamy where children (girls as young as 12) are married off to much older men and then live off of welfare, food stamps and Medicaid (known as "bleeding the beast")... as discussed in new book "plygs", a fact based journalistic view at the REAL world of polygamy ... Warren Jeffs, the leader of this group (serving a life sentence for child rape) has recently ordered that only 15 men in the group can procreate with ANY of the women of their choice within the group… it is a SAD, SICK way to live. this group in UT / AZ / TX are nothing but pedophiles and welfare cheats...
Cara;
I am specifically replying to you. Number one - You know nothing about "The Rock" or the people who live there. I am not a polygamist. But these people are my friends. They are friends of my family. They are not pedophiles, they do not marry children, they have NO association with Warren Jeffs and that sick sick culture he helped foster and create.
The people out at the Rock are not welfare and medicaid cases. They all work, they all contribute to society. THEY PAY TAXES, like we all do!
One of the things I cannot stand are people like you who judge before they know the facts. You cannot classify all Mormons who live the principal as welfare cheats and pedophiles. That would be like saying all black people drug dealers or all Mexicans are illegals. Sorry, Cara - you're an ignorant person. An intolerant person.
I challenge you to go out there to the Rock, spend the night, meet them on their home turf instead of running your mouth. Their place is easy to find. Head south from Moab until you come to the Needles Overlook road, turn left, go about 5 miles or so, there will be a sign that is slightly faded that says; "Rockland Ranch", turn right and follow the road to its end.
Mike, as I said at the very beginning of my post.... "This group seems to be half FLDS, half LDS..." .... that being said AGAIN, what I was saying is that this certain group does not seem to fit the norm of the FLDS...I am far from ignorant on this matter as my husband wrote a book about it, I have lived in Southern Utah for 20 years and am a former member of the LDS church... I did not say that "The Rock" people are welfare cheats and pedophiles.... I said the FLDS group that follows Jeffs that live on the UT/AZ border are... and he is in jail for just that. Sorry you misunderstood the message I was trying to get across...
Mike, I think Cara Curfew-Kociela is promoting herself. Cara how does your husband writing a book mean that you are not ignorant. You did infer these people are on welfare. I do not agree with polygamy but I dislike hate mongers more. You go from site to site spewing your nonsense. Give it a rest.
The dishonesty here is the headline used to call attention to the piece. Only later do they tell us that it is fundamentalists that live in caves, etc. How difficult would it have been to say “fundamentalist Mormons” in the headline?
It would appear to me NBC acted with a little bit of deceit. They should know and perhaps they do some people simply do not know the difference between a fundamentalist and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Come on NBC you can elevate your news blog by not looking so dumb.
fundamentalist families in UT, AZ, TX Canada, Mexico and other places around the globe call themselves "Mormon" it is the way of the Book of Mormon... if you run across one they will tell you that they are "following the MORMON belief of plural marriage" (read 'plygs') this has nothing to do with NBC or the way of the title... it is fact... and they are living off YOUR tax dollars... the average polygamy family pulls in $13,000 a MONTH in food stamps, welfare, and health benefits... and all the time RAPING young girls .... and you are worried about the WORDING of a headline??? OMG!! Priorities...
Cara
the BBC in uk missed a massive story about 1 of their stars who worked for them for decades that he was a serial paedophile and when a programme called Newsnight were going to run that,they were stopped by their Editor in Chief,when it broke that this was the case they were rightly slated for not showing it.Then to catch up and be at the front of the anti-paedophile campaign they ran a story about a childrens home in North Wales that was at the centre of child abuse crimes in 70's and 80's stating that 1 of abused had said that a prominent member of the then Thatcher gov was a regular visitor abusing him.
Although not named on the programme he was named on twitts line,then the abused individual only after this guy was named was shown a picture of the named person only to say that they had named the wrong guy and had never met him.The programme had to make a formal apology,the Director General of the BBC resigned,the people who made the programme are being formally disciplined,and the named person is now suing BBC for defamation.
Does this make every thing the BBC has reported,reports and will report in the future wrong NO
Does this make every that was in your book correct NO
Does this make all people of the same religion the same NO
There are fundamentalists in all religions whose actions create nasty feelings for outsiders with the way they go about their beliefs,does that mean you with out any knowledge of this group of people have put them in the same catagory.
Show some understanding that not all people in the same religion are the same
Oh Cara I get it now you are plugging your husbands book.... every post you state for one to read the book "Plygs" which seems to be authored by a Ed Kociela. You stated in a previous post that your husband wrote a book on the subjects. Way to try to boost the sales of his works.
You need to understand that it is not just about the book 'plygs'. We are trying to bring awareness to the Jeffs group in UT/AZ and TX.... we live in Southern Utah where this polygamist group lives... my husband was the local news editor at the paper when the Jeffs thing all went down... I understand VERY well the mainstream LDS church as I was once a member of the church. That said, I also see young FLDS girls at the store pushing a baby in a cart and have to wonder if it is her sibling or her child... and if I as a tax payer am paying for the diapers and formula... you really need to see it and read more about it to truly understand it. There is a video on youtube called " plygs, by ed kociela " it explains and shows you more of what I am talking about.... I get it that most of the U.S. does not really understand the difference between the LDS and the FLDS, I however am not one of those people...
The Lebarons, Jeffs and Tom Greens of this world have a special place in Hell waiting for them. Warren Jeffs especially; he is the single most vile POS to walk the planet. I actually ran into him several years ago, right about the time he was wanted. Had I known (reward or no reward) I'd have snatched him right there in the Wal-Mart in Durango.
I have no issue with polygamy at all, so long as the individuals are of legal age and love each other and are not on the public dole.
Lastly, The Church dropped polygamy for reasons other than what the Heavenly Father revealed. Had the Church not done away with polygamy, there would have been no statehood for Utah. Cara, if you know your Church history then you know about the US Government's war against the Mormons in the 19th century and the documented first use of concentration camps against US Citizens by their government.
Mike, I totally agree with you on counts :)
The LDS Church has had several horrible things in their midst.... both to them and they unto others.... Nauvoo, Illinois and the Mountain Meadows Massacre are this first to come to mind ....
As for the Jeffs group out here in our back yard, it was SO strange to have snipers lining the hills every time he went to court. They were afraid that his inner group would kill him before the end of the trial on his orders... his people with signs to free him, hundreds of them at court house every time he had an appearance... the threats yelled to the news staffs by his supporters... it was a wild time in St. George, UT. My husbands book discusses not just the FLDS but also the LDS and the differences, and similarities between the two. He even got copies of actual Jeffs sermons for the book.... what a SICK man.... living here for 20 years it was always just a part of the scenery to see them out sopping, at restaurants, at a slot machine in Mesquite, NV.... since I married Ed 3 years ago and he showed me all of his research and began to write 'plygs' I really had no idea ALL the horror that goes on in this FLDS group... We are hoping to get the word out and hopefully be able to do some good for the children that are born into a life that is not in the best interest of a child...
I am not Mormon, but respect others religions, especially those that follow peace, harmony, family values, etc.
That being said, it aboslutely appalls me how a reporter, suspciously liberal, who would rant and rave over similar slanted reporting towards, oh, let's say, OCCUPY WALL STREET, legalized marijuana, legalized prostitution, petition blocking for Chris Mattews image on Mt. Rushmore... or better yet, a comprehensive investigation into yellow journalism in print and teelvised media and and further expose on how reporters routinely use other outlets reports, alter it slightly, give it their own conjecture and send it to the editor.. all form the luxury of their sofa... remember that NYT reporter that they thought was in the field reporting only to turn out he was home sending in altered and fictitious accounts? I don't think those days are over...!!!!!
Who cares! I dont see anything in the article that calls attention to anything but a group of people living a different kind of life. I am an agnostic. My faith is in humanity. My faith is that one day, no matter what our belief's we will be accepting of everyone within the moral confines of the "common belief". All I see in this article and these photo's is information. Relax people! Love more, Hate less!!
Your title is very misleading - and needs to be changed to: Fundamentalist Mormons - Come on MSNBC, show some integrity!!
Of course you see the women with A LOT of children and all of them are white. That about sums up the Mormon faith.
it would seam to me your "race card" just got trumped by a full house.......................
PJ must stand for pastor jessie jackson. Racist much? Topic wasn't racist until you made it so! Hypocrite
LOL Scooter
yep this is certainly the place to concentrate on, a group of people living isolated in their own way. we simply cant have that now can we. they all need to bow down to the system and get their fair share of the crime, corruption, endless killings, illegals, gangs, graft, greed,and the rest of the things that make this such a fine country.
how dare they try to lead a peaceful, carefree, decent life.
Never will stop amazing me how nothing like politics and religion can create such polarization in the world. Always has to be some idiot who thinks his way is right and the rest of the world has to conform to their concept of the way religion should be. A good example is Al Qaeda where they kill you if you don't go along with their concepts, but the most important thing was missed by everyone in this article. Look at the first picture and there you will find the proof of Big Foot!
To those of you have objected to our original headline for this post, "Mormons practice faith from Utah cavern." Thank you for your comments. We have updated the headline to more specifically represent the small fundamentalist community depicted in these photographs.
Stokes, thank you for updating the title of the article. However, I wish you guys would have actually written an article to go with the photos, and added more photos. Being a friend of the Foster and Morrison families was something I had not anticipated in my lifetime. But I can say this, they may be living the 'principal' - but they are truly good people and outside of having an extra wife or two, they're pretty much mainstream and very normal people.
The Rock is a special place. It is perhaps the most peaceful and calm place I have ever been in my life. There is an air of tranquility that is immeasurably wonderful. I don't care what faith you are or if you even have a faith you believe in. What they are doing is beyond some great sociological experiment, it is a way of life and all those living there believe in it, and even relish it. I encourage anyone to visit them, but do so with an open-mind and an open heart. You will leave there forever changed on what you deem to be normal.
When the mainstream Mormon church says they have nothing to do with polygamy, they should add, "not any more" and "not at this time." Their doctrine defends their early practice of polygamy as God-mandated, allows for multiple wives in the hereafter, suggests that God may be a polygamist, and reserves God's right to reinstate polygamy. The book "It's Not About the Sex My A**" by ex-polygamist wife Joanne Hanks is an enjoyable read that does a good job explaining much of that. (Google the title, it's easy to find.) Also read the Doctrine and Covenants (which the Mormons regard as scripture), Section 132, where God states that taking multiple wives is a commandment.
Now a darned minute...all of you liberal twatters don't complain about Muslims having multiple wives - so what gives? Liberals and non-believers are a big bunch of babies and twatters who are so two-faced that it is enough to make a person puke.
To all you naysayers - Think of it like this; you have say 3 wives...you think it is all fun and games? That is 3 birthdays, 3 anniversaries, not to mention more kids and birthdays. You get flowers for one...guess what? you're getting flowers for all. Oh yeah, 3 times everything in the wifey side of things.. It takes a helluva good man to keep them all happy.
Before you make a blanket statement on Islamic practice you should study the history. Just as Christianity broke into many sects (protestants, mormons, lutherans, christians, evangicals etc.) the muslims have their own which include but are not limited to shiite, sunni, kurds. Some practice a very radical Sharia law MOST do not. You're speaking as if you have a lot of knowledge. You don't. You have a little and that's dangerous.
To gain an existential understanding of the cult that produced Mitt Romney, read The Assassination of Spiro Agnew, available in paperback and e-book on Amazon
Its unwilling, part-Mexican Mormon assassin dramatizes the Mormon superiority complex, manifesting it as racism, sexism, jingoism and an anti-federal government temperament. His research in the new library reveals ominous similarities between Islam and Mormonism. The spiritual power behind the cult, which is not the Holy Ghost, acts out.
“With a clarity of language and vision unsurpassed in contemporary American prose, Steven Janiszewski’s Assassination of Spiro Agnew takes us into a U.S. mazed with madness and Mormonism and all things Utah, a U.S. that was then and still is. Readers, welcome to a masterpiece.”
Tom Whalen
Read The Assassination of Spiro Agnew.
The book is a novel, not a statement on Mormonism, past or present. Funny though, I get compared to the real Orrin Porter Rockwell, not the fictitious one, nor in the bad sense.... just that I believe in defending the oppressed.
Islam and Mormonism cannot however, be even remotely compared. Islam is a murderous religion, cult, etc. Murder and mayhem are everyday parts of Islam. All in the path of jihad (which means struggle). LDS and FLDS do not go out and strap bombs on themselves and kill innocents, sorry...your pathetic statement to compare the two is without merit.
Mike if you actually read the Quran (Koran) you'll find that it is no more or less evil than the bible. The prophets are the same. It certainly doesn't have anything in it that compares to the Book of Jobe. Now that's sick.
It seems that too many Mormons are having an Identity crisis. These people were members of the original church. They believe the same scriptures and they even do endowments in their temple. They've preserved the original doctrine. It's absurd for anyone to say that they have "nothing to do with us". The truth is that they have almost everything in common with the LDS church.
The LDS church doesn't like to be called Mormon. They have spent the last 20 years insisting people call the church by its full name and discouraging people from using the term "Mormon". If you don't want to be called Mormon why would you ever get upset when we call FLDS Mormon. You can't have it both ways.
What the hell is wrong with these men? Who would want to multiple instances of PMS per month? Who would want to go through "YOU NEVER LISTEN TO ME!!!" from more than one person at the same time?
We do not allow pedophilia in this country for those who have implied so due to religious reasons. How absurd for suggesting so and MSNBC again what a ridiculous description and depiction with the use fundamentalist. Those making such statements should look at the catholic church. I believe they have their own issues. As far as I'm concerned these people are lucky b@st@rds!
My first thought on the article ? I wonder how many of those people, who live in that beautiful house, collect welfare. One man can support that many children plus 2 wives ? Frankly, I say let both men & women have as many wives & husbands (oh yes, 2 way street) as they can support. My taxes go for enough crap that is worthless as it is.
this is what '' bishop polygamist '' did not want people to see. but his 1040 will show it's true face one day also.
Whats the big deal with having multiple wives again? It's fairly common in the Middle East where America buys its oil. Can someone explain why America has a problem with multiple wives when we do business and bolster countries that do this with underage daughters? As long as these people are not trading minors and selling them off I do not see a problem here.
What I gather from 4 photos is the people are more or less back water desert dwellers. There is no real story here, is this MSNBC trolling for views? Where is the story?