Mormon Fundamentalism - Distinctive Doctrines and Practices

Distinctive Doctrines and Practices

Most Mormon fundamentalists embrace the term Fundamentalist (usually capitalized). Mormon fundamentalists share certain commonalities with other fundamentalist movements, but also possess some clear distinctions of their own.

Fundamentalists within the Mormon tradition do see religious authority as inerrant and unchanging, but tend to locate this authority within their view of "Priesthood", which is conceived of as more of a charismatic authority and often physical lineage than an external organization. In this view, ordination lineage becomes all-important and an external organization such as a church may "lose" its theological authority while the "priesthood" (conceived in this abstract and individualistic sense) may continue via an alternative lineage. Mormon fundamentalists frequently assert that priesthood is prior to the Church.

Unlike more prevalent Biblical (non-Mormon) fundamentalist groups, who generally base their authority upon an unchanging and closed canon of scripture, Mormon fundamentalists generally hold to a concept of "continuing revelation" or "progressive revelation", in which the canon of scripture may be continually augmented.

Another of the most basic beliefs of Mormon fundamentalist groups is that of plural marriage, which many of them view as essential for obtaining the highest degree of exaltation in the celestial kingdom. Mormon fundamentalists dislike the term polygamy and view polygyny as a term used only by outsiders. They also refer to plural marriage generically as "the Principle", "celestial marriage", "the New and Everlasting Covenant", or "the Priesthood Work".

The practice of plural marriage usually differs little from the manner in which it was practiced in the nineteenth century. However, in some fundamentalist sects it is considered acceptable for an older man to marry underage girls as soon as they attain puberty. This practice, which is illegal in most states, apart from polygamy itself, has generated public controversy. Examples include the Tom Green case, and the case in which a man from the Kingston clan married his 15-year-old cousin, who was also his aunt. Other sects, however, do not practice and may in fact vehemently denounce underage or forced marriages and incest (for example, the Apostolic United Brethren.)

In addition to plural marriage, Mormon fundamentalist beliefs often include the following principles:

• the law of consecration also known as the United Order
• the Adam–God teachings taught by Brigham Young and other early leaders of the LDS Church
• the principle of blood atonement
• the exclusion of black men from the priesthood
• the belief that missionaries should teach "without purse or scrip"

Mormon fundamentalists believe both that these principles were accepted by the mainstream LDS church at one time, and that the LDS Church wrongly abandoned or changed them, in large part due to the desire of its leadership and members to assimilate into mainstream American society and avoid the persecutions and conflict that had characterized the church throughout its early years.