The FLDS and LDS Churches: Origins and Diverging Beliefs

Apr 07, 2025
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FLDS and LDS The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) share common historical roots but have evolved into distinctly different entities with unique doctrines and practices. Understanding the schism that led to the creation of the FLDS involves exploring the early doctrinal conflicts within the Mormon community, particularly concerning polygamy, and examining the major differences in beliefs and practices that define the two groups today.

Historical Background and Schism

The LDS Church, commonly known as the Mormon Church, was founded in 1830 by Joseph Smith in upstate New York. Central to early Mormon doctrine was the practice of polygamy, which Smith introduced in the 1840s. After Smith's death, Brigham Young led the Mormons to what is now Utah, where polygamy became more publicly practiced.

However, external pressures and legal challenges, particularly from the U.S. government, which passed laws against polygamy, led the LDS Church to officially renounce the practice in 1890 under Church President Wilford Woodruff. This declaration, known as the 1890 Manifesto, was not uniformly accepted within the church. A number of members continued to practice polygamy in secret, leading to further church-sanctioned denouncements in 1904 and subsequent years.

The FLDS Church emerged in the early 20th century as a response to the LDS Church's final renunciation of polygamy. Those who wished to continue the practice felt that the mainstream church was moving away from the original teachings of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Over time, this group formally organized into the FLDS Church, which views itself as maintaining the practices and teachings of the early Mormon leaders, including the practice of polygamy.

Diverging Beliefs and Practices

While the LDS and FLDS churches share some foundational beliefs, such as the Book of Mormon and a commitment to proselytization, they diverge significantly in their practices and additional doctrines.

Polygamy

The most notable difference is the continued practice of polygamy among the FLDS, which they view as a core tenet of their faith. The LDS Church, in contrast, strictly prohibits polygamy and excommunicates members who engage in the practice.

Prophetic Leadership

The FLDS Church is led by a prophet, who has significant control over the church and its members. This leader is believed to be a direct mouthpiece of God, with the authority to receive revelations and dictate life choices for members, including marriages and family decisions. The LDS Church also believes in modern-day revelation but has a more structured and collective approach to leadership, governed by a President and a Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, with decisions often made by group consensus.

Lifestyle and Integration

FLDS members often live in isolated communities, separate from mainstream society, which reinforces their unique practices and beliefs. They typically adhere to strict dress codes and have limited interaction with the outside world. In contrast, LDS members are more integrated into broader society and are encouraged to be active participants in their communities, regardless of the religious affiliation of their neighbors.

Salvation and Doctrine

The two churches also have different teachings on salvation and other theological points. For instance, the FLDS Church places a strong emphasis on obedience to the prophet and the practice of polygamy as essential to achieving the highest level of heaven. The LDS Church emphasizes the atonement of Jesus Christ, personal repentance, and service to others as key components of salvation.

The schism between the FLDS and LDS churches represents a fundamental clash in beliefs about the practice of polygamy and the interpretation of prophetic leadership. These differences have led to a significant cultural and doctrinal divide that persists today. Understanding these divergences is crucial for appreciating the distinct identities of these two groups and their respective places in the religious landscape of America.

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JT Sunrise

Rev. JTSunrise for the Universal Life Church Blog “Of Prophets, Polygamy, and the Fork in the Desert Road”

In the vast, sunbaked quiet of the American West, two spiritual roads split from a common path—one leading toward modernity and integration, the other clinging to a rugged, uncompromising past. Today, as a minister in the Universal Life Church and a lifelong student of the sacred and strange, I offer reflection—not judgment—on two distinct communities that share a root, yet bear different fruit: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), and the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS). To understand where they stand today, we must return to where they began.

The Seed: Joseph Smith and the Birth of Mormonism: It began in 1830, in upstate New York, with a farmboy named Joseph Smith and a golden book. He claimed revelations, new scripture, and a calling to restore Christianity to its pure, original form. Among the teachings he introduced was polygamy—marriage to multiple women—as a divine principle.

After Smith’s death, Brigham Young led the faithful westward to Utah, far from the fires of persecution. There, polygamy became more public, and more problematic. The U.S. government passed laws against it. In 1890, President Wilford Woodruff of the LDS Church issued what’s now called the 1890 Manifesto, renouncing the practice. In doing so, he steered the church toward survival—but away from the polygamist doctrine some saw as sacred. For many, this was a necessary evolution. For others, it was a betrayal.

The Schism and the Path of Resistance: By the early 20th century, a faction broke away, unwilling to abandon polygamy. They believed the LDS Church had compromised the divine law to appease the world. Over time, this group formally became the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS)—a community that sought to preserve not just polygamy, but the prophet-centered structure of the early church. For them, to walk away from polygamy was to walk away from the celestial order.

Two Churches, Two Worlds: Though both churches honor the Book of Mormon and claim prophetic lineage, their doctrines—and lives—now run parallel rather than shared.

Polygamy is the dividing line. The LDS Church now strictly forbids it. The FLDS requires it for full exaltation.

Leadership is another fault line. In the LDS tradition, leadership is balanced—a president and a council deliberate and decide. In the FLDS, the prophet rules alone. His word governs marriages, households, destinies.

Community also differs. LDS members are often deeply engaged with wider society—professionally, civically, and politically. Meanwhile, FLDS communities, such as those in Colorado City, Arizona, live in relative isolation, maintaining strict dress codes and minimizing outside contact to preserve their way of life.

Salvation follows suit. For the LDS Church, it hinges on Christ’s atonement, personal growth, and service. For the FLDS, salvation is tied tightly to obedience—to the prophet, to polygamy, to divine hierarchy.

Reflections on the Divide: What we see here is not merely a difference in ritual, but a deep theological divide—a conflict between revelation and adaptation. One church embraces the world, albeit cautiously. The other flees from it.

And yet both stand on the same soil. Both call Joseph Smith prophet. Both carry the legacy of desert pilgrimage, persecution, and visionary belief.

As ministers—especially those of us ordained through a church like the ULC, which welcomes all paths—we are called not just to preach, but to understand. The LDS and FLDS churches remind us that religious identity is not static. It shifts under pressure. It bends beneath the weight of time and truth and fear. And sometimes, it breaks into two.

Final Word: Walking the Line: I’ve seen plenty of road-worn prophets in my time—some standing tall with their flock, others speaking into the wind. The FLDS and LDS represent two ways of holding faith: one clenched tight in the fist of tradition, the other open to change.

Neither is without consequence. Both are rooted in deeply human desire—for truth, for community, for the eternal.

Let us walk with curiosity, humility, and reverence for all who seek the divine—whether in a temple, a desert, or the quiet heart of personal conviction.

Rev JTSunrise Celestial Nexus Church

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Rev. Michelle Love

The premise behind the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-Day Saints and the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-Day Saints was to honor people who were born later on in the century who were qualified for sainthood. While they were not Catholics, they had done deeds that would have qualified them for either sainthood or canonization.

The background behind both of these churches involves the fact that members of the Catholic Church were excommunicated because they were Freemasons. With that being said, the Knights of Columbus was created to fill a void that many Catholic men needed in order to maintain an air of holiness despite being seen as people who had been deported from Europe for various offenses.

The diverging beliefs and practices that these two churches share is the fact that the ability to talk to God directly is a real thing. It is caused through either intense self-work which is now called shadow work today. It can also be caused by extreme trauma which many of these men faced in the 1800’s because of the Civil War.

Polygamy was an issue in America because many Christians did not believe in the practice. With that being said, people excommunicated from Europe shared varying religious beliefs and did not think that they needed to be held to a standard of a new country that they were the reason was founded. This new religion allowed them to appear to be Christian but allowed them to maintain the same Muslim beliefs that they may have participated in while living abroad.

Prophetic leadership is the only requirement in order to hold a position of authority in this church. That being said, if one says they are able to talk to God, they are admitting to being telepathic. The God they are speaking to is their Spirit and they are assumed to have been able to determine what messages they were receiving from Source were true or not. With that being said, there are a lot of prophetic leaders who have founded cults that did not know which voice to listen to who ended up killing almost all of their followers as a result.

Lifestyle and integration into these churches are less strict than that of the Catholic church. Attendance to monthly confessionals which were only attempts to get people to confess sins to people they could not see in order to use this information for future sermons in order to publicly humiliate members is not a requirement as well as the need to only eat fish on Fridays as a way to exert dominance in parishioners lives in a manner that would both line the pockets of local fishermen but give people a sense of power in knowing that people are bending to the will of someone else’s dictates.

Salvation and doctrine in the FLDS and LDS Churches are the same. People who were encouraged to settle West were given more freedom to practice their religion than those who stayed out East. With that being said, there were no prying eyes looking to see how many women a man kept because they were so far out in the mountains that no one would bother to come find them.

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Rev. Michelle Love

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Rev. Michelle Love

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Rev. Carol M Anaski-Figurski

Interesting perspective I didn't know before. May mordern religion bring many new things in the 21century.

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Universal Life Church

The FLDS and LDS Churches: Origins and Diverging Beliefs

Historical Background and Schism

Diverging Beliefs and Practices

Polygamy

Prophetic Leadership

Lifestyle and Integration

Salvation and Doctrine

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