Bluffdale polygamous sect distances itself from FLDS

Worried that they are being tarred "with the same brush" that is tainting the Fundamentalist LDS Church, another polygamous sect is speaking out about its beliefs.

The Bluffdale-based Apostolic United Brethren (AUB) issued a statement from its leadership on Tuesday, distancing itself from the southern Utah-based FLDS Church. The AUB acknowledged polygamy is one of its basic tenets, but said it differs from the FLDS Church on many other beliefs.

Leaders told the Deseret News the statement was in response to news reports that seem to portray all polygamous communities as the same.

"We are, and always have been, wholly opposed to abuse and oppression of any kind, and we feel it our duty to promptly report any suspected abuse to the proper law enforcement authorities," AUB leaders said in their statement.

"We do not encourage or permit 'child-bride' marriages or arranged marriages. Instead, it is a fundamental principle of our faith that it is the sacred privilege of all, male and female, when they are adequately mature, to choose whom they will marry. Forced, arranged, or assigned marriages are not a part of our belief or practice."

The group acknowledged that some of its members have received welfare assistance, but are encouraged to become as self-sustaining as soon as possible.

"Our teachings are to be honorable in all our financial dealings which includes full payment of all required taxes as well as avoiding debt," the statement said.

Like other polygamous groups, the AUB, also known as the Allred group, broke away from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The LDS Church no longer practices polygamy and excommunicates those who do. The mainstream LDS Church has said there is no such thing as a "fundamentalist Mormon" although the AUB leaders said they consider themselves as such, following the doctrine founded by Joseph Smith.

The AUB is currently led by J. Lamoine Jensen, who succeeded Owen Allred upon his death in 2005 at the age of 91. Allred took over the church after his brother, Rulon, was murdered by followers of rival polygamist leader Ervil LeBaron in 1977.

While other polygamous groups have maintained a low-profile, the AUB under Owen Allred was surprisingly open about its beliefs and its views on abuse. In 1998, Allred called a news conference to denounce abuses within polygamy. He also wrote letters to newspapers and the Utah Legislature to praise efforts to raise the marriage age in the state from 14 to 16. He pledged the group would adhere to all laws — with the exception of the practice of polygamy.