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Despite the fact that the media still thinks that Mormons are polygamists and inevitably keeps associating the fiasco in Texas with the COJCOLDS - Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, it's important to note that the people in Texas is a small group of folks who practice polygamy and that they are not a branch off the official LDS Church.
The LDS Church has insisted that the media notices the difference for obvious reasons. They don't want the public thinking that the two organization are the same. Of course, it doesn't help that the name FLDS is so close to LDS!
So what do we know about the FLDS? Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. First, they're not the Mormons. They're not LDS. The very reason they exist is because the LDS Church expunged polygamy and those who wanted the practice to continue ended up forming their own Church, the FLDS Church.
I won't go into historical details here because it's quite comprehensive and if the topic of polygamy intrigues you, it shouldn't. It's pretty straight foward, actually. One husband and several wives who agree to be in the same house and bear children. The current problem is that, in their religious fervor and by ignoring child protection laws, some of these FLDS men got carried away in their beliefs and have allegedly impregnated underage girls who were married to them. The whole problem stems from the age factor and allegations of sexual abuse.
In the absence of abuse, and if all the girls were married at age 18, this whole fiasco about the FLDS church wouldn't be making national headlines and become the subject of forum and blog posts all over the Internet.
Why can't FLDS men simply wait until the girls turn 18 and then marry them? It seems like a simple issue! Either their religious beliefs ignore child protection laws of the land or the urge to merge simply takes over. From the outside looking in, things look pretty bizarre.
The most important message of this article is that when you hear about the FLDS sect, polygamist, church, compound, etc. just make sure you do not confuse them with the Mormons or members of the official LDS Church based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The LDS Church has been working really hard to underline the differences between them an any polygamist groups. Most Mormons are decent, hard-working people who love Jesus Christ as their Savior, read the Bible, The Book Of Mormon and try their best to do good in their communities. They also have a complex history and their share of antagonists.
No religion has produced perfect people, perfect adepts and most religions have controversial doctrinal or moral issues. But it's not fair to pass judgment on any religion based on the actions of a few and more especially when those few aren't officially or directly attached to the main Church.
In other words, the Catholic Church has had its challenges with sex scandals. That's not to say that the entire Church or its members deserve criticism. There is the good, the bad and the ugly in every organization.
Hopefully, this article will help people distinguish between the LDS Church and the FLDS church or sect as some prefer to call it. The following non-commercial, reference sites have comprehensive information on the subject of Mormonism.
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