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Sunday, December 3, 2023
Dec. 3, 2023

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AP PHOTOS: Polygamous group’s control over small town wanes

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Community members gather at a resource center run by a charity called “Voices for Dignity,” which is dedicated to helping members of a Mormon offshoot religion called the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The group’s home community on the Utah-Arizona border is undergoing a series of changes as the sect’s control of the town slips away amid government evictions and crackdowns.
Community members gather at a resource center run by a charity called “Voices for Dignity,” which is dedicated to helping members of a Mormon offshoot religion called the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The group’s home community on the Utah-Arizona border is undergoing a series of changes as the sect’s control of the town slips away amid government evictions and crackdowns. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) Photo Gallery

HILDALE, Utah — Members of a polygamous group that is losing its grip on a remote red rock community straddling the Utah-Arizona border that’s been its home for more than a century say they love their religion and won’t cower no matter what happens.

Government-ordered evictions have forced hundreds of them from their houses in Hildale, home to the Mormon offshoot religion called the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Other government crackdowns have led to a leadership void that’s created uncertainty.

Elections on Tuesday could deal a crushing blow if voters choose candidates for mayor and two city council seats who don’t belong to the FLDS.

Ex-FLDS members consider the changes progress. But group members believe the town they built is being destroyed amid cultural cleansing.

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