The present chapter traces the history of Mormon fundamentalism from the Manifesto of 1890 to the present time. Although the Mormon Church denounced plural marriages in increasingly stronger terms over this period, a small band of fundamentalists held fast, continued to follow what they believed to be the true tenets of the religion, and coalesced into a formal organization in the late 1920s. From then on the movement developed into the several groups that are active today. The events described next are rooted in the minds of modern fundamentalists and help to explain their religious faith and commitment to plural family life.

Beginnings: 1890–1929

As federal and civil opposition to plural marriages mounted in the years prior to the Manifesto of 1890, the president of the Mormon Church, John Taylor, became a fugitive because of his advocacy of the practice. In 1886 Taylor had a religious experience that fundamentalists recount as a testimonial to their belief in plural marriage (see Driggs, 1990; Bradley 1993; Van Wagoner, 1989). While in hiding from federal agents, Taylor was guarded by several young men, including Lorin Woolley (who years later founded the modern fundamentalist organization). One night, Woolley heard voices conversing in Taylor's room, when he was presumably alone. The next morning Taylor told his bodyguards that during the night he had been visited by Joseph Smith and Jesus Christ, who had instructed him to hold fast to the principle and practice of plural marriage, despite the growing pressure not to do so.