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The term Mormon fundamentalist is open to interpretation. However it is primarily used to refer to those Mormon dissidents who continue to believe in and practice the teachings of the early leaders of the Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints . One of the more noticeable practices is Polygamy or plural marriage, as they call it, though it would more accurately be referred to as Polygyny . The term does not refer to members of the Community Of Christ (formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints), a group that split from the LDS church over the question of who should lead the church after the death of Joseph Smith Jr . Other beliefs and practices that distinguish Fundamentalist Mormons include: ultra-conservative dress, strong adherence to early leader teachings, strong sense of family and community which many call "closed communities". The leadership of the different groups often follow family lines such as the largest one, formerly headed by Rulon Jeffs , who has recently been succeeded by his son Warren Jeffs ). There are groups of Fundamentalists who live in different parts of the United States, but the largest groups reside in Utah with one near the Utah / Arizona border, one in Canada , and one in Mexico . For the most part, in Utah, the government leaves the Fundamentalists to themselves unless their practices interfere with state or federal law in some major way (aside, of course from the prohibition of bigamy). There have recently been court cases brought against men who belong to Fundamentalist groups for marrying underage girls, and in one recent, highly publicized, case a man and one of his polygamist wives lost custody of all but one of their children (through this particular wife) until the wife separated herself from her husband. The largest government effort to crack down on the practices of Fundamentalist Mormons was carried out in the 1950s , which became known as the Short Creek Raid . It is considered a disaster - both for the way it was carried out and for the damage it caused among the Mormon Fundamentalists who were its target. The mainstream LDS church stopped practicing polygamy in 1890 after a decree by the then president of the church, Wilford Woodruff . At this time, practicing polygamy is grounds for excommunication from the LDS church and Mormon Fundamentalist Groups are not acknowledged by LDS church leadership as having any credibility in their practices. |