John Ortell Kingston

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John Ortell Kingston (1919 – 1987) was the leader of the Kingston Clan of Mormon fundamentalists in Davis County, Utah, from 1947 until his death.

Kingston was the son of Charles W. Kingston, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who was excommunicated for opposing the LDS Church's renunciation of plural marriage. Beginning in 1935, Charles Kingston supported his son Elden Kingston as the leader of the Mormon fundamentalists, and in 1941 the Kingston family organized the Davis County Cooperative Society. When Elden Kingston died unexpectedly in 1947, leadership of the Kingston Clan formally passed to Elden and Ortell's brother Merlin Kingston, but Ortell made most of the day-to-day decisions and he was eventually recognized as the leader of the group.

Ortell Kingston introduced the practice of incestuous marriage to the Kingston Clan. Kingston married at least 25 wives and had dozens of children. In 1983, Kingston was sued by the state of Utah for the return of welfare subsidies he had allegedly obtained for his wives by fraud. Kingston and the state settled out of court, with Kingston making a one-time $250,000 payment to the state without an admission of wrongdoing.

In 1977, Kingston formally organized the Latter Day Church of Christ, the church of the Kingston Clan.

[edit] References

• Brian C. Hales (2007). Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism: The Generations After the Manifesto. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Greg Kofford Books) ISBN 1-58958-035-4

[edit] External links

• The Kingstons : online history of the Kingston family

v • d • e Leaders in the Mormon fundamentalist movement Recognized Mormon leaders1 Joseph Smith, Jr. • Brigham Young • John Taylor Disputed Mormon leaders2 Wilford Woodruff • Lorenzo Snow • Joseph F. Smith Early Mormon fundamentalist leaders John W. Woolley • Lorin C. Woolley • J. Leslie Broadbent • John Y. Barlow • Joseph White Musser • Charles Zitting Leaders of the FLDS Church Leroy S. Johnson • Rulon Jeffs • Warren Jeffs Leaders of the AUB Rulon C. Allred • Owen A. Allred • J. LaMoine Jenson Leaders of the Kingston Clan Charles W. Kingston • Elden Kingston • John Ortell Kingston • Paul Elden Kingston Leaders of the ULDC George Woolley Smith • Heber Gerald Smith • Steven H. Tucker Independents and other leaders Joel LeBaron • Ervil LeBaron • Alex Joseph • Tom Green • James D. Harmston • John W. Bryant Notes 1. Mormon leaders prior to the start of the fundamentalist movement and recognized by most fundamentalists as legitimate church leaders. 2. Mormon leaders that made changes to church policies on plural marriage. Fundamentalists hold a variety of views about each of these leaders, varying from the view that all were legitimate leaders to the view that all were illegitimate.