The Struggle for Legitimacy
The Struggle for Legitimacy
Tensions between the LDS and FLDS
This chapter explores the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints's (LDS) struggle for legitimacy with the dissident Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints (FLDS) and with polygamists more generally. It begins by focusing on the modernization of the LDS and the group's use of the courts, government, laws, and the media as part of a campaign to distance itself from fundamentalist Mormon sects. It then explains why the LDS cannot return to polygamy as a practice and goes on to consider the LDS's efforts to distinguish itself from the FLDS and other polygamists before and after the Texas state raid on the Yearning for Zion Ranch. It also examines the effects of the raid on the FLDS and the LDS, with particular emphasis on the latter's efforts to adapt and conform to broader social norms.
Keywords: legitimacy, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints, modernization, polygamy, Yearning for Zion Ranch, state raid, Texas, social norms
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