{"slug":"centennial-park-group","title":"Centennial Park group","summary":"The Centennial Park group is a fundamentalist Mormon community of approximately 1,500 members in Arizona that practices polygamy and follows early Mormon doctrine, having split from other fundamentalist groups over leadership and religious authority disputes.","content_md":"# Centennial Park Group\n\nThe **Centennial Park group** is a fundamentalist Mormon religious community of approximately 1,500 members headquartered in Centennial Park, Arizona. [1] This polygamous sect practices plural marriage and follows fundamentalist interpretations of early Mormon doctrine, operating independently from the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The group represents one of several Mormon fundamentalist communities that emerged from historical splits over the practice of polygamy and religious authority.\n\nThe community was established as a breakaway faction from other fundamentalist Mormon groups and continues the tradition of plural marriage that the mainstream LDS Church officially abandoned in 1890. [7] Like other Mormon fundamentalist sects, the Centennial Park group maintains that polygamy is essential to achieving the highest levels of salvation and follows what they believe to be the original teachings of Mormon founder Joseph Smith Jr.\n\n## Origins and Formation\n\nThe Centennial Park group emerged from a split with the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS), specifically breaking away from the leadership of **Leroy S. Johnson**, who was a leader and senior member of the Priesthood Council of the FLDS. [1] This separation occurred as part of broader divisions within the Mormon fundamentalist movement over questions of leadership succession and religious authority.\n\nThe group's formation reflects the complex history of Mormon fundamentalism, which traces its roots to 1886 when some Latter-day Saints refused to abandon plural marriage following increasing federal pressure. [7] The Centennial Park community was \"created for the purpose of religious freedom,\" establishing itself as a distinct entity within the broader landscape of polygamous Mormon communities. [4]\n\nThe community formally organized after splitting from what was previously known as the Colorado City group, representing another layer in the fractured history of Mormon fundamentalist organizations. [5] These divisions often centered on disagreements over prophetic succession, interpretation of doctrine, and community governance.\n\n## Religious Beliefs and Practices\n\nThe Centennial Park group \"strives to function in the original tradition of the Mormon fundamentalist movement that began in 1886.\" [7] This tradition emphasizes the practice of **plural marriage** (polygamy) as a divine commandment essential for achieving exaltation in the afterlife. Members believe that polygamy was revealed by God through Joseph Smith Jr. and should never have been abandoned by the mainstream LDS Church.\n\nThe community follows a **Priesthood Council** system of governance, similar to other fundamentalist Mormon groups. This council consists of senior male members who provide spiritual and temporal leadership for the community. The group maintains that this form of organization represents the original structure established by early Mormon leaders.\n\nMembers of the Centennial Park group practice a communal lifestyle centered around large extended families connected through plural marriage relationships. The community emphasizes self-sufficiency, religious education, and adherence to conservative moral standards including modest dress codes and restrictions on modern entertainment and technology.\n\n## Community Structure and Demographics\n\nWith approximately 1,500 members, the Centennial Park group represents a mid-sized fundamentalist Mormon community. [1] The group is geographically concentrated in Centennial Park, Arizona, where members live in close proximity and maintain strong social and economic ties.\n\nThe community operates various businesses and enterprises to support its members economically while maintaining relative isolation from mainstream society. Like other polygamous communities, families tend to be large, with some men having multiple wives and dozens of children.\n\nThe group has shown some openness to outside interaction, including participation in media projects such as the television series \"Polygamy USA,\" which documented life within the community. [7] This represents a departure from the extreme secrecy maintained by some other fundamentalist Mormon groups.\n\n## Relationship to Other Mormon Groups\n\nThe Centennial Park group exists within a complex ecosystem of Mormon fundamentalist organizations, each claiming to represent the true continuation of early Mormon doctrine. The group has experienced its own internal divisions, with some members later forming additional splinter groups such as **The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Kingdom of God**, founded by Frank Naylor and Ivan Nielsen who split from Centennial Park. [3]\n\nThe mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially disavows all fundamentalist groups and excommunicates members who practice polygamy. The Centennial Park group, like other fundamentalist sects, operates entirely independently from LDS Church authority and receives no recognition or support from the mainstream organization.\n\nRelations between different fundamentalist groups vary, with some cooperation on shared interests but also significant theological and leadership disputes that have led to permanent divisions within the movement.\n\n## Contemporary Status and Challenges\n\nThe Centennial Park group continues to face legal and social challenges related to their practice of polygamy, which remains illegal under federal and state law. However, the community has generally avoided the high-profile legal troubles that have affected other fundamentalist Mormon groups, maintaining a relatively low profile while continuing their religious practices.\n\nThe group represents part of an estimated 30,000-50,000 fundamentalist Mormons living in various communities throughout the American West. As one of the more moderate fundamentalist groups, Centennial Park has shown greater willingness to engage with outside researchers and media than some of their more secretive counterparts.\n\nModern challenges facing the community include questions of education, healthcare access, economic sustainability, and the ongoing legal status of plural marriage in the United States.\n\n## Related Topics\n\n- Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS)\n- Mormon fundamentalism\n- Polygamy in the United States\n- Short Creek Community\n- Apostolic United Brethren\n- Kingston Clan\n- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints\n- Religious freedom in America\n\n## Summary\n\nThe Centennial Park group is a fundamentalist Mormon community of approximately 1,500 members in Arizona that practices polygamy and follows early Mormon doctrine, having split from other fundamentalist groups over leadership and religious authority disputes.\n\n\n\n","sources":[{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centennial_Park_group","title":"Centennial Park group - Wikipedia","snippet":"The Centennial Park group is a fundamentalist Mormon group, with approximately 1,500 members that is headquartered in Centennial Park, Arizona. The Centennial Park group broke with Leroy S. Johnson, leader and senior member of the Priesthood Council of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ ..."},{"url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/latterdaysaints/comments/1gr04g/i_am_a_member_of_a_fundamentalist_mormon_group/","title":"r/latterdaysaints on Reddit: I am a member of a fundamentalist Mormon group located at Centennial Park, AZ...AMA!","snippet":""},{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints_and_the_Kingdom_of_God","title":"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Kingdom of God - Wikipedia","snippet":"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Kingdom of God is a Mormon fundamentalist church which is not affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The sect was founded by Frank Naylor and Ivan Nielsen, who split from the Centennial Park group, another ..."},{"url":"https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1215&context=msr2","title":"Mormon Studies Review Mormon Studies Review Volume 9 Number 1 Article 5 2022","snippet":"known polygamous communities, the Centennial Park community is · a relatively recent group created for the purpose of religious freedom"},{"url":"https://www.suu.edu/hss/comm/masters/capstone/thesis/ault-m.pdf","title":"An Ethnographic Study of the Centennial Park Polygamist ...","snippet":"Church formally organized, the Centennial Park group split off from the Colorado City group"},{"url":"https://www.facebook.com/pages/Centennial-Park-group/142568795754319","title":"Centennial Park group - Home","snippet":"Explore the things you love · Log into Facebook · English (US) · فارسی · العربية · Türkçe · Deutsch · Français (France) · Polski · More languages…"},{"url":"https://religiondispatches.org/2013/05/20/why-weve-opened-our-doors-polygamy-usa","title":"Why We’ve Opened Our Doors for Polygamy USA | Religion Dispatches","snippet":"The community strives to function in the original tradition of the Mormon fundamentalist movement that began in 1886. That era marked the height of Congress’ movement against the LDS Church over the Church’s practice of plural marriage. Through these years, offshoots from the movement’s ..."},{"url":"https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=142568795754319","title":"Centennial Park group","snippet":"See posts, photos and more on Facebook."}],"infobox":{"Type":"Religious Community","Founded":"Late 20th century","Location":"Centennial Park, Arizona","Governance":"Priesthood Council","Membership":"Approximately 1,500","Key Practice":"Plural marriage (polygamy)","Religious Tradition":"Mormon Fundamentalism"},"metadata":{"tags":["mormon-fundamentalism","polygamy","religious-communities","arizona","latter-day-saints","fundamentalist-groups"],"quality":{"status":"generated","reviewed_by":[],"flagged_issues":[]},"category":"Society","difficulty":"intermediate","subcategory":"Religious Communities"},"model_used":"anthropic/claude-sonnet-4","revision_number":1,"view_count":4,"related_topics":["mormon-fundamentalism","apostolic-united-brethren"],"sections":["Centennial Park Group","Origins and Formation","Religious Beliefs and Practices","Community Structure and Demographics","Relationship to Other Mormon Groups","Contemporary Status and Challenges","Related Topics","Summary"]}