Apostolic United Brethren (AUB)
Polygamist sect of Mormon fundamentalists, originally led by the Allred family. Less coercive than the FLDS but maintains plural marriage and significant community control. Some members appeared in the TLC series 'Sister Wives'.
CLCI radar
BITE breakdown
0 — less coercive than FLDS but practises polygamy and substantial community control.
Profile facts
In context
The AUB, founded by Owen Allred and successors after the 1929 split from the broader fundamentalist Mormon movement, is one of the largest fundamentalist Mormon organisations alongside the FLDS. Members publicly profile (e.g. the Brown family of 'Sister Wives') represent the more open, less coercive end. The CLCI captures the substantial community pressure, polygamous marriage culture, and limited civil-law recourse in family disputes.
Key control doctrines
- Plural marriage as essential to exaltation
- Council of seven 'Apostolic Patriarchs'
- Continuing-revelation prophet model
Recovery resources
- Sound Choices Coalition — Support for women and children exiting Mormon-fundamentalist polygamous communities; founded by ex-FLDS members but serves AUB exits too.
- Cherish Families — Support for families and children exiting fundamentalist polygamist groups; Utah and Arizona focus.
- Mormon Stories Podcast (John Dehlin) — Long-running podcast and community for broader LDS and Mormon-fundamentalist exit experiences.
- ICSA (International Cultic Studies Association) — General high-control-group referral and cult-aware therapist directory.
- Freedom of Mind Resource Center — Steven Hassan's organisation; family-side exit guidance and BITE-model resources.
See the full curated list at /resources.
Notable public ex-members
- Various 'Sister Wives' family members who later left
Legal cases & controversies
- Utah polygamy decriminalisation (2020) and ongoing legal status
Lifton's 8 criteria of thought reform
Robert Jay Lifton's 1961 framework, complementary to BITE. Criteria this group exhibits according to the cited sources.
- Demand for PuritySharp world split into pure vs impure; relentless pressure to conform to an absolute standard.
- Milieu ControlRestricting communication and information so the group controls what members see, hear, and discuss.
This profile is in progress — history, deeper BITE evidence and survivor voices are still being added. Contributions welcome via GitHub.
Timeline
- 1929Original fundamentalist split from LDS Church
- 1954Allred / LeBaron split forms basis of modern AUB
- 2010TLC 'Sister Wives' raises AUB public profile (Browns later disaffiliate)
Sources
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. Where a source includes its own URL, the open ↗ link opens it directly; otherwise search ↗ runs a Google Scholar query for the cited title — useful for verifying academic sources. For news outlets, search the outlet's own archive.
Change history
Substantive edits logged per the score-updates policy.
- 2026-05-22Phase 1 Batch A: per-group recovery resources curated. AUB exits often involve looser community boundaries than FLDS; resource set emphasises Sound Choices Coalition, Cherish Families, and broader Mormon Stories community alongside ICSA / Freedom of Mind.
- 2026-05-20Score band scheme migrated from 4 bands to 5 (Minimal 0–5 / Low 6–12 / Moderate 13–20 / High 21–30 / Extreme 31–40). No CLCI value changed; the new Minimal band was carved out of the bottom of the previous Low band.
Key terms in this profile
Relevant hubs
Curated entry points on CLCI Hub for situations connected to this group.
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Found something wrong on this profile?
We accept correction requests from anyone — current and former members, researchers, journalists, family members, and the listed organisation. Submissions are reviewed by an editor; we do not auto-publish.