Kingston Order / Davis County Cooperative (Latter-Day Church of Christ)
Polygamist sect of fundamentalist Mormons headquartered in Davis County, Utah. Distinctive teaching of 'pure blood' that has produced documented systematic incest. Multiple federal and state investigations including the 2020 federal $511M tax-fraud sentence of leader Jacob Kingston for biofuel tax-credit fraud.
CLCI radar
BITE breakdown
+2 for documented incest doctrine, child marriages, and substantial financial exploitation.
Profile facts
In context
The Kingston Order, formally the Latter-Day Church of Christ, is one of the largest fundamentalist Mormon polygamist groups (≈3,500 members). Its 'family relations' doctrine has produced systematic documented incest — Mary Mackert's 'Polygamist's Daughter' and Amanda Grace Sims's testimony are key sources. The 2018–20 federal Washakie Renewable Energy biofuel-credit fraud case ended in Jacob Kingston's $511M sentence — the largest federal renewable-energy fraud conviction in US history.
History
Founded by Charles Elden Kingston after his 1929 break with the mainstream LDS Church. The 2020 federal biofuel-fraud case represents one of the largest financial scandals connected to a US polygamist sect.
Key control doctrines
- 'Pure blood' family-relations doctrine producing documented incest
- Polygamous plural marriage
- Total surrender of property and labour to community businesses
Recovery resources
- Holding Out Help (Utah) — Utah-based direct services for people leaving Mormon-fundamentalist polygamist groups — housing, education, employment, and family support.
- Sound Choices Coalition — Ex-FLDS-founded advocacy supporting women and children leaving fundamentalist polygamous communities; serves Kingston exits.
- Cherish Families — Support for families and children from fundamentalist polygamist groups; Utah / Arizona focus.
- ICSA (International Cultic Studies Association) — General referral and cult-aware therapist directory; relevant for the financial-control and incest-disclosure recovery dimensions.
- 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
- Mary Mackert
- Amanda Grace Sims
- Multiple federal-case witnesses
Legal cases & controversies
- USA v. Jacob Kingston (2020, $511M biofuel fraud)
- Multiple state child-welfare and polygamy investigations
Evidence by BITE axis
- Documented systematic incest
- Child marriages of girls as young as 14
- Total surrender of property to community businesses
- Members work without standard wages in community businesses
- Outside contact restricted
- Aggressive litigation and political influence in Utah
- Internal abuse allegations historically suppressed
- Kingston family as divinely chosen lineage
- 'Pure blood' doctrine framing intra-family marriage as spiritual progress
- Outside world framed as fallen
- Severance from ex-member family
- Forced marriages of teenage girls to older relatives
- Fear of damnation reinforces obedience
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.
Timeline
- 1935Charles Elden Kingston organises the group
- 1948Davis County Cooperative incorporated
- 2020Jacob Kingston sentenced to 18 years for $511M biofuel fraud
Sources
- Mary Mackert, 'The Polygamist's Daughter' (1998) search ↗
- Amanda Grace Sims, 'Sister Wife' (2010) search ↗
- USA v. Jacob Kingston et al. (2020) search ↗
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: recovery resources expanded from 2 entries to 5 verified entries. Added Sound Choices Coalition, Cherish Families, Freedom of Mind alongside existing Holding Out Help and ICSA.
- 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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