The Short Creek Community (now

Colorado City, Arizona Colorado City is a town in Mohave County, Arizona, United States, and is located in a region known as the Arizona Strip. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 2,478, down from 4,821 in 2010. At least three Mormon fundamentalis ...

, and

Hildale, Utah Hildale is a city in Washington County, Utah, United States. The population was 1,127 at the 2020 census. Hildale is located on the border of Utah and Arizona. History Hildale, formerly known as Short Creek Community, was founded in 1913 by ...

), founded in 1913, began as a small ranching town in the

Arizona Strip The Arizona Strip is the part of Arizona lying north of the Colorado River. Despite being larger in area than several U.S. states, the entire region has a population of fewer than 10,000 people. Consisting of northeastern Mohave County and n ...

. In the 1930s it was settled by

Mormon fundamentalists Mormon fundamentalism (also called fundamentalist Mormonism) is a belief in the validity of selected fundamentalism, fundamental aspects of Mormonism as taught and practiced in the nineteenth century, particularly during the administrations of J ...

History

In May 1935, members of the

Council of Friends The Council of Friends was an organization described by Joseph Smith in early 19th-century Mormon theology. He viewed the organisation as being part of a world government which would guide and direct the Kingdom of God (Zion) on earth during the ...

, a breakaway group from the

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

-based

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church), sent a handful of followers to the Short Creek Community with the express purpose of building "a branch of the Kingdom of God." Fundamentalist leader John Barlow believed that the isolated Creek could provide a place of refuge for those engaging in the covert practice of polygamy, which was criminalized using bigamy statutes from 1935 to 2013 & 2017 to 2020. Within a month, the town's population more than doubled. The Council of Friends membership desired a remote location where they could practice

plural marriage Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more tha ...

, which had been publicly abandoned by the LDS Church in 1890. On July 26, 1953, Arizona Governor

John Howard Pyle John Howard Pyle (March 25, 1906 – November 29, 1987) was an American broadcaster and politician who served as the ninth governor of the U.S. state of Arizona from 1951 to 1955. He was a Republican. As an opponent of polygamy, he authorized ...

sent troops into the settlement to stop polygamy in what became known as the

Short Creek raid The Short Creek raid was an Arizona Department of Public Safety and Arizona National Guard action against Mormon fundamentalists that took place on the morning of July 26, 1953, at Short Creek, Arizona. The Short Creek raid was the largest mass a ...

. The two-year legal battle that followed became a public relations disaster that damaged Pyle's political career and set a hands-off tone toward the town in Arizona for the next 50 years. The

Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS Church) is a religious sect of the fundamentalist Mormon denominations whose members practice polygamy. The fundamentalist Mormon movement emerged in the early 20th century, ...

(FLDS) later developed in the same geographical region and changed the name to Colorado City and Hildale to eliminate any ties to the Short Creek raids.

Council of Friends

The concept of a Council of Friends or Priesthood Council was central to the

Mormon fundamentalist Mormon fundamentalism (also called fundamentalist Mormonism) is a belief in the validity of selected fundamental aspects of Mormonism as taught and practiced in the nineteenth century, particularly during the administrations of Joseph Smith, Bri ...

theology developed by

Lorin C. Woolley Lorin Calvin Woolley (October 23, 1856 – September 19, 1934) was an American proponent of plural marriage and one of the founders of the Mormon fundamentalist movement. As a young man in Utah Territory, Woolley served as a courier and bodyguard ...

and others in the Short Creek Community. The Short Creek Community was home to this council starting in the late 1920s. Since the authority of the Council of Friends pertained to the Priesthood and not to the Church, early Mormon fundamentalists, most of the residents of Short Creek Community had been excommunicated from the LDS Church. They felt that the existence of the Council of Friends gave them the right to continue solemnizing plural marriages even after Church President

Wilford Woodruff Wilford Woodruff Sr. (March 1, 1807September 2, 1898) was an American religious leader who served as the fourth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1889 until his death. He ended the public practice of ...

1890 Manifesto The 1890 Manifesto (also known as the Woodruff Manifesto, the Anti-polygamy Manifesto, or simply "the Manifesto") is a statement which officially advised against any future plural marriage in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS ...

strenuously disapproving of the practice.

Short Creek Community leadership

The following are the leaders of the Council of Friends, and as such were also leaders in the Short Creek Community. *

John W. Woolley John Wickersham Woolley (December 30, 1831 – December 13, 1928) was an American Latter Day Saint and one of the founders of the Mormon fundamentalism movement. Most Mormon fundamentalist groups trace their origin directly or indirectly to Woolle ...

(1918–28) *

(1928–34) * J. Leslie Broadbent (1934–35) *

John Y. Barlow John Yeates Barlow (also known as John Yates Barlow) (March 4, 1874 – December 29, 1949) was a Mormon fundamentalism, Mormon fundamentalist leader in Short Creek, Arizona. Childhood Barlow was born in Panaca, Nevada, Panaca, Lincoln County, Nev ...

(1935–49) *

Joseph W. Musser Joseph White Musser (March 8, 1872 – March 29, 1954) was a Mormon fundamentalism, Mormon fundamentalist leader. Musser was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Amos Milton Musser (an Church Historian and Recorder, assistant LDS Church historian) an ...

(1949–54) *

Charles Zitting Charles Frederick Zitting (March 30, 1894 – July 14, 1954) was a Mormon fundamentalist leader of the community in Short Creek, Arizona. Life Zitting's ancestors came to the United States from Sweden, Denmark, Canada, and Britain. Fundamentali ...

(1954)

Birth defects

, the descendants of the Short Creek Community are reported to have a high incidence of

fumarase deficiency Fumarase deficiency (or fumaric aciduria) is an exceedingly rare autosomal recessive metabolic disorder in the Krebs cycle, characterized by a deficiency of the enzyme fumarate hydratase, which causes a buildup of fumaric acid in the urine and a d ...

, an extremely

rare genetic disease A rare disease is any disease that affects a small percentage of the population. In some parts of the world, an orphan disease is a rare disease whose rarity means there is a lack of a market large enough to gain support and resources for discove ...

. It causes

encephalopathy Encephalopathy (; from grc, ἐνκέφαλος "brain" + πάθος "suffering") means any disorder or disease of the brain, especially chronic degenerative conditions. In modern usage, encephalopathy does not refer to a single disease, but r ...

, severe

intellectual disability Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability in the United Kingdom and formerly mental retardation,Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010). is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by signifi ...

, unusual facial features, brain malformation, and

epileptic Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...

seizure An epileptic seizure, informally known as a seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much of the body with los ...

s. The high rate of this particular genetic anomaly is attributed to generations of consanguineous or related marriages within the community.

References

{{FLDS Church Towns in Mohave County, Arizona Towns in Washington County, Utah Latter Day Saint movement in Arizona Latter Day Saint movement in Utah Mormon fundamentalism Mormonism and polygamy Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Populated places established in 1913 1913 establishments in Arizona 1913 establishments in Utah Christian communities

History

Council of Friends

Short Creek Community leadership

Birth defects

See also

References