Alex Joseph (June 24,1936 – September 27, 1998) (born Alec Richard Joseph; also referred to as Ronald Ellison) was an American outspoken polygamist and founder of the

Confederate Nations of Israel The Church of Jesus Christ in Solemn Assembly is a Mormon fundamentalist sect, headquartered in Big Water, Kane County, southern Utah. It was founded in 1974 by Alex Joseph. Establishment The Church of Jesus Christ in Solemn Assembly was formed ...

, a

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, ...

sect. As

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Big Water,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, Joseph was the first

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties Lists of political part ...

mayor of a community in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Mormon fundamentalism

Joseph was not raised in the

Greek Orthodox Church The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

, but was baptized into it in his late teens. He became a member of

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 nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church) in 1965. In 1969, he abandoned the LDS Church and briefly joined

a group The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...

of Mormon fundamentalists under the leadership of Rulon C. Allred in Pinesdale,

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

. In time, he convinced four students at the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fa ...

to marry him and become his plural wives. His wives were not

Latter Day Saint The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by J ...

s; rather, two were

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s, one was a

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, and one was a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

. D. Michael Quinn, "Plural Marriage and Mormon Fundamentalism", '' Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'', vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 22–23. The parents of the students were outraged and confronted Allred with their displeasure. Allred was displeased that Joseph had married without his permission, and after Joseph pointed out that Allred had also taken multiple wives,Sara Davidson
"The Man with Ten Wives"
retrieved 2-Nov-2010 Joseph was asked to leave the colony in Montana. Joseph's exposure to Mormon fundamentalist groups led him to see them as oppressive and corrupt. "Atrocities are committed and people have no recourse because they're outside the law, like the Mafia", commented Joseph. From then on, Joseph followed his own Christian-based religious convictions. Elizabeth Joseph, one of Alex Joseph's wives who served as Big Water City Attorney and an instructor at Coconino Community College, was a featured speaker at the Utah NOW conference in 1997.Julie Ann Kessle

Women's Quarterly, Summer 1997

Polygamy

Joseph's style of polygamy was formed out of his own reading of the Bible, and contrasted with that practiced by some other Mormon fundamentalists in some notable ways. First, his wives entered the marriages of their own accord, with initiative, and free will, rather than being designated by paternal authority. Second, his wives were encouraged to be very independent. Third, he was open about his polygamist lifestyle rather than being secretive and welcomed media coverage, believing that it is his constitutional right and because "he wants public opinion on his side".

Big Water and Confederate Nations of Israel

Joseph and his wives moved to

Kane County, Utah Kane County is a county in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 7,125. Its county seat and largest city is Kanab. History The county was created on January 16, 1864, by the Utah Territory legislature ...

to a deserted settlement known as Glen Canyon City; Joseph renamed the settlement Big Water in 1983. Joseph became the first mayor of the newly renamed settlement. In 1977, he organized the

Church of Jesus Christ in Solemn Assembly The Church of Jesus Christ in Solemn Assembly is a Mormon fundamentalist sect, headquartered in Big Water, Kane County, southern Utah. It was founded in 1974 by Alex Joseph. Establishment The Church of Jesus Christ in Solemn Assembly was formed i ...

and the

, a hybrid church–political organization modelled after Mormonism's

Council of Fifty "The Council of Fifty" (also known as "the Living Constitution", "the Kingdom of God", or its name by revelation, "The Kingdom of God and His Laws with the Keys and Power thereof, and Judgment in the Hands of His Servants, Ahman Christ") was a La ...

.Alex Joseph: The Confederate Nations of Israel
MormonFundamentalism.com

Libertarian mayor

In April 1986, Joseph made news when he abandoned the Republican Party and joined the

and by so doing became the first American mayor to be a member of the Libertarian Party."Alex Joseph, first LP mayor, dies at 62", ''Libertarian Party News'', Dec. 1998. Joseph also convinced the four other members of the town council to join the Libertarians, thereby creating America's first "Libertarian Party town government" in Big Water. The Libertarian government abolished all taxes on

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

in the town. Joseph stepped down as mayor in 1994 after serving three consecutive terms.

Occupations, family and death

At different times in his life, Joseph was employed as a

U.S. Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...

, a police officer, a firefighter, a mail carrier, a car salesman, an accountant, an author of books, a

health food A healthy diet is a diet that maintains or improves overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, macronutrients such as protein, micronutrients such as vitamins, and adequate fibre and food energy. A health ...

producer, a private investigator, and a manager for

country and western music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, old- ...

performers. He also starred in a movie about himself known as ''Alex Joseph and His Wives''. He requested that his occupation on his

death certificate A death certificate is either a legal document issued by a medical practitioner which states when a person died, or a document issued by a government civil registration office, that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death, as ...

be listed as "pirate". Although it has been estimated that he may have married up to twenty women at various times, Joseph was survived by seven wives and 14 biological children, as well as several adopted or fostered children. He died of liver cancer at the age of 62.

Notes

References

* Brian C. Hales (2006). ''Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalists : The Generations after the Manifesto'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Greg Kofford Books)

External links

KCSG, Southern Utah Memories: The Alex Joseph Story

– ''& The Confederate Nations of Israel''.

(Alex Joseph), by Sara Davidson.
Sister Widows: Wives of dead polygamist rebuild their lives

"Alex Joseph and His Wives"
– ''information about the film''.
Salt Lake Metro article: "Utah's Gay Mayor"
— includes background information on Alex Joseph and the founding of Big Water, Utah''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Alex Mormon fundamentalist leaders 1931 births 1998 deaths American Latter Day Saint leaders Deaths from cancer in Utah Converts to Mormonism Former American Orthodox Christians Deaths from liver cancer Mayors of places in Utah People from Kane County, Utah People from Ravalli County, Montana Utah Libertarians Utah Republicans