Paul Elden Kingston
American Mormon fundamentalist (born 1959)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Paul Elden Kingston (born 17 December 1959) is an accountant and attorney. Since 1987 he has served as the Trustee-in-Trust (Leader) of the Latter Day Church of Christ (LDCC), also known as Davis County Cooperative Society (DCCS) or the Kingston Group, a Mormon fundamentalist denomination.[1][2] The DCCS is a financial cooperative established by his uncle Elden Kingston in 1935.
Paul Elden Kingston | |
|---|---|
| |
| Trustee-in-Trust of the Davis County Cooperative Society | |
Incumbent | |
| Assumed office August 25, 1987 | |
| Preceded by | John Ortell Kingston |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 December 1959 Utah, United States |
| Spouse | At least 27 |
| Children | 300+ |
| Parent | John Ortell Kingston |
Life
Paul Elden Kingston was born in 1959 as a son of John Ortell Kingston and LaDonna Peterson.
Kingston studied at the University of Utah Law School and was admitted to the Utah State Bar in 1990.[3]
He succeeded his father John Ortell Kingston as the Trustee-in-Trust (Leader) of the DCCS upon his father's death in 1987. During his tenure, members have continued the practice of plural, and intra-family marriage.[4]
Teenage marriages
According to the group plural marriages for individuals under 18 in the group are not allowed. According to themselves the DCCS has a policy encouraging its members to marry within the legal age of consent.[5]
Plural marriage is practiced by some members of the DCCS, and members make their own choice in who they marry.[6] For more than a decade, the group has publicly spoken out against child-bride marriages and the DCCS has a policy encouraging its members to marry within the legal age of consent.[7][5][8][9] Former female members have disputed these claims made by the DCCS and have said they experienced pressure to marry much older men when they were as young as 15 years old.[10]
In search of public records the Salt Lake Tribune has found 20 marriages among members of the group between 1997 and 2018 in which both bride and groom were at least 18, but also found 65 marriages in which the bride was 15, 16 or 17. Records show he signed as a witness on 4 lawful teenage marriages that happened in Colorado where marriages between first cousins are legal.[10]
