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 Apostolic United Brethren sits toward the milder end of the Mormon-fundamentalist polygamist spectrum this catalogue covers. It is the second-largest such group after the FLDS Church, and the two are frequently confused; AUB leadership has spent decades actively distinguishing itself from the FLDS's much more severe documented pattern of forced underage marriage and single-prophet total control. AUB members mostly call their community "the Work" or "the Priesthood" rather than a church, integrate into surrounding Utah, Montana, Wyoming and Arizona towns far more than FLDS members do, and regard the mainstream LDS Church — which formally renounced plural marriage in 1890 — as a legitimate, if "wayward," institution rather than an apostate rival.
The group's authority claim rests on an account, never independently verifiable, that LDS president John Taylor met Joseph Smith and Jesus Christ in September 1886 and received a revelation commanding that plural marriage continue outside the institutional church. Lorin C. Woolley and a small "Council of Friends" claimed to inherit that priesthood authority; the AUB itself formed as a distinct organisation in 1954 when Rulon C. Allred was ordained by Joseph W. Musser, splitting from the harder-line Short Creek (Colorado City) faction that became the FLDS. Owen A. Allred succeeded his brother Rulon after Rulon's 1977 murder — he was shot by a follower of rival polygamist leader Ervil LeBaron — and it was Owen who set the modern AUB's tone: he gave the group's beliefs and practices to Utah and Arizona law enforcement in a 2009 "Polygamy Primer" used to train police and social workers, and he made a point of publicly disavowing the underage, arranged marriages associated with other fundamentalist groups. The Brown family of the TLC series Sister Wives were AUB members for the show's early seasons before later disaffiliating.
Documented control mechanics nonetheless persist. Plural marriage doctrine (the "1886 Meeting") is taught as a path to the "highest glory," though not all members practise it. A former member turned attorney has alleged that plural wives were sent to file for welfare as single mothers with checks routed to priesthood leaders — an allegation, not an adjudicated finding. And in 2014, incoming leader Lynn A. Thompson was accused by his own daughter and two nieces of child sexual abuse; a subsequent internal audit found he had embezzled up to $500,000 in tithing and church funds even before assuming leadership. In March 2019, the AUB's Pinesdale, Montana school and the broader membership were required to sign a pledge of support for Thompson or leave, a coercive test of loyalty that split the community — a breakaway "Second Ward" faction formed in Pinesdale and continued operating the shared Pines Academy alongside the main AUB. Thompson died in October 2021 and was succeeded by David Watson. Family and child-custody disputes within the community have limited recourse to ordinary civil courts, and plural marriage itself carries no direct state marriage recognition, complicating exit for spouses and children alike. The pattern — real, internally contested authority; a leadership crisis triggering an open schism rather than silent submission; and decades of deliberate distancing from the FLDS's documented record of forced child marriage — is what places the AUB in the moderate-to-high band rather than alongside the most severe polygamist groups in this catalogue.
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
Evidence by BITE axis
- Plural marriage with significant social and family pressure
- Limited civil-law recourse in marriage and child custody disputes
- Doctrinal pressure to enter plural marriage for exaltation
- Plural marriage as essential to exaltation
- Strong community insularity
- Continuing-revelation prophet model
- Council of seven 'Apostolic Patriarchs'
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.
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)
Evidence matrix
Structured sources cross-linked to the claims they document. Tiered per the source hierarchy. For free-text citations see the Sources section below.
| Title | Type | Reliability | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suche im Internet Archive | Government | Primary | — |
| Polygamy group investigates abuse allegations. · archive | Journalism | Secondary | — |
| One Big, Happy Polygamous Family. · archive | Journalism | Secondary | — |
| Owen Allred, 91; Patriarch of One of Utah’s Largest Polygamist Congregations. · archive | Journalism | Secondary | — |
| The Primer: A Guidebook for Law Enforcement and Human Services Agencies who offer Assistance to Fundamentalist Mormon Families. · archive | Government | Primary | — |
| High court won’t hear “Sister Wives” appeal over bigamy law. · archive | Journalism | Secondary | — |
| The Primer: A Guidebook for Law Enforcement and Human Services Agencies Who Offer Assistance to Fundamentalist Mormon Families · archive | Government | Primary | — |
Sources
- Janet Bennion, 'Polygamy in Primetime' (2012) search ↗
- Anne Wilde public commentary search ↗
- Wikipedia, 'Apostolic United Brethren' (retrieved 2026-09-02), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostolic_United_Brethren ↗ Wikipedia
- Salt Lake Tribune, 'Sex abuse allegations have rocked the polygamous church of Sister Wives, causing rift from Utah to Montana' (21 Oct 2017), https://www.sltrib.com/news/polygamy/2017/10/21/sex-abuse-allegations-have-rocked-the-polygamous-church-of-sister-wives-causing-rift-from-utah-to-montana/ open ↗
- Salt Lake Tribune, 'Those unwilling to follow disputed Utah polygamist leader may have to leave a Montana school' (9 Apr 2019), https://www.sltrib.com/news/2019/04/09/those-unwilling-follow/ open ↗
- Religion Dispatches, 'The Quiet Passing of Fundamentalist Mormon Prophet Lynn A. Thompson Suggests Polygamy Recognition Remains a Distant Hope' (11 Oct 2021), https://religiondispatches.org/the-quiet-passing-of-fundamentalist-mormon-prophet-lynn-a-thompson-suggests-polygamous-recognition-remains-a-distant-hope/ open ↗
- Utah/Arizona Attorney General, 'The Primer: A Guidebook for Law Enforcement and Human Services Agencies Who Offer Assistance to Fundamentalist Mormon Families' (2009/2011 editions) search ↗
- Janet Bennion, 'Polygamy in Primetime: Media, Gender, and Politics in Mormon Fundamentalism' (Brandeis University Press, 2012) search ↗
- Suche im Internet Archive — https://digitallibrary.utah.gov/awweb/awarchive?type=file&item=10767 open ↗
- Polygamy group investigates abuse allegations. — https://apnews.com/article/4f93e33185cc4f888dc7c321e26342bb open ↗
- One Big, Happy Polygamous Family. — https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/21/opinion/21turley.html?scp=1&sq=polygamy%20washington&st=cse open ↗
- Owen Allred, 91; Patriarch of One of Utah’s Largest Polygamist Congregations. — https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-feb-20-me-allred20-story.html open ↗
- The Primer: A Guidebook for Law Enforcement and Human Services Agencies who offer Assistance to Fundamentalist Mormon Families. — http://www.attorneygeneral.utah.gov/cmsdocuments/The_Primer.pdf open ↗
- High court won’t hear “Sister Wives” appeal over bigamy law. — https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sister-wives-high-court-wont-hear-appeal-over-bigamy-law/ open ↗
- The Primer: A Guidebook for Law Enforcement and Human Services Agencies Who Offer Assistance to Fundamentalist Mormon Families — http://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2013/08/The_Primer.pdf open ↗
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.
- 2026-09-02Body expanded from stub (thin-content programme, tranche 5 lane L)
- 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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Frequently asked questions
Q.Is Apostolic United Brethren a cult?
CLCI Hub deliberately avoids the binary label "cult." Instead it places groups on a transparent 0–40 spectrum of documented control using Steven Hassan's BITE model (Behaviour, Information, Thought, Emotional). Apostolic United Brethren scores 25 out of 40 — "High Control", at medium confidence. The score describes documented control patterns, not a judgement of members' sincerity or beliefs; many members do not personally experience the patterns listed.
Q.What is Apostolic United Brethren's CLCI score?
Apostolic United Brethren scores 25 out of 40 on the Cult-Like Control Index, which falls in the "High" band. That total is the sum of four BITE axes — Behaviour 7, Information 6, Thought 6, Emotional 6 — plus a signed modifier of +0 for aggravating or mitigating factors.
Q.Why does Apostolic United Brethren score 25 on the CLCI?
The score reflects publicly documented patterns including: Plural marriage with significant social and family pressure; Limited civil-law recourse in marriage and child custody disputes; Strong community insularity; Doctrinal pressure to enter plural marriage for exaltation. These map onto the BITE axes of behaviour, information, thought, and emotional control, and a signed modifier of +0 is applied for factors such as financial demands, leadership accountability, and exit costs. Every claim is backed by the citations in the Sources section on this page.
Q.How reliable is the Apostolic United Brethren rating?
This profile is rated Medium confidence. Medium confidence means the score rests on reputable journalism plus consistent ex-member testimony. CLCI scores are not fixed — they are revised whenever new public evidence appears, and groups that reform can score lower over time.
Q.Where can I get help regarding Apostolic United Brethren?
If you or someone you care about is affected by Apostolic United Brethren, start with the Recovery resources listed on this page. General cult-aware support is available from the International Cultic Studies Association (icsahome.com) and the Freedom of Mind Resource Center (freedomofmind.com). CLCI Hub is an educational resource, not a crisis service — if anyone is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services.
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