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, a Mormon fundamentalist sect. As

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

of Big Water,

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, Joseph was the first Libertarian Party mayor of a community in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Mormon fundamentalism

Joseph was not raised in the

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, 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 Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church) in 1965. In 1969, he abandoned the LDS Church and briefly joined a group of Mormon fundamentalists under the leadership of Rulon C. Allred in Pinesdale,

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

. In time, he convinced four students at the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marki ...

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 b ...

s; rather, two were

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s, one was a

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, and one was a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

. 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 2020 United States census, the population was 7,667. Its county seat and largest city is Kanab. History The county was created on January 16, 1864, by the old federal Utah Terri ...

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 and the Confederate Nations of Israel, 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 Lat ...

.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 Libertarian Party 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 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 or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

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

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producer, a private investigator, and a manager for

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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, a ...

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.

Electoral history

References

Works cited

* 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 in the United States Mayors of places in Utah People from Kane County, Utah People from Ravalli County, Montana Utah Libertarians Utah Republicans American founders Founders of new religious movements