Breaking Misconceptions through Visibility
Hyrum Timpson (known as Hyrum Burton on TV!) belongs to the Centennial Park Group—a fundamentalist Mormon community of around 1500 people based in Arizona. They broke off from the mainstream LDS church in the 1910s and broke off from the group now known as the FLDS (Colorado City) in 1986. They are a community steeped in tradition but also proudly open and modern.
You may also know him from National Geographic’s docuseries Polygamy USA, a rare look at how the community lives their faith including things like political advocacy and placement marriage.
By agreeing to be on TV, the community made an exceptionally courageous choice to “let their light shine” and challenge misconceptions—especially given their history of having been misunderstood and mistreated, including shared roots with the FLDS and echoes of the Waco siege.
Thank you so much Hyrum!
Time Stamps:
00:50 Ice Breakers: Cryptids and D&D
3:15, 15:03 & 54:26 Centennial Park Action Committee (CPAC), rallies and pride groups
12:12 Learn about the faith
17:31 Reality Manipulated for TV
37:46 Living in a Small Intentional Community & Connection to Colorado City
30:13 & 50:52 Plural Marriage and Placement Marriage
45:11 The leadership
52:37 United Order (a communal economic system)
Mentioned:
Waco Siege (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waco_siege)
Journal of Discourse (https://journalofdiscourses.com/)
Truth Magazine (https://mormonpolygamydocuments.org/fundamentalist-documents/)
Lectures on Faith (https://lecturesonfaith.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
Where to find Polygamy USA: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2960314/episodes/
Stream: https://www.amazon.com/Polygamy-USA-Season-1/dp/B00D3WWN52
More from The Centennial Park group:
ABC Primetime: "The Outsiders"
The Oprah Winfrey Network's Our America with Lisa Ling (multiple)