Bountiful, British Columbia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bountiful, British Columbia
Settlement
Bountiful, British Columbia Location in British Columbia
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
Region	Kootenays
Regional district	Central Kootenay
Population  (2007)
• Total	1,000 estimated
Time zone	UTC-7 (MST)
Area code(s)	250, 778

Bountiful is a settlement in the Creston Valley of southeastern British Columbia, Canada, near Cranbrook and Creston. The closest community is Lister, British Columbia.

Bountiful is made up of members of two polygamist Mormon fundamentalist groups. The settlement is named after Bountiful in the Book of Mormon.

History

The first member of the group that bought property near Lister was Harold Michael Blackmore, who moved there with his family in 1946. Other members of the church who believed in the principle of plural marriage soon followed. After Winston Blackmore became the bishop in the 1980s, the group took the name of Bountiful.

Bountiful's estimated population was 600 in 1998 and has since grown to about 1,000. Most of the residents are descended from only half a dozen men.

Bountiful's Mormon fundamentalists have divided into two groups: about half are members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS Church), and the rest are members of the Church of Jesus Christ (Original Doctrine) Inc., an FLDS offshoot based on the teachings of Blackmore, who split with the FLDS Church after concluding the president of the church, Warren Jeffs, had exceeded his authority and become too dictatorial. The FLDS bishop is James Oler.