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Alex Cabrero reporting The head of the Apostolic United Brethren polygamous group was laid to rest this afternoon. Owen Allred, 91, died this week.
Agree with him or not, when Owen Allred died at his Bluffdale home this past Monday, everyone knew it was the passing of a generation. He was mostly known for his polygamous beliefs, but those on the inside knew him as a great leader and a great man.
Eventually, all of us will come to this point. But few of us will get as much attention as Owen Allred.
Carl Allred: "He's actually more important than I thought he was."
And that's coming from Carl Allred, one of Owens' sons.
But for as normal as all this looks on the outside, it's what's on the inside that brought Allred and his Apostolic United Brethren Church so much scrutiny.
Carl Allred: "We're trying to live by every law of the land, except one."
And that one is polygamy, a subject that is a hornet's nest in Utah.
Carl Allred: "We consider ourselves just like any other U.S. citizen, and because we believe a little different than other people, we get spotlighted, which we understand."
The group in Rocky Ridge would rather remain private and not have a lot of attention brought to it. But group members understand Owen Allred was a very public man, who was outspoken about his beliefs.
Allred became head of the church almost 30 years ago, after his brother Rulon, who was at the top, was shot and killed by members of the Ervil LeBaron polygamist clan.
Carl Allred: "It's a heavy position to carry the responsibility."
But he grew the church to 6-thousand members today.
However, Allred hadn't been well for the past year, and knew his time was getting close.
Carl Allred: "He just said, 'I want to go home.'"
Now, the family can move on.
Carl Allred: "It's a happy occasion for us that he's no longer suffering."
The head of the AUB is now J. LeMoyne Jensen. Another leading apostle was passed over to move Jensen into the lead position, but Carl Allred says everybody is now on the same page with that, and it won't cause a rebellion.
Allred was buried at a cemetery in Taylorsville after the funeral.
