‘Sister Wives’: Christine Brown’s Shocking Revelation That She Left the AUB Church ‘a Long Time Ago’
On the Feb. 6 episode of Sister Wives, Christine Brown made a startling confession. She revealed that she was no longer a part of the church and hadn’t been for some time now. Since Christine is no longer part of the church, how does that affect her divorce from Kody Brown?
What is the ‘Sister Wives’ faith?
The Brown family practices polygamy or “plural marriage” based on their belief system taught by the Mormon fundamentalist group called the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB). The Brown family has long advocated for polygamy or “celestial marriage” for over 16 seasons of Sister Wives.
The AUB consists of approximately 10,000 members, mainly in Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, Montana, and Mexico.
The doctrine of the AUB differs from the typical LDS faith in a few ways. Like the LDS faith, the AUB regards the Book of Mormon and the Bible as sacred scriptures and accepts the Articles of Faith, written by Joseph Smith.
The main difference with the AUB is their idea of plural marriage. Not only is it allowed, but it’s endorsed. They consider polygamy a crucial step in receiving the highest glory of heaven.
Because they believe that they become “celestial” through plural marriage, Kody had taken on four wives, Meri Brown, Janelle Brown, Christine Brown, and Robyn Brown.
Christine isn’t a member of the AUB anymore
It came as a shock to many Sister Wives fans to find out that Christine is no longer a member of the AUB church. Christine revealed, “I haven’t been a member of that church for a long time.” She said, “I left a long time ago.”
Not only has she left the church, but she has also decided to leave her marriage to Kody. After over 28 years of spiritual marriage, Christine is now divorced. However, since they were never legally married, Christine ended the marriage on her terms.
Christine explained the process of divorce within the AUB. She said, “If it’s a marriage like mine and Kody had, where it’s just a spiritual marriage, then they release you spiritually. And you go through them.” However, she made it clear that she won’t be going through the church, as she’s no longer part of the faith. She said she would rather keep it between her and God.
Christine divorced from Kody
In part 2 of the tell-all reunion, Robyn tells the host that she doesn’t consider Christine and Kody divorced until the church grants it. She said, “Well, Christine says they’re divorced. And, technically, in my head, they’re not.” She explains, “Because their marriage was done by our church officials. And they haven’t granted them a divorce. But, I don’t know.”
However, in Christine’s mind, she’s already been divorced from Kody. She said, “And I just have no interest in the church. So to me, the ecclesiastical authorities in that church, I don’t really care. As far as a religious ceiling, I think that God’s fine if I just want to be happy.”
She says, “So for me to have someone else tell me whether or not my marriage is over, I’m like, no, I don’t really need that.”
Kody talks about the AUB views marriage in the afterlife
Will Christine be going to the afterlife with Kody as his celestial wife? Well, according to Kody, “God has a way of sorting things out.”
He said, “My religion says, ‘Uh-uh-uh!’ That’s a dogma of the religion. And I’m going, ‘You know what? You don’t know the mind of God.’ And right now, it’s just in God’s hands, and I’m not worried about it.” He says, “She doesn’t believe in the religion. She’s not part of the faith anymore. And she’s free from that ‘yoke of bondage’ if you will.”
Apparently, Christine isn’t the only one who has left the AUB faith. According to Kody, “the whole freaking family” had thrown their religious views “out the window.” And as of right now, none of the Brown children are interested in practicing polygamy.
Part three of the Sister Wives Season 16 tell-all airs Sunday, Feb. 13 on TLC and discovery+.
