Fort Hall, USA - A tribe has denied a request by a religious group to build a dormitory-style building on the Fort Hall Reservation.
The Land Use Policy Commission of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes rejected a permit application from Joseph Ahlstrom of the Church of the Firstborn of Heaven to build a three-story, 18,000-square-foot building.
The commission told Ahlstrom in a letter that he was violating the laws and regulations of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes because the single-family residence he owns has about 30 people living on the property.
On its Web site, the Church of the Firstborn of Heaven said the sect was started by Terrill Dalton, who was excommunicated from the Mormon church.
The group's Web site said Dalton and sect leader Gregory Harman translated records from God that included references to plural marriage.
In his application, Ahlstrom said the building would house a single family of 16 adults and 19 children. The group said its members are sealed to one another spiritually and thus form one family, meeting the tribe's requirement that the property remain a single-family residence.