SAN ANGELO, Texas - Warren Jeffs is tightening his grip on the polygamist group he leads as "prophet" while he is in prison, demanding people abandon amenities such as toys, pets and recreational vehicles to give more money to their church, possibly to support the sect's massive ranch in Texas, a sect member said.
Members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the twin border cities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., are being threatened with excommunication, potentially losing their family and property, if they do not follow through.
"Because of the lack of resources in Texas, he is trying to mandate other communities turn in their resources," said Willie Jessop, an FLDS member who is not loyal to Jeffs.
Jeffs is in a Texas prison serving a sentence of life plus 20 years in prison for sexually assaulting two girls ages 12 and 15.
That fact isn't known to the vast majority of Jeffs' followers, Jessop said.
FLDS members aren't being allowed to have things like bicycles, ATVs, trampolines or toys. There is no Internet access for faithful followers of Jeffs, and pets, or any animals that don't bring monetary gain, are forbidden, Jessop said.
In trials of FLDS members in Texas, law enforcement personnel noted that when they raided the Yearning for Zion Ranch in April 2008, searching for someone who reported being sexually assaulted, they removed more than 400 children but found no children's toys in the residential houses on the ranch.
The cash flow realized from constriction of luxuries and entertainment among the FLDS is money "to cover up the immoral conduct of Warren Jeffs, and it is corruption at the highest level," Jessop said.
Sam Brower, a private investigator who has built a career looking into the FLDS and keeps up with members, said Jeffs has given a deadline of Dec. 31 for his supporters to prove their loyalty.
Members are now required to pay $5,000 more each month, he said, an incremental amount from previous mandates to pay tithes plus $500, then $1,000, then $2,000.
The money may be going to "places of refuge," FLDS outposts around the country, Brower said. Much of the money may also be going to construction projects, he and Jessop said.
New construction continues at the Schleicher County ranch. A massive domed building with walls 30 feet high can be seen under construction.
The rules for the YFZ Ranch, which included only handpicked followers of Jeffs, seem now to be applied to all other communities, Jessop said.
"I think clearly there is an effect that will take place in Texas based on the ethnic cleansing he is trying to impose on other communities," Jessop said. "The good side of this is that it has exposed that this is not about religion. It's about taking people's lifestyle away in the name of religion.
"The bad part is, people are going broke trying to sustain the appetite of cash at the YFZ Ranch."
People no longer follow Warren Jeffs because he is beloved, they follow him out of fear, Jessop said.
The cash flow realized from constriction of luxuries and entertainment among the FLDS is money "to cover up the immoral conduct of Warren Jeffs, and it is corruption at the highest level," Jessop said.
(Matthew Waller is a reporter for the Standard Times in San Angelo, Texas.)
(Courtesy of http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/jeffs120711/jeffs120711/)
Members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the twin border cities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., are being threatened with excommunication, potentially losing their family and property, if they do not follow through.
"Because of the lack of resources in Texas, he is trying to mandate other communities turn in their resources," said Willie Jessop, an FLDS member who is not loyal to Jeffs.
Jeffs is in a Texas prison serving a sentence of life plus 20 years in prison for sexually assaulting two girls ages 12 and 15.
That fact isn't known to the vast majority of Jeffs' followers, Jessop said.
FLDS members aren't being allowed to have things like bicycles, ATVs, trampolines or toys. There is no Internet access for faithful followers of Jeffs, and pets, or any animals that don't bring monetary gain, are forbidden, Jessop said.
In trials of FLDS members in Texas, law enforcement personnel noted that when they raided the Yearning for Zion Ranch in April 2008, searching for someone who reported being sexually assaulted, they removed more than 400 children but found no children's toys in the residential houses on the ranch.
The cash flow realized from constriction of luxuries and entertainment among the FLDS is money "to cover up the immoral conduct of Warren Jeffs, and it is corruption at the highest level," Jessop said.
Sam Brower, a private investigator who has built a career looking into the FLDS and keeps up with members, said Jeffs has given a deadline of Dec. 31 for his supporters to prove their loyalty.
Members are now required to pay $5,000 more each month, he said, an incremental amount from previous mandates to pay tithes plus $500, then $1,000, then $2,000.
The money may be going to "places of refuge," FLDS outposts around the country, Brower said. Much of the money may also be going to construction projects, he and Jessop said.
New construction continues at the Schleicher County ranch. A massive domed building with walls 30 feet high can be seen under construction.
The rules for the YFZ Ranch, which included only handpicked followers of Jeffs, seem now to be applied to all other communities, Jessop said.
"I think clearly there is an effect that will take place in Texas based on the ethnic cleansing he is trying to impose on other communities," Jessop said. "The good side of this is that it has exposed that this is not about religion. It's about taking people's lifestyle away in the name of religion.
"The bad part is, people are going broke trying to sustain the appetite of cash at the YFZ Ranch."
People no longer follow Warren Jeffs because he is beloved, they follow him out of fear, Jessop said.
The cash flow realized from constriction of luxuries and entertainment among the FLDS is money "to cover up the immoral conduct of Warren Jeffs, and it is corruption at the highest level," Jessop said.
(Matthew Waller is a reporter for the Standard Times in San Angelo, Texas.)
(Courtesy of http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/jeffs120711/jeffs120711/)
