TLC - Breaking The Faith

From TLC - 

I've been taught my whole life that I would go to hell if I left, so I really do believe it...

BREAKING THE FAITH shares the story of eight young men and women who are trying to build a new life outside of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (known as the FLDS) – either by choice, or by force. For the young men known as “lost boys”, these cast-outs are looking for a fresh start after being kicked out of their homes. Meanwhile, the women are escaping the controlling ways of their faith – including arranged marriage and a life of complete submission, known as "keeping sweet" – hoping for a better life on the outside. Leaving a world where every decision was made for them, they are now dealing with the challenges of living in a reality where they are now responsible for every move they make. And, for this group, being faced with making life-altering choices in their effort to win their freedom comes with the fear that consequences for leaving the compound will come without warning.

We will be Watching Nov 24th

Polygamy Today with Ed Kociela, author, newspaper,and writer.

Rebecca Kimbel interviews Ed Kociela, who explains Warren Jeff's powerful hold on his followers and the injustices he demands of them by way of the telephone in his prison cell. Obedient, his followers remain prisoners of the mind and accept the destruction of their families and their capacity to choose for themselves they remain enslaved in polygamy.

Book Review/Summary "Church of Lies" by Flora Jessop

"Church of Lies" by Flora Jessop 

 Flora grew up in the FLDS church, which is still controlled by the infamous self-proclaimed prophet Warren

Jeffs. Today, she is a well-known anti-polygamous advocate. This heartbreaking, but ultimately triumphant, narrative begins in Flora's own words: "My name is Flora Jessop. I've been called apostate, vigilante, and crazy bitch, and maybe I am. But some people call me a hero, and I'd like to think they're right too. If I am a hero, maybe it's because every time I can play a part in saving a child or a woman from a life of servitude and degradation, I'm saving a little piece of me, too."

Flora, one of 28 children born to her father and his three wives, grew up in the bordering cities of Colorado City, Arizona and Hildale, Utah. Her childhood was anything but idyllic. Abuse ran rampant in her home. Her father, someone she should have been able to count on for protection and support turned out to be the worst perpetrator of all. At age 8, her father molested her. At age 12, he raped her. 

When Flora was 14 years-old, she managed to escape her abusive situation. Her freedom, however, was short-lived. Although the woman who took her in as part of the underground railroad was kind to her, she felt lonely and scared. The outside world was foreign to her. One day, she called her uncle to come take her home. Fred Jessop was her father's half-brother and the bishop of the FLDS. Instead of bringing Flora home, she spent the next two years a captive in his home. Flora describes living in a room no larger than a closet, being beaten and tortured by her Aunt Lydia, and made to be a domestic servant in their household. 

Eventually, she was given a choice: marry or be sent to a mental institution. Again, she chose freedom. Flora's husband-to-be was her first cousin, Phillip. He and Flora had enjoyed one another's company prior to their marriage. In fact, it was the "God Squad," a secretive group of men who patrolled the town, who had seen them talking together and reported it to her Uncle Fred. In twisted FLDS logic, this alone was a cause for marriage. Phillip and Flora were given a gun-shot wedding in Las Vegas by a Justice of the Peace. 

Ironically, this arranged marriage turned out to be a source of freedom for Flora. Although she was only 16 years-old at the time of her wedding vows, she was legally married. That meant legal emancipation. Flora chose to leave three weeks later and, with the help of her husband, she moved to Las Vegas. 

An out-of-the-blue call from a producer of the show 60 Minutes changed her life forever. Although Flora was initially startled, she eventually decided to give an interview. For her, it was "...the first of many media interviews I'd do and the beginning of my lifelong passion to tell the world the truth about polygamy and its abuses." Sadly, it wasn't all roses after that for Flora. She went through a drug bing to bury the guilt and shame of her past. She survived an attempted kidnapping by her Uncle Fred. Flora's life became something of a giant road trip, traveling from place to place, and from one bad relationship to the next. Flora also found stripping to be a lucrative career option. The one joy from this period of her life was the birth of her beautiful baby daughter, Shauna. 

The next chapter of Flora's life developed into something drastically different. During this time, she fell in love with Tim, the man of her dreams, and they and their children became a family. Flora also learned that she need not hate and/or fear God. Last, this new era ushered in Flora's declaration of an all-out war against the FLDS.

 In April of 2001, Flora's baby sister Ruby Jessop was forced into an unwanted arranged marriage to her step-brother, Haven Barlow. Ruby was only 14 years-old. Flora's unsuccessful attempt to protect Ruby meant that the family had to hider her away. Thus began more than a decade-long mission to rescue her sister. Flora's search for Ruby soon led to anti-polygamy activism. She became a member of the underground railroad, helping young girls to leave their abusive Mormon fundamentalist communities. 

She began an organization called "Help the Child Brides." Later, she was recruited to be the executive director of the "Child Protection Project." One of Flora's most interesting underground railroad experiences was with two 16 year-old girls-- friends and both named Fawn-- who were leaving the FLDS. KTVK 3TV's reporter Mike Watkiss came along for the ride, filming the rescue as it was happening. Later, Watkiss created a documentary from the footage, "Colorado City and the Underground Railroad." (see video below)

Flora's book highlights some of the heart-wrenching stories of those she tried to help. Their courage to leave seemed to be a mere first step in a long process to claim true freedom. Life on the "outside" would be filled with legal battles, all while trying to recoup from their pasts and trying to acclimate to their new lives. For the young runaway girls, simple things such as a haircut and new clothes were powerful experiences. So, too, were learning to make choices for themselves. 

Last, Flora recounts the arrest, trial, and conviction of Warren Jeffs as well as the raid on the YFZ ranch compound in Texas. For her, these have been victories. They have also served to help get her message out about the horrors and abuses going on within the FLDS and other Mormon polygamist communities. The tattered tapestry of Flora's past has helped to weave a safety net for others. She chooses to be grateful for the painful experiences of her past, for they have helped to shape her into who she is today: a survivor, an activist, and a heroine. 

Though her work is far from over, Flora works tirelessly on in her quest to bring freedom to an oppressed people-- those who live not in a foreign, far-away land, but men, women, and children right in the heart of America. ~ ~ ~ As a side-note, earlier this year in January, Flora's dreams of rescuing her sister Ruby finally came true. Ruby, now 26 years-old was able to leave the FLDS with her six children, ranging in ages from 2 to 10 years of age. She recently gave her first interview with Katie Couric concerning her ordeal. We wish Flora, Ruby, and her children all the best as they begin their new lives!   -- Review by PlygKoolAid 

Book Review: The Witness Wore Red: The 19th Wife Who Brought Polygamous Cult Leaders to Justice

***Quick Note - Review: Tell all is open below to discuss all things "Sister Wives" and the post is open to discuss the new shows, thank you.
                                              **This summary contains spoilers**         

Rebecca Musser was born into the FLDS, first led by Rulon Jeffs and then ultimately run by Warren Jeffs. Rebecca was born to a second wife. Rebecca was taught at a very early age that life was full of sacrifices. This line from the book sums it all up “We had to endure life, we had to suffer pain and sacrifice; eternity was all that mattered”. In fact, they were taught that if you knew ‘the truth’ of the religion (FLDS) and then left, you were an apostate, destined to burn in eternal darkness. Starting at the very youngest age, she was taught that outsiders (“Gentiles”) were evil and never to be trusted. Gentile doctors were not to be trusted, nor were the police or government. They were taught that Gentiles wanted to take children from their parents and throw their fathers in jail. They were frequently reminded of the Short Creek raid where families were separated, sometimes never to see each other again.

Rebecca’s childhood was heartbreaking. Her father’s first wife, Irene, was cruel and mean to both Rebecca’s mom and Rebecca’s mom’s children. Frequent beatings took place, sometimes to the point of blood and broken bones. Rebecca’s father deferred to Irene and looked the other way when Rebecca’s siblings or her mom were abused. Rebecca attended the Alta Academy, founded by Rulon Jeffs. The principal of the school was Warren Jeffs. Rebecca found that she had skills at playing the violin and playing that music was a refuge to her from her disturbing home life. At the Alta Academy, the children were frequently lectured by Warren Jeffs to obey and keep sweet, never be displeasing. Warren taught them that polygamists were persecuted just as the Jews were by the Nazis. Rebecca assisted with the school and helped put musicals together.

Shortly after she turned 18, Rebecca was told she would be marrying the prophet, Rulon Jeffs. She would be the 19^th wife of the 85 year old prophet. Rebecca was devastated. After her wedding, she learned that being Rulon’s wife meant she had to be ‘on duty’ for 24 hour shifts, helping him to use the bathroom and undress. Unfortunately, despite his relative frailty, Rulon still expected his wives to ‘satisfy’ him and perform sexual acts with him. Due to his age and inability to sexually function adequately (although they had to try) most of the newer wives did not get pregnant with Rulon’s children. Less than a week after their marriage, Rulon announced that he was marrying two more young wives. Despite not loving her husband or being attracted to him, Rebecca was nonetheless devastated that her new husband didn’t find her to be ‘enough’ and this led to jealousy and feelings of inadequacy. There were 46 wives after Rebecca for Rulon Jeffs. Being married to a prophet was considered to be an honor for a girl and her family so to complain would be displeasing and blasphemous.

Rebecca was now fully immersed in being part of the Jeffs’s family. Warren was Rulon’s right hand man and was involved in the daily life of Rulon and all of his wives. When Rulon asked Rebecca to be ‘on duty’ a little sooner than she felt was reasonable, she said “no”. Warren then called her into his office where he told her that she could never again tell her husband ‘no’. If she were to say no again, she would be destroyed in the flesh. Rebecca did the best she could to stay busy with activities that would be acceptable to Rulon, thus not having to be on duty as often. Rebecca threw herself into the teaching and music that she enjoyed.

A few years after they married, Rulon had a stroke. Rulon had claimed to his followers that he was going to live forever, he was their last prophet and would be there personally when Christ came back to Earth. He simply could not die, that would be a devastating blow to all the people of their faith. Therefore, the people were kept in the dark about the true extent of Rulon’s health. The wives were even more restricted to their activities as they had to be on site, fasting and praying. When Rulon had a rough night, Warren would tell the wives that they had not been faithful enough or praying enough. Warren started determining who could see Rulon and stopped allowing Rulon’s close contacts to see him anymore. Rulon hung in for quite a long time in his feeble condition but Warren started running most of the day to day operations of the FLDS. When the world didn’t end on December 31, 1999 as they were told would happen, Warren said it was because the followers were too wicked to be brought up and God was giving them more time. This become a constant event, doomsday dates were picked and then when they didn’t happen, Warren would say they were too wicked and it was their fault.

As Rulon continued deteriorating, Warren went on a marriage spree, performing hundreds of marriages and the girls were getting younger and younger. Warren told girls who were 12 that since Mary, mother of Jesus, got pregnant at the age of 12, then it should be considered an honor to get married young and start birthing children. Rebellious girls (those who questioned some of the principles or who didn’t keep sweet), were married off so they could be ‘broken’ and start having children. Young girls with children were more likely to stay within the FLDS because they had nowhere else to go.

Rebecca’s sister, Elissa Wall, was told she had to marry her first cousin. She was only 13. She begged and pleaded to be given a few more years to marry. Rebecca was successful at getting Elissa a little more time but eventually Rulon agreed to let Elissa’s father place her in marriage. This led to years of physical and sexual abuse of Elissa. When she complained, she was told to go home and submit to her priesthood head (her husband). (note: Elissa Wall has written a book about her experiences “Stolen Innocence”)

Eventually Rulon died and his followers were in shock. They were told he would be the last prophet. Thousands of followers came to his funeral. They believed, like Jesus, that Rulon would arise from the dead. When he didn’t, it the wives were at fault for being too wicked. When Rulon died, Warren stepped in and said that Rulon has given him the title of Prophet. Warren then set strict rules in place, no music, no toys, no laughter and and no one could wear the color red, it signified evil. After initially promising that he would not force Rulon’s wives to marry him, Rulon’s younger wives started having ‘revelations’ that God wanted them to marry Warren. Rebecca started worrying that she would become another one of Warren’s many wives. Rebecca started a friendship with a young man named Ben. She eventually was caught kissing him and Warren gave her an ultimatum, she had to choose a suitable husband (i.e. Warren) or she would be damned for all eternity. Rebecca decided enough was enough and with Ben’s help, she left the community.

Life outside the FLDS was difficult. Having been told about how evil the Gentiles were , Rebecca was happy to find that others were willing to help her. She and Ben moved to Oregon where Rebecca’s brother, Cole, lived. They worked in various wait staff jobs and did their best to get their lives together. Rebecca eventually become pregnant and Cole kicked them out of his house for being dishonest about their relationship. Eventually, Ben and Rebecca married and had another child, Natalie, who had some congenital abnormalities. Much of Rebecca’s story, however, depicts how her life was impacted by the FLDS even after she left and her endless determination to see that Warren Jeffs paid for the pain and suffering he caused.

Although Rebecca left the FLDS, she was very aware of what was happening within the community. There were stories of her sisters being married off and boys being dropped off at the side of the road. Rebecca said she they aren’t really ‘lost’ boys, they are ‘abandoned’ boys. Soon Warren’s bad behavior caught up with him and he was being accused of many offenses by various states including Utah, Arizona and Texas. Warren then went on the run. His followers became even more devout as they now considered him a martyr. Rebecca contacted law enforcement in order to check on some of her family members that had gone missing. After a lot of investigation and communications with her contacts in the police department, some of her relatives were found in Texas at the “Yearning for Zion” ranch. The YFZ ranch was in Eldorado, Texas and ultimately became the beginning of the end for Warren. There was a phone call from “Sarah Jessop” to the State of Texas claiming she was being abused and pregnant. This was enough for the State to go into the YFZ and search for the victim. The State eventually had to enter the temple to search for Sarah. Although Sarah was never found, there was disturbing evidence about the abuses of the FLDS and specifically Warren Jeffs.

Warren was eventually located and arrested. He was captured in, of all things, a Red Escalade. Law enforcement needed someone who knew the FLDS, knew the terminology and the people and someone who could decipher all the records that were found in the YFZ temple. For the trial, the State needed to get the truth about the FLDS and most specifically about Warren Jeffs, who had harmed so many families.

Rebecca stepped up to the challenge. She sacrificed time with her family and her jobs in order to see that Warren paid for his gross transgressions. There were several months of trials in several states. Rebecca was called to testify in many of the cases. The most significant case was the YFZ case in Texas and Rebecca was key in helping the legal system and jurors understand exactly what was happening within the FLDS. When Rebecca testified against Warren, she wore red. The color that was forbidden by the false prophet was now her signature color and personal statement. Warren was found guilty and is in jail for the remainder of his life. Rebecca remains an advocate for people seeking to leave the FLDS and remains a voice for the previously voiceless.

This book was excellent and I highly recommend that it be a part of everyone’s library, especially anyone interested in polygamy or human trafficking. Rebecca’s story is important and should be read and discussed. *Written by CPA Carol* 

Here's our post about Rebecca Musser on Dateline CLICK HERE

Have you read a good book you'd like to write about? If so, send us an email!
I'd like to see "Prophet's Prey" by Sam Brower, "Church of Lies" by Flora Jessop, "It's not about the Sex, my ass" any listed on the right of the blog, or any others! I know we have one coming in on "Plygs", so that's taken care of.  Thanks!

Taxman defeats Winston Blackmore, polygamous leader of Bountiful

 Who is Winston Blackmore? a Polygamist who broke from Warren Jeffs and now has the largest group in Canada. He is also a wife collector, having over 24, and more than 121 children. (Interesting Video Below.) 
Here's our first report on Winston Blackmore from 2011: http://sisterwivesblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/who-is-winston-blackmore-and-how-is-he.html

 Taxman defeats Winston Blackmore, polygamous leader of Bountiful

The leaders of the breakaway fundamentalist Mormon sect of Bountiful, B.C. have managed to avoid a successful criminal prosecution in all the years since it was founded in the mid-1940s, while openly practising polygamy and despite troubling allegations of forced underage marriages and child sexual exploitation. But that run of luck has ended for Winston Blackmore, its high-profile bishop.
In the end, shades of Al Capone, it was the taxman who did him in—and more trouble may be on the horizon.
In a Federal Tax Court ruling released this week, Justice Diane Campbell rejected Blackmore’s claims that the community of Bountiful, or at least the portion recognizing his leadership, constitutes a communal religious organization eligible for tax exemption. Campbell ruled that Blackmore underreported his income by some $1.8 million during a five-year period starting in 2000, a time when his declared annual income rarely exceeded $30,000. Not only will he have to pay taxes on the higher amount, he faces a penalty of almost $150,000 for hiding his income.
“Although there was no direct evidence that would lead me to conclude that the appellant knowingly made these false statements or omissions in his returns,” Campbell ruled, “there is abundant evidence that supports my conclusion that he ought to have known that he was misrepresenting his income.”
This was not your typical tax court case, to put it mildly.
(Source: Courtesy of Macleans.Ca)
To read the rest, go to:  Taxman defeats Winston Blackmore, polygamous leader of Bountiful

And we wondered about Kody getting to all his kiddos school functions! Check out this video!

Click here to watch: The Man with 121 Children and 24 Wives

Many people can claim to be from a big family, but few can match the ever-expanding brood of polygamist Winston Blackmore. With 121 children, the head of a fundamentalist Mormon community has amassed his gigantic family with the help of an incredible 24 wives. The Man With 121 Children (And 24 Wives) goes inside his 500-strong clan in Bountiful, British Columbia to delve into Blackmore's life and find out how his many wives deal with issues such as jealously in a plural system of marriage.
Featuring candid interviews with some of Blackmore's wives and children, as well as an in-depth discussion with the many-times-married man himself, the usually secretive community reveals that to them polygamy is as moral a lifestyle as any other, and they're determined to prove this to the world. This theory is based on the belief that having numerous wives and fathering multiple children is the surest route to the higher reaches of Heaven's hierarchy.
With communities such as these attracting huge amounts of rumour, threats of prosecution, and speculation, this programme goes inside the notorious group to reveal life as it really is - in the words of the people who live there.

Inside Bountiful: Polygamy investigation

WOMEN OF BOUNTIFUL BC & POLYGAMY - TMTV - 2009

Winston Blackmore has been fighting this tax problem for some time. Here's our first report on his tax problems back in Jan. 2012.

http://sisterwivesblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/vancouver-sun-will-taxwomen-bring-down.htm

*This is a Topic only Post. Free Discussion Below, Be sure and see Twisted Post Below!

(Sources: Macleans.Ca; National Geographic)

Ex-FLDS Security: Public Cameras Used to Spy on Polygamous Towns

Now this is Stalking......

By Ladd Egan
(KUTV) Attorneys for cities on the Utah/Arizona border disagree with assertions from former security workers that city-owned cameras are used by Warren Jeffs’ polygamous sect to keep tabs on members and outsiders.

The twin cities of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah are headquarters for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

“We knew the city was helping us with those cameras,” said Guy Timpson, who says he was part of an elite security team under the direction of FLDS leaders.

Cameras mounted on public buildings, private businesses and homes are all connected on a fiber optics network and available to the FLDS church, according to Timpson.

“We literally could look right into their windows,” Timpson said of certain homes they were instructed to watch using the cameras. “Those lenses are powerful, they zoom far; you can pull license plates half a mile away.” Please read the rest of this story courtesy of KUTV.com  http://www.kutv.com/news/top-stories/stories/vid_4342.shtml


Is this not creepy or what? I can't even imagine it. What are they so afraid of the flock doing? My gosh, do they have any rights at this point? 

How would you feel if your town was controlled like this?


** Also, a small article 

Warren Jeffs still leads sect from prison

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/04/04/Warren-Jeffs-still-leads-sect-from-prison/UPI-30361365080265/

UPDATED new video: Warren Jeffs Bean Fast Orders

For more on this story, please visit:

K. Dee's blog: http://tripleap.blogspot.com/

Salt Lake Tribune Story: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogspolygblog/55963496-185/beans-diet-flds-success.html.csp#disqus_thread

UPDATED: Video added...After 12 Years of Waiting, Great News About Ruby Jessop

We Welcome Troy Bowles Back to SWB!  

Incredible news! First of all, 12 years ago, I got involved with Flora Jessop. She was trying to get her sister, Ruby out of Hildale, Utah. Ruby had been placed into a forced marriage at age 14. She had tried to run away but Utah law enforcement and DCFS sent her right back to her abusers where she had to go through with and endure this forced marriage.


My colleagues and I worked very hard to get the right people interested in this case. I spoke to the Utah Senate Judiciary Confirmation Committee because not long after Ruby was forced to go back to Hildale to live under her uncle, Fred Jessop, the Washington County attorney, Eric Ludlow was appointed to serve as a judge on the 5th district court. I presented evidence at his confirmation hearing that we had contacted Ludlow via certified letter explaining our concerns. Ludlow ignored our letter, but he did indeed receive it. That was undeniable. It held up his confirmation for six weeks, but Ludlow had powerful people on his side. He's now a judge.


We didn't stop with that. Orrin Hatch has a lot of FLDS friends, or at least he did at the time. He has even played the organ in their Colorado City chapel. That's hardly an honor they'd allow a typical "gentile." We challenged Hatch to go into Hildale and meet with his friend, Fred Jessop, and find out why Ruby was living under virtual house arrest and being forced into an arranged marriage. Hatch completely ignored us. Ruby is now 26 years old and she has six children.


I'm filled with emotion over all of this. It has driven me to a considerable amount of effort to make sure no politician can ever lie to me again. This is what made me decide to become a human rights philosopher. But today, after 12 years of involvement, I got the first good news I've had in years. Ruby and her six children have finally managed to escape Colorado City and the FLDS. This has been a dream-come-true for my friend Flora Jessop who is now reunited with her sister. For Ruby, in the end, human rights prevailed. Now, there are others who are trying to escape, but as we can see, the Utah State Government will do just about anything to avoid getting involved. It wasn't until the Mojave County, Arizona law enforcement got extra funding from the state that they could help us. Many thanks to the state of Arizona for finally stepping in to help this young woman.


Some important people involved in the failure to rescue Ruby Jessop 12 years ago:


Orrin Hatch: Senator, United States (Utah)
Mark Shurtleff: Former Utah State Attorney General
Eric Ludlow: Judge, Utah Fifth District; Former County Attorney, Washington County, Utah
Bill Hickman, Senator, Utah (Washington Co.)


Between Shurtleff and Ludlow's offices, it seems nobody could decide who should have been responsible for our complaint about Ruby's forced marriage. The matter fell out of the attention of the public and Ruby disappeared, even losing contact with her sister, Flora. Hatch apparently felt the sting from my colleagues when he praised the FLDS for their hard working ethic and their strong faith. We challenged him and he went away for good. He had no interest in Ruby's forced marriage. He refused to believe that forced marriages were even taking place among the FLDS and wouldn't even listen to our arguments. Governor Mike Leavitt had appointed Ludlow to serve on the Fifth District Bench. We never heard from his office throughout this whole affair.

Reports about Ruby Jessop:
https://www.azag.gov/press-release/colorado-city-woman-escapes-forced-marriage

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/55679319-78/jessop-ruby-flora-arizona.html.csp

http://onesearch4-2.newsvine.com/_news/2013/01/23/16668091-ruby-jessop-the-incredible-story-of-child-bride-who-escaped-warren-jeffs-polygamous-sect

 Written By:Troy Bowles 
Here are some other interesting posts from Troy:

http://sisterwivesblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/philosophy-and-polygamy-ins-and-outs.html

http://sisterwivesblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/troy-bowles-growing-up-mormon.html

Also Troy was on the show Polygamy: What love is this? He gave some great interviews, one in which he discusses Ruby, The Dargers book, and they are very informative on the Mormon Fundamentalist Beliefs. I encourage you to watch them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J-lOpUzR4M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4iWj0N6lYA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zrnu55jlT2Q

UPDATE on Ruby, watch her live segment with Anderson Cooper here, courtesy of Anderson Cooper 360.

Authorities: Warren Jeffs predicting end of world

Warren Jeffs is a dangerous man. Let's hope he doesn't cause something drastic one of these days.

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e87McfwtArE&feature=youtube_gdata)

DOJ files bias suit against towns home to polygamist sect

(Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday sued two towns on the Utah-Arizona border that are dominated by a polygamist Mormon sect, citing religious discrimination and civil rights violations against residents who do not share the majority faith.
The lawsuit against the twin cities of Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, said the towns and their joint police department and utility providers had allowed the sect to unduly influence the provision of public services, including policing.
Most of the residents of the towns are members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a breakaway Mormon sect whose leader, Warren Jeffs, is serving a sentence of life plus 20 years in prison in Texas for raping two underage girls he wed in "spiritual marriages."

Please read the rest at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/21/us-usa-polygamy-idUSBRE85K1QG20120621  -(Reporting By Lily Kuo; Writing by Cynthia Johnston; Editing by Paul Simao and Eric Walsh)

Here are some other posts about these these towns.
http://sisterwivesblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/returning-to-colorado-city-and-saying.html
http://sisterwivesblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/flds-community-said-to-be-purging.html
 

Thoughts?

FLDS Raising Money for Jeffs

Posted: Jan 20, 2012 6:07 PM MST
Updated: Jan 20, 2012 6:10 PM MST

By Nathan Baca, Investigative Reporter
By Alex Brauer, Photojournalist

LAS VEGAS --  Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs is making what former members of his church call a "last ditch" effort to raise money as he serves time in prison.

An advertisement appeared in Friday's Review-Journal which gives southern Nevadans the opportunity to buy church proclamations ranging in price from $3 to $10.

Leaders of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, known as FLDS, did not return 8 News NOW calls.

Church membership is estimated to be between 10,000 and 15,000 members. The I-Team talked to a member of the Child Protection Project who was a child bride in the FLDS church before leaving.
"I believe he's gearing his people up. Several of the revelations where he does a call to his people that God will soon call his army forth to avenge him and things like that. I think this is his last ditch effort before he does that final call asking for God's army to stand up and go after everybody he feels persecuted him," Flora Jessop said.

The FLDS church states they are sending the writings, purchased through the ads, to leaders all around the world.

Jessop says there is fear among those who still have family within FLDS that the church may resort to violence against themselves or others as a last stand.

Jeffs was convicted of sexually assaulting two underage girls in Texas and is serving time in prison there.

The ad has also appeared in the New York Times and the Salt Lake Tribune.

Source: http://www.8newsnow.com/story/16568173/i-team-flds-raising-money-for-jeffs?
________________________________________
Why are Fundamentalist Mormons so fascinated with Southern Nevada, in particular, Las Vegas? Warren Jeffs was arrested outside of Las Vegas. And Kody Brown calls Las Vegas his 'Plymouth Rock'. Is there  a secret polygamy cell working out of Las Vegas? What is the allure?
Cynical Jinx

Cult Leader Warren Jeffs Tells Followers To Throw Away Children’s Toys And Stop Having Sex With Wives

By Alexis Tereszcuk - Radar Senior Reporter

Even though he is serving a life sentence for child rape, cult leader Warren Jeffs is still controlling his followers from behind bars.

The leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has reportedly directed his cult member to continue following his directives in bizarre ways, ordering cult members that men cannot have sex with their wives, that parents must throw away their children’s toys and that teenage girls are not allowed to have cellphones.

He’s written a new book based on “revelations from God” and has sent copies to the members of his breakaway Mormon sect from the Texas prison where he is serving his life sentence.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, cult members are still following the word of their imprisoned leader, as toys like bikes, trampolines and all-terrain vehicles are being dumped by the roadside near FLDS bases in Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah. 

Jeffs lived at the Colorado City compound which now has about 5,000 residents.  He was convicted of sexually assaulting two young girls he took as “spiritual brides” when they were 12 and 14 years old.

(Source: Story courtesy of RadarOnline - http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2011/12/warren-jeffs-cult-members-orders-throw-toys-stop-sex-wives

Hey! If he can't have any....NOBODY is getting any or having any fun!

What a freaking monster! They could not even release what he says or allow contact with the outside world.

Warren Jeffs’ Conviction Exposes the Coercion of Polygamy

***I read this article when it first appeared in MS Magazine. I remember thinking ..."Now there's something that REALLY touches your heart, and allows you to peek into the heartache that polygamy causes."  I had planned on posting the piece then, but must have gotten busy with a Brown antic and didn't. I am very pleased that the author, Zoe Murdock, brought this heartfelt piece back to my attention, because I want all the readers here the opportunity to read this heart-felt piece.  

 
Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs was found guilty on August 4 of sexual assault on two girls–a 12-year-old and a 15-year-old who he considered his “spiritual wives.” On August 9 he was sentenced to life in prison for his crimes; the 55-year-old Jeffs will be eligible for parole when he’s 90.

In a courtroom in San Angelo, Texas, in August 2011, Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) leader Warren Jeffs defended himself against the charge of sexual assault on the basis of religious freedom. It was an outrageous defense given that the women and children of his FLDS have no freedom whatsoever, religious or otherwise. Their minds have been coerced, cajoled and controlled since the moment of birth.

I grew up in the little town of Granite, Utah, just down the road from the Jeffs compound in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Warren Jeffs went to my high school. We were LDS, and they were FLDS, the polygamists in town. We saw them as outcasts, the sinners behind the wall. As I listened to his droning voice on YouTube giving instructions to the young girls in his sect about “keeping sweet” and “clean” and how “a thought is as bad as an action,” my body reacted viscerally, as if he was speaking to me. I realized those were the same words I heard as a child in my LDS Sunday school, the same words my mother heard. But then the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS–commonly known as the Mormon Church) came from the same roots. Both trace their teachings back to Joseph Smith. They read the same religious texts and follow the same basic doctrine, except for the doctrine of polygamy–the LDS Church is against polygamy now, at least until the afterlife.

My father’s grandfather was a polygamist. He had three wives. Brigham Young brought him over from England to run the flour mills for the LDS Church. Later, they made him the custodian of the Gardo House, a Victorian mansion in downtown Salt Lake City where men came to meet secretly with their wives after polygamy was rescinded by the LDS Church in 1890. I’ve got to admit that as a child, I felt a sense of pride in my polygamist great grandfather. After all, Brigham Young was a prophet. He was a man who talked to God, and my great grandfather was a man the prophet relied on.

 

I often wondered if that was why my father became so interested in polygamy: He wanted to carry the legacy of his grandfather. He knew polygamy was against the law. He knew he would be excommunicated from the LDS church if he went down that road. But he was seduced by ideas that had been put into his heart and mind when he was a child–the idea that he could talk personally with God, that he could become a God himself if he lived right and if he found himself at least three wives. When I was about 12, he started to meet with different groups of polygamists, investigating the old doctrine, talking with people who believed the LDS Church never should have rescinded polygamy. His exploration forced my mother to face the devastating specter of living a polygamous life, of being excommunicated from the LDS church and becoming an outcast–along with her 11 children. The problem was, she loved him. And she had 11 children. What was she going to do? Refuse to go along with him? Women didn’t get divorced in those days, not in a small town with a population of  260 primarily LDS and FLDS people, a town in the heart of Mormon Utah. It was unthinkable.

My father’s meetings with the polygamists took place in secret, behind closed doors or away from home, and he and my mother never talked about it when we kids were around. However, I did hear her say, “If there’s polygamy in heaven, I don’t want to go there,” and I’d find her crying in the bathroom with a towel over her head.

Then one day my father said he was going to move us all down to a piece of property in the desert. It was out in the middle of nowhere on the outskirts of Hurricane, the same small Utah town where Warren Jeffs was held in Purgatory Jail before his first trial in 2006. My father said he wanted us to live the Law of Consecration, the old Mormon doctrine the FLDS still live by, wherein everything you own is given over to the Church. Maybe he wanted to be a prophet, like Joseph Smith. Maybe if he was a prophet, living and teaching the Law of Consecration, then God would talk to him and tell him what he needed to do to reach exaltation and become the god of his own world in the “next” life.

 

The problem was, we kids refused to go. We didn’t want to leave our school and our friends. My father didn’t have the power to make us go, and he didn’t have the upbringing or the followers of a Warren Jeffs to create a community in the desert without us. He only had his wife, his 11 children and his friend–who did go ahead and marry a second, younger wife. That friend was immediately excommunicated from the LDS Church, and subsequently his first wife divorced him. Maybe that’s when my father began to realize that going back to the old ways might not go exactly as planned.

My father was not able to start his own religious community, but he did manage to break my mother’s heart. She truly loved him, and she had been taught to honor and obey him and to rely on his priesthood as her access to God, her access to the Celestial Kingdom (the highest degree of heaven for both LDS and FLDS). I’m sure he coaxed her, read scriptures to her, and tried to convince her that the old ways were the right ways, and that the LDS Church should never have stopped practicing polygamy–because when they did that, they did away with his possibility of becoming a god (according to the books that he was reading).

I don’t know why this prospect of being a god was so important to my father. He obsessed over it. Even late in his life, when he had Alzheimer’s and didn’t know my name, or his own name, he was still desperate to talk with God. The idea had a hold on his mind and he couldn’t shake it. All those stories and promises of a celestial reward from his childhood were still having their effect.

Luckily, his sphere of influence was small. My poor mother was the one most hurt. She died far too young, and I am quite certain my father’s obsession with God is at least partly to blame. But is he really to blame for what he did? At what point does a person become accountable for actions if those actions are derived from their childhood indoctrination? Religious teachings instilled in children through continuous repetition are very powerful, and when words like God and Jesus and Joseph Smith and Brigham Young are taught to a child at the same time as they are learning basic words like Momma and Daddy and dog and cat, they all become equally real. Later, additional religious concepts are built on that basic foundation. It all becomes very hard to unravel even as an adult, unless people purposefully stop and force themselves to look at their beliefs as beliefs, rather than absolute reality. This, of course, is not something leaders of either the LDS or the FLDS want their members to do. Those lessons are taught for a reason.

Warren Jeffs is a product of this kind of indoctrination. As he said in court, his church has been practicing the divine law of polygamy for five generations. But Warren Jeffs was not indoctrinated to be subservient; he was indoctrinated to be the prophet, to speak with the authority of God himself. No wonder he decided to defend himself on the grounds of religious freedom. His entire life has been about religion and religious authority. He absolutely believes himself to be a prophet. He believes he receives guidance directly from God. His freedom to practice his religion is everything.

Still, I have to wonder, what happened to him in Purgatory Jail down there in Hurricane, Utah when he was arrested in 2006? He stopped eating and became suicidal. They say he banged his head against the wall. During a visit from his brother, he disavowed his role as prophet of the FLDS. A recording of the visit reveals him saying, “I am not the prophet. I never was the prophet. I have been deceived by the power of evil.” Apparently, he even sent a note to the judge disavowing his role as prophet of the FLDS.

Was that the first time he saw himself the way others might see him? Did he experience that “objectifying look” that Simone de Beauvoir describes in The Second Sex? If so, it must have been a terrifying moment. After four years of fasting and prayer in jail, he seemed to resolve his cognitive dissonance: reconstructing himself as an even stronger prophet, more sure of his power and authority. He began to rule his followers from jail, by telephone. At the trial, his defense of religious freedom didn’t work, but he probably knew it wouldn’t. Perhaps the goal all along was to become a martyr, like Joseph Smith.

The voice of Warren Jeffs, and the interviews and video and discussions about the way he controls the mind of his people, affects me in a very personal way. Not because I feel controlled myself–though I did experience a strange, surprising fear of being punished when I was writing my novel, Torn by God. No, it’s not for me that I shudder. It’s for my mother. And my father. And all those people still behind the FLDS wall, those who may never get the chance to experience a free mind.

I know what a free mind is. Surprisingly, that was a gift from my father. It was his confusion, his being caught between the old Mormon doctrine and the new Mormon doctrine, that allowed me to see that it was all just made up, that the teachings on both sides were being used to get people to act in a particular way. It’s fine with me if people choose to follow a religious leader, but they should have a real choice. Children who are brought up in an isolated sect like the FLDS have no choice because they have no access to outside information. They do not know there are other options. They do not know they have choices. Maybe that is the worse kind of child abuse.

Written by Zoe Murdock, Author of: 

Torn by God: A Family's Struggle with Polygamy: A Novel  

I am going to read this book over Christmas Break. It is available at Amazon and as an ebook and I encourage YOU to read it too! We can talk about it in January! great way to start the New Year!

Wasn't her story powerful? What are your thoughts on this story? Zoe might drop by tomorrow to read the posts, if you have a BRIEF Question, she just might answer ya! Please discuss below!