During the history of the FLDS there have been at least three major splits where a significant number of families have broken off from those who have remained. One can easily argue that it was the FLDS group that split off from the others. In all three cases there was much contention and the major issue centered on who had the legitimate right to lead and policies being enforced.
The three splits were: 1. The Allred Group in 1952, 2. The Centennial Park Group in 1984, and 3. The Winston Blackmore group in 2002. The fourth group later became known as the FLDS about 1990. The circumstances involving these splits are highly debated depending on the point of view and all four resulting groups feel that the others have fallen away from the truth. The FLDS go as far as to consider these other groups as apostates. Warren Jeffs has ordered his followers to shun members of these groups and have no contact with them even if there are family members in the other groups.
All of these groups trace their roots back to a small group of men who were excommunicated from the Mormon Church around the 1920-30s for continuing to promote and practice polygamy. This wasn’t really a “Mormon Splinter Group” because these men didn’t form another church. They simply believed that God wanted them to keep alive the principle of plural marriage. Families involved referred to this group as “The Work.” Eventually they were lead by a Priesthood Council composed of seven men with Lorin C. Woolley at as the senior member. More families joined “The Work” and they lived in several communities. A few families eventually settled in the Short Creek near the Utah/Arizona border. In 1945, the members of the priesthood council were arrested and served some time in prison for polygamy.
After John Y. Barlow became the senior member of the priesthood council, he appointed others to fill vacancies dues to deaths and to expend the council into a larger group. There eventually were 12 members of the council.
The 1952 Priesthood Split
After Barlow’s death, Joseph Musser became the senior member of the council. Musser suffered from a series of strokes and was in poor health. In 1952 he announced to the other council members his intention to appoint Rulon Allred to the council. The other members of the council could not accept this ordination and several claimed that they were under covenant from the previous leader, John Y. Barlow, to never allow Rulon Alled into the council. Musser went ahead and with this ordination. The council could not support this action. Faced with open rebellion, Musser demanded that those who supported him accompany him out of the meeting where he announced the appointment. Only a few followed after him. He eventually released all the other council members and appointed a new council. A major split occurred and families took up sides. One of Rulon Allred’s own wives refused to follow the Musser group.
The end result was two groups, one that followed Musser and one that followed Charles Zitting who was the next senior member of the original priesthood council. Musser died in 1954 and Rulon Allred became the leader of this group. They met in Murray Utah. By 1959, they had over 1,000 members. They later became known as the Apostolic United Brethren. Today, many of their members live near Bluffdale, UT, between Salt Lake City and Provo. They also have a large group in Pinesdale, Montana. Rulon Allred was murdered in 1977 by followers of the violent Ervil Lebaron Group. Today the AUB has an estimated 8,000-10,000 members.
1984 Priesthood Split
In the remaining group, LeRoy Johnson took over leadership in 1954 after the death of Charles Zitting. During his leadership there were power struggles involving the “Barlow Boys” who were sons of the former leader John Y. Barlow. These Barlows included Louis, Truman, Joe, Dan, Alvin, Sam, and Nephi. Some have referred to their efforts as the “Barlow Conspiracy.” They gained favor with “Uncle Roy” and increased in influence over the people. Among their activities was to push hard for the acceptance of a “one man rule” doctrine that had been discussed for several years. This was a doctrine of infallibility with one-man, a "prophet." The prophet had to be honored and obeyed no matter what. The doctrine would essentially take most of the power and influence away from the other priesthood council members and centralize all the power with one man. This one man would be the one who would make assignments for marriages, the most valued decision within the community.
By 1978, there were only five members of the priesthood council still alive. Three did not support the one man rule doctrine. Many claim, as LeRoy Johnson became ill, that the Barlows fed lies to Uncle Leroy (who was confined because of shingles) about the activities and sermons of council members Marrion Hammon and Alma (Del) Timpson.
Finally in 1984, after council member Guy Musser died, Johnson removed Hammon and Timpson from their positions of leadership. Hammon and Timpson refused to go away quietly and the community took sides. On one side were those who believed LeRoy Johnson was the one man prophet. On the other side were those who believed that the priesthood council should continue to lead, that they all held the same authority, a doctrine consistent with what had been taught by former leaders. The first group became known as “The First Ward” and the second group (about 1/3rd) became known as “The Second Ward.” Finally, in 1986 the Second Ward group broke away. Intense disputes continued, especially over property and the UEP. Law suits were fought for years. The Second Warders eventually moved off of UEP property a couple miles south of Colorado City, in Centennial Park.
Warren Jeffs’ stated his version of this history: “In 1978, three men, apostles, turned traitor to Uncle Roy. Marion Hammon, Guy Musser and Alma Timpson. The Lord allowed those three men to continue from 1978 until 1984. For around six years, they would come and control the meetings because Uncle Roy wasn't here (in Short Creek). They talked against him. He allowed them to take charge of our meetings. Some of the men who were with Uncle Roy went to him and complained and criticized those three men. . . . He wouldn't even let us criticize these men who were talking against Uncle Roy. He said for us to have patience and endure well. He wept over Guy Musser, and in his suffering and his patience, he gave those men, who turned against him, six years to repent, but they would not. When the Lord sent him in 1984, he then put them down and told them they could no longer teach this people.”
The Barlows completely changed the UEP Trust, by a series of amendments, until the original document was totally discarded and in doing so, they successfully took over the UEP Trust. Now they had the leverage they needed to quash any resistance. They continued to wield influence during the administration of Rulon Jeffs and they unwittingly helped to secure Warren Jeffs’ firm one-man leadership. But in 2004, Warren turned the tables on these influential men by excommunicating many of them and taking away their families. Jeff accused them: “You judged and criticized legitimate authority.”
A person stated, “I am a daughter of one of the ‘Barlow boys’ and it is absolutely amazing to see what has happened to my heritage. It's sad, but like someone said, ‘They are being devoured by the very monster that they created.’”
2002 – Winston Blackmore split
Rulon Jeffs appointed Winston Blackmore as bishop over the colony in Bountiful, Canada. He was given authority to forgive sins and to perform marriages. (Winston married several underage girls). The Barlows and Warren Jeffs knew this would be a problem because Winston wasn’t intimidated by them. There were nearly 1,500 members in Canada under Winston’s leadership. Before Rulon Jeffs died, as Warren started to step into his father’s role and make changes, Winston resisted the changes that didn’t make sense. This frustrated Warren.
Winston saw that Warren was being dishonest in his communications with his father concerning the people and the church and manipulating him and decisions being made. They disagreed on how Warren was treating members that he deemed unredeemable; he sent them away, while Winston often refused to give up on them. Warren went so far as to send Winston a list of people that he wanted cut off the church completely, but Winston resisted.
This finally came to a head. A serious dispute arose over a girl who rebelled against Warren Jeffs’ dictates. It is rumored that he asked her to marry one of his brothers when she was sixteen, but three weeks later she left the community with a different brother. The two began living together but after a short time their consciences began to bother them, and perhaps they were afraid, so they decided to seek forgiveness from someone other than Warren. Winston contacted Rulon Jeffs (the prophet) by telephone, seeking his permission to perform the forgiveness and Rulon agreed. Warren was infuriated that Blackmore had bypassed him in the chain of authority. In defending himself, Winston claimed that the commission given him by Rulon entitled him to authority equal to Warren.
Warren called Winston to inform him that he was being removed as bishop. Winston later stated: “Uncle Rulon did not even know who was on the phone and had to ask Warren what was going on. Warren dictated to him what he should say.” Later a public meeting was held in Colorado City with a conference call connection to the membership in Canada. Warren announced, “Winston Blackmore has been aspiring to position. He is pushing his own words beyond that of the prophet.” The people were instructed to destroy or turn in any tapes or writings by Winston, in particular any stories of priesthood history. Rulon Jeffs, still the prophet, but ill, said “If you people in Canada just stand behind Elder Winston Blackmore, it will be okay.” Warren quickly said, “No Father, that is not right.” Rulon replied, “Oh yes, do what Brother Warren has told you.”
Winston refused Warren’s demands to leave his family and get off UEP property. The end result is that half of the members in Canada followed after Winston and half remained with Warren. Allegiances were even spilt within families.
Winston later wrote: “I am in no competition with Warren Jeffs. He is all I never want to be. I am only one of a hundred or so Elders who are thankful that we still have the testimony of the decency of the gospel of our fundamental faith. We also still have our families, thanks to the God of our fathers, and it is not because their families haven't tried to get them to leave. One of my ladies had two or three calls a day from her family members for over a year pleading with her to leave me.”
Winston was once among the trusted inner circle of Rulon Jeffs. Winston wrote, “I could not understand why it was that we could not just be honest with the people. No, we had to pretend that Uncle Rulon was doing it all. Uncle Fred [Jessop] pretended, Warren [Jeffs] pretended, Wendell [Nielson] pretended, Allan [Steed] pretended, LeRoy [Jeffs] pretended and I pretended. To my everlasting shame I sat among the dignitaries of our church and watched the ruining of peoples lives, and heard the reasoning. I knew that appointments were being recorded, files were being made, and people were being spied upon.”
A member loyal to Winston wrote, “Here in Canada we have always been taught to think for ourselves. When warren first started telling people to pray for the end of the world to come, most of us started thinking that was way too weird. One of the things we have been taught is that if it seems weird it probably is. Then when he tried replacing our bishop in Canada, the main reason he gave was that our bishop said the world wasn't going to end and that God was the only one who could predict the end, we decided we had about as much as we could take. When warren and his followers left our church to start their own we stayed believing the same as we have all our lives.”
A neighbor observed, “Those that follow Winston Blackmore appear to enjoy a lot more freedom as evidenced by their dress (modest but colourful and more contemporary), school curriculum and freedom to come and go into the town nearby.”
The destruction of families continued in Colorado City as Warren kicked out men who had associations with Winston. One former member wrote: “There was a time in my life when I had some questions, after a few visits to see Uncle Rulon, he asked if I new Winston Blackmore. I said I have been up there before and my father knows him well. He told me to go see Winston and he could answer my questions. My question now is? Why am I kicked out for having an association with whom Uncle Rulon sent my to in the first place??? This Warren guy must not have been as one with his father as he said he was or he would have understood, why I was talking to Winston. His father told me to. What gives?”
Each of these three splits took a huge toll on many lives. One member observed, “Every time there has been a major split within the group such as in the '50s and the '80s there have been women who did not follow their husbands one way or the other. Some of them were remarried on both sides. At each split there were people that used the circumstances to fulfill their spite against certain individuals. Sometimes against a family. Charges were leveled, politics were played and unfortunately there were men railroaded out of the community. In some of the cases the leaders were influenced by designing men and the leaders were responsible for 'booting'. In some cases the men being railroaded just got tired of the lies and left on their own.”
Sunday, May 25, 2008
FLDS Life 101 - The Lost Boys
In recent years, several hundred young men who had been raised in the FLDS culture are now former members, no more welcome to even associate with their former families. These young men have been coined as “the Lost Boys.” FLDS faithful claim that these boys left the FLDS by their own choice. Others claim that these boys have been tossed out on the streets against their choice.
The facts show something in between these extremes. Under Warren Jeffs’ leadership, the FLDS culture and rules has been a hard environment for teen boys to cope with. Absolute acceptance of all the rules is difficult. The injustices and inconsistencies seen cause these youthful minds to question. Teen rebellion is unacceptable and there is no longer a good support structure within the FLDS to help teens through these difficult years. Parents understand that if FLDS leaders hear of problem children in their families, that the father can be charged for not having control of his family. He risks losing his priesthood, which means losing his home, wives, and children.
Boys understand well the rules and the consequences. These rules include: No association at all with girls, no talking, no dating, no kissing. No music. No sports. No TV. No movies. No video games. No Internet. No late-night hours. Their life is only religious school and work. The temptation is huge to test the limits and experiment with some of these “evil” gentile pursuits. Many of these boys have the additional added challenge of being assigned to new fathers. The father they knew has been taken away from them and their new father doesn’t understand them. Life is very difficult for these wayward boys and eventually the choices are few. They can leave on their own or continue to live in a “hell” to them and watch the people they love be hurt by them or the FLDS leaders. The vast majority of these boys choose to leave on their own.
Some of these boys have family members on the outside to turn to for help, but most do not. Many joined together and lived in apartments in the St. George area. Hurt because they are were not accepted by their families anymore, they turned to a life without the rules and strict oversight. Many of them, for a time, turned to drugs, sex, and alcohol abuse. Most of them have a good work ethic and construction skills. They try to make a living, but their education is lacking and they are naïve about the “outside” world they are now in.
Let’s back up and examine the role of the young man in the FLDS culture. An FLDS member explained: “At age 12, the young men usually receive the Aaronic Priesthood. To honor this Priesthood, the young men must keep themselves morally clean, honor their Priesthood father, and be teachers of the gospel. They can’t have a wife until they receive the Melchizedek Priesthood (higher authority). The Aaronic Priesthood holders, if they have a job, are also to turn over their money to their Priesthood head, which is their father. Once a young man is considered ‘worthy’ (these days it is total submission to those over them) they can receive the Melchizedek Priesthood.”
“When a young man is ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood, his father is no longer his Priesthood head, it is now the Prophet. The young man may still live in his father’s house, and must obey the rules of the house, but his father is now his “brother” in the Priesthood. The young man now shows his worthiness by his loyalty to the prophet and those in position of authority that act under the prophet’s direction. Most are asked to turn in their monies to the storehouse, except what they need for their “just wants and needs.” If the Prophet feels they are loyal enough, he will give them a wife.”
This is the only acceptable path for a young man. Any deviation and he will be viewed as unworthy for a life among the FLDS, including having a wife and family. A man cannot obtain a wife on his own, she must be assigned by the prophet. The prophet will not assign a wife to a man who isn’t 100% loyal to the prophet.
“Many boys have been sent away from their father’s homes and the community. Many others have left without being sent away. In all cases, if they don’t profess total loyalty to Warren and complete submission to him, the family will cut of all ties. If the family does not, they risk being sent away because they are talking with an ‘apostate’ son.”
“Why do they get sent away or leave? As is often the case, it is because they won’t obey their father’s and/or the Priesthood authorities exactly. What I mean by that is they may do any of the following “sins”: talking to girls, watching movies, listening to “gentile” music, not following the FLDS dress code of long undergarments and being fully clothed to the neck, wrist, and ankles. With these “sins”, they are usually counseled to do better, but if they don’t change their ways, the father must remove them from the house or risk losing his own Priesthood.”
“Why would a young man want to rebel? More often than not it is because they don’t feel like they are loved unconditionally. The only love and sense of belonging in the FLDS household is conditional. They feel a lack of freedom. You see, in the FLDS, as a loyal young man, you are to check in with the Prophet and be told what to do and become (profession wise). In the past, the young men could get a building lot and build themselves a house. This gave them something to work towards, a goal, an identity, a place to raise a family. Under Warren, they are to simply turn in all their money over to the Prophet, and they may get a house, or a trailer, or who knows what.”
“We all make mistakes as we grow up, and we need someone who loves us and will listen to us, without judging, to guide us through to manhood. With recreation removed, there are fewer ways to channel the energy and emotion that all of us go through in the change from a boy to a man, when we have more hormones than brains. Many of the young men, at least at first are not trying to be rule breakers, they are simply trying to deal with adolescence. Many of these young men badly want to open up with their fathers and confide in him, but don’t dare. If they do try, instead of listening, the father starts to lecture about ‘keeping sweet’ and ‘doing the will of your Priesthood head’ and ‘never questioning authority.’ You must understand the father often doesn’t dare have a one on one with his son because some of his own (the father’s) questions may come out, and you can’t ask questions about why you should or should not do anything. If you do, you will lose Priesthood, and therefore your family. ‘God and the Prophet always do right.’”
“Because the young men feel that they are only loved and listened to if they are perfectly obedient and without sin, they begin looking for an identity, a friend, someone who will listen. Who do these confidantes end up being? Usually other young men with questions and a poor relationship with their fathers. This is usually not the best source of guidance through the troubled teenage years. The real problems start when the relationship between father and son gets so bad that the son turns to alcohol and drugs to try to escape it all. When this happens, the father has no choice (if he wants to keep the rest of his family) but to send them away, sometimes as young as 13 years old.”
Girls are under similar constraints, but far fewer rebel. For the few that do, the solution is reform tactics that may even include assignment to marriage at a young age. The theory is if she marries, has a child, she most likely will be faithful to the FLDS for life.
Under Warren Jeffs’ leadership, there is no longer is a support system for “problem” teen boys. Prior to Jeffs, there were only a “normal” number of runaways. It has only been in recent years that so many of these boys have been flowing out of the FLDS culture. There is no firm evidence that the motivation is a “numbers game” to reduce competition for wives. It is more about control and the unwillingness to tolerate anyone who will not accept this control.
One FLDS father explained the difficulty in his home. “In my case, one son left on his own, but not after a lot of turmoil. I am still working with other children in the home who have been influenced by him as well as others in the home. Three more were asked to leave, but they had a place to go.”
A former member shared their view: “It's a sad commentary that the parents’ responsible for these children allowed Warren Jeffs to intimidate them to act with such indifference regarding their charges. Teenagers are at times difficult to deal with, but patience and lots of nonjudgmental love generally prevail in dealing with the temporary [rebellion] of some teenagers.”
Once gone, these boys are shunned if they are seen or try to return. Gideon Barlow said, ''I couldn't see how my mom would let them do what they did to me.” When he tried to visit her on Mother's Day, he said, she told him to stay away. When he begged to give her a present, she said she wanted nothing. ''I am dead to her now."
It is sad that these boys are never accepted back into their families. “I believe that some of them would have made their way back to home after ‘testing the waters’ had they been welcome and loved. Some parents tried to show love to their wayward sons and were threatened publicly with losing their families and being kicked out themselves if they continued to welcome back their sons.”
A young man wrote, “I don't even consider myself a ’Lost Boy.’ I've never even touched drugs, and I've been off alcohol ever since I left Colorado City. And yet FLDS kids who still live there will go out and drink, watch disgusting movies and then come to work the next morning down here (St. George) and look down upon others and put themselves so high above everyone else on earth that they can't even give a friendly smile, or ‘lower’ themselves enough to shake my hand when offered.”
Many of these “lost boys” now blog on the Internet. Here is a story from one of them. “I was 18 when I was told that I had to be out of town by nightfall, and had no financial assistance whatsoever. It was like being abandoned in a new world. Some boys have been asked to leave there at 14-17 years of age, which makes it harder to get jobs out in the real world, or get around, or do anything with courts or schools because you have to have your legal guardian there. Some parents are more caring though and will help their sons find a place to stay, or at least talk to them once in a while and ask them if they are doing OK. But for the most part the people that still live in Colorado City and are still controlled by Warren's radical fanatical behavior and treat the "Lost Boys" with disgust and won't even talk to you when you walk up to them to just give them a friendly ‘hello.’”
“My offense was stating my opinion of how I felt about what Warren was doing to the people that I grew up around and cared about. My offense was owning a cell phone. My offense was talking to a girl on my cell phone. My offense was listening to Phil Colllins. My offense was watching the DVD sets of the series of "Friends" on a 4 inch dvd player in my closet, because that was my only private retreat. My offense was wanting to make more of myself and go to college after it was deemed ‘unholy.’ My offense was hanging out with my friends. My offense was talking to girls once in a while just to be social, nothing more. My offense was treating the people that live ‘over the hill’ (Centennial Park Group that split off from the FLDS in the 1980’s) as normal people, and not shunning my relatives from there and ‘treating them as snakes’ as Warren wanted us to do. I could go on and on about these ‘offenses’ I committed while living in Colorado City. All the good I ever did there will never be brought up, because I was just a pawn on Warren's chessboard, and any good I did was his doing, and he was the only one who deserved praise for it. I have nothing against the people of Colorado City. They indeed are good people for the most part, but there are the fanatical leaders who are poisoning the place. I am not looking for any hand outs whatsoever. Some of the "lost boys" do though, and I think it's sad that their parents will just let them rot away like they never existed, not give them any encouragement now that they live on their own, and chose a different lifestyle. A parent's love should never be conditional. It doesn't end when the child moves from the home, and neither should communication. I know that parents of some of my friends won't even answer a phone call from their son.”
Another boy wrote: “I was also kicked out of the communities of Hildale and Colorado City. I am not bitter, in fact it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I am getting an education and moving on with my life. The only bad thing is I can't see my family. I hope that one day they will see the light on the things that are happening. “
Many have tried to reach out to these boys, but it is difficult. This person explained, “We tried to help my nephew who's dad told him to pack his bags and get out....any way he is running as fast as he can to the drugs and alcohol and sex...For right now he is so blind with selfishness because of his "last name" that he expected us to facilitate him in this maddness...We used tough love and he hates us for it. Well, I hope when he has children of his own he will understand why we couldn't or can't help him until he wanted(s) to help himself.”
“Safe Houses” were set up by former members in St. George, Hurricane and La Verkin. Sadly at times these homes evolved into “party houses” attracting other troubled teens to visit from nearby Colorado City.
Dan Fischer, a former FLDS member, for years has been assisting FLDS who have left or been forced out of the culture. The FLDS view him has an evil, bitter, apostate and have charged him with bribing members to speak out against the FLDS. (Dan did offer rides and missed wages for a boy to come to Salt Lake City to make a statement). They say he provides boys with alcohol, and involves them in other evil practices. Fischer certainly has had his share of problems working with these troubled teens, many who don’t want to even follow rules set by Fischer. One boy defends him, “Dan Fischer did not even know those boys had access to alcohol. Should they have been watched more closely? Of course! He seriously is trying to help these boys, even though he can be a little pushy at times.”
Fischer set up the Diversity Foundation, which focuses on helping boys coming from the FLDS. Diversity Foundation helps them get into a house, get an education and generally get balance in their lives.
Here is an example from an FLDS defender regarding their feelings about the Lost Boys. “The ‘Lost Boy's’ term and the ‘dropped off’ stories came from Shem Fischer and his brother Dan Fischer. Dan left the church over a decade ago, and was rather bitter but not until Shem came running to him claiming to having been unjustly fired from his job (his resignation letter said otherwise), did he decide to join the crusade. They filed four lawsuits at the same time, and this was one of them. After the big media campaign and the lawsuits, the underage boys now had a place to hide behind to avoid going home. Just say ‘I'm a lost boy’ Instead of making them go home, the crusaders would ‘protect’ them from the polygamists.”
Are the “Lost Boys” kicked out or do they leave on their own? Both cases happen. The sad part is that a framework of control exists within the FLDS that does not accept boys who question or may waiver in their obedience.
The facts show something in between these extremes. Under Warren Jeffs’ leadership, the FLDS culture and rules has been a hard environment for teen boys to cope with. Absolute acceptance of all the rules is difficult. The injustices and inconsistencies seen cause these youthful minds to question. Teen rebellion is unacceptable and there is no longer a good support structure within the FLDS to help teens through these difficult years. Parents understand that if FLDS leaders hear of problem children in their families, that the father can be charged for not having control of his family. He risks losing his priesthood, which means losing his home, wives, and children.
Boys understand well the rules and the consequences. These rules include: No association at all with girls, no talking, no dating, no kissing. No music. No sports. No TV. No movies. No video games. No Internet. No late-night hours. Their life is only religious school and work. The temptation is huge to test the limits and experiment with some of these “evil” gentile pursuits. Many of these boys have the additional added challenge of being assigned to new fathers. The father they knew has been taken away from them and their new father doesn’t understand them. Life is very difficult for these wayward boys and eventually the choices are few. They can leave on their own or continue to live in a “hell” to them and watch the people they love be hurt by them or the FLDS leaders. The vast majority of these boys choose to leave on their own.
Some of these boys have family members on the outside to turn to for help, but most do not. Many joined together and lived in apartments in the St. George area. Hurt because they are were not accepted by their families anymore, they turned to a life without the rules and strict oversight. Many of them, for a time, turned to drugs, sex, and alcohol abuse. Most of them have a good work ethic and construction skills. They try to make a living, but their education is lacking and they are naïve about the “outside” world they are now in.
Let’s back up and examine the role of the young man in the FLDS culture. An FLDS member explained: “At age 12, the young men usually receive the Aaronic Priesthood. To honor this Priesthood, the young men must keep themselves morally clean, honor their Priesthood father, and be teachers of the gospel. They can’t have a wife until they receive the Melchizedek Priesthood (higher authority). The Aaronic Priesthood holders, if they have a job, are also to turn over their money to their Priesthood head, which is their father. Once a young man is considered ‘worthy’ (these days it is total submission to those over them) they can receive the Melchizedek Priesthood.”
“When a young man is ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood, his father is no longer his Priesthood head, it is now the Prophet. The young man may still live in his father’s house, and must obey the rules of the house, but his father is now his “brother” in the Priesthood. The young man now shows his worthiness by his loyalty to the prophet and those in position of authority that act under the prophet’s direction. Most are asked to turn in their monies to the storehouse, except what they need for their “just wants and needs.” If the Prophet feels they are loyal enough, he will give them a wife.”
This is the only acceptable path for a young man. Any deviation and he will be viewed as unworthy for a life among the FLDS, including having a wife and family. A man cannot obtain a wife on his own, she must be assigned by the prophet. The prophet will not assign a wife to a man who isn’t 100% loyal to the prophet.
“Many boys have been sent away from their father’s homes and the community. Many others have left without being sent away. In all cases, if they don’t profess total loyalty to Warren and complete submission to him, the family will cut of all ties. If the family does not, they risk being sent away because they are talking with an ‘apostate’ son.”
“Why do they get sent away or leave? As is often the case, it is because they won’t obey their father’s and/or the Priesthood authorities exactly. What I mean by that is they may do any of the following “sins”: talking to girls, watching movies, listening to “gentile” music, not following the FLDS dress code of long undergarments and being fully clothed to the neck, wrist, and ankles. With these “sins”, they are usually counseled to do better, but if they don’t change their ways, the father must remove them from the house or risk losing his own Priesthood.”
“Why would a young man want to rebel? More often than not it is because they don’t feel like they are loved unconditionally. The only love and sense of belonging in the FLDS household is conditional. They feel a lack of freedom. You see, in the FLDS, as a loyal young man, you are to check in with the Prophet and be told what to do and become (profession wise). In the past, the young men could get a building lot and build themselves a house. This gave them something to work towards, a goal, an identity, a place to raise a family. Under Warren, they are to simply turn in all their money over to the Prophet, and they may get a house, or a trailer, or who knows what.”
“We all make mistakes as we grow up, and we need someone who loves us and will listen to us, without judging, to guide us through to manhood. With recreation removed, there are fewer ways to channel the energy and emotion that all of us go through in the change from a boy to a man, when we have more hormones than brains. Many of the young men, at least at first are not trying to be rule breakers, they are simply trying to deal with adolescence. Many of these young men badly want to open up with their fathers and confide in him, but don’t dare. If they do try, instead of listening, the father starts to lecture about ‘keeping sweet’ and ‘doing the will of your Priesthood head’ and ‘never questioning authority.’ You must understand the father often doesn’t dare have a one on one with his son because some of his own (the father’s) questions may come out, and you can’t ask questions about why you should or should not do anything. If you do, you will lose Priesthood, and therefore your family. ‘God and the Prophet always do right.’”
“Because the young men feel that they are only loved and listened to if they are perfectly obedient and without sin, they begin looking for an identity, a friend, someone who will listen. Who do these confidantes end up being? Usually other young men with questions and a poor relationship with their fathers. This is usually not the best source of guidance through the troubled teenage years. The real problems start when the relationship between father and son gets so bad that the son turns to alcohol and drugs to try to escape it all. When this happens, the father has no choice (if he wants to keep the rest of his family) but to send them away, sometimes as young as 13 years old.”
Girls are under similar constraints, but far fewer rebel. For the few that do, the solution is reform tactics that may even include assignment to marriage at a young age. The theory is if she marries, has a child, she most likely will be faithful to the FLDS for life.
Under Warren Jeffs’ leadership, there is no longer is a support system for “problem” teen boys. Prior to Jeffs, there were only a “normal” number of runaways. It has only been in recent years that so many of these boys have been flowing out of the FLDS culture. There is no firm evidence that the motivation is a “numbers game” to reduce competition for wives. It is more about control and the unwillingness to tolerate anyone who will not accept this control.
One FLDS father explained the difficulty in his home. “In my case, one son left on his own, but not after a lot of turmoil. I am still working with other children in the home who have been influenced by him as well as others in the home. Three more were asked to leave, but they had a place to go.”
A former member shared their view: “It's a sad commentary that the parents’ responsible for these children allowed Warren Jeffs to intimidate them to act with such indifference regarding their charges. Teenagers are at times difficult to deal with, but patience and lots of nonjudgmental love generally prevail in dealing with the temporary [rebellion] of some teenagers.”
Once gone, these boys are shunned if they are seen or try to return. Gideon Barlow said, ''I couldn't see how my mom would let them do what they did to me.” When he tried to visit her on Mother's Day, he said, she told him to stay away. When he begged to give her a present, she said she wanted nothing. ''I am dead to her now."
It is sad that these boys are never accepted back into their families. “I believe that some of them would have made their way back to home after ‘testing the waters’ had they been welcome and loved. Some parents tried to show love to their wayward sons and were threatened publicly with losing their families and being kicked out themselves if they continued to welcome back their sons.”
A young man wrote, “I don't even consider myself a ’Lost Boy.’ I've never even touched drugs, and I've been off alcohol ever since I left Colorado City. And yet FLDS kids who still live there will go out and drink, watch disgusting movies and then come to work the next morning down here (St. George) and look down upon others and put themselves so high above everyone else on earth that they can't even give a friendly smile, or ‘lower’ themselves enough to shake my hand when offered.”
Many of these “lost boys” now blog on the Internet. Here is a story from one of them. “I was 18 when I was told that I had to be out of town by nightfall, and had no financial assistance whatsoever. It was like being abandoned in a new world. Some boys have been asked to leave there at 14-17 years of age, which makes it harder to get jobs out in the real world, or get around, or do anything with courts or schools because you have to have your legal guardian there. Some parents are more caring though and will help their sons find a place to stay, or at least talk to them once in a while and ask them if they are doing OK. But for the most part the people that still live in Colorado City and are still controlled by Warren's radical fanatical behavior and treat the "Lost Boys" with disgust and won't even talk to you when you walk up to them to just give them a friendly ‘hello.’”
“My offense was stating my opinion of how I felt about what Warren was doing to the people that I grew up around and cared about. My offense was owning a cell phone. My offense was talking to a girl on my cell phone. My offense was listening to Phil Colllins. My offense was watching the DVD sets of the series of "Friends" on a 4 inch dvd player in my closet, because that was my only private retreat. My offense was wanting to make more of myself and go to college after it was deemed ‘unholy.’ My offense was hanging out with my friends. My offense was talking to girls once in a while just to be social, nothing more. My offense was treating the people that live ‘over the hill’ (Centennial Park Group that split off from the FLDS in the 1980’s) as normal people, and not shunning my relatives from there and ‘treating them as snakes’ as Warren wanted us to do. I could go on and on about these ‘offenses’ I committed while living in Colorado City. All the good I ever did there will never be brought up, because I was just a pawn on Warren's chessboard, and any good I did was his doing, and he was the only one who deserved praise for it. I have nothing against the people of Colorado City. They indeed are good people for the most part, but there are the fanatical leaders who are poisoning the place. I am not looking for any hand outs whatsoever. Some of the "lost boys" do though, and I think it's sad that their parents will just let them rot away like they never existed, not give them any encouragement now that they live on their own, and chose a different lifestyle. A parent's love should never be conditional. It doesn't end when the child moves from the home, and neither should communication. I know that parents of some of my friends won't even answer a phone call from their son.”
Another boy wrote: “I was also kicked out of the communities of Hildale and Colorado City. I am not bitter, in fact it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I am getting an education and moving on with my life. The only bad thing is I can't see my family. I hope that one day they will see the light on the things that are happening. “
Many have tried to reach out to these boys, but it is difficult. This person explained, “We tried to help my nephew who's dad told him to pack his bags and get out....any way he is running as fast as he can to the drugs and alcohol and sex...For right now he is so blind with selfishness because of his "last name" that he expected us to facilitate him in this maddness...We used tough love and he hates us for it. Well, I hope when he has children of his own he will understand why we couldn't or can't help him until he wanted(s) to help himself.”
“Safe Houses” were set up by former members in St. George, Hurricane and La Verkin. Sadly at times these homes evolved into “party houses” attracting other troubled teens to visit from nearby Colorado City.
Dan Fischer, a former FLDS member, for years has been assisting FLDS who have left or been forced out of the culture. The FLDS view him has an evil, bitter, apostate and have charged him with bribing members to speak out against the FLDS. (Dan did offer rides and missed wages for a boy to come to Salt Lake City to make a statement). They say he provides boys with alcohol, and involves them in other evil practices. Fischer certainly has had his share of problems working with these troubled teens, many who don’t want to even follow rules set by Fischer. One boy defends him, “Dan Fischer did not even know those boys had access to alcohol. Should they have been watched more closely? Of course! He seriously is trying to help these boys, even though he can be a little pushy at times.”
Fischer set up the Diversity Foundation, which focuses on helping boys coming from the FLDS. Diversity Foundation helps them get into a house, get an education and generally get balance in their lives.
Here is an example from an FLDS defender regarding their feelings about the Lost Boys. “The ‘Lost Boy's’ term and the ‘dropped off’ stories came from Shem Fischer and his brother Dan Fischer. Dan left the church over a decade ago, and was rather bitter but not until Shem came running to him claiming to having been unjustly fired from his job (his resignation letter said otherwise), did he decide to join the crusade. They filed four lawsuits at the same time, and this was one of them. After the big media campaign and the lawsuits, the underage boys now had a place to hide behind to avoid going home. Just say ‘I'm a lost boy’ Instead of making them go home, the crusaders would ‘protect’ them from the polygamists.”
Are the “Lost Boys” kicked out or do they leave on their own? Both cases happen. The sad part is that a framework of control exists within the FLDS that does not accept boys who question or may waiver in their obedience.
Friday, May 23, 2008
FLDS Life 101 – Reassignment of Families
As Warren Jeffs increased in power over the FLDS, when his father was ill, he introduced an alarming practice, the reassignment of women to new husbands. In previous years, women would remarry after the death of a spouse or divorce, or when a man left the church for serious reasons, but these reassignments were now made at the whim of Jeffs. The rationale used is that the prophet owns the children and women and if the husband loses his priesthood (standing in the church) the women and children need to be sealed to a faithful man in the church who can take them to heaven.
This break-up of families has shattered the lives of hundreds of FLDS men and in most cases made the lives of the women and children worse as they have had to adjust to life in the homes, new families, and new household rules. The women are not given a choice, are assigned to a man who Jeffs chooses, and must obey or risk losing her standing in the faith. Some women refuse to leave their husbands and instead leave the church, but most choose their religion over keeping their husbands.
The family is instructed to destroy all pictures of the man, never see him again, and never speak of him. As they are reassigned, the mother marries her new husband and the children take the name of the new man. They must now call him “father.” Many of the children who were at the YFZ Ranch are children who have been reassigned to new fathers.
What religious justification would Warren Jeffs have for breaking up these families? For years, Jeffs believed that his people needed to be cleansed and that the wicked should be cast out. With time so short, his people needed to be worthy to be lifted up when the apocalyptic destructions started. He no longer had patience for men to repent and change their ways over time. Instead he would cast them out, take their homes, reassign their families to stronger men, and prepare his people for the second coming of Jesus Christ. He believed he had this right because the women and children belong to the priesthood (prophet) not the man.
Many times the men are given no reason why their families are being taken away. They are told that the Lord revealed the reason to the prophet (Jeffs). They are told to “repent from afar,” (away from the community). They must send a list of their sins to Jeffs, and he would decide if the man could return. After sending the confession of sins in, the man usually never hears from Jeffs again and in the meantime, his family is moved, reassigned, and he never hears from them again.
In July 2005, several conversations were recorded. At that time, Lyle Jeffs, brother of Warren delivered the tragic news to numerous men. "Uncle Warren has sent me to give you a message of the Lord thru the Prophet. The Lord has judged that you do no hold the Priesthood and by so doing your family is automaticaly released and will come under the immediate care of the Prophet thru the Bishop. If you will receive counsel you will remove from a distance and avoid settling in apostate element. If you desire to have Priesthood in you life, repentance is available is to get your letters of confession in as soon as possible.... This is the message of the Lord to you in the spirit of love, in a gathering effort, to protect your family." (7/12/2005 - message to Richard H. Cooke, Short Creek Assignments).
Men were told to move away further than St. George and Cedar City because of apostates in that area, but certainly another motivation was to gain seperation between the man and his former family.
Sometimes the man is given reasons for having his priesthood removed. Reasons can include:
- Immorality: adultery, incest, viewing pornography, “immorality in your heart”
- Speaking ill of the prophet
- Not having control over his family (bickering wives, rebellious children)
- Abusing wives, unhappy wives
- Having sex with wives at times other than ovulation
- Not paying assessments to the church
- Alcohol abuse
- Living like the gentiles (viewing TV, movies, music)
- Not living the dress code
- Not obeying directives from the prophet
- Associating with apostates (former members, kicked out family members)
- Refusing to give up a child for marriage
- Viewed as a threat to the leadership of the church
- Any other reason the prophet can think of
In one sad case in 2005, a man at the YFZ ranch confessed to Warren that he was attracted to other men's young wives in his thoughts. He had not acted on those thoughts. Warren decided the man would lose his Priesthood, his wives and children, and had to move away.
Contrary to clear procedures specified in the FLDS scriptures, the man is given no trial or a fair chance to defend himself. The word of the prophet is enough.
The families are usually reassigned to chosen bloodlines. There is a lot of nepotism involved. Jeffs believes that certain families have unworthy blood running through their veins. “Warren preached that when a family remarried to another man, God changed their blood and DNA to match that of the priesthood man they now belonged to. If we did not have worthy blood running through our veins, we could not gain entrance into the kingdom of heaven.”
The procedure for reassigning wives was done quickly without any input from the wives. Warren recorded on such occurance in 2005: "I first sat Alice Black and Ramona Steed down and told them,I said these words, 'I have a message from the Lord for you two ladies. Truman Barlow, your former husband, has lost the Lord's confidence and is not able to exalt you. And the Lord has revealed where you belong for time and eternity. Do you receive this message?' And they both said, 'Yes.' I told them that when a man loses Priesthood like Truman Barlow did but I told them for their piece of mind I would give them a release. And I first had Alice Black stand up. . . and said 'Sister Alice Black, in the authority of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood, and by the keys and powers thereof I release you from your sealing for time and all eternity with Truman Ianthus Barlow, in the name of the Father and of the Son, and in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.' Then I did similar with Ramona Steed releasing her formerly. Then Tom Cox came in Alice Black was sealed to Thomas Alma Cox, and then Ramona Steed was sealed for time and all eternity to Alma Thomas Cox." (Record of President Warren Jeffs, p. 451, August 25, 2005).
Warren Jeffs referred to men who were kicked out as men who had "been handled." Those on the outside referred to these men as being "kicked."
One son removed from his father wrote, “Very few of the men that have got kicked out did anything to warrant the punishment they received. I think it is just Warren's sick way of maintaining control over the people. Pretty soon, the only last names out there will be Jeffs, Steed, and Jessop. He is totally obliterating any other family lines. It's only a matter of time before only those with "pure blood" can reproduce and have a family.”
One example, Fred Jessop was a counselor to the prophet. He had four wives but no children because he was sterile due to mumps as a child. Before he died, he had about 18 wives and nearly 100 children, all children of other men.
The number and frequency of these reassignments has been stunning in recent years. This practice never happened expect under extreme cases during the leadership of LeRoy Johnson. One former member wrote: “[LeRoy Johnson] believed that anyone that was still alive could repent, thus he left a man with his wives to work out their salvation. When a group decided to stop coming to meetings in the early 80's President Johnson left their wives alone. Many men along the way that stopped coming to meetings, he left their wives alone. After many years some of these men came back, had President Johnson stripped them, they never would have come back and been a joy to him. Now Warren can't seem to leave anyone's wife alone and they don't even have to leave [the church] first. Warren moves more wives around in one week, than President Johnson was forced to handle, because of moral issues, during his whole administration.”
The impact of the reassignment on children can be severe. Most of them dearly love their father and they are told to forget him and now love a new man, often a much older stranger.
“I had the experience as a child of my mother remarrying several times. I got to feel first hand what it was like to be told "He is not your father any more. This is your Priesthood Father, your only father." As a child, I was willing to adapt; I accepted it and pretended it was so. Then my father changed, again and again. The whole experience hurt me very deeply.”
A son wrote: “I saw it firsthand. I was there when Warren started ripping families apart. I met with him (Warren) the day he took my dad's family away from him, and he read me some phony, psychotic "revelation," in which he accused my dad of aspiring to the leadership of the church.”
“One young boy told of how his Dad gathered the family together and told them he was leaving and that he didn't know if he would ever see them again. He packed up his books and bed and clothes and left three years ago and has not been seen since.”
Another story: “My friend lives next door to a man who has taken several wives of other men. One evening while working in her yard, she stopped to watch a group of children. One little boy sadly said ‘I don't like that man in there, I want to go back to our father.’”
The merging of families introduce new difficulties. “It is one thing to get a new wife, it is a whole nother ball of worms to get a family. Instead of love and warmth, the boys are separated from the girls and the girls are never to be left alone and double duty for each mother. Don't let the girls talk to the boys and yet you are supposed to be family?”
“I could never believe in a God that would enforce such organized adultery and destruction of families. I do believe that the young children now will be known as a fatherless generation. I believe that their psyche is being damaged and that when they grow up they will believe in nothing. A child has a lifetime history with their parents and to try to break that off for no just reason is extremely dangerous to the minds of children. The true victims here are as elsewhere, the children.”
This “musical families” can happen over and over again. “Several women are on their third husband and there have been those who have had as many as five. Whatever happened to being married for 'all time and eternity'?”
Amazingly, most of the men go away without fighting. One explained, “I never want anyone to lose their family, but when I had to choose, I chose to separate from them. I did not want my wife to have to choose between me and her religion. But I did that, and I cannot change that. I accept the correction, and I will let God decide. I love them enough to want them to stay in the religion I know is true, with or without me. I would rather die than to see my mistakes hurt someone else ever again. That is much more manly if you ask me.”
Another repentant believing man wrote: “Everything Warren Jeffs does, he does to help and improve the people. Even I who have been sent out, it was done to improve me, and the people I left behind. Although it definitely has been painful, I feel it was the best thing to happen to help me, if not to my family. Everything is a growing experience. I know it hurt him to need to do it, and I take full responsibility for it.”
The wives are victims of this process too, and some don’t leave their husband. One son told. “My family was ripped apart because my mother was told to leave my dad and they gave her a new husband. My new father was a good man and treated his wives with great respect. Six years after their marriage Warren told my mother that her present husband didn't have priesthood and if she wanted to be under the direction of the priesthood, she had to come from Idaho to Colorado City to live with her father. She obeyed but mourned and ached and tried to get the Spirit back. She was torn to the bone because she knew that she had made covenants with her husband and went against them. Back in Colorado City, her sister came to her one day and said, ‘That was a wonderful sacrifice you made.’ She replied to that comment, ‘I am going back to my husband!’ She told me, ‘Those words just came out as if the Lord had put them there for me.’ So you see she is a victim.”
Other men have fought back and refused to leave without their wife. In these cases, leaders would be sent over to try to coerce the wife to leave her husband. In some of these cases, the “priesthood” has resorted to trying to kidnap the wife away from the man. One man told how he had “to hide my wife for awhile to keep the FLDS goons to keep their distance. There was a failed attempt to steal her behind my back while I was at work that failed simply because the goons didn't know where she was. I had to get home to hide her elsewhere before the goons got there. I don't know what would have happened had not an insider leaked out to me what was going on.”
This woman explained why she refused to leave her husband. “I was once one of those fanatical women who lived and breathed every word that Warren spoke. I would have followed him to the ends of the world, sacrificed everything to recieve his approval. Lucky for me, my husband gathered his family around; and slowly began to read the Book of Mormon, and the Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. My husband carefully began to ask us the questions he had, about Warren's teachings when they were not matching up with these two books. For two years, my husband diligently taught his family the simple truths of the gospel; and then he was excommunicated. His family was left with the decision to stick by his side, or follow Warren. Nothing could have prepared us for the extreme pressure we faced at that time. Thanks to my husband's patience and diligence in teaching us the true gospel. I went, with the Lord's help, and found a testimony of the true gospel of Jesus Christ for myself. Not Warren's gospel. What my husband did to keep his family together worked for many of us. He helped us to think for ourselves, and see the light.”
Why do other women leave so willingly? One woman explained: “These women have chosen the love of Warren's principles above the love of their husbands so it is not a lack of love per se as much as it is the object of their affections. They are convinced following Warren's principles is the only way to heaven. They are in their minds choosing salvation above their husbands. Many can truly say it was heartbreaking to lose their husband and be reassigned but they convinced themselves they were making the only choice available to them.”
The stress on the FLDS people who are not 100% faithful is incredible. One member wrote: “You know, 25 years ago marriages that were done in Short Creek used to mean something. The men would show love and compassion. The women were happy and showed love back. Both parties know this was for all time and eternity, the bonds of love grew strong. Both parties knew that if they would honor their marriage vows, they would be together forever. Warren has removed all this. Many women are so scared that they are going to be moved that they are slowly losing all their love and affection for their current husband. Don't you think you would lose all affection if every morning you wake up, you feared you would get a phone call and be instantly released with no further contact allowed with your husband. Then the horrible fear would continue knowing that tomorrow, or in a week, or a month, you would be placed in another man's bed with five minutes to say yes ‘Uncle Warren’ or be damned.”
Wendell Musser was one of Jeff’s trusted followers. He was even believed to be among those who cared for some of Jeff’s wives while he was in hiding in Colorado beginning in 2005. Wendell fell from favor after a DUI in Colorado Springs. Musser was sent away to repent from afar and his family was taken away from him and given to another man. Musser was not allowed to see them. He didn’t even know where they went. Later, Musser filed a civil lawsuit against Jeffs in St. George's 5th District Court. The lawsuit asked the court to force Jeffs to disclose his wife and child’s whereabouts. Finally, after a year, fearing the courts, the FLDS allowed Musser to see his wife and 18-month-old son in an auto parts store in Hildale. She wouldn't look at him at first. He said she was like a robot. She was very well coached. She wouldn't let him hold the baby. After refusing to meet privately, his wife peppered her husband with questions and accusations. She asked, “why are you persecuting the prophet?"
Thankfully, the reassignment practice has declined since Jeffs has been in prison. But the broken families have not been repaired. Hundreds are left to ponder, “Why has he taken men who were honest, decent family men and ripped them all to pieces and scattered their families to the four winds?”
This break-up of families has shattered the lives of hundreds of FLDS men and in most cases made the lives of the women and children worse as they have had to adjust to life in the homes, new families, and new household rules. The women are not given a choice, are assigned to a man who Jeffs chooses, and must obey or risk losing her standing in the faith. Some women refuse to leave their husbands and instead leave the church, but most choose their religion over keeping their husbands.
The family is instructed to destroy all pictures of the man, never see him again, and never speak of him. As they are reassigned, the mother marries her new husband and the children take the name of the new man. They must now call him “father.” Many of the children who were at the YFZ Ranch are children who have been reassigned to new fathers.
What religious justification would Warren Jeffs have for breaking up these families? For years, Jeffs believed that his people needed to be cleansed and that the wicked should be cast out. With time so short, his people needed to be worthy to be lifted up when the apocalyptic destructions started. He no longer had patience for men to repent and change their ways over time. Instead he would cast them out, take their homes, reassign their families to stronger men, and prepare his people for the second coming of Jesus Christ. He believed he had this right because the women and children belong to the priesthood (prophet) not the man.
Many times the men are given no reason why their families are being taken away. They are told that the Lord revealed the reason to the prophet (Jeffs). They are told to “repent from afar,” (away from the community). They must send a list of their sins to Jeffs, and he would decide if the man could return. After sending the confession of sins in, the man usually never hears from Jeffs again and in the meantime, his family is moved, reassigned, and he never hears from them again.
In July 2005, several conversations were recorded. At that time, Lyle Jeffs, brother of Warren delivered the tragic news to numerous men. "Uncle Warren has sent me to give you a message of the Lord thru the Prophet. The Lord has judged that you do no hold the Priesthood and by so doing your family is automaticaly released and will come under the immediate care of the Prophet thru the Bishop. If you will receive counsel you will remove from a distance and avoid settling in apostate element. If you desire to have Priesthood in you life, repentance is available is to get your letters of confession in as soon as possible.... This is the message of the Lord to you in the spirit of love, in a gathering effort, to protect your family." (7/12/2005 - message to Richard H. Cooke, Short Creek Assignments).
Men were told to move away further than St. George and Cedar City because of apostates in that area, but certainly another motivation was to gain seperation between the man and his former family.
Sometimes the man is given reasons for having his priesthood removed. Reasons can include:
- Immorality: adultery, incest, viewing pornography, “immorality in your heart”
- Speaking ill of the prophet
- Not having control over his family (bickering wives, rebellious children)
- Abusing wives, unhappy wives
- Having sex with wives at times other than ovulation
- Not paying assessments to the church
- Alcohol abuse
- Living like the gentiles (viewing TV, movies, music)
- Not living the dress code
- Not obeying directives from the prophet
- Associating with apostates (former members, kicked out family members)
- Refusing to give up a child for marriage
- Viewed as a threat to the leadership of the church
- Any other reason the prophet can think of
In one sad case in 2005, a man at the YFZ ranch confessed to Warren that he was attracted to other men's young wives in his thoughts. He had not acted on those thoughts. Warren decided the man would lose his Priesthood, his wives and children, and had to move away.
Contrary to clear procedures specified in the FLDS scriptures, the man is given no trial or a fair chance to defend himself. The word of the prophet is enough.
The families are usually reassigned to chosen bloodlines. There is a lot of nepotism involved. Jeffs believes that certain families have unworthy blood running through their veins. “Warren preached that when a family remarried to another man, God changed their blood and DNA to match that of the priesthood man they now belonged to. If we did not have worthy blood running through our veins, we could not gain entrance into the kingdom of heaven.”
The procedure for reassigning wives was done quickly without any input from the wives. Warren recorded on such occurance in 2005: "I first sat Alice Black and Ramona Steed down and told them,I said these words, 'I have a message from the Lord for you two ladies. Truman Barlow, your former husband, has lost the Lord's confidence and is not able to exalt you. And the Lord has revealed where you belong for time and eternity. Do you receive this message?' And they both said, 'Yes.' I told them that when a man loses Priesthood like Truman Barlow did but I told them for their piece of mind I would give them a release. And I first had Alice Black stand up. . . and said 'Sister Alice Black, in the authority of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood, and by the keys and powers thereof I release you from your sealing for time and all eternity with Truman Ianthus Barlow, in the name of the Father and of the Son, and in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.' Then I did similar with Ramona Steed releasing her formerly. Then Tom Cox came in Alice Black was sealed to Thomas Alma Cox, and then Ramona Steed was sealed for time and all eternity to Alma Thomas Cox." (Record of President Warren Jeffs, p. 451, August 25, 2005).
Warren Jeffs referred to men who were kicked out as men who had "been handled." Those on the outside referred to these men as being "kicked."
One son removed from his father wrote, “Very few of the men that have got kicked out did anything to warrant the punishment they received. I think it is just Warren's sick way of maintaining control over the people. Pretty soon, the only last names out there will be Jeffs, Steed, and Jessop. He is totally obliterating any other family lines. It's only a matter of time before only those with "pure blood" can reproduce and have a family.”
One example, Fred Jessop was a counselor to the prophet. He had four wives but no children because he was sterile due to mumps as a child. Before he died, he had about 18 wives and nearly 100 children, all children of other men.
The number and frequency of these reassignments has been stunning in recent years. This practice never happened expect under extreme cases during the leadership of LeRoy Johnson. One former member wrote: “[LeRoy Johnson] believed that anyone that was still alive could repent, thus he left a man with his wives to work out their salvation. When a group decided to stop coming to meetings in the early 80's President Johnson left their wives alone. Many men along the way that stopped coming to meetings, he left their wives alone. After many years some of these men came back, had President Johnson stripped them, they never would have come back and been a joy to him. Now Warren can't seem to leave anyone's wife alone and they don't even have to leave [the church] first. Warren moves more wives around in one week, than President Johnson was forced to handle, because of moral issues, during his whole administration.”
The impact of the reassignment on children can be severe. Most of them dearly love their father and they are told to forget him and now love a new man, often a much older stranger.
“I had the experience as a child of my mother remarrying several times. I got to feel first hand what it was like to be told "He is not your father any more. This is your Priesthood Father, your only father." As a child, I was willing to adapt; I accepted it and pretended it was so. Then my father changed, again and again. The whole experience hurt me very deeply.”
A son wrote: “I saw it firsthand. I was there when Warren started ripping families apart. I met with him (Warren) the day he took my dad's family away from him, and he read me some phony, psychotic "revelation," in which he accused my dad of aspiring to the leadership of the church.”
“One young boy told of how his Dad gathered the family together and told them he was leaving and that he didn't know if he would ever see them again. He packed up his books and bed and clothes and left three years ago and has not been seen since.”
Another story: “My friend lives next door to a man who has taken several wives of other men. One evening while working in her yard, she stopped to watch a group of children. One little boy sadly said ‘I don't like that man in there, I want to go back to our father.’”
The merging of families introduce new difficulties. “It is one thing to get a new wife, it is a whole nother ball of worms to get a family. Instead of love and warmth, the boys are separated from the girls and the girls are never to be left alone and double duty for each mother. Don't let the girls talk to the boys and yet you are supposed to be family?”
“I could never believe in a God that would enforce such organized adultery and destruction of families. I do believe that the young children now will be known as a fatherless generation. I believe that their psyche is being damaged and that when they grow up they will believe in nothing. A child has a lifetime history with their parents and to try to break that off for no just reason is extremely dangerous to the minds of children. The true victims here are as elsewhere, the children.”
This “musical families” can happen over and over again. “Several women are on their third husband and there have been those who have had as many as five. Whatever happened to being married for 'all time and eternity'?”
Amazingly, most of the men go away without fighting. One explained, “I never want anyone to lose their family, but when I had to choose, I chose to separate from them. I did not want my wife to have to choose between me and her religion. But I did that, and I cannot change that. I accept the correction, and I will let God decide. I love them enough to want them to stay in the religion I know is true, with or without me. I would rather die than to see my mistakes hurt someone else ever again. That is much more manly if you ask me.”
Another repentant believing man wrote: “Everything Warren Jeffs does, he does to help and improve the people. Even I who have been sent out, it was done to improve me, and the people I left behind. Although it definitely has been painful, I feel it was the best thing to happen to help me, if not to my family. Everything is a growing experience. I know it hurt him to need to do it, and I take full responsibility for it.”
The wives are victims of this process too, and some don’t leave their husband. One son told. “My family was ripped apart because my mother was told to leave my dad and they gave her a new husband. My new father was a good man and treated his wives with great respect. Six years after their marriage Warren told my mother that her present husband didn't have priesthood and if she wanted to be under the direction of the priesthood, she had to come from Idaho to Colorado City to live with her father. She obeyed but mourned and ached and tried to get the Spirit back. She was torn to the bone because she knew that she had made covenants with her husband and went against them. Back in Colorado City, her sister came to her one day and said, ‘That was a wonderful sacrifice you made.’ She replied to that comment, ‘I am going back to my husband!’ She told me, ‘Those words just came out as if the Lord had put them there for me.’ So you see she is a victim.”
Other men have fought back and refused to leave without their wife. In these cases, leaders would be sent over to try to coerce the wife to leave her husband. In some of these cases, the “priesthood” has resorted to trying to kidnap the wife away from the man. One man told how he had “to hide my wife for awhile to keep the FLDS goons to keep their distance. There was a failed attempt to steal her behind my back while I was at work that failed simply because the goons didn't know where she was. I had to get home to hide her elsewhere before the goons got there. I don't know what would have happened had not an insider leaked out to me what was going on.”
This woman explained why she refused to leave her husband. “I was once one of those fanatical women who lived and breathed every word that Warren spoke. I would have followed him to the ends of the world, sacrificed everything to recieve his approval. Lucky for me, my husband gathered his family around; and slowly began to read the Book of Mormon, and the Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. My husband carefully began to ask us the questions he had, about Warren's teachings when they were not matching up with these two books. For two years, my husband diligently taught his family the simple truths of the gospel; and then he was excommunicated. His family was left with the decision to stick by his side, or follow Warren. Nothing could have prepared us for the extreme pressure we faced at that time. Thanks to my husband's patience and diligence in teaching us the true gospel. I went, with the Lord's help, and found a testimony of the true gospel of Jesus Christ for myself. Not Warren's gospel. What my husband did to keep his family together worked for many of us. He helped us to think for ourselves, and see the light.”
Why do other women leave so willingly? One woman explained: “These women have chosen the love of Warren's principles above the love of their husbands so it is not a lack of love per se as much as it is the object of their affections. They are convinced following Warren's principles is the only way to heaven. They are in their minds choosing salvation above their husbands. Many can truly say it was heartbreaking to lose their husband and be reassigned but they convinced themselves they were making the only choice available to them.”
The stress on the FLDS people who are not 100% faithful is incredible. One member wrote: “You know, 25 years ago marriages that were done in Short Creek used to mean something. The men would show love and compassion. The women were happy and showed love back. Both parties know this was for all time and eternity, the bonds of love grew strong. Both parties knew that if they would honor their marriage vows, they would be together forever. Warren has removed all this. Many women are so scared that they are going to be moved that they are slowly losing all their love and affection for their current husband. Don't you think you would lose all affection if every morning you wake up, you feared you would get a phone call and be instantly released with no further contact allowed with your husband. Then the horrible fear would continue knowing that tomorrow, or in a week, or a month, you would be placed in another man's bed with five minutes to say yes ‘Uncle Warren’ or be damned.”
Wendell Musser was one of Jeff’s trusted followers. He was even believed to be among those who cared for some of Jeff’s wives while he was in hiding in Colorado beginning in 2005. Wendell fell from favor after a DUI in Colorado Springs. Musser was sent away to repent from afar and his family was taken away from him and given to another man. Musser was not allowed to see them. He didn’t even know where they went. Later, Musser filed a civil lawsuit against Jeffs in St. George's 5th District Court. The lawsuit asked the court to force Jeffs to disclose his wife and child’s whereabouts. Finally, after a year, fearing the courts, the FLDS allowed Musser to see his wife and 18-month-old son in an auto parts store in Hildale. She wouldn't look at him at first. He said she was like a robot. She was very well coached. She wouldn't let him hold the baby. After refusing to meet privately, his wife peppered her husband with questions and accusations. She asked, “why are you persecuting the prophet?"
Thankfully, the reassignment practice has declined since Jeffs has been in prison. But the broken families have not been repaired. Hundreds are left to ponder, “Why has he taken men who were honest, decent family men and ripped them all to pieces and scattered their families to the four winds?”
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
FLDS Beliefs 101 - Prophecies
Prophecies are an integral part of the FLDS theology. They believe they have a prophet and that he has the spiritual gift to prophesy about the future. To understand what drives the FLDS, it is very important to understand their belief about the future, because it drives their day-to-day behavior.
The prophecy that is discussed the most, is a prediction about the end of the world. The FLDS believe that before Jesus Christ returns for his second coming, there will be a terrible destruction. The wicked will be destroyed, wiped off the face of the world. The most faithful FLDS who have been living their religion and obeying the prophet will be lifted up, protected from the destruction and then returned to the earth. All faithful FLDS want to be numbered with those who will be lifted up because they believe that day is very soon. They believe they will be still alive when it happens.
The FLDS prophets have identified timeframes for the important date. In fact they have predicted a specific date several times. This point is contended and denied, yet it is very evident in Warren Jeff’s taped teachings that there were specified times predicted. Let’s examine this prophecy in more detail.
Destruction
From the teachings of Warren Jeffs: A great destruction will occur. There will be a great war that will kill two billion people. Blood will flow in the streets of Salt Lake City, it is “the wickedest city on Earth” and will be destroyed. Following that, there will be a massive earthquake that will “kill quite a bit of those that are left - besides diseases and other things.” Fire will come down from heaven. “This land has to be cleansed of all the [wicked] people.” All the gentiles (non-FLDS) will be killed. Jeffs continually preached that “the Lord is about to wipe the wicked off this land.”
It was said that Rulon Jeffs prophesied that a great earthquake would hit the Salt Lake Valley and the two lakes (Utah Lake and Great Salt Lake) would come together. (Utah lake is currently about 250 feet higher and 30 miles away.) LeRoy Johnson reportedly predicted that Hoover Dam would burst and the waters of Lake Mead would flood Las Vegas. (Pretty amazing because Las Vegas is 900 feet higher than Lake Mead.)
Lifted Up
The important exception to this apocalypse is that that the righteous FLDS will be spared from this terrifying destruction.
“Everybody is going to be wiped out except the priesthood people under president Jeffs, who have kept ‘sweet.’ They will be lifted up while the judgments and destructions wipe the wicked off this land – then they will be set down again.” “Your only survival (from the large earthquake) will be to be lifted up. It will be the greatest earthquake ever to come on the earth. . . .Only those who obey President Jeffs will survive.” “We will actually be lifted up. The spirit of God will come from Heaven and take hold of any person who is filled with that spirit through their own obedience. The fire from Heaven will protect us. I yearn that you will believe. Don't doubt. This is real and it will happen in our day.”
Not all FLDS will be chosen
A chosen 2,500 has been mentioned that will be lifted up. This of course creates stress among the followers. If they aren’t picked by the prophet, they will be left behind to be destroyed. Warren Jeffs taught, “five wise priesthood people, out of the ten, will be lifted up. We have another story, how there will be two walking in the field. One will be taken and lifted up, and the other will be destroyed.” “But among us, the priesthood people, not all of us will survive. It will only be those who keep sweet. We don't want to go down with the wicked. We want to remain with our prophet.”
Obeying the prophet is the key
“You must have the faith, the trust in God and in His prophet, to go and do anything the prophet says. Even if we have to face mobs, even if destruction faces us, if we're obedient, the Lord will fight our battles. This time, the Lord will actually lift us up to protect us, as the destructions take place – or fire will surround us to keep the mobs away, if we live by faith, trust the word of the prophet and we obey. The Lord won't protect a disobedient people.” (WSJ 12/28/95)
“There is coming a time, young people, that we face, that we have to be worthy to be lifted up and protected. The Lord promised this would happen. When that moment comes, when whatever the destruction is that faces you, you have to be able to say, ‘Heavenly Father, I have been obedient to your prophet, to my parents. Will you protect me now?’” (WSJ, 2/5/96)
“The angels from heaven, with fire and power from heaven, will come to our homes one day, and all those who are prepared will be lifted up. Those who didn't see what is wrong with this and that in the world - those who are like the gentiles - will be left behind.” (WSJ 11/2/95)
When will this happen?
The FLDS prophets have stated narrow timeframes when this will occur, but officially the leaders state: “The Fundamentalist Church and its officers have not made any predictions in regard to the exact date of the Second Coming. It has long been the teaching of the church that no man knows the hour or the date of that event."
But evidence seems to point to these specific predictions. Leroy Johnson said to followers on Feb 3, 1980 in Creston, British Columbia, “We only have about 20 years until the Lord has to accomplish his work in this dispensation.'' In 1984 he prophesied: “We only have until the year 2000 to do this work.” “As to the year 2000, there will be a period of peace upon this continent for a thousand years.”
One member stated, “We started getting heavy sermons in 1989 that the economy was going to fail within 2 years and that we were to have at least 3 months of food storage. In 1994 we were told the calendar was off 4 years and the great millenium was actually going to be in 1996. Then in 1998 the Great destructions were going to be any day now. There has been so many Destruction Prophecies with the dates come and gone I cannot relate them all.”
In 1993 Warren Jeffs told the students at the church school, Alta Academy, that they this would be their last year in school because the destructions would arrive. Warren Jeffs' taped teachings indicate that in 1996 he taught the students at Alta Academy that they only had four years left. “We only have four years left, young people. The time is so short.” (WSJ 2/8/96)
In 1998 the Alta Academy in Salt Lake City was closed and followers were told to move to Hildale/Colorado City. Jeffs taught, “The main gathering for this people is in Short Creek. We know it as Colorado City. The people will gather - those that survive the destructions.” (In later years he stated that Colorado City was cursed, so this prediction may no longer be taught.)
Writer John Llewellyn wrote: “On three occasions before Rulon Jeffs died, he called a select 2,500 from his 10,000 members and instructed them to buy food and clothes and prepare to be lifted up. A plot of ground had actually been set aside designating the exact place of the gathering and expectant lifting. Before and after the ‘lifting up’ the faithful would need food and clothes. The utmost faithful purchased food in loyal anticipation, but the day before each gathering, Rulon called it off with the excuse that the Lord was giving them more time.”
The last of these three occasions occurred on 12 June 1999, a date set by Rulon Jeffs. “When the day came, the people gathered in the parking lot of the LSJ Meeting house at 6:00 a.m.” After an opening song and prayer, the group was addressed by one of their leaders. Then “everyone formed a prayer circle and held hands as a prayer was said. Forming a procession, they then made their way to Cottonwood Park, a distance of about two blocks, and engaged in a day long celebration. During the day, people went to the store to buy a supply of groceries to take with them. However, before the day ended, word came down from the prophet [Rulon Jeffs] that the people lacked the faith for this event to take place. They were told that another date would be set for it to happen, thus giving them a little more time to repent.”
FLDS have countered that this never happened, for example: “the bit about the people ‘gathering in fields and parking lots, awaiting the lifting up’ is fictitious. . . . a lot of people were told that by people trying to make fun of the FLDS, but that never happened.” However others say, “It is a truth, they believed that the only reason they were not lifted up was because they had failed in their faith. There are many more who spoken of this event.”
As 2000 approached the FLDS were observed stockpiling food for the big event, which dissidents in town derisively labeled ``the pickup.'' Also there were a flurry of marriages taking place. But Colorado City Mayor Dan Barlow, who also acted as a spokesman for the FLDS Church, called the ascension story “absolute foolishness'” and denied that Jeffs has made any such prophecy. “I see where you're going with this. You're trying to make us look like those nutcases in San Diego who committed suicide waiting for the flying saucer. . . . It isn't coming from anybody who knows. I don't know who's making it up.''
But a former member countered, "We were told in meetings that the year 2000 . . . it's been prophesied that's when the destruction will come."
In the five-page pamphlet, Warren Jeffs advised members to “sharpen up our preparation'” for the return of Christ, and he equated his father's move to the border communities as a final step. “Our prophet is so concerned that we be prepared. He is wondering if there is time for the things he is having done right now, in moving and building. He knows all the evil powers are concentrated against us.''
Most versions of the story have the righteous members lifting off from the base of a juniper-covered hill south of town known as Berry Knoll, which is said to be the site for the temple the church had hoped to construct one day.
One member wrote, “I do believe Rulon Jeffs did predict the world was going to end in 2000. Workers were called back to Shortcreek and equipment and jobs in California and Salt Lake were left behind. I believe some families where financially strapped afterwards, too. . . . Something to ponder, because the count has gone to 500 instead of 2500 last I heard.”
Well, nothing happened in 2000. No destructions, no lifting off. Warren Jeffs explained to the people that God had blessed them with more time to prepare. Next, there were predictions that there would be a massive terrorist strike during the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. This could be the start of the destruction. Jeffs explained the "time was short" and had all the FLDS pull their children out of public school. They instead attended "priesthood schools," various private schools that were organized or home schools.
“During the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, UT, the people were literally banned from Salt Lake City because it was told that it would be bombed and/or destroyed. This was where the great destructions were to begin. . . . for about the 6th time. After the World Trade Centers were destroyed the FLDS trucks were also banned from Los Angeles because the west coast cities were going to be nuked or great earth quakes were going to drop the cities on the west coast into the ocean. Most of the truck drivers from here haul from between Los Angeles and Salt Lake and other surrounding areas.”
The prophecy that is discussed the most, is a prediction about the end of the world. The FLDS believe that before Jesus Christ returns for his second coming, there will be a terrible destruction. The wicked will be destroyed, wiped off the face of the world. The most faithful FLDS who have been living their religion and obeying the prophet will be lifted up, protected from the destruction and then returned to the earth. All faithful FLDS want to be numbered with those who will be lifted up because they believe that day is very soon. They believe they will be still alive when it happens.
The FLDS prophets have identified timeframes for the important date. In fact they have predicted a specific date several times. This point is contended and denied, yet it is very evident in Warren Jeff’s taped teachings that there were specified times predicted. Let’s examine this prophecy in more detail.
Destruction
From the teachings of Warren Jeffs: A great destruction will occur. There will be a great war that will kill two billion people. Blood will flow in the streets of Salt Lake City, it is “the wickedest city on Earth” and will be destroyed. Following that, there will be a massive earthquake that will “kill quite a bit of those that are left - besides diseases and other things.” Fire will come down from heaven. “This land has to be cleansed of all the [wicked] people.” All the gentiles (non-FLDS) will be killed. Jeffs continually preached that “the Lord is about to wipe the wicked off this land.”
It was said that Rulon Jeffs prophesied that a great earthquake would hit the Salt Lake Valley and the two lakes (Utah Lake and Great Salt Lake) would come together. (Utah lake is currently about 250 feet higher and 30 miles away.) LeRoy Johnson reportedly predicted that Hoover Dam would burst and the waters of Lake Mead would flood Las Vegas. (Pretty amazing because Las Vegas is 900 feet higher than Lake Mead.)
Lifted Up
The important exception to this apocalypse is that that the righteous FLDS will be spared from this terrifying destruction.
“Everybody is going to be wiped out except the priesthood people under president Jeffs, who have kept ‘sweet.’ They will be lifted up while the judgments and destructions wipe the wicked off this land – then they will be set down again.” “Your only survival (from the large earthquake) will be to be lifted up. It will be the greatest earthquake ever to come on the earth. . . .Only those who obey President Jeffs will survive.” “We will actually be lifted up. The spirit of God will come from Heaven and take hold of any person who is filled with that spirit through their own obedience. The fire from Heaven will protect us. I yearn that you will believe. Don't doubt. This is real and it will happen in our day.”
Not all FLDS will be chosen
A chosen 2,500 has been mentioned that will be lifted up. This of course creates stress among the followers. If they aren’t picked by the prophet, they will be left behind to be destroyed. Warren Jeffs taught, “five wise priesthood people, out of the ten, will be lifted up. We have another story, how there will be two walking in the field. One will be taken and lifted up, and the other will be destroyed.” “But among us, the priesthood people, not all of us will survive. It will only be those who keep sweet. We don't want to go down with the wicked. We want to remain with our prophet.”
Obeying the prophet is the key
“You must have the faith, the trust in God and in His prophet, to go and do anything the prophet says. Even if we have to face mobs, even if destruction faces us, if we're obedient, the Lord will fight our battles. This time, the Lord will actually lift us up to protect us, as the destructions take place – or fire will surround us to keep the mobs away, if we live by faith, trust the word of the prophet and we obey. The Lord won't protect a disobedient people.” (WSJ 12/28/95)
“There is coming a time, young people, that we face, that we have to be worthy to be lifted up and protected. The Lord promised this would happen. When that moment comes, when whatever the destruction is that faces you, you have to be able to say, ‘Heavenly Father, I have been obedient to your prophet, to my parents. Will you protect me now?’” (WSJ, 2/5/96)
“The angels from heaven, with fire and power from heaven, will come to our homes one day, and all those who are prepared will be lifted up. Those who didn't see what is wrong with this and that in the world - those who are like the gentiles - will be left behind.” (WSJ 11/2/95)
When will this happen?
The FLDS prophets have stated narrow timeframes when this will occur, but officially the leaders state: “The Fundamentalist Church and its officers have not made any predictions in regard to the exact date of the Second Coming. It has long been the teaching of the church that no man knows the hour or the date of that event."
But evidence seems to point to these specific predictions. Leroy Johnson said to followers on Feb 3, 1980 in Creston, British Columbia, “We only have about 20 years until the Lord has to accomplish his work in this dispensation.'' In 1984 he prophesied: “We only have until the year 2000 to do this work.” “As to the year 2000, there will be a period of peace upon this continent for a thousand years.”
One member stated, “We started getting heavy sermons in 1989 that the economy was going to fail within 2 years and that we were to have at least 3 months of food storage. In 1994 we were told the calendar was off 4 years and the great millenium was actually going to be in 1996. Then in 1998 the Great destructions were going to be any day now. There has been so many Destruction Prophecies with the dates come and gone I cannot relate them all.”
In 1993 Warren Jeffs told the students at the church school, Alta Academy, that they this would be their last year in school because the destructions would arrive. Warren Jeffs' taped teachings indicate that in 1996 he taught the students at Alta Academy that they only had four years left. “We only have four years left, young people. The time is so short.” (WSJ 2/8/96)
In 1998 the Alta Academy in Salt Lake City was closed and followers were told to move to Hildale/Colorado City. Jeffs taught, “The main gathering for this people is in Short Creek. We know it as Colorado City. The people will gather - those that survive the destructions.” (In later years he stated that Colorado City was cursed, so this prediction may no longer be taught.)
Writer John Llewellyn wrote: “On three occasions before Rulon Jeffs died, he called a select 2,500 from his 10,000 members and instructed them to buy food and clothes and prepare to be lifted up. A plot of ground had actually been set aside designating the exact place of the gathering and expectant lifting. Before and after the ‘lifting up’ the faithful would need food and clothes. The utmost faithful purchased food in loyal anticipation, but the day before each gathering, Rulon called it off with the excuse that the Lord was giving them more time.”
The last of these three occasions occurred on 12 June 1999, a date set by Rulon Jeffs. “When the day came, the people gathered in the parking lot of the LSJ Meeting house at 6:00 a.m.” After an opening song and prayer, the group was addressed by one of their leaders. Then “everyone formed a prayer circle and held hands as a prayer was said. Forming a procession, they then made their way to Cottonwood Park, a distance of about two blocks, and engaged in a day long celebration. During the day, people went to the store to buy a supply of groceries to take with them. However, before the day ended, word came down from the prophet [Rulon Jeffs] that the people lacked the faith for this event to take place. They were told that another date would be set for it to happen, thus giving them a little more time to repent.”
FLDS have countered that this never happened, for example: “the bit about the people ‘gathering in fields and parking lots, awaiting the lifting up’ is fictitious. . . . a lot of people were told that by people trying to make fun of the FLDS, but that never happened.” However others say, “It is a truth, they believed that the only reason they were not lifted up was because they had failed in their faith. There are many more who spoken of this event.”
As 2000 approached the FLDS were observed stockpiling food for the big event, which dissidents in town derisively labeled ``the pickup.'' Also there were a flurry of marriages taking place. But Colorado City Mayor Dan Barlow, who also acted as a spokesman for the FLDS Church, called the ascension story “absolute foolishness'” and denied that Jeffs has made any such prophecy. “I see where you're going with this. You're trying to make us look like those nutcases in San Diego who committed suicide waiting for the flying saucer. . . . It isn't coming from anybody who knows. I don't know who's making it up.''
But a former member countered, "We were told in meetings that the year 2000 . . . it's been prophesied that's when the destruction will come."
In the five-page pamphlet, Warren Jeffs advised members to “sharpen up our preparation'” for the return of Christ, and he equated his father's move to the border communities as a final step. “Our prophet is so concerned that we be prepared. He is wondering if there is time for the things he is having done right now, in moving and building. He knows all the evil powers are concentrated against us.''
Most versions of the story have the righteous members lifting off from the base of a juniper-covered hill south of town known as Berry Knoll, which is said to be the site for the temple the church had hoped to construct one day.
One member wrote, “I do believe Rulon Jeffs did predict the world was going to end in 2000. Workers were called back to Shortcreek and equipment and jobs in California and Salt Lake were left behind. I believe some families where financially strapped afterwards, too. . . . Something to ponder, because the count has gone to 500 instead of 2500 last I heard.”
Well, nothing happened in 2000. No destructions, no lifting off. Warren Jeffs explained to the people that God had blessed them with more time to prepare. Next, there were predictions that there would be a massive terrorist strike during the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. This could be the start of the destruction. Jeffs explained the "time was short" and had all the FLDS pull their children out of public school. They instead attended "priesthood schools," various private schools that were organized or home schools.
“During the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, UT, the people were literally banned from Salt Lake City because it was told that it would be bombed and/or destroyed. This was where the great destructions were to begin. . . . for about the 6th time. After the World Trade Centers were destroyed the FLDS trucks were also banned from Los Angeles because the west coast cities were going to be nuked or great earth quakes were going to drop the cities on the west coast into the ocean. Most of the truck drivers from here haul from between Los Angeles and Salt Lake and other surrounding areas.”
Sign in front of Eldorado Chamber of Commerce
As the FLDS started building in Eldorado Texas, and as 2005 approached, there were rumors that April 6, 2005 would be the “lift off” date. But officially, the FLDS denied that there was a 2005 end-of-time prophecy. Nevertheless, many eyes were looking at the YFZ Ranch in 2005. Former members pointed to a secretly recorded audio tape in which Jeffs told a group gathered for a weekly “work day” that the church would be “lifted up” on that day. The lift-up was to be followed by world-wide “destructions.”
One member disillusioned by all these predictions wrote, “Warren has predicted the end of the world a lot more than 3 times though. The final destructions are usually timed to come just before a request for a major contribution.”
And even more recent, “Warren had a revelation that the destructions can't start until the temple is finished and his people are lifted up.” Jeffs has even gone so far as to tell the people to pray for the end of the world. "Warren has been enforcing perfection. That is why people have been getting kicked out. It used to be we worked with each other to help and improve. Warren says there is no more time to repent Warren has been enforcing perfection. That is why people have been getting kicked out. It used to be we worked with each other to help and improve. Warren says there is no more time to repent."
Are these near-term predictions part of a control strategy by FLDS leaders? By keeping them in fear are they keeping them in line? Or is the end of the world really just around the corner?
Saturday, May 17, 2008
FLDS Life 101 – Alta Academy
The Alta Academy, located in Salt Lake City, Utah, was the school where an entire generation of FLDS children were taught by Warren Jeffs who served there as principal for 22 years. The school was located at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon on the Rulon Jeffs compound. This unusual place could be seen from the road above by skiers as they drove by it on their way up to Alta or Snowbird. The 30-thousand square-foot academy building had 44 bedrooms, 20 bathrooms, two full kitchens, two half-kitchens and two laundries, all wired with a PA system.
Location of Rulon Jeffs Compoundnow being taken over by development
In 1972, the school was converted from a large home and Warren Jeffs became the principal in 1976 despite having only a high school diploma. Jeffs’ rise to power and influence started in this school. A generation of FLDS faithful spent most of their childhood at the school and look back with both fond and bad memories of the place. The school was closed in 1998 after the FLDS moved to gather at Colorado City expecting that the end of the world soon arrive. The school was finally demolished for modern development in 2008.
In the 1990s, there were about 90 FLDS families living in Salt Lake City who had children attending the school. These families did not live together in a compound, but were in various homes in the neighborhoods. They were careful to not draw attention to themselves and enjoyed backyards with privacy allowing their children to play without being watched by neighbors. The school also housed a birthing center where midwives could deliver children.
Jeffs teaching Chorus Class The curriculum included fairly standard subjects. Jeffs taught most of the math classes, all of the history classes, accounting, geography, computer science, chemistry, and chorus. Each day began with an hour-long devotional that included hymns, scripture reading and sermons. The school's motto was: "perfect obedience produces perfect faith." The devotional was held in an enormous room on the ground floor. Those in grade 4-12, attended, while the lower grades listened over the PA system in their classrooms.
One former student shared these memories of Alta Academy:
“I am an Alta Academy graduate. I rather enjoyed going to school there. It was the only school I ever knew, so it is hard to compare it to other schools. I didn’t like the strictness of the school. We could not wear hats on school property. We could not wear shirts with any writing on them. We could not wear collarless shirts or pullovers. We could not throw snowballs, and if we did, we could be expelled for it. We were not supposed to talk to the girls. We could not wear red clothing or neon colored shoelaces.”
“In Junior High the boys and girls had separate classrooms, and they had their P.E. at different times of the day. Footballs were not allowed on school property. In Junior High and High School, the boys and girls could not play any sports together. The boys would play one sport and the girls another. Warren confiscated my football in 7th grade and told me that ‘it is a sport that only causes contention.’”
“My third grade teacher would always pull me out the classroom by my ears, every time she heard me talking when I wasn't suppose to be. She also tried to slap our hands with rulers, whenever we tapped our fingers on our desks. Of course we did everything we could to upset her. So to many of us boys it was just a game to see what we could get away with.”
“Warren did ask me personal questions, like, 'what I did after school,' and if I have ever listened to the radio, or watched TV or movies, but that was as personal as he ever got to me.”
“Overall I rather liked going to school there, despite the fact that it was so strict. They did have a very good curriculum, and we were given lots of homework. The thing I hated the most were the destruction sermons we were given every few months or so. They scared the hell out of me, and many, many of the other students. He would go into great detail describing how they would happen and what would happen. I also hated the boy-girl sermons he would give. They made you never ever want to look, or even talk to a girl until you were married. So girl friends were definitely out of the question.”
Others also hated Warren Jeff’s destruction lectures, as he described what would happen to the wicked gentiles in a few years. “Several times a year he would give us the ‘death and destruction’ sermons and some of the stuff he would tell us would scare us to death. Many of us had nightmares because of his description of the destructions. He would tell us about the blood and gore of all of the dead people in the Salt Lake Valley, and many other gory and gross details. He said many things that should have never been taught to young children.” Several times he would tell the children that “this will be our last school year” because the destructions were going to happen.
Jeffs’ history classes are of particular interest because several dozen tapes of those classes have become public. Warren started taping many of his classes so students who missed the lectures could hear them. As the collection became vast, he sold copies to members who could listen to them for hours. These history classes were actually priesthood history classes. Jeffs would tell a biblical story and then relate FLDS teachings to it such as, obey the prophet, live plural marriage, don’t touch girls, blacks are evil, the world will be destroyed, and other topics.
“Warren taught math, history and church history and led devotionals every morning. Some of our lessons were slightly modified versions of the truth. We were taught that man had never landed on the moon; it was all a staged show similar to the movie Capricorn One. Why teach us this strange fiction?” Another student recalled, “At Alta Academy, Warren told us that men have never been on the moon. He told us that the Lord would never allow man on the moon. He said that the Lord allowed them to land on a little no name planet in space but he would never allow them to land on the moon.”
The science books were doctored so that parts of the human anatomy were covered. "They would just cut little pieces of paper and stick it over the private areas even if there wasn't a private area there just to make a point."
This former member listened to excerpts of the tapes recently on the Internet. “Listening to his voice brings back so many memories that I would like to forget. Now recognizing him for what he is, his voice literally makes me nauseous. For me it is a mental trigger that brings back all the crap we had to believe in or be damned to hell, the risk of our souls being destroyed because of our unfaithfulness. The weight of unbearable guilt that his teachings put upon us made us all walk around as sinners so we were continually condemning ourselves and beating ourselves up for our failures, for our humanity. We had to constantly hurry up and be perfect before the end of the world so that we were not destroyed along with the wicked and the rest of the world while our families and loved ones were saved. When I hear his voice now it reeks of evil to me. I don’t know if it is because he is and/or that in my mind I feel so betrayed. I truly believed with all my heart. I wanted to believe.”
Jeffs’ history classes are of particular interest because several dozen tapes of those classes have become public. Warren started taping many of his classes so students who missed the lectures could hear them. As the collection became vast, he sold copies to members who could listen to them for hours. These history classes were actually priesthood history classes. Jeffs would tell a biblical story and then relate FLDS teachings to it such as, obey the prophet, live plural marriage, don’t touch girls, blacks are evil, the world will be destroyed, and other topics.
“Warren taught math, history and church history and led devotionals every morning. Some of our lessons were slightly modified versions of the truth. We were taught that man had never landed on the moon; it was all a staged show similar to the movie Capricorn One. Why teach us this strange fiction?” Another student recalled, “At Alta Academy, Warren told us that men have never been on the moon. He told us that the Lord would never allow man on the moon. He said that the Lord allowed them to land on a little no name planet in space but he would never allow them to land on the moon.”
The science books were doctored so that parts of the human anatomy were covered. "They would just cut little pieces of paper and stick it over the private areas even if there wasn't a private area there just to make a point."
This former member listened to excerpts of the tapes recently on the Internet. “Listening to his voice brings back so many memories that I would like to forget. Now recognizing him for what he is, his voice literally makes me nauseous. For me it is a mental trigger that brings back all the crap we had to believe in or be damned to hell, the risk of our souls being destroyed because of our unfaithfulness. The weight of unbearable guilt that his teachings put upon us made us all walk around as sinners so we were continually condemning ourselves and beating ourselves up for our failures, for our humanity. We had to constantly hurry up and be perfect before the end of the world so that we were not destroyed along with the wicked and the rest of the world while our families and loved ones were saved. When I hear his voice now it reeks of evil to me. I don’t know if it is because he is and/or that in my mind I feel so betrayed. I truly believed with all my heart. I wanted to believe.”
Jeffs even taught home economics classes to the girls. “We girls were made to dress like women on a wagon train heading west and were constantly being groomed for marriage. ‘Learn how to keep a house, behead a chicken and cook it up for your husband.’” The rules Warren laid down for us were always changing. Wearing certain colors was evil one week but perfectly OK the next.”
Jeffs’ held personal interviews with children. They were something they feared and left bad memories. They climbed long stairs to reach Jeffs’ upstairs office. Caroline Cook recalled that Jeffs counseled her nearly once per week from 2nd grade on. It is believed that Jeffs was keeping tabs on one of his favorite students. Many of his brides came from his former students. Jeffs got involved with many personal aspects of the student’s lives. “Anytime there was a supposed problem he would call the parents of the student in and literally interrogated them in very personal details of theirs’ and the student’s life. It’s almost like he gets some sort of energy release by dealing with peoples intimate problems. Maybe that’s a feeling of having power over other people.”
One girl recalled being called to Jeffs' office when she was in first grade. "Warren had been told that I was holding the hand of my seven-year-old male cousin while playing outside earlier in the day. This was true, but I had no idea why he was bringing it up. As he explained, what I had done was absolutely not to be tolerated. I was never to touch boys; I was to treat them as poisonous reptiles, as 'snakes.'"
Jeffs and the rest of the staff implemented strict discipline with some rather harsh punishments. Sloppy handwriting, an untucked shirttail, a bad grade — all were signs of a personal flaw that needed to be confessed, corrected and often punished.
“Both girls and boys were whipped so badly for minor infractions that they could hardly sit down.” Even a faithful FLDS admitted these occurred. “I was once in line for one of these beatings that you have mentioned. I did not receive one, but a very nice correction and a punishment that fit the crime.” Another student wrote, “My little brother got the paddle once when he attacked his teacher in second grade. I had a yardstick broken over my desk in seventh grade when I wouldn't be quiet. But neither of these were done by Warren Jeffs.”
One female student recalled being schooled by Jeffs "We all feared him. He beat the boys and used humiliation to gain submission. He once hauled a second grader to the front of the class, grabbed him by the ankles, and began to shake him up and down, yelling, ‘I'm shaking the evil out of him!’ Each morning at devotionals Jeffs chanted, ‘Keep sweet! Perfect obedience brings perfect faith!’ Then, he gave us a new list of rules to obey: We couldn't wear stripes. We must not wear red. Some days we weren't allowed to eat. He changed the rules daily to keep us in constant fear. One steadfast rule stated girls were never to talk to boys. If you looked or smiled at one, you were a Jezebel—a scorned woman. Since I often looked and smiled, I was in constant trouble.”
“As I got more and more rebellious, he would come up behind me while I was in a group and seize me by the back of the neck and lean down and whisper in my ear, 'Are you keeping sweet or do you need to be punished?'” After getting caught passing notes to a boy, and instigating a water fight with boys at the water fountain, she was expelled from Alta Academy. She began working in an FLDS-owned factory full of other youths who openly questioned their religion. It was a common destination for FLDS kids kicked out of the school.
Brent Jeffs, Warren’s nephew alleges that when he was five or six years old, that Jeffs and two other uncles repeatedly sexually abused him in a bathroom at the school. Brent Jeffs was backed by his father, also alleges the men abused two of his brothers; one brother committed suicide in 2001.”
This former student has fond memories of Alta Academy and of his prophet, Warren.
“All of the teachers at Alta were volunteers, and only a few of them were actually certified. To make a living Warren Jeffs was a very good accountant, and also a computer programmer. He created quite a few computer accounting programs for businesses in Utah and Idaho. I remember very well the times in class when he would be interrupted by a phone call from one of his customers. Once in Geography class, I remember him speaking to a customer in Idaho over a speakerphone, and they offered him any amount to fly up there to fix their system. We, the students of the class started to cheer him on. ‘Go, go!’ (We did this get out of getting home work) But he very carefully explained to the customer on the phone how to fix the problem. ‘Darn!’”
“One thing that I remember most about Mr. Jeffs (as we called him) besides his sincere empathy; was his incredible ability to remember names. Many times after morning devotional class, one of the younger grades would go up with their teacher to show him some of their work. He would shake their hands and call each of them by name, almost every single one, even when there was a hundred. He was always pleasant and soft spoken, you could hear in his voice the anxiousness he had for all of us to succeed.”
“Warren Jeffs became a master teacher, unlike anyone I have ever met. He wasn’t mesmerizing, he wasn’t captivating, he was engaging, and he could teach any subject. In teaching Math, History, and Geography classes he would always engage the whole class, and make us ask and answer tough questions. In Geography, he would read the Salt Lake Tribune to us and make us take notes. My senior year he was my teacher in all but two classes.”
“How I wish I could go back to the days and shake Uncle Warren's hand again. To hear him talk. To see him tease a little with that sparkle in him eye and a little grin on his lips. To feel so nervous just knowing he is going to call on you to talk in morning class. He saved me from some bad mistakes I was going into as a teen. I couldn't see at the time, but he saw and helped me pull through. My own parents didn't see, but Uncle Warren did. He even called me to make sure I was okay. To make sure the choice I had made, I felt good with. He never made me do anything. He just showed me what was happening, and what I could do to get out of the mess I was in. I owe him my life.”
At Alta Academy, Jeffs put on many skits with the children. Some videos of those skits have been made public, even a scene where Jeffs wore Groucho Marx glasses. Yearbooks show him joking around in school plays, sledding with students and playing softball.
The children never said the Pledge of Allegiance. Jaleena Fischer Jessop once confronted this fact with Jeffs in a world history class, he gave her a stern look and answered "It's because we answer to a higher power," Jaleena Jessop recalls him saying. "He didn't want us to get confused about who our allegiance was to."
The children never said the Pledge of Allegiance. Jaleena Fischer Jessop once confronted this fact with Jeffs in a world history class, he gave her a stern look and answered "It's because we answer to a higher power," Jaleena Jessop recalls him saying. "He didn't want us to get confused about who our allegiance was to."
In the late 1990s, Jeff instituted many changes in the school. "He decided to physically separate the two sexes into different classrooms and different buildings on the compound. The curriculum for sixth-grade girls' class was wholly unlike that of the sixth-grade boys. Our scheduled recess times and grade-level activities were different, and there was no longer a time during the school day when boys and girls had any contact." The coursework was rewritten. "Books by authors outside the church were destroyed and replaced with church-approved books. Subjects such as science and current events became less important, and instead the focus was on our religious teachings." Students were told that the unapproved books at been burned. Warren said that those who read the unworthy books would take on the evil spirits of their authors.
The Alta Academy was closed in 1998 and later sold. Warren Jeffs moved to Colorado City where he had thousands to indoctrinate with his teachings. In 2000, Warren Jeffs told FLDS faithful to remove their children from public schools in Hildale and Colorado City. Two-thirds of the students disappeared overnight from the Colorado City Unified School District. At Phelps Elementary School in Hildale, enrollment got so low that the Washington County School District was forced to close it.
Friday, May 16, 2008
FLDS Beliefs 101 – Yearning for Zion
The FLDS Ranch in Texas is named “Yearning for Zion.” What is the significance of the name and what is “Zion.” What are they yearning for?
The FLDS refer to Zion as “heaven on earth.” Before the second coming of Jesus Christ a city of Zion will be built by the righteous and Jesus will reign from this city. The FLDS believe that the righteous among them will have the opportunity to build that great city.
In Mormon and FLDS theology, Enoch, during the days of Noah, was a great prophet who built a city of holiness that was also referred to as Zion. Zion was a place of safety for the righteous. The people of that city were so righteous that the entire city was eventually taken up into heaven before the flood.
The FLDS yearn for the day when they can live in such a righteous city, be protected from the wicked world, and be lifted up to greet Jesus Christ. Several times their prophets predicted that they would be lifted up, but those prophesies went unfulfilled and the leaders blamed it on the unrighteousness of the FLDS people.
Building YFZ was likely an important preparatory step where they could learn to live in righteousness, and either be taken up into heaven or prepare for the time when they could help build the city of Zion.
Warren Jeffs taught: “Now, we are to become a united people that will build a city called Zion, heaven on earth. First, we must have a heaven in our heart, body and mind. Then, by keeping the spirit of God, our homes will become pure. Gather families together, build a city, then build more cities - the people having children and those children keeping sweet, getting married and having families. Then there are more cities on the land where there's a heaven on earth and it will grow and grow until the earth changes.” (WSJ 2/8/96)
So YFZ is likely one of those cities in Jeffs’ plan. He taught over and over again to the young people that they must obey the prophet perfectly, prepare to live plural marriage, and keep away from the wicked Gentile (outsider) ways.
“You are preparing to make a heaven on earth. The Lord is about to wipe the wicked off this land and He will only protect and preserve those who can make a heaven on earth. You want to be part of it, young people. You must come out of the world - set aside the ways of the world. You must study the priesthood way of life, love it and live by it, for if you become like the world, you must be left behind. You can't be part of the heaven on earth unless there is a heaven in you.” (WSJ 2/8/96)
Jeffs placed fear in the people’s hearts that they could be left behind if they weren’t perfectly obedient. They wouldn’t be chosen. “The Lord will clean up this people and will choose from among us, those who will prepare. Be warned, if you hear these truths and do not apply them to your life - be warned, the Lord won't use you.” (WSJ 2/8/96)
Jeffs likely truly wanted YFZ to be another “city of Enoch.” “Anyone who was righteous enough to live with Enoch's city in Noah's day was lifted off this earth and taken up to that other earth. Believe, young people, that we live in the day like unto the days of Noah. Let us be good and clean, is what I'm trying to convince you to do.”
An important part of his plan was to only invite the most righteous to YFZ, those who were the most loyal followers. Also, he knew that he needed to cast out the wicked FLDS. He believed that Enoch did this in his city -- that he threw out those who weren’t righteous or doubted his authority. "The only reason that Enoch was able to perfect a people was simply because he labored hard to cast out of the midst of his, men and women who would entertain in their minds, a doubt. . . All you need to do to be removed from this work is to just think what president Jeffs says, can't be done. You can't be used. The Lord is choosing now, who will go forward with complete faith that what the prophet says, can be done. Enoch had to cast men out because they persisted in leaving people with a doubt in their minds.” (WSJ 11/19/95)
In Jeffs’ efforts to cleanse his people, he forced people out of Colorado City and took their families away from them. (See Casting out Evil). "Warren has been enforcing perfection. That is why people have been getting kicked out. It used to be we worked with each other to help and improve. Warren says there is no more time to repent."
The FLDS believe that the original city of Enoch will one day return to the earth during a 1,000 year period of righteousness when Jesus Christ returned. Jeffs promised his people, “You can live to see Enoch's people.”
Where will this ancient city return? It is possible that the FLDS believe a questionable third-hand quote that originated with Mormon prophet Joseph Smith. He is quoted as saying that after the City of Enoch was taken into heaven, that it left behind a huge gulf – the Gulf of Mexico.
One FLDS member seems to believe that the City of Enoch would return to the Gulf of Mexico and that the YFZ Ranch will be nearby. “Yearning For Zion, which city will come next door in the great Gulf when Enoch returns. So they are in the exact right location for the yearning.” Perhaps that is a theological reason for Jeffs choosing Texas for YFZ.
Warren Jeffs wrote words to a hymn he named, “Yearning for Zion.” In that hymn are the words:
Imagine the people of Enoch of old, trained in the order of heaven
A beautiful city the Lord called his own and forever made his abode
Coming to join with the Zion on earth when finally the earth finds its rest
A kingdom established in celestial laws, a people the Lord can accept
A New Jerusalem it will be, a land of refuge, a city of peace
The FLDS believe that if they continue to live plural marriage and have all things in common, that one day their city of Zion can be joined with the people of Enoch.
Even Warren’s father taught that this city would be built. "The call of God Almighty is on me to establish the holy united order in Zion and that's what I'm about to do...God being my helper....I am going forward and . . . God is going to handle anyone who fights against it." (RTJ, 2002)
It all sounds so wonderful, but the kicker is, that the people are taught to greatly fear the consequences of not being perfectly obedient. If they didn’t, they would be left behind.
First, people in Colorado City who believed all this were constantly worrying that they Jeffs would leave them behind. If they didn’t live up to every one of Warren Jeffs edicts, they were not only in jeopardy of being left behind but also of being cast out of the Church as he cleansed the community.
The invitations to move to YFZ started coming. Homes full of families one day, would go empty the next. Complete structures would disappear. For example, this home turned up empty, thought to be among Jeff’s families: “A 19-bedroom, 23-bathroom mansion in Hildale with three kitchens, one stocked with commercial-grade equipment. The bathrooms have oversized or Jacuzzi tubs. The living room is large enough to accommodate an orchestra, maybe two.”
Imagine the feelings of the hundreds and thousands who weren’t invited to go. Surely they would push their families harder and harder to obey the prophet’s words. “Warren had everyone playing 'musical houses' and buildings started to disappear into thin air and No one knew (or would say) where they went or why. I even heard rumors that the apostates (recent ones) had taken them - and I knew that was a complete lie. I read in the newspaper about the land that had been purchased in Texas. I didn't believe it at first- not until I saw pictures of the temple as it was being constructed. And I felt SO BETRAYED.”
The greatest fear about being left behind is that they might receive the same fate as the rest of the world. “All the gentiles will be killed, but among us, the priesthood people, not all of us will survive. It will only be those who keep sweet. We don't want to go down with the wicked. We want to remain with our prophet.” (WSJ 11/15/95) The streets of Salt Lake City would flow with blood.
When Warren Jeffs taught school at the Alta Academy, he really put fear into the hearts of the children. “Several times a year he would give us the ‘death and destruction’ sermons and some of the stuff he would tell us would scare us to death. Many of us had nightmares because of his description of the destructions. He we tell us about the blood and gore of all of the dead people in the Salt Lake Valley, and many other gory and gross details. He said many things that should have never been taught to young children.”
The FLDS built a temple in their secluded city, invited only certain people, Jeffs’ most favored, and believed they were yearning for Zion. But then the “wicked” gentiles intervened and crushed their hopes and dreams. Their prophet is in prison, their temple desecrated, and so many of their children are in “captivity.” YFZ now stands quiet and mostly empty.
What is next for the FLDS Zion? Will Rulon Jeffs’ words come true? “God is going to handle anyone who fights against it."
I believe in a former member’s prediction several years ago: “Some of the zealous young people within the FLDS organization need to be made aware of the implications of acting in a rash manner. Anything you do that might harm another individual will bring down a thorough investigation of this people. The very religion you are trying to protect will be exposed beyond your wildest imagination.”
The FLDS refer to Zion as “heaven on earth.” Before the second coming of Jesus Christ a city of Zion will be built by the righteous and Jesus will reign from this city. The FLDS believe that the righteous among them will have the opportunity to build that great city.
In Mormon and FLDS theology, Enoch, during the days of Noah, was a great prophet who built a city of holiness that was also referred to as Zion. Zion was a place of safety for the righteous. The people of that city were so righteous that the entire city was eventually taken up into heaven before the flood.
The FLDS yearn for the day when they can live in such a righteous city, be protected from the wicked world, and be lifted up to greet Jesus Christ. Several times their prophets predicted that they would be lifted up, but those prophesies went unfulfilled and the leaders blamed it on the unrighteousness of the FLDS people.
Building YFZ was likely an important preparatory step where they could learn to live in righteousness, and either be taken up into heaven or prepare for the time when they could help build the city of Zion.
Warren Jeffs taught: “Now, we are to become a united people that will build a city called Zion, heaven on earth. First, we must have a heaven in our heart, body and mind. Then, by keeping the spirit of God, our homes will become pure. Gather families together, build a city, then build more cities - the people having children and those children keeping sweet, getting married and having families. Then there are more cities on the land where there's a heaven on earth and it will grow and grow until the earth changes.” (WSJ 2/8/96)
So YFZ is likely one of those cities in Jeffs’ plan. He taught over and over again to the young people that they must obey the prophet perfectly, prepare to live plural marriage, and keep away from the wicked Gentile (outsider) ways.
“You are preparing to make a heaven on earth. The Lord is about to wipe the wicked off this land and He will only protect and preserve those who can make a heaven on earth. You want to be part of it, young people. You must come out of the world - set aside the ways of the world. You must study the priesthood way of life, love it and live by it, for if you become like the world, you must be left behind. You can't be part of the heaven on earth unless there is a heaven in you.” (WSJ 2/8/96)
Jeffs placed fear in the people’s hearts that they could be left behind if they weren’t perfectly obedient. They wouldn’t be chosen. “The Lord will clean up this people and will choose from among us, those who will prepare. Be warned, if you hear these truths and do not apply them to your life - be warned, the Lord won't use you.” (WSJ 2/8/96)
Jeffs likely truly wanted YFZ to be another “city of Enoch.” “Anyone who was righteous enough to live with Enoch's city in Noah's day was lifted off this earth and taken up to that other earth. Believe, young people, that we live in the day like unto the days of Noah. Let us be good and clean, is what I'm trying to convince you to do.”
An important part of his plan was to only invite the most righteous to YFZ, those who were the most loyal followers. Also, he knew that he needed to cast out the wicked FLDS. He believed that Enoch did this in his city -- that he threw out those who weren’t righteous or doubted his authority. "The only reason that Enoch was able to perfect a people was simply because he labored hard to cast out of the midst of his, men and women who would entertain in their minds, a doubt. . . All you need to do to be removed from this work is to just think what president Jeffs says, can't be done. You can't be used. The Lord is choosing now, who will go forward with complete faith that what the prophet says, can be done. Enoch had to cast men out because they persisted in leaving people with a doubt in their minds.” (WSJ 11/19/95)
In Jeffs’ efforts to cleanse his people, he forced people out of Colorado City and took their families away from them. (See Casting out Evil). "Warren has been enforcing perfection. That is why people have been getting kicked out. It used to be we worked with each other to help and improve. Warren says there is no more time to repent."
The FLDS believe that the original city of Enoch will one day return to the earth during a 1,000 year period of righteousness when Jesus Christ returned. Jeffs promised his people, “You can live to see Enoch's people.”
Where will this ancient city return? It is possible that the FLDS believe a questionable third-hand quote that originated with Mormon prophet Joseph Smith. He is quoted as saying that after the City of Enoch was taken into heaven, that it left behind a huge gulf – the Gulf of Mexico.
One FLDS member seems to believe that the City of Enoch would return to the Gulf of Mexico and that the YFZ Ranch will be nearby. “Yearning For Zion, which city will come next door in the great Gulf when Enoch returns. So they are in the exact right location for the yearning.” Perhaps that is a theological reason for Jeffs choosing Texas for YFZ.
Warren Jeffs wrote words to a hymn he named, “Yearning for Zion.” In that hymn are the words:
Imagine the people of Enoch of old, trained in the order of heaven
A beautiful city the Lord called his own and forever made his abode
Coming to join with the Zion on earth when finally the earth finds its rest
A kingdom established in celestial laws, a people the Lord can accept
A New Jerusalem it will be, a land of refuge, a city of peace
The FLDS believe that if they continue to live plural marriage and have all things in common, that one day their city of Zion can be joined with the people of Enoch.
Even Warren’s father taught that this city would be built. "The call of God Almighty is on me to establish the holy united order in Zion and that's what I'm about to do...God being my helper....I am going forward and . . . God is going to handle anyone who fights against it." (RTJ, 2002)
It all sounds so wonderful, but the kicker is, that the people are taught to greatly fear the consequences of not being perfectly obedient. If they didn’t, they would be left behind.
First, people in Colorado City who believed all this were constantly worrying that they Jeffs would leave them behind. If they didn’t live up to every one of Warren Jeffs edicts, they were not only in jeopardy of being left behind but also of being cast out of the Church as he cleansed the community.
The invitations to move to YFZ started coming. Homes full of families one day, would go empty the next. Complete structures would disappear. For example, this home turned up empty, thought to be among Jeff’s families: “A 19-bedroom, 23-bathroom mansion in Hildale with three kitchens, one stocked with commercial-grade equipment. The bathrooms have oversized or Jacuzzi tubs. The living room is large enough to accommodate an orchestra, maybe two.”
Imagine the feelings of the hundreds and thousands who weren’t invited to go. Surely they would push their families harder and harder to obey the prophet’s words. “Warren had everyone playing 'musical houses' and buildings started to disappear into thin air and No one knew (or would say) where they went or why. I even heard rumors that the apostates (recent ones) had taken them - and I knew that was a complete lie. I read in the newspaper about the land that had been purchased in Texas. I didn't believe it at first- not until I saw pictures of the temple as it was being constructed. And I felt SO BETRAYED.”
The greatest fear about being left behind is that they might receive the same fate as the rest of the world. “All the gentiles will be killed, but among us, the priesthood people, not all of us will survive. It will only be those who keep sweet. We don't want to go down with the wicked. We want to remain with our prophet.” (WSJ 11/15/95) The streets of Salt Lake City would flow with blood.
When Warren Jeffs taught school at the Alta Academy, he really put fear into the hearts of the children. “Several times a year he would give us the ‘death and destruction’ sermons and some of the stuff he would tell us would scare us to death. Many of us had nightmares because of his description of the destructions. He we tell us about the blood and gore of all of the dead people in the Salt Lake Valley, and many other gory and gross details. He said many things that should have never been taught to young children.”
The FLDS built a temple in their secluded city, invited only certain people, Jeffs’ most favored, and believed they were yearning for Zion. But then the “wicked” gentiles intervened and crushed their hopes and dreams. Their prophet is in prison, their temple desecrated, and so many of their children are in “captivity.” YFZ now stands quiet and mostly empty.
What is next for the FLDS Zion? Will Rulon Jeffs’ words come true? “God is going to handle anyone who fights against it."
I believe in a former member’s prediction several years ago: “Some of the zealous young people within the FLDS organization need to be made aware of the implications of acting in a rash manner. Anything you do that might harm another individual will bring down a thorough investigation of this people. The very religion you are trying to protect will be exposed beyond your wildest imagination.”
Thursday, May 15, 2008
FLDS History 101 - Self-proclaimed Prophet
Warren Jeffs has been referred to in the media as being a self-proclaimed prophet. His rise to leadership has always been controversial. Jeffs in prison, even admitted that has hasn’t been the valid prophet. What is behind all of this?
Many years ago, the group that eventually became known as the FLDS were led by a group of men in a “priesthood council.” The man who had been in the priesthood council the longest, was recognized as the senior member. The senior member on occasion ordained additional members to the council to replace those who died before them. They were ordained as high priest apostles.
In the 1970s, there were five members in this council, with LeRoy Johnson as the senior member. During the late 1970s, Johnson and Rulon Jeffs (also on the council) pushed the rest of the council to accept a “one man rule” doctrine, to recognize LeRoy Johnson as the single person who held all the groups’ authority from God. The other three members would not go along with this concept. Finally when one of the three died, the split was two to two. LeRoy Johnson removed the other two men from the council and this resulted in the “priesthood split” where 1/3 of the followers could not accept LeRoy Johnson’s one man rule and followed after the spurned former council members. This group became known as the “Second Ward” or Centennial Park Group.
For those left, LeRoy Johnson was recognized as the prophet. Rulon Jeffs was the only other high priest apostle left in the group. Johnson never ordained others, and when he died, Rulon Jeffs became the prophet because he was the only remaining “apostle.”
Rulon Jeffs prophesied that he would live until Jesus Christ came again, who he would turn the keys of authority back to. He didn’t feel the need to ordain others to the apostleship. This left the group without a clear successor if Uncle Rulon really did die. Around 1990, Jeffs finally organized this group into a formal church he named the FLDS. He had two counselors (assistants), Parley Harker and Fred Jessop.
Where was Warren? Warren was an elder in the church and the principal at the Church’s school, the Alta Academy, in Salt Lake City.
As Rulon Jeffs became elderly, he had a stroke and Warren stepped in to be his father’s spokesman and controlled access to him. In 2000, when Parley Harker died, Warren became the 1st Counselor to his father in the presidency. Prior to this Warren always taught the people that if the prophet died, the counselors were dissolved and no longer held leadership in the hierarchy. However, after he became a counselor, he stopped teaching this.
Warren implemented many changes, demanded that the church members recognize his leadership and started to excommunicate and evict members from the community who couldn’t accept him or were suspected of immorality. He claimed that Rulon Jeffs supported all these actions.
In 2002, Rulon Jeffs died, despite his prophecies to the contrary. He was the last High Priest apostle in the FLDS. Who would be the next leader? Most hoped for Fred Jessop, who was like a father figure to the church. But with the loss of the President, the councilor positions were dissolved. Warren was only an elder in the church again and Fred was a bishop.
At a meeting with about 2,000 members, Fred Jessop understood that he wasn’t an apostle and didn’t have the right to take over church leadership. He said, “I look Warren for guidance in these uncertain times.” Warren said, “Uncle Fred is the better man.” Warren seized the opportunity and proclaimed himself the leader. He made it clear that the men should “keep their hands off father’s wives.” Within a week, Warren moved right in and secretly started to marry many of his “mothers.”
This greatly confused the people. Had Rulon Jeffs appointed Warren to be the next leader? And if he had, why didn’t Rulon ordain him to be an apostle? For several years Rulon was so ill, that he really couldn’t function much. Warren had been running the day-to-day operation of the Church. But where was his authority?
During October 2002, in general meetings, Warren invited up speakers who stated that Warren should be their leader. One was Isaac Jeffs, Warren's brother. He told the people that Rulon had "confidence" in Warren and wanted him to be his successor.
On December 1, 2002, Warren made his case to the members in a general meeting that Rulon had chosen him as the successor. Interesting that Warren supporters were at the doors of the meetinghouse and only let in those who professed support. Warren said at the podium, "Unbeknownst to me, Father has prepared witnesses for this time." As witnesses, two of Rulon’s wives Naomi and Mary, who had nursed Rulon, testified that Rulon wanted Warren to be the next leader. (Naomi had already became Warren’s wife and was with him when he was arrested several years later.) Naomi implied that Rulon Jeffs had returned to the people in the form of his son Warren. Rulon had prophesied that he would never die, that he would be "renewed." Naomi claimed, "He (Rulon) told me many times before and after his stroke that I would be called as a witness, and he told me many other things that are too sacred to repeat." She recalled in instance when she, Warren, and Mary were in Rulon's room. "Warrn walked out into the hall and I looked upon him and I saw Father's holy light shine on him. I felt the same feeling on Warren that I had felt on Father. . . . I bear witness that Warren Jeffs is the prophet."
This was a tough claim to swallow for many, because for years the FLDS blasted a previous ordination of an apostle many years ago, Rulon Allred, who was ordained by the senior council member (Joseph Musser) who was ill from a stroke. A woman also testified of that ordination. For years the FLDS preached that a woman’s witness couldn’t be used, and that Allred’s ordination was invalid because Musser was ill. Now history was repeating itself. How could it be valid in this case? A member commented, “Somehow we got to the point that ‘God and the prophet always and only do right. Don't question what God does.’ We allowed that doctrine to blind us to the point that we did the very things we found fault with in others.”
To further muddy up the waters, it was rumored that Rulon had ordained at least one other man to be an apostle, Willie Timpson (later named Willie E Jessop). Rulon, while ill, was supposed to ordain Willie to be an assistant bishop to Fred Jessop, but he slipped and gave Willie the whole package, including apostleship. Willie was told by Warren to ignore the other things, he was just a bishop.
So Warren claimed to be the new prophet, and claimed apostleship. One former member wondered, “At least he knows that's what's required to administer gospel ordinances. I wonder who he raised from the dead to ordain him?”
Moving ahead in time, Warren Jeffs removed many of his rivals from the church and community, and was later was captured and arrested. While in prison he started to make some incredible statements.
“I am not the prophet. I never was the prophet, and I have been deceived by the powers of evil and Brother William E. Jessop has been the prophet since Father's passing, since the passing of my father. And I have been the most wicked man in this dispensation, in the eyes of God."
And in a phone call to Willie E. Jessop, Warren said: “I have not held priesthood since I was 20 years old, having been immoral with a sister and a daughter. And father [Rulon Jeffs] pointing his finger to me was father's test on all of us. I know of your ordination, that you are the keyholder and I have sent a note with my signature verifying it so that there is no question. . . . All the ordinance work since father's passing has to be redone and there's many men that were sent away that do hold priesthood and their families will need to be put back. . . . I am one of the most wicked men on the face of the earth since the days of Father Adam.”
So there we have it. Warren Jeffs admitted that he was a self-proclaimed prophet. Has this changed anything? Apparently not. The FLDS don’t believe in these statements, still have Jeffs’ picture on all the walls of their homes, and still believe he is the prophet.
Many years ago, the group that eventually became known as the FLDS were led by a group of men in a “priesthood council.” The man who had been in the priesthood council the longest, was recognized as the senior member. The senior member on occasion ordained additional members to the council to replace those who died before them. They were ordained as high priest apostles.
In the 1970s, there were five members in this council, with LeRoy Johnson as the senior member. During the late 1970s, Johnson and Rulon Jeffs (also on the council) pushed the rest of the council to accept a “one man rule” doctrine, to recognize LeRoy Johnson as the single person who held all the groups’ authority from God. The other three members would not go along with this concept. Finally when one of the three died, the split was two to two. LeRoy Johnson removed the other two men from the council and this resulted in the “priesthood split” where 1/3 of the followers could not accept LeRoy Johnson’s one man rule and followed after the spurned former council members. This group became known as the “Second Ward” or Centennial Park Group.
For those left, LeRoy Johnson was recognized as the prophet. Rulon Jeffs was the only other high priest apostle left in the group. Johnson never ordained others, and when he died, Rulon Jeffs became the prophet because he was the only remaining “apostle.”
Rulon Jeffs prophesied that he would live until Jesus Christ came again, who he would turn the keys of authority back to. He didn’t feel the need to ordain others to the apostleship. This left the group without a clear successor if Uncle Rulon really did die. Around 1990, Jeffs finally organized this group into a formal church he named the FLDS. He had two counselors (assistants), Parley Harker and Fred Jessop.
Where was Warren? Warren was an elder in the church and the principal at the Church’s school, the Alta Academy, in Salt Lake City.
As Rulon Jeffs became elderly, he had a stroke and Warren stepped in to be his father’s spokesman and controlled access to him. In 2000, when Parley Harker died, Warren became the 1st Counselor to his father in the presidency. Prior to this Warren always taught the people that if the prophet died, the counselors were dissolved and no longer held leadership in the hierarchy. However, after he became a counselor, he stopped teaching this.
Warren implemented many changes, demanded that the church members recognize his leadership and started to excommunicate and evict members from the community who couldn’t accept him or were suspected of immorality. He claimed that Rulon Jeffs supported all these actions.
In 2002, Rulon Jeffs died, despite his prophecies to the contrary. He was the last High Priest apostle in the FLDS. Who would be the next leader? Most hoped for Fred Jessop, who was like a father figure to the church. But with the loss of the President, the councilor positions were dissolved. Warren was only an elder in the church again and Fred was a bishop.
At a meeting with about 2,000 members, Fred Jessop understood that he wasn’t an apostle and didn’t have the right to take over church leadership. He said, “I look Warren for guidance in these uncertain times.” Warren said, “Uncle Fred is the better man.” Warren seized the opportunity and proclaimed himself the leader. He made it clear that the men should “keep their hands off father’s wives.” Within a week, Warren moved right in and secretly started to marry many of his “mothers.”
This greatly confused the people. Had Rulon Jeffs appointed Warren to be the next leader? And if he had, why didn’t Rulon ordain him to be an apostle? For several years Rulon was so ill, that he really couldn’t function much. Warren had been running the day-to-day operation of the Church. But where was his authority?
During October 2002, in general meetings, Warren invited up speakers who stated that Warren should be their leader. One was Isaac Jeffs, Warren's brother. He told the people that Rulon had "confidence" in Warren and wanted him to be his successor.
On December 1, 2002, Warren made his case to the members in a general meeting that Rulon had chosen him as the successor. Interesting that Warren supporters were at the doors of the meetinghouse and only let in those who professed support. Warren said at the podium, "Unbeknownst to me, Father has prepared witnesses for this time." As witnesses, two of Rulon’s wives Naomi and Mary, who had nursed Rulon, testified that Rulon wanted Warren to be the next leader. (Naomi had already became Warren’s wife and was with him when he was arrested several years later.) Naomi implied that Rulon Jeffs had returned to the people in the form of his son Warren. Rulon had prophesied that he would never die, that he would be "renewed." Naomi claimed, "He (Rulon) told me many times before and after his stroke that I would be called as a witness, and he told me many other things that are too sacred to repeat." She recalled in instance when she, Warren, and Mary were in Rulon's room. "Warrn walked out into the hall and I looked upon him and I saw Father's holy light shine on him. I felt the same feeling on Warren that I had felt on Father. . . . I bear witness that Warren Jeffs is the prophet."
This was a tough claim to swallow for many, because for years the FLDS blasted a previous ordination of an apostle many years ago, Rulon Allred, who was ordained by the senior council member (Joseph Musser) who was ill from a stroke. A woman also testified of that ordination. For years the FLDS preached that a woman’s witness couldn’t be used, and that Allred’s ordination was invalid because Musser was ill. Now history was repeating itself. How could it be valid in this case? A member commented, “Somehow we got to the point that ‘God and the prophet always and only do right. Don't question what God does.’ We allowed that doctrine to blind us to the point that we did the very things we found fault with in others.”
To further muddy up the waters, it was rumored that Rulon had ordained at least one other man to be an apostle, Willie Timpson (later named Willie E Jessop). Rulon, while ill, was supposed to ordain Willie to be an assistant bishop to Fred Jessop, but he slipped and gave Willie the whole package, including apostleship. Willie was told by Warren to ignore the other things, he was just a bishop.
So Warren claimed to be the new prophet, and claimed apostleship. One former member wondered, “At least he knows that's what's required to administer gospel ordinances. I wonder who he raised from the dead to ordain him?”
Moving ahead in time, Warren Jeffs removed many of his rivals from the church and community, and was later was captured and arrested. While in prison he started to make some incredible statements.
“I am not the prophet. I never was the prophet, and I have been deceived by the powers of evil and Brother William E. Jessop has been the prophet since Father's passing, since the passing of my father. And I have been the most wicked man in this dispensation, in the eyes of God."
And in a phone call to Willie E. Jessop, Warren said: “I have not held priesthood since I was 20 years old, having been immoral with a sister and a daughter. And father [Rulon Jeffs] pointing his finger to me was father's test on all of us. I know of your ordination, that you are the keyholder and I have sent a note with my signature verifying it so that there is no question. . . . All the ordinance work since father's passing has to be redone and there's many men that were sent away that do hold priesthood and their families will need to be put back. . . . I am one of the most wicked men on the face of the earth since the days of Father Adam.”
So there we have it. Warren Jeffs admitted that he was a self-proclaimed prophet. Has this changed anything? Apparently not. The FLDS don’t believe in these statements, still have Jeffs’ picture on all the walls of their homes, and still believe he is the prophet.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
FLDS Beliefs 101 - Force or Choice
“There is no force in our religion” is a mantra that has been heard over and over again from the FLDS women who have been put in front of the media. They deny that anyone is being forced to marry or forced to do anything. Yet, we hear experience after experience from both former and current members about coercive tactics that have been used in recent years to keep the FLDS members in line and do the bidding of Warren Jeffs.
It appears what we have here is a definition problem similar to “It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is.” Well, I guess it depends on what the meaning of the word “force” is to the FLDS.
Are force tactics used by the FLDS?
One FLDS member explained: “We tell the world we don’t force marriages. Is what we do is invite people to obey. The prophet then tells them which guy to marry. There’s no force involved. People choose to disobey. They have the right…. When they disobey they make a choice and the Lord tells the prophet to tell them to leave town. He has the right to forbid them to ever speak to even their families again. If a family chooses to disobey the prophet then they choose to disobey. If they choose to disobey then they make a choice to leave. They weren’t forced because they made that choice.”
This sounds like coercion rather than persuasion.
Certainly most Christian religions have rules. All would probably agree that Jesus Christ doesn’t force people to obey the rules. Are there consequences for breaking the rules? Yes. Does Jesus in the New Testament use coercion or persuasion? Does he still love those who break the rules?
A big difference among the FLDS is that the rule-breaker appears not to be truly loved anymore. They are branded as apostates. They are cast out, shunned, and there is no effort to seek after the “lost sheep.” They lose membership, property, and family.
One person explained: “Most religions have that theology (obey rules). The difference with the FLDS is they are told what to do in a lot more areas than most other religions from to they way to comb their hair in the morning down to the private thoughts they think. They always have that choice before them where most other people are given more options to choose from on a daily basis and that particular choice is all encompassing the little choices.”
It is important to realize that the FLDS didn’t always use these coercive tactics. Under leader LeRoy Johnson, the disobedient were cared for and given help. Under Rulon Jeffs the disobedient were tolerated. Under Warren Jeffs the disobedient were kicked out of the Church, evicted from UEP property, and families reassigned to other “more faithful” men.
One former member described the immediate changes felt as Warren Jeffs took over leadership: “I could smell rats right as soon as Uncle Rulon [Jeffs] passed away. Everything just started getting real cloudy when they started telling us to not ‘question authority.’ I mean to me that sounds like He didn't trust people to believe him when he self proclaimed himself as his fathers successor, I never heard his Father or Uncle Roy (LeRoy Johnson) say that kind of stuff.”
Another member: “President Johnson would not marry any girl that did not come and ‘turn herself in’ first. This was basically her saying ‘I am ready to be married and want you to do it.’ Warren has done away with this process and they have 5 minutes to decide or they are considered ‘Half-Hearted’ and not for the Prophet.”
An FLDS member counters with an opposing view: “No one is forced to marry at any age in the FLDS. The girls go to their good fathers when they want to get married. If he and their mother approve, then they would go see the Prophet. Every one of my sisters actually waited a while after they turned themselves in for marriage. Even after they seek the prophets council they have the option to say who they want to marry, or they can say yes or no to the man the prophet suggests without any recourse whatsoever. I saw it many times. The FLDS people seek to be inspired from heaven in all things, and most especially when it comes to this, the most important act in life. In heaven there is only peace. There is never force, ever. It is the opposite of the FLDS religion to force. We were taught that the devil was cast out of heaven because he wanted to force us to be good.”
Perhaps that was the way things were before the Warren Jeffs era.
What are the coercive FLDS rules? Here are some.
1. You must obey the prophet in all things. “The prophet is God with us and God over us. To obey the prophet is to obey God.” (WSJ 11/20/95) “We should consider any disobedience to the prophet as though it was death.” (WSF 12/21/95). With Warren Jeffs, those who didn’t obey the prophet lost their membership, property, and family.
2. All marriages must be arranged by the prophet. “You can only get married and be a priesthood family if he (the prophet) says whom you should marry." (WSJ 10/31/1995). “If a boy and girl agree to get married and just go do it, they can never be gods, because you must be married by revelation through the prophet.” (WSJ 11/1/95). Under Warren Jeffs, any who are not married properly they most likely lose their membership and are shunned by their family. They have no hope of going to heaven. There is no freedom of choice as to who to marry.
3. Boys and Girls must not date or interact together socially. “Don't date secretly with boys, you're just tricking yourself, ladies. You want a husband who is close to the prophet.” “I have been instructed that any young man who will not leave our girls alone is to be sent away and not allowed to be among us, even before they destroy the girl.” (WSJ 11/97)
A current member explains, “I did have a 17 year old cousin who did not want to get married but was very heavily pressured by her parents to enter the relationship. She did but left a couple months later."
Finally here is a sad story told by a former FLDS woman about herself. She remains anonymous, hasn’t written any books, and hasn’t gone before media.
“There once was a girl born of a good family who was good, obedient and prayerful. She loved her prophet, and yearned above all things to become a mother in Zion as the wife of a good priesthood man. But this girl was also mortal and she beheld one day a boy who was good and kind and perfect. Now, the good girl knows she is to have no contact or even thoughts about this boy and every time she thinks of him pushes the thought aside and thinks of her prophet instead. She wants to be good and do what is right. But, somehow, no matter how hard she fights it, the girl finally has to admit she loves the boy. Her only hope is to be good enough that maybe, someday if it is the Lord's will, she may be given to the boy as his eternal wife.”“But time wears on and the good girl is weak. She knows in her heart if the boy would only ask it of her she would leave with him forever. Her parents are suspicious and watch her and guard her in the name of protecting her and her salvation. Finally, when she can not take it any more, she asks her Father how to stop loving someone. Her father asks who she wants to stop loving, and the good girl tells him she wants to stop loving the boy so she can give herself to her husband- whomever he might be.”“The good girl's father uses her confession and plea for help as a weapon against the boy, taking the matter before the prophet. The girl's father pleads and pleads with the prophet to marry his daughter off soon for he fears she will be lost.”“So, the prophet sends a man over for the good girl. A man who is well known by the family for he is also married to her sister. The family knows he has been cruel to the sister- starving her into obedience when she was obedient already in the name of priesthood, yet they hope he has changed. He has been kind to the sister in recent years. Maybe he will be kind to the girl, too.”“The good girl marries the man, with the glory of heaven in her mind's eye, and when at the end of the ceremony she turns her head away from his kiss, she is greeted with laughter for her pure and innocent ways. The man grasps the good girl's face in both his hands so she cannot turn away from his kiss. The audience looks on happily as they seal their vows with this kiss. After all, the good girl said the words "of my own free will and choice," didn't she? It must be true. She gave up the boy to do what was right, didn't she? This must be what she wanted.”
Force or choice?
Prior to her marriage, here is how her parents treated her once they found out she loved a boy. “I was nineteen and I was living in near lock-down. My parents refused to let me get my drivers' license and no one else would help me get it. If I wanted to go anywhere, I had to first ask for permission, and then be accompanied by an older married adult (preferably female.) If none were available, I could not go. I could not use the telephone without permission, and my Father answered all incoming calls. There was no radio, Internet, or TV. My parents kept my social security card and my birth certificate locked away in a file cabinet and the key was hidden. So, I could not leave even if I had wanted to. I was also terrified of anything or anyone that was not FLDS.”
Force or choice?
A current FLDS member proclaims: “If a woman wants out, then she can leave, as parents, when they are still minors, we have to be responsible for them, but even then I have never seen any of the people I know force them to stay. . . . There is no force in our religion!!”
It depends on what the definition of “force” is.
It appears what we have here is a definition problem similar to “It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is.” Well, I guess it depends on what the meaning of the word “force” is to the FLDS.
Are force tactics used by the FLDS?
One FLDS member explained: “We tell the world we don’t force marriages. Is what we do is invite people to obey. The prophet then tells them which guy to marry. There’s no force involved. People choose to disobey. They have the right…. When they disobey they make a choice and the Lord tells the prophet to tell them to leave town. He has the right to forbid them to ever speak to even their families again. If a family chooses to disobey the prophet then they choose to disobey. If they choose to disobey then they make a choice to leave. They weren’t forced because they made that choice.”
This sounds like coercion rather than persuasion.
Certainly most Christian religions have rules. All would probably agree that Jesus Christ doesn’t force people to obey the rules. Are there consequences for breaking the rules? Yes. Does Jesus in the New Testament use coercion or persuasion? Does he still love those who break the rules?
A big difference among the FLDS is that the rule-breaker appears not to be truly loved anymore. They are branded as apostates. They are cast out, shunned, and there is no effort to seek after the “lost sheep.” They lose membership, property, and family.
One person explained: “Most religions have that theology (obey rules). The difference with the FLDS is they are told what to do in a lot more areas than most other religions from to they way to comb their hair in the morning down to the private thoughts they think. They always have that choice before them where most other people are given more options to choose from on a daily basis and that particular choice is all encompassing the little choices.”
It is important to realize that the FLDS didn’t always use these coercive tactics. Under leader LeRoy Johnson, the disobedient were cared for and given help. Under Rulon Jeffs the disobedient were tolerated. Under Warren Jeffs the disobedient were kicked out of the Church, evicted from UEP property, and families reassigned to other “more faithful” men.
One former member described the immediate changes felt as Warren Jeffs took over leadership: “I could smell rats right as soon as Uncle Rulon [Jeffs] passed away. Everything just started getting real cloudy when they started telling us to not ‘question authority.’ I mean to me that sounds like He didn't trust people to believe him when he self proclaimed himself as his fathers successor, I never heard his Father or Uncle Roy (LeRoy Johnson) say that kind of stuff.”
Another member: “President Johnson would not marry any girl that did not come and ‘turn herself in’ first. This was basically her saying ‘I am ready to be married and want you to do it.’ Warren has done away with this process and they have 5 minutes to decide or they are considered ‘Half-Hearted’ and not for the Prophet.”
An FLDS member counters with an opposing view: “No one is forced to marry at any age in the FLDS. The girls go to their good fathers when they want to get married. If he and their mother approve, then they would go see the Prophet. Every one of my sisters actually waited a while after they turned themselves in for marriage. Even after they seek the prophets council they have the option to say who they want to marry, or they can say yes or no to the man the prophet suggests without any recourse whatsoever. I saw it many times. The FLDS people seek to be inspired from heaven in all things, and most especially when it comes to this, the most important act in life. In heaven there is only peace. There is never force, ever. It is the opposite of the FLDS religion to force. We were taught that the devil was cast out of heaven because he wanted to force us to be good.”
Perhaps that was the way things were before the Warren Jeffs era.
What are the coercive FLDS rules? Here are some.
1. You must obey the prophet in all things. “The prophet is God with us and God over us. To obey the prophet is to obey God.” (WSJ 11/20/95) “We should consider any disobedience to the prophet as though it was death.” (WSF 12/21/95). With Warren Jeffs, those who didn’t obey the prophet lost their membership, property, and family.
2. All marriages must be arranged by the prophet. “You can only get married and be a priesthood family if he (the prophet) says whom you should marry." (WSJ 10/31/1995). “If a boy and girl agree to get married and just go do it, they can never be gods, because you must be married by revelation through the prophet.” (WSJ 11/1/95). Under Warren Jeffs, any who are not married properly they most likely lose their membership and are shunned by their family. They have no hope of going to heaven. There is no freedom of choice as to who to marry.
3. Boys and Girls must not date or interact together socially. “Don't date secretly with boys, you're just tricking yourself, ladies. You want a husband who is close to the prophet.” “I have been instructed that any young man who will not leave our girls alone is to be sent away and not allowed to be among us, even before they destroy the girl.” (WSJ 11/97)
A current member explains, “I did have a 17 year old cousin who did not want to get married but was very heavily pressured by her parents to enter the relationship. She did but left a couple months later."
Finally here is a sad story told by a former FLDS woman about herself. She remains anonymous, hasn’t written any books, and hasn’t gone before media.
“There once was a girl born of a good family who was good, obedient and prayerful. She loved her prophet, and yearned above all things to become a mother in Zion as the wife of a good priesthood man. But this girl was also mortal and she beheld one day a boy who was good and kind and perfect. Now, the good girl knows she is to have no contact or even thoughts about this boy and every time she thinks of him pushes the thought aside and thinks of her prophet instead. She wants to be good and do what is right. But, somehow, no matter how hard she fights it, the girl finally has to admit she loves the boy. Her only hope is to be good enough that maybe, someday if it is the Lord's will, she may be given to the boy as his eternal wife.”“But time wears on and the good girl is weak. She knows in her heart if the boy would only ask it of her she would leave with him forever. Her parents are suspicious and watch her and guard her in the name of protecting her and her salvation. Finally, when she can not take it any more, she asks her Father how to stop loving someone. Her father asks who she wants to stop loving, and the good girl tells him she wants to stop loving the boy so she can give herself to her husband- whomever he might be.”“The good girl's father uses her confession and plea for help as a weapon against the boy, taking the matter before the prophet. The girl's father pleads and pleads with the prophet to marry his daughter off soon for he fears she will be lost.”“So, the prophet sends a man over for the good girl. A man who is well known by the family for he is also married to her sister. The family knows he has been cruel to the sister- starving her into obedience when she was obedient already in the name of priesthood, yet they hope he has changed. He has been kind to the sister in recent years. Maybe he will be kind to the girl, too.”“The good girl marries the man, with the glory of heaven in her mind's eye, and when at the end of the ceremony she turns her head away from his kiss, she is greeted with laughter for her pure and innocent ways. The man grasps the good girl's face in both his hands so she cannot turn away from his kiss. The audience looks on happily as they seal their vows with this kiss. After all, the good girl said the words "of my own free will and choice," didn't she? It must be true. She gave up the boy to do what was right, didn't she? This must be what she wanted.”
Force or choice?
Prior to her marriage, here is how her parents treated her once they found out she loved a boy. “I was nineteen and I was living in near lock-down. My parents refused to let me get my drivers' license and no one else would help me get it. If I wanted to go anywhere, I had to first ask for permission, and then be accompanied by an older married adult (preferably female.) If none were available, I could not go. I could not use the telephone without permission, and my Father answered all incoming calls. There was no radio, Internet, or TV. My parents kept my social security card and my birth certificate locked away in a file cabinet and the key was hidden. So, I could not leave even if I had wanted to. I was also terrified of anything or anyone that was not FLDS.”
Force or choice?
A current FLDS member proclaims: “If a woman wants out, then she can leave, as parents, when they are still minors, we have to be responsible for them, but even then I have never seen any of the people I know force them to stay. . . . There is no force in our religion!!”
It depends on what the definition of “force” is.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
FLDS Beliefs 101 - Role of Women
The FLDS trace their roots back to the Brigham Young era in the 19th century. Despite being in the Victorian era, the women of early Utah were surprisingly outspoken, had their own women’s organization, pushed for the right to vote, taught self-sufficiency, and encouraged education and trades. In the FLDS today, especially since the 1970s, the role of women in their society has become a role entirely focused on pleasing their husband and having children. Girls are taught from an early age to prepare themselves for plural marriage when they will be placed in a marriage arranged by the prophet. After marriage, women must conquer their feelings, work together with their sister wives to please their husband, and to raise their children for the prophet to use as he wishes. They love their children but are always subject to the whims of their husbands and the prophet.
Recently, an FLDS women, Maggie Jessop, from the YFZ Ranch, wrote into the Salt Lake Tribune. She sarcastically wrote that the world thinks “that I belong to an uneducated, underprivileged, information-deprived, brainless, spineless, poor, picked-on, dependent, misled class of women identified as ‘brain-washed.’”
Well, let’s turn to Warren Jeff’s teachings to the FLDS girls and women to discover what they have been taught by their recent prophets.
1. Your whole purpose is to have children. “When you get married and have children, your whole purpose is to have children for the Lord to use.” (WSJ 1/2/96)
2. You belong to the prophet. “The reality of our family is that all our children belong to the prophet. You ladies do also.” (WSJ 4/3/98)
3. You must live plural marriage. “The purpose for entering into plural marriage is so that a man can raise up more children to the Lord. In heaven, there is no monogamy – no man with just one wife. . . . The only way she can be married is to be married to a man who has more than one wife.” (WSJ 1/10/96)
4. You must obey your husband. Adam and Eve’s fall in the Garden of Eden cursed them. “The curse placed on Women was that when they had children, they would suffer nearly to death. The blessing on the woman was – and the only way she could ever be happy was – that she would let her husband, a faithful man, rule over her. That was the only way back to Heavenly Father for the woman.” “The woman is to obey her husband as he obeys the prophet.” (WSJ 11/8/95)
5. You must please your husband. "Knowing you're pleasing your husband, your head, brings you a heaven." (WSF 4/3/98)
6. Do not tell the husband what to do. “The wife is not supposed to command the husband.” (11/28/95)
7. Do your housework. "A mother has the responsibility for the housework and for children. You should start long before the baby is born." (WSJ 12/97)
8. Do not have girlfriends. "Do not hold on to your friendships with other girls, because then you will fall short of your eternal blessings. If you hold on to friendship with your girlfriends you will not love your sister wives. Your sister wives must be your best friends because they are part of your husband. Your preparation for this is in your father's home. A girl learns to love all her mothers. And you must love every mother and call them 'Mother.'” (WSJ 11/97)
9. Teach your children. "If the mother does not teach her child properly in those first few years the sins of the children will be on the head of the mother, not the father." (WSJ 11/97)
10. Teach your children to do what father wants. "It is the mother's duty to teach the children that everything in the home belongs to father, and that all that you are doing in the home is to build up father. (Mothers) say, ‘This is what father wants,’ and she is always turning the children to those over her." (12/97)
11. Avoid socializing. "Brigham Young names one weakness in women....When they get married they are always wanting to party, or go visiting, attend socials, do everything except the training of their children, and that is why so many children have struggles and fail, because the mother attends to everything but this duty of working with the children. (WSJ 12/97)
To make this system work, it is essential to prepare and train young girls to accept and look forward to this way of life. When FLDS girls are ready to marry, they "turn themselves in" to the prophet, to arrange a "celestial marriage." Warren Jeffs taught FLDS girls:
1. Pray to be prepared for marriage. "I hope you understand that very often a girl is given to a husband after her own likeness. You should be praying that you will be prepared and that you will be given to a husband who will prove faithful to the end."
2. Your assigned marriage will be a test of faith. "Your testimony will be tested by how you get married. If you exert your faith and obedience so the Lord can speak through the Prophet on your behalf, that will give you an anchor to your soul, that whatever you go through in that new family you know you are doing the will of God in overcoming the dross within." (WSJ 4/3/98)
3. Conquer you feelings – keep sweet. "Ladies, suppose you marry a man with another wife or wives. The family is already used to their doing things a certain way and then you come in. You have to come in as a little child and be humble and submissive, and learn the ways of that husband and that family. If a sister-wife speaks up and says, ‘Husband, she doesn't know this or that’, or says to the wife herself, ‘This is how WE do it,’ and maybe they won't be so pleasant....that's because their own feelings aren't right in themselves, and then there might rise in you certain emotions. You thought people would treat you kind and suddenly here's a hard word, or an insinuation. You're just learning to get close to that man you don't know very well, and that is why you must have the fight of faith. You have to have the fight of faith! The surety that you have is that you know your marriage is appointed of God through the Prophet. That gives the anchor to your soul. It is God's will. He will help you and you will conquer your feelings.” (WSJ 4/3/98)
4. Do not socialize with boys. “Don't go that sad road, young ladies. Don't be wooed and tricked by the cute and cool and cunning boys or men that try to get you to like them. I have been instructed that any young man who will not leave our girls alone is to be sent away and not allowed to be among us, even before they destroy the girl.” “Don't date secretly with boys, you're just tricking yourself, ladies. You want a husband who is close to the prophet. A girl who wants eternal life will want this kind of man. You must be a family in heaven, you can't get there alone, so don't play around with your eternal salvation, turn to the prophet who can read the hearts of the men. The prophet will lead you to a man who will exalt you, and when temptation comes into your mind you must pray to the Prophet." (WSJ 11/97)
Starting in the 1970s, the FLDS women discovered the book, “Facinating Womanhood” that taught that that subservience and helplessness is the real secret for a women to be attractive. That book by Helen B. Andelin, published in 1965, was used as a joke material by comedian Roseanne during the 1980s, but is still taken seriously by the FLDS. Karen Barlow taught a course in the FLDS school using this book as a text book. She said, "You can't change your husband...only...yourself''
The course taught girls to “be skilled in the feminine arts of the household, caring for children, handling money wisely and doing more than is required. Get out of the leadership role. Stop giving him suggestions. If you obey your husband, even if you disagree, things will turn out all right. Adapt to the conditions your husband provides for you, and don't have preconceived ideas about what you want or plan for your children.”
FLDS women are told over and over to “keep sweet.” To them, it means: Swallow pride, swallow emotions. Suffer silently regardless of what concerns you might have. Don’t show any emotion, don’t rock the boat, don’t make any trouble, don’t ask questions, don’t criticize, don’t find fault. Girls should accept the polygamist lifestyle and the men's wishes without complaint. Don't flinch when you're told to do something that doesn't quite feel right. Just be nice, don't complain because complaining disturbs the spirit of God.
Recently, an FLDS women, Maggie Jessop, from the YFZ Ranch, wrote into the Salt Lake Tribune. She sarcastically wrote that the world thinks “that I belong to an uneducated, underprivileged, information-deprived, brainless, spineless, poor, picked-on, dependent, misled class of women identified as ‘brain-washed.’”
Well, let’s turn to Warren Jeff’s teachings to the FLDS girls and women to discover what they have been taught by their recent prophets.
1. Your whole purpose is to have children. “When you get married and have children, your whole purpose is to have children for the Lord to use.” (WSJ 1/2/96)
2. You belong to the prophet. “The reality of our family is that all our children belong to the prophet. You ladies do also.” (WSJ 4/3/98)
3. You must live plural marriage. “The purpose for entering into plural marriage is so that a man can raise up more children to the Lord. In heaven, there is no monogamy – no man with just one wife. . . . The only way she can be married is to be married to a man who has more than one wife.” (WSJ 1/10/96)
4. You must obey your husband. Adam and Eve’s fall in the Garden of Eden cursed them. “The curse placed on Women was that when they had children, they would suffer nearly to death. The blessing on the woman was – and the only way she could ever be happy was – that she would let her husband, a faithful man, rule over her. That was the only way back to Heavenly Father for the woman.” “The woman is to obey her husband as he obeys the prophet.” (WSJ 11/8/95)
5. You must please your husband. "Knowing you're pleasing your husband, your head, brings you a heaven." (WSF 4/3/98)
6. Do not tell the husband what to do. “The wife is not supposed to command the husband.” (11/28/95)
7. Do your housework. "A mother has the responsibility for the housework and for children. You should start long before the baby is born." (WSJ 12/97)
8. Do not have girlfriends. "Do not hold on to your friendships with other girls, because then you will fall short of your eternal blessings. If you hold on to friendship with your girlfriends you will not love your sister wives. Your sister wives must be your best friends because they are part of your husband. Your preparation for this is in your father's home. A girl learns to love all her mothers. And you must love every mother and call them 'Mother.'” (WSJ 11/97)
9. Teach your children. "If the mother does not teach her child properly in those first few years the sins of the children will be on the head of the mother, not the father." (WSJ 11/97)
10. Teach your children to do what father wants. "It is the mother's duty to teach the children that everything in the home belongs to father, and that all that you are doing in the home is to build up father. (Mothers) say, ‘This is what father wants,’ and she is always turning the children to those over her." (12/97)
11. Avoid socializing. "Brigham Young names one weakness in women....When they get married they are always wanting to party, or go visiting, attend socials, do everything except the training of their children, and that is why so many children have struggles and fail, because the mother attends to everything but this duty of working with the children. (WSJ 12/97)
To make this system work, it is essential to prepare and train young girls to accept and look forward to this way of life. When FLDS girls are ready to marry, they "turn themselves in" to the prophet, to arrange a "celestial marriage." Warren Jeffs taught FLDS girls:
1. Pray to be prepared for marriage. "I hope you understand that very often a girl is given to a husband after her own likeness. You should be praying that you will be prepared and that you will be given to a husband who will prove faithful to the end."
2. Your assigned marriage will be a test of faith. "Your testimony will be tested by how you get married. If you exert your faith and obedience so the Lord can speak through the Prophet on your behalf, that will give you an anchor to your soul, that whatever you go through in that new family you know you are doing the will of God in overcoming the dross within." (WSJ 4/3/98)
3. Conquer you feelings – keep sweet. "Ladies, suppose you marry a man with another wife or wives. The family is already used to their doing things a certain way and then you come in. You have to come in as a little child and be humble and submissive, and learn the ways of that husband and that family. If a sister-wife speaks up and says, ‘Husband, she doesn't know this or that’, or says to the wife herself, ‘This is how WE do it,’ and maybe they won't be so pleasant....that's because their own feelings aren't right in themselves, and then there might rise in you certain emotions. You thought people would treat you kind and suddenly here's a hard word, or an insinuation. You're just learning to get close to that man you don't know very well, and that is why you must have the fight of faith. You have to have the fight of faith! The surety that you have is that you know your marriage is appointed of God through the Prophet. That gives the anchor to your soul. It is God's will. He will help you and you will conquer your feelings.” (WSJ 4/3/98)
4. Do not socialize with boys. “Don't go that sad road, young ladies. Don't be wooed and tricked by the cute and cool and cunning boys or men that try to get you to like them. I have been instructed that any young man who will not leave our girls alone is to be sent away and not allowed to be among us, even before they destroy the girl.” “Don't date secretly with boys, you're just tricking yourself, ladies. You want a husband who is close to the prophet. A girl who wants eternal life will want this kind of man. You must be a family in heaven, you can't get there alone, so don't play around with your eternal salvation, turn to the prophet who can read the hearts of the men. The prophet will lead you to a man who will exalt you, and when temptation comes into your mind you must pray to the Prophet." (WSJ 11/97)
Starting in the 1970s, the FLDS women discovered the book, “Facinating Womanhood” that taught that that subservience and helplessness is the real secret for a women to be attractive. That book by Helen B. Andelin, published in 1965, was used as a joke material by comedian Roseanne during the 1980s, but is still taken seriously by the FLDS. Karen Barlow taught a course in the FLDS school using this book as a text book. She said, "You can't change your husband...only...yourself''
The course taught girls to “be skilled in the feminine arts of the household, caring for children, handling money wisely and doing more than is required. Get out of the leadership role. Stop giving him suggestions. If you obey your husband, even if you disagree, things will turn out all right. Adapt to the conditions your husband provides for you, and don't have preconceived ideas about what you want or plan for your children.”
FLDS women are told over and over to “keep sweet.” To them, it means: Swallow pride, swallow emotions. Suffer silently regardless of what concerns you might have. Don’t show any emotion, don’t rock the boat, don’t make any trouble, don’t ask questions, don’t criticize, don’t find fault. Girls should accept the polygamist lifestyle and the men's wishes without complaint. Don't flinch when you're told to do something that doesn't quite feel right. Just be nice, don't complain because complaining disturbs the spirit of God.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
FLDS Beliefs 101 – Obey the Prophet
Absolute obedience is a cornerstone of the FLDS faith and it is endlessly preached to the people. Most religions preach obedience to commandments, but the FLDS leaders preach not only to be obedient to commandments, but even more importantly to be obedient to the prophet. The prophet is the only one who can receive revelation from God for the people and if he isn’t obeyed in all things, eternal death will result. He should be looked to for all important decisions in life. His decisions should never be questioned or criticized. He is God on Earth to the FLDS.
Prior to the 1970s, this concept of absolute obedience to the prophet wasn’t part of the groups’ dogma. The people believed their leaders were men of God and they gave inspired counsel, but they didn’t fear being cast out or being eternally damned if they questioned the leader’s words. As the FLDS shifted to a “one man rule” doctrine, the prophet became the absolute authority figure. (See One Man Rule). Warren Jeffs took this to a new level after he took over leadership under questionable circumstances. He couldn’t tolerate being questioned or criticized. Penalties for doing so eventually became severe. He preached, “Perfect obedience produces perfect faith, which produces perfect people.”
What is the role of the prophet in the FLDS? Let’s take look at Warren Jeffs' teachings on the subject.
Prior to the 1970s, this concept of absolute obedience to the prophet wasn’t part of the groups’ dogma. The people believed their leaders were men of God and they gave inspired counsel, but they didn’t fear being cast out or being eternally damned if they questioned the leader’s words. As the FLDS shifted to a “one man rule” doctrine, the prophet became the absolute authority figure. (See One Man Rule). Warren Jeffs took this to a new level after he took over leadership under questionable circumstances. He couldn’t tolerate being questioned or criticized. Penalties for doing so eventually became severe. He preached, “Perfect obedience produces perfect faith, which produces perfect people.”
What is the role of the prophet in the FLDS? Let’s take look at Warren Jeffs' teachings on the subject.
- The prophet is God on earth to the people. “Each Prophet stands as God to the people. When he speaks, it is the Lord speaking.” “ When you're in the presence of our prophet, you're in the presence of God.” “The prophet is God with us and God over us. To obey the prophet is to obey God.” (WSJ 12/26/95, 1/4/96, 11/20/95)
- The prophet owns the people. “Man actually belongs to [the] prophet, willing to do what is directed.”
- The prophet is the most powerful person on earth. “We know the man who has the greatest power on earth. At the command of President Jeffs, he can control the weather. He can cause earthquakes to come. He can cause our enemies to be destroyed. He will not do it unless the Lord tells him, and he will not do it unless we are worthy.” (WSJ 1/16/96)
- The prophet decides who can enter heaven. “You only get to heaven through the living prophet in your time. Because of this great power President Jeffs holds, he is everything to us. All your happiness comes through him.” (WSJ 11/20/95)
- The prophet does not make mistakes. “He sets a perfect example and you can feel his spirit if you're praying.” “The one man - the prophet - will never teach you wrong. He will always lead you right.” "The prophet doesn't make mistakes as far as marriages are concerned. . . .If ever a marriage fails, it's not the prophet's fault. It's the people who lived it wrong if their marriage failed." (WSJ 1/4/96, 4/2/96)
- The prophet’s decisions are always fulfilled. “But when. . . the prophet commands, there are angels round about him who will go and do as he commands, as the Lord inspires that man. The heavenly beings around President Jeffs, when he says a prayer and speaks, they go and make sure it happens because the Lord has promised him that when he blesses a person, that person will be blessed if they are obedient.” (WSJ 1/29/96)
- The prophet is in constant communication with God. “The Lord puts something inside the prophet - enough of His spirit so that prophet can talk with Heavenly Father, even while he thinks.” “The Lord speaks in the prophet's mind. His spirit is always there in the prophet's mind). The prophet just thinks a prayer and the Lord's spirit puts the words in his thoughts. He talks with the Lord in that way.” (WSJ 12/26/95)
- The prophet has a special gift of discernment to know who has sinned. “I see many of you go through the line on Sunday, to shake his hand. After meeting, sometimes I've sat with father, and he starts naming a few families. He says, ‘This person or these children have a good look in their eye and I feel a good spirit.’ Others I have heard him say, ‘That family - those children, are dark. They don't have a good spirit, a good feel, a good look in their eye.’ Did you know that's what is happening when you are shaking his hand? He is feeling your spirit. Now, shake his hand and look him in the eye, but if you feel guilty about something, you'll have a hard time doing it, or if you look him in the eye, your spirit will be felt by him, that you've been disobedient.” (WSJ 1/4/96)
- The prophet is the only one who can receive revelation for the people and has the right to rule the people in all areas of their lives. The early FLDS prophets taught their people that they had the right to receive personal revelation from God for their lives. Recent FLDS leaders changed this teaching. Revelation for individual lives only comes through the prophet. He is the one who will reveal whom they should marry. (See Arranged Marriages). He will be the one to determine a person’s occupation in life. Parents can receive inspiration for their family, but revelation will come through the prophet.
“That one man is as God over the people and has the right to rule in all areas of life”
“No father, can go off and make up his own rules. For him to stay a faithful father, he must live the prophet's rules. Nobody can be their own big boss and get to heaven, right up to our Savior, direct. You only get to heaven through the living prophet in your time. Because of this great power President Jeffs holds, he is everything to us.” (WSJ 11/20/95)
“The Lord tells us if we do what He says, He is bound to bless us. . . . How do you know what He says? It is called revelation. The Lord speaks through His prophet. When your parents tell you to do something, they are prayerful. They have inspiration what you should do. . . . For you to be called an obedient person, you must listen to those over you. Every blessing you will ever get in priesthood, you must listen to those over you and do as they direct, not you commanding them.” (WSJ 1/4/96)
An FLDS member explained. “You see, in the FLDS, as a loyal young man, you are to check in with the Prophet and be told what to do and become (profession wise). In the past, the young men could get a building lot and build themselves a house. This gave them something to work towards, a goal, an identity, a place to raise a family. Under Warren, they are to simply turn in all their money over to the Prophet, and they may get a house, or a trailer, or who knows what."
There are a couple important rules to follow in obeying the prophet.
- Do not alter an anyway the prophet’s counsel. “You cannot change what the prophet says and think you're obeying.” (WSJ 1/4/96)
- You must not recommend things to the prophet. If you do, it will be your own ideas, not revelation from the Lord.
- Answers to prayer come through the prophet. You must have a prayer in you heart when you meet with the prophet. “when a person prays, the Lord answers them through the prophet I want you to believe that when you go to President Jeffs with a prayer in your heart, the Lord talks to you, through him. His word is the word of God.” (WSJ 2/5/96)
What are the penalties for not obeying the prophet? Under LeRoy Johnson, the disobedient were cared for and given help. Under Rulon Jeffs the disobedient were tolerated. Under Warren Jeffs the disobedient were kicked out of the Church. Here is what Warren Jeffs taught would happen to those who disobeyed the prophet.
- Death. “We should consider any disobedience to the prophet as though it was death.” “Truly, rebellion against the prophet is death.” “Obey the prophet when he speaks and you'll be blessed. Disobey him and it is death.” (WSJ 12/26/95, 12/21/95)
- You will start acting like a gentile. “If you forget what the prophet says and don't turn to him and don't love him, you will turn to the world - automatically, it will happen.” (See Gentiles). (WSJ 12/21/95)
- You will become an apostate. “An apostate is a person that turns against the prophet. They turn away from him at first then they turn to fight him in the end. People who criticize the prophet will eventually turn against him.” To became an apostate is worse than death. (See Apostates.) (WSJ 4/2/96)
- You will lose your Church membership and lose your family. An FLDS member explained, “A man loses the Priesthood by being morally unclean, or doubting the prophet in the smallest detail. Loyalty to the Prophet has now become more important than anything else, even treating others with love and respect.”
For the FLDS today, everything flows through the prophet. A chain of obedience exists. The man must obey the prophet. The woman must obey the husband as he obeys the prophet. If a woman disobeys her husband, she is disobeying the prophet, and disobeying God. An FLDS member explained: “When it comes to choices you have to choose to do what the prophet wants even if you are sent to prison. The thing here is obedience. We’re obedient to our prophet and in turn our wives and children are obedient to us.”
A former FLDS member explains “THERE IS NO LOVE. The only motivation out there is FEAR. They live in fear of having all that they hold dear removed from them. They live in fear of going to hell because they do not implicitly obey the fiendish dictates of a man in a desperate power struggle, who just can't seem to get enough.”
FLDS Beliefs 101 - Gentiles or “outsiders”
During the leadership of Leroy Johnson, Rulon Jeffs, and Warren Jeffs, the FLDS became more isolated, keeping their families more and more apart from those not of their faith. Fearing persecution and believing that there were conspiracies against them, leaders instilled walls of fear in the minds of the people in an attempt to keep them distant from mainstream society. They no longer accepted converts and married only within their closed society. Leaders prophesied that the end of the world was very close, and members eventually were ordered to gather in the Hildale/Colorado City area. Harsher rules were put into place to keep the FLDS from being corrupted by the outside world.
All those who are not FLDS members (outsiders) are referred to as “gentiles.” Jeffs has taught the FLDS that gentiles are very evil. “The main description of the people today is, they have only evil in their mind continually. Look how easy it is to think evil. Television and radio are fulfilling this in our nation today. If you turn on the television, you will only think evil. If you listen to the gentile music, you will start to only think evil.” (WSJ 11/15/95)
The FLDS are taught that gentiles are idol worshippers because of their objects (TV, jewelry, carvings, pictures, etc.) that they desire. “Whatever you love is what you obey. If you love anything more than Heavenly Father, more than keeping sweet, you are an idol worshiper. . . . you're not supposed to have little trinkets on your dresser, or the image of anything in your home that is useless - things hanging on your wall that are just useless - images of people or animals or whatever, those are idols. . . . If you went into the gentile homes, there you would find idols all over their houses.” (WSJ 11/22/95)
Jeffs taught, among the most evil gentiles in the world are the African Americans and the Mormons. “How has the devil used the Negro race in our day? Today, the big, neat thing among the young people is the rock music, heavy metal music, the rap music. Even the white people that play it were taught through the Negro. The music from the gentile world, with the fast beat and bad words, is from the black race. . . . If you partake of the ways of the world today, you are partaking of the ways of the black race.” (WSJ 11/15/95)
The FLDS believe that the Mormons became “the great and abominable church of the devil” when in 1978 they allowed blacks to receive the priesthood. FLDS leader, Leroy Johnson taught his people that the devil appeared to Mormon prophet Spencer W. Kimball in the Salt Lake Temple when he received a revelation allowing blacks to receive all possible blessings in the Mormon Church. “Uncle Roy, the true prophet at that time, knew what had really happened. He said the personage was Lucifer, sitting in the temple of God, as God, deceiving the people. The revelation that he wrote was that the blacks had the right to marry whites and they could go in the temple and receive the priesthood and blessings of the church. Uncle Roy said, when that revelation was received, that Mormon Church became the great and abominable church, the most wicked church on earth. . . . All churches have joined together and are doing what the Mormon Church is doing in today's world. All churches have done the same.” (WSJ 11/15/95)
Jeffs taught that punishments from God would be severe if the FLDS allowed gentile ways to creep into the families. “The angels from heaven, with fire and power from heaven, will come to our homes one day, and all those who are prepared will be lifted up. Those who didn't see what is wrong with this and that in the world - those who are like the gentiles - will be left behind.” (WSJ 11/2/95)
Jeffs taught the FLDS that all outsiders or gentiles are wicked and would eventually be destroyed. “All the gentiles will be killed, but among us, the priesthood people, not all of us will survive. It will only be those who keep sweet. We don't want to go down with the wicked. We want to remain with our prophet.” (WSJ 11/15/95)
A more real-to-life punishment is greatly feared by the people. If they accepted gentile ways, they would be cast out of the community.
Jeffs eventually had the FLDS pull all their children out of public schools. He believed in church controlled schooling. Many years earlier he taught “[The prophet] even provided this school so you wouldn't hear all the gentile garbage, and partake of the gentile ways.” (WSJ 11/2/95)
FLDS children are promised great blessings if they stay true to their beliefs and stay away from gentile ways. “If you pass the test of obedience, keeping sweet, then you will be given great blessings - even the privilege of living celestial and plural marriage, the greatest law that will exalt you to become Gods and Goddesses.” (WSJ 12/13/95)
An FLDS member sums up the feeling about gentiles when he explained, “Our children must be protected from the evil ways of gentiles. We can’t have people hanging around giving our children stupid ideas…. You gentiles don’t have a right to get in the way with the way we raise our children or our women. The way we do things here is part of our religion and the constitution guaranteed freedom of our religion.”
All those who are not FLDS members (outsiders) are referred to as “gentiles.” Jeffs has taught the FLDS that gentiles are very evil. “The main description of the people today is, they have only evil in their mind continually. Look how easy it is to think evil. Television and radio are fulfilling this in our nation today. If you turn on the television, you will only think evil. If you listen to the gentile music, you will start to only think evil.” (WSJ 11/15/95)
The FLDS are taught that gentiles are idol worshippers because of their objects (TV, jewelry, carvings, pictures, etc.) that they desire. “Whatever you love is what you obey. If you love anything more than Heavenly Father, more than keeping sweet, you are an idol worshiper. . . . you're not supposed to have little trinkets on your dresser, or the image of anything in your home that is useless - things hanging on your wall that are just useless - images of people or animals or whatever, those are idols. . . . If you went into the gentile homes, there you would find idols all over their houses.” (WSJ 11/22/95)
Jeffs taught, among the most evil gentiles in the world are the African Americans and the Mormons. “How has the devil used the Negro race in our day? Today, the big, neat thing among the young people is the rock music, heavy metal music, the rap music. Even the white people that play it were taught through the Negro. The music from the gentile world, with the fast beat and bad words, is from the black race. . . . If you partake of the ways of the world today, you are partaking of the ways of the black race.” (WSJ 11/15/95)
The FLDS believe that the Mormons became “the great and abominable church of the devil” when in 1978 they allowed blacks to receive the priesthood. FLDS leader, Leroy Johnson taught his people that the devil appeared to Mormon prophet Spencer W. Kimball in the Salt Lake Temple when he received a revelation allowing blacks to receive all possible blessings in the Mormon Church. “Uncle Roy, the true prophet at that time, knew what had really happened. He said the personage was Lucifer, sitting in the temple of God, as God, deceiving the people. The revelation that he wrote was that the blacks had the right to marry whites and they could go in the temple and receive the priesthood and blessings of the church. Uncle Roy said, when that revelation was received, that Mormon Church became the great and abominable church, the most wicked church on earth. . . . All churches have joined together and are doing what the Mormon Church is doing in today's world. All churches have done the same.” (WSJ 11/15/95)
Jeffs taught that punishments from God would be severe if the FLDS allowed gentile ways to creep into the families. “The angels from heaven, with fire and power from heaven, will come to our homes one day, and all those who are prepared will be lifted up. Those who didn't see what is wrong with this and that in the world - those who are like the gentiles - will be left behind.” (WSJ 11/2/95)
Jeffs taught the FLDS that all outsiders or gentiles are wicked and would eventually be destroyed. “All the gentiles will be killed, but among us, the priesthood people, not all of us will survive. It will only be those who keep sweet. We don't want to go down with the wicked. We want to remain with our prophet.” (WSJ 11/15/95)
A more real-to-life punishment is greatly feared by the people. If they accepted gentile ways, they would be cast out of the community.
Jeffs eventually had the FLDS pull all their children out of public schools. He believed in church controlled schooling. Many years earlier he taught “[The prophet] even provided this school so you wouldn't hear all the gentile garbage, and partake of the gentile ways.” (WSJ 11/2/95)
FLDS children are promised great blessings if they stay true to their beliefs and stay away from gentile ways. “If you pass the test of obedience, keeping sweet, then you will be given great blessings - even the privilege of living celestial and plural marriage, the greatest law that will exalt you to become Gods and Goddesses.” (WSJ 12/13/95)
An FLDS member sums up the feeling about gentiles when he explained, “Our children must be protected from the evil ways of gentiles. We can’t have people hanging around giving our children stupid ideas…. You gentiles don’t have a right to get in the way with the way we raise our children or our women. The way we do things here is part of our religion and the constitution guaranteed freedom of our religion.”
Friday, May 9, 2008
FLDS Life 101 – The Good Memories
Some have developed to a skewed view that all FLDS are scheming, evil predators. The vast majority of the FLDS are good, hardworking people who are full of faith. Not all families experience abuse. One former member wrote: “Another good thing I have witnessed is that no matter how few or far between, there are several families I know that have had 'perfect' moments. I am not talking about the ‘smiling to keep sweet even though your heart is breaking,’ but true happiness. Moments where every wife is truly happy and for a little time they are the idealic plural family.”
Life for the FLDS hasn’t always been the way it has been in recent years under Warren Jeffs’ rule. Prior to Warren Jeffs’ reign, things were much different. Before Warren Jeffs banned community events, dances, sports, church meetings, and other activities, the people interacted with each other in kind and neighborly ways.
Holidays were a favorite time in the small rural towns of Hildale/Colorado City (Short Creek) nestled below redrock cliffs. Rulon Jeffs establish a three-day Harvest Fest celebration that was attracted members from as far away as Canada. One person recalled fondly, “How fun was it to go on the hay rides at the Harvest Fest? My friends and I went mostly for the rides and to google over the Canada boys that came down.”
A July 24th celebration was also a grand event. This was “Pioneer Day,” a holiday in Utah to commemorate the arrival of the first pioneers in 1847. “I remember Uncle Fred [Jessop] riding a black stallion at the head of the 24th of July Parade every year. The stallion would be all decked out with tassels and silver, and everyone would cheer. Someone would usually throw candy from one of the floats, and the children would go wild after it.”
“I lived in Salt Lake and I always looked forward to going down south for October Fest, April conference, 4th and 24th of July and any other reason I could find to go down there. I loved to go down to the basketball court and I would play basketball from morning until dark. I would only quit long enough to grab something to eat. Everyone down there was so friendly and I miss those good ole days a lot.”
A former FLDS member wrote this touching memory when life was so different among these people: “Oh, back to the good things about [Short Creek.] I loved the community programs! And the Harvest Fest, and the Park fundraisers, and the 4th and 24th of July, doorbell ditching on Valentines Day, and going for walks on summer evenings, and drives with the family on Sunday evenings, hiking in Water Canyon, baseball in Maxwell Park, homemade everything (yummmmmmmy food!!) talking with the family and any friends came at dinner time, (no TV!). Singing for everything, the dances, taking turns staying up all night to make the sorghum, helping out anyone and everyone on Saturday work projects, oh, and when someone lost a loved one, even if it was a baby or small child, 4000+ people came to the funeral. Oh, and not having to lock my doors at night, and being able to leave my keys in my car!! These things I truly miss! But most of all, I MISS MY FAMILY THAT ARE STILL OUT THERE!! I have tears running down my cheeks, I miss them so much! You know, I just realized....that is what it is! Everyone was family out there.”
Activities included dances, movies, plays, ice skating, and swimming. A dance was held every other Friday night and a movie on alternate Fridays. Fred Jessop would usually stage a play production about every year or so, using the same scripts over and over again. “I looked forward to dances, plays or whatever special entertainment was planned for the weekends before returning to school on Monday mornings.” “Another great thing I miss were the dances and afterward singing ‘Give Me A Home In The Heart Of The Mountains.’ A sweet warm fuzzy memory.”
“When I was a kid, all of the ponds, sumps, and reservoirs would freeze over from about Thanksgiving to the end of February. We were constantly in search of good ice, not all of them had ice thick enough to skate on. When we found good ice, every one with a pair of skates would show up. Someone would build a bonfire using old tires (stunk like hell, but gave good light, just don't stay downwind for too long) and we would skate for hours. When we got home my mom would put us in the tub and run cold water on us to thaw us out. That sure hurt, but it was worth it just to skate all night. During the summer, all of the ponds, sumps, and reservoirs would turn into swimming holes. Water Canyon was the greatest as long as you could make it through the sand spots in the road. We usually had someone's mom's car, and would let the air out of the tires to make it. That water was cold!”
Here’s another fun Saturday activity: “I know this isn't a big thing for city folks, but my dad let my brother and me take the garbage to the dump on Saturdays. That meant we got to drive...and we were only 11 or 12. We used to make a day of it and bring more treasure home than trash dumped.”
At times, a Monday morning devotional was held. “One of my favorite things was the way Monday Morning Meeting used to be. I loved to wake up early in the morning when the sky was still tinged pink above the mountains. The people would gather in a line forming a hollow square, and shake hands with everyone else. And, MJ would say "Good morning everyone!!" to which there was always a rousing reply and then we would sing hymns and listen to the musical numbers.”
“I like to remember the old school days, when Louis Barlow was principal, he got an old war surplus generator and had some of the guys hook it to an old car engine. We actually had electricity at the school! Lou had us dig a well by hand. Someone would be in the hole digging, while others would pull the buckets of dirt up on a rope. We planted grass in the square that was between the three school buildings. I believe that was the first lawn ever planted in short creek! We put up a tall flag pole in the center of the lawn. One evening I was playing around at the school, it was about dusk, Merril and Truman came along and grabbed me ,they jerked my pants off and ran them up the flag pole.”
In days gone by, the many acts of kindness were common place. “I remember Uncle Parley [Harker] distributing spuds around town. I also remember Uncle Fred [Jessop] bringing groceries to the house one time when I was laid up, and couldn't work.” Another act of kindness: “I remember whenever there was a funeral, Uncle Alvin would gather up his boys and go rake the family's yard. People would bring over food and offer support to the family.”
One former member who wasn’t strictly obedient recalled: “I remember ditching 1st period devotional, ditching 7th period study, easily outrunning the nightwatch night after night (later called the godsquad), hiking every mountain around town, falling asleep at the cannery at 3 in the morning on the second day, playing basketball at Holms' and pretending we weren't there to flirt with the girls, patching the holes in my bike tubes every week, having a hundred best friends, riding my minibike down to the gas station and draining all the hoses into the tank, then topping it of with 10 cents, stealing my dad's beer out of the fridge, and kissing the neighbor girl.”
But life radically changed until Warren Jeff’s leadership. In July of 2003, Jeffs got up in front of the people and told them the Lord was displeased with them for building a monument of the 1953 Short Creek raid. He told the people that the blessings of the Priesthood would be removed. There would be no more meetings. He said that Colorado City was cursed.
Under Jeffs, there were no more dances, plays, or movies. Boys and girls could no longer associate together socially. One former FLDS member sadly misses the culture that used to exist “The only culture left is cold as an Alaskan winter. Basketball, Harvest Fest, dances, plays, and now church [meetings] even are all bad, wicked of this world activities that have been crossed of the ‘list’ to do in the FLDS social life.”
With Jeffs is jail, in 2007 many nearby residents decided to hold an Easter celebration at Cottonwood Park in Colorado City. About 700 people attended from all over. “We had the BEST time. They opened up the zoo, made the whole place kid friendly. The egg hunt was great too. Barbeque chicken to die for!! Thank you everyone for helping with the side dishes and the great company.” But….there wasn’t any FLDS followers of Warren Jeffs there, even though they were welcome to attend.
Life for the FLDS hasn’t always been the way it has been in recent years under Warren Jeffs’ rule. Prior to Warren Jeffs’ reign, things were much different. Before Warren Jeffs banned community events, dances, sports, church meetings, and other activities, the people interacted with each other in kind and neighborly ways.
Holidays were a favorite time in the small rural towns of Hildale/Colorado City (Short Creek) nestled below redrock cliffs. Rulon Jeffs establish a three-day Harvest Fest celebration that was attracted members from as far away as Canada. One person recalled fondly, “How fun was it to go on the hay rides at the Harvest Fest? My friends and I went mostly for the rides and to google over the Canada boys that came down.”
A July 24th celebration was also a grand event. This was “Pioneer Day,” a holiday in Utah to commemorate the arrival of the first pioneers in 1847. “I remember Uncle Fred [Jessop] riding a black stallion at the head of the 24th of July Parade every year. The stallion would be all decked out with tassels and silver, and everyone would cheer. Someone would usually throw candy from one of the floats, and the children would go wild after it.”
“I lived in Salt Lake and I always looked forward to going down south for October Fest, April conference, 4th and 24th of July and any other reason I could find to go down there. I loved to go down to the basketball court and I would play basketball from morning until dark. I would only quit long enough to grab something to eat. Everyone down there was so friendly and I miss those good ole days a lot.”
A former FLDS member wrote this touching memory when life was so different among these people: “Oh, back to the good things about [Short Creek.] I loved the community programs! And the Harvest Fest, and the Park fundraisers, and the 4th and 24th of July, doorbell ditching on Valentines Day, and going for walks on summer evenings, and drives with the family on Sunday evenings, hiking in Water Canyon, baseball in Maxwell Park, homemade everything (yummmmmmmy food!!) talking with the family and any friends came at dinner time, (no TV!). Singing for everything, the dances, taking turns staying up all night to make the sorghum, helping out anyone and everyone on Saturday work projects, oh, and when someone lost a loved one, even if it was a baby or small child, 4000+ people came to the funeral. Oh, and not having to lock my doors at night, and being able to leave my keys in my car!! These things I truly miss! But most of all, I MISS MY FAMILY THAT ARE STILL OUT THERE!! I have tears running down my cheeks, I miss them so much! You know, I just realized....that is what it is! Everyone was family out there.”
Activities included dances, movies, plays, ice skating, and swimming. A dance was held every other Friday night and a movie on alternate Fridays. Fred Jessop would usually stage a play production about every year or so, using the same scripts over and over again. “I looked forward to dances, plays or whatever special entertainment was planned for the weekends before returning to school on Monday mornings.” “Another great thing I miss were the dances and afterward singing ‘Give Me A Home In The Heart Of The Mountains.’ A sweet warm fuzzy memory.”
“When I was a kid, all of the ponds, sumps, and reservoirs would freeze over from about Thanksgiving to the end of February. We were constantly in search of good ice, not all of them had ice thick enough to skate on. When we found good ice, every one with a pair of skates would show up. Someone would build a bonfire using old tires (stunk like hell, but gave good light, just don't stay downwind for too long) and we would skate for hours. When we got home my mom would put us in the tub and run cold water on us to thaw us out. That sure hurt, but it was worth it just to skate all night. During the summer, all of the ponds, sumps, and reservoirs would turn into swimming holes. Water Canyon was the greatest as long as you could make it through the sand spots in the road. We usually had someone's mom's car, and would let the air out of the tires to make it. That water was cold!”
Here’s another fun Saturday activity: “I know this isn't a big thing for city folks, but my dad let my brother and me take the garbage to the dump on Saturdays. That meant we got to drive...and we were only 11 or 12. We used to make a day of it and bring more treasure home than trash dumped.”
At times, a Monday morning devotional was held. “One of my favorite things was the way Monday Morning Meeting used to be. I loved to wake up early in the morning when the sky was still tinged pink above the mountains. The people would gather in a line forming a hollow square, and shake hands with everyone else. And, MJ would say "Good morning everyone!!" to which there was always a rousing reply and then we would sing hymns and listen to the musical numbers.”
“I like to remember the old school days, when Louis Barlow was principal, he got an old war surplus generator and had some of the guys hook it to an old car engine. We actually had electricity at the school! Lou had us dig a well by hand. Someone would be in the hole digging, while others would pull the buckets of dirt up on a rope. We planted grass in the square that was between the three school buildings. I believe that was the first lawn ever planted in short creek! We put up a tall flag pole in the center of the lawn. One evening I was playing around at the school, it was about dusk, Merril and Truman came along and grabbed me ,they jerked my pants off and ran them up the flag pole.”
In days gone by, the many acts of kindness were common place. “I remember Uncle Parley [Harker] distributing spuds around town. I also remember Uncle Fred [Jessop] bringing groceries to the house one time when I was laid up, and couldn't work.” Another act of kindness: “I remember whenever there was a funeral, Uncle Alvin would gather up his boys and go rake the family's yard. People would bring over food and offer support to the family.”
One former member who wasn’t strictly obedient recalled: “I remember ditching 1st period devotional, ditching 7th period study, easily outrunning the nightwatch night after night (later called the godsquad), hiking every mountain around town, falling asleep at the cannery at 3 in the morning on the second day, playing basketball at Holms' and pretending we weren't there to flirt with the girls, patching the holes in my bike tubes every week, having a hundred best friends, riding my minibike down to the gas station and draining all the hoses into the tank, then topping it of with 10 cents, stealing my dad's beer out of the fridge, and kissing the neighbor girl.”
But life radically changed until Warren Jeff’s leadership. In July of 2003, Jeffs got up in front of the people and told them the Lord was displeased with them for building a monument of the 1953 Short Creek raid. He told the people that the blessings of the Priesthood would be removed. There would be no more meetings. He said that Colorado City was cursed.
Under Jeffs, there were no more dances, plays, or movies. Boys and girls could no longer associate together socially. One former FLDS member sadly misses the culture that used to exist “The only culture left is cold as an Alaskan winter. Basketball, Harvest Fest, dances, plays, and now church [meetings] even are all bad, wicked of this world activities that have been crossed of the ‘list’ to do in the FLDS social life.”
With Jeffs is jail, in 2007 many nearby residents decided to hold an Easter celebration at Cottonwood Park in Colorado City. About 700 people attended from all over. “We had the BEST time. They opened up the zoo, made the whole place kid friendly. The egg hunt was great too. Barbeque chicken to die for!! Thank you everyone for helping with the side dishes and the great company.” But….there wasn’t any FLDS followers of Warren Jeffs there, even though they were welcome to attend.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
FLDS Beliefs 101 – Casting out evil
Under Warren Jeffs' leadership, many men, women and boys have been cast out of the FLDS Church. Many of them have been forced out of their homes and away from their families.
Excommunication of unfaithful followers (removal of membership) is part of most religions. But the FLDS took this practice to unprecedented severity as they stripped people not only of their membership, but also of their homes and families.
What could be the justification? How did this come about? During the early years of LeRoy Johnson’s leadership, members who doubted or criticized leaders were mostly tolerated with some degree of patience. But in the 1970’s, divisions, contentions, and power struggles arose among the leaders.
In 1976, the first member was forced out of his house in Colorado City. Jim Blackmore was no longer permitted by LeRoy Johnson to live in the house he built in the late 1960s. Jim didn’t back down and filed a lawsuit. Never before had the FLDS leadership taken a man’s house from a man. In the past if someone apostatized, they would get discouraged and leave, but LeRoy Johnson made the decision to start forcing members out of the society if they were out of harmony with him. Blackmore eventual dropped the suit and left because of the legal fees needed.
Sometime in 1980, LeRoy Johnson received a revelation in which the Lord told him to clean up the town. He commissioned local law-man Sam Barlow to make things happen. The first eviction attempt was against a widow with eight children. After much hardship, she finally agreed to leave. Other evictions followed and Barlow stepped up to new levels of intimidation by using a “God Sqaud” of young men to beat up people judged to be apostates.
Things really heated up because of the “Priesthood Split” during the 1980s when 1/3 of the families refused to recognize LeRoy Johnson as the “one man” to rule over them. Fierce legal battles involving the United Effort Plan (UEP) took place lasting many years. The FLDS lost the suit and the ruling confirmed that they did not have the right to evict people from the homes that they built.
Rulon Jeffs, the next prophet, blamed the defeat on the sins of the people. Warren Jeffs later explained, “Uncle Roy told us, all it takes is one or two covenant breakers, in order for the Lord to curse this people. In the midst of the court case where the apostates have tried to destroy the United Effort Plan, one or two years into the lawsuit, President Jeffs called on this people to fast and pray. We were so completely defeated at that certain court hearing. The spirit of the Lord told President Jeffs why... there were many immoral people among us. He stood up in meeting and said, ‘I am calling for this people to confess their evils. If you've been immoral, come and confess and let us clean up this people.’ Within about three years time, there were over sixty cases of immorality that were confessed to him. Because of the sins among this people, we have not triumphed in the courts. I hope and pray that we are cleaning up now, and our prophet will have a people the Lord will protect. By the lifting up process, this people will finally be cleaned up. Those who are not pure will be left behind to be destroyed.” (WSJ 12/26/95)
The FLDS “yearn for Zion,” to live in a society free from sin and contention, where all things are held in common without jealousy -- a heaven on earth. As the FLDS leadership continued to prophesy that the end of the world was quickly approaching, they taught the people that wickedness needed to be purged from their society. Jeffs taught, “One or two covenant breakers can cause the Lord to stop blessing this people. As long as we have evil doers among us, the Lord's blessings will be withheld. Zion must be pure. We can't have evil people among the priesthood for the Lord to appear and bless us like He would like to. Be this a warning.” (WSJ 12/26/95)
Jeffs laid the doctrinal groundwork to justify a cleansing of the FLDS. Their theology teaches that an ancient city led by a prophet named Enoch, was taken up into heaven because of their righteousness. The FLDS believe they can be taken up too as the wicked world is destroyed.
Jeffs stated that LeRoy Johnson taught, “"The only reason that Enoch was able to perfect a people was simply because he labored hard to cast out of the midst of his, men and women who would entertain in their minds, a doubt." (LSJ book p. 1053)
Who should be cast out? Jeffs explained, “whenever there was anybody who said ‘We need to go out and be like the world a little bit,’ those were the people that Enoch cast out and didn't let be among his people,” and “Enoch had to cast men out because they persisted in leaving people with a doubt in their minds.” (WSJ 11/19/95)
Two reasons were clear: Those who wanted to live “gentile” ways and those who doubted the prophet and would be a threat to the faith of others.
In 2004, the FLDS purge reached new levels as Jeffs removed many who, in his mind, were in opposition to him. During a meeting with 1,500 members, he read off a list of 20 men, asked them to stand, and told everyone that they had been excommunicated from the Church. They were told to immediately remove themselves from UEP property and leave the community. They must leave their wives and children behind to be reassigned to other men.
Isaac Wyler was one of these men. He explained, “Warren looked at us and said, 'You know what you have done,'" Wyler didn't know why. "He told us to keep working, keep sending him money, and to repent from afar. I sent him a 25-page letter of repentance listing anything I might have done. He never answered my letter."
As Jeffs started to build his Zion community at YFZ Ranch in Texas, the purges continued, even while he was in hiding from the law. Leaders would use informants and spies to seek out those who should be cast out. One man wrote, “Isn't it indecent for FLDS grown married men to be spying on my wife and child for 3 hour shifts at a time while I am at work?”
Another member cast out explained: “When we were asked to leave two years ago, some of the brethern were sent to our house to ask if what they had heard about us was true. I was gone, but my husband answered the door. They gave him a chance to admit or deny before quietly asking him to leave as soon as we could find a place to live.”
Warren’s brother Lyle Jeffs, continued casting out members while Jeffs was in hiding. Many men are still “repenting from afar” hoping that they can some day return.
The families they leave are ordered to have no more contact with the person because they are now apostates. (see apostates) “When my father got kicked out, they took all the pictures and burned them. ‘Take the pictures down,’ forget the past acquaintances, and carry on with your life like nothing ever happened. Act like your loved ones never existed.”
After Jeffs' conviction and sentencing, the purges appear to have ceased. But his efforts to build Zion has left behind a trail of tears.
“Who will be Zion, filled with his love, laboring now with the hope of a glorious day, when Zion shall rise, and the words of the prophets unfold. When Zion shall flourish upon the hills, the wilderness blossoming fair as the rose.” From Yearning For Zion by Warren Jeffs.
Excommunication of unfaithful followers (removal of membership) is part of most religions. But the FLDS took this practice to unprecedented severity as they stripped people not only of their membership, but also of their homes and families.
What could be the justification? How did this come about? During the early years of LeRoy Johnson’s leadership, members who doubted or criticized leaders were mostly tolerated with some degree of patience. But in the 1970’s, divisions, contentions, and power struggles arose among the leaders.
In 1976, the first member was forced out of his house in Colorado City. Jim Blackmore was no longer permitted by LeRoy Johnson to live in the house he built in the late 1960s. Jim didn’t back down and filed a lawsuit. Never before had the FLDS leadership taken a man’s house from a man. In the past if someone apostatized, they would get discouraged and leave, but LeRoy Johnson made the decision to start forcing members out of the society if they were out of harmony with him. Blackmore eventual dropped the suit and left because of the legal fees needed.
Sometime in 1980, LeRoy Johnson received a revelation in which the Lord told him to clean up the town. He commissioned local law-man Sam Barlow to make things happen. The first eviction attempt was against a widow with eight children. After much hardship, she finally agreed to leave. Other evictions followed and Barlow stepped up to new levels of intimidation by using a “God Sqaud” of young men to beat up people judged to be apostates.
Things really heated up because of the “Priesthood Split” during the 1980s when 1/3 of the families refused to recognize LeRoy Johnson as the “one man” to rule over them. Fierce legal battles involving the United Effort Plan (UEP) took place lasting many years. The FLDS lost the suit and the ruling confirmed that they did not have the right to evict people from the homes that they built.
Rulon Jeffs, the next prophet, blamed the defeat on the sins of the people. Warren Jeffs later explained, “Uncle Roy told us, all it takes is one or two covenant breakers, in order for the Lord to curse this people. In the midst of the court case where the apostates have tried to destroy the United Effort Plan, one or two years into the lawsuit, President Jeffs called on this people to fast and pray. We were so completely defeated at that certain court hearing. The spirit of the Lord told President Jeffs why... there were many immoral people among us. He stood up in meeting and said, ‘I am calling for this people to confess their evils. If you've been immoral, come and confess and let us clean up this people.’ Within about three years time, there were over sixty cases of immorality that were confessed to him. Because of the sins among this people, we have not triumphed in the courts. I hope and pray that we are cleaning up now, and our prophet will have a people the Lord will protect. By the lifting up process, this people will finally be cleaned up. Those who are not pure will be left behind to be destroyed.” (WSJ 12/26/95)
The FLDS “yearn for Zion,” to live in a society free from sin and contention, where all things are held in common without jealousy -- a heaven on earth. As the FLDS leadership continued to prophesy that the end of the world was quickly approaching, they taught the people that wickedness needed to be purged from their society. Jeffs taught, “One or two covenant breakers can cause the Lord to stop blessing this people. As long as we have evil doers among us, the Lord's blessings will be withheld. Zion must be pure. We can't have evil people among the priesthood for the Lord to appear and bless us like He would like to. Be this a warning.” (WSJ 12/26/95)
Jeffs laid the doctrinal groundwork to justify a cleansing of the FLDS. Their theology teaches that an ancient city led by a prophet named Enoch, was taken up into heaven because of their righteousness. The FLDS believe they can be taken up too as the wicked world is destroyed.
Jeffs stated that LeRoy Johnson taught, “"The only reason that Enoch was able to perfect a people was simply because he labored hard to cast out of the midst of his, men and women who would entertain in their minds, a doubt." (LSJ book p. 1053)
Who should be cast out? Jeffs explained, “whenever there was anybody who said ‘We need to go out and be like the world a little bit,’ those were the people that Enoch cast out and didn't let be among his people,” and “Enoch had to cast men out because they persisted in leaving people with a doubt in their minds.” (WSJ 11/19/95)
Two reasons were clear: Those who wanted to live “gentile” ways and those who doubted the prophet and would be a threat to the faith of others.
In 2004, the FLDS purge reached new levels as Jeffs removed many who, in his mind, were in opposition to him. During a meeting with 1,500 members, he read off a list of 20 men, asked them to stand, and told everyone that they had been excommunicated from the Church. They were told to immediately remove themselves from UEP property and leave the community. They must leave their wives and children behind to be reassigned to other men.
Isaac Wyler was one of these men. He explained, “Warren looked at us and said, 'You know what you have done,'" Wyler didn't know why. "He told us to keep working, keep sending him money, and to repent from afar. I sent him a 25-page letter of repentance listing anything I might have done. He never answered my letter."
As Jeffs started to build his Zion community at YFZ Ranch in Texas, the purges continued, even while he was in hiding from the law. Leaders would use informants and spies to seek out those who should be cast out. One man wrote, “Isn't it indecent for FLDS grown married men to be spying on my wife and child for 3 hour shifts at a time while I am at work?”
Another member cast out explained: “When we were asked to leave two years ago, some of the brethern were sent to our house to ask if what they had heard about us was true. I was gone, but my husband answered the door. They gave him a chance to admit or deny before quietly asking him to leave as soon as we could find a place to live.”
Warren’s brother Lyle Jeffs, continued casting out members while Jeffs was in hiding. Many men are still “repenting from afar” hoping that they can some day return.
The families they leave are ordered to have no more contact with the person because they are now apostates. (see apostates) “When my father got kicked out, they took all the pictures and burned them. ‘Take the pictures down,’ forget the past acquaintances, and carry on with your life like nothing ever happened. Act like your loved ones never existed.”
After Jeffs' conviction and sentencing, the purges appear to have ceased. But his efforts to build Zion has left behind a trail of tears.
“Who will be Zion, filled with his love, laboring now with the hope of a glorious day, when Zion shall rise, and the words of the prophets unfold. When Zion shall flourish upon the hills, the wilderness blossoming fair as the rose.” From Yearning For Zion by Warren Jeffs.
FLDS Beliefs 101 – The Family
The family unit is highly valued by the FLDS. It is the foundation of their belief system. Unfortunately in their leaders’ zeal to protect the family, they have highly restricted freedom of choice, and destroyed hundreds of families along the way as obedience to the prophet in all things takes precedent.
The FLDS believe families can be eternal, that is, that they can exist after this life. “Here, you earn the right to live as family in the next life. In time, you will be raised out of the grave and live in families in heaven” (WSJ 10/31/95)
But families are only eternal under certain conditions.
- The family must be FLDS.
- Men must receive the Melchizedek priesthood. (Authority bestowed by the prophet).
- A family must be created by the prophet. (see arranged marriages). “A family can only be a family by appointment of the prophet. You can only get married and be a priesthood family if he (the prophet) says whom you should marry.”(WSJ 10/31/95).
- The family must live plural marriage.
- Families must be faithful and obey the prophet in all things. “No father, can go off and make up his own rules. For him to stay a faithful father, he must live the prophet's rules. Nobody can be their own big boss and get to heaven, right up to our Savior, direct. You only get to heaven through the living prophet in your time. Because of this great power President Jeffs holds, he is everything to us.” (WSJ 11/20/95)
- Families must live together in harmony during this life. “In heaven, everyone is organized into families. If you've done evil, fought and quarreled, you will live separate. Here, you earn the right to live as family in the next life.” (WSJ 10/31/95) “The righteous and faithful are organized in the family and are in perfect harmony. Death doesn't separate family unless you are rebellious. If wicked, you won't live with the faithful in a family.” (WSJ 10/31/95)
- After this life, the prophet must give approval for you to go to heaven where you can still be a family. “You can’t become a god and go up to heaven unless you have the permission and approval of the prophet in the day you live. He (the prophet) holds the keys of the priesthood - meaning, he can turn the keys in your favor. He can give you a blessing that is eternal. If you don't get your blessings through him, then you don't have anything.” (WSJ 11/1/95)
Because these conditions are so narrow, it motivates FLDS leaders to put into place restrictions that in their view will protect the family members from wicked outside influences. (see Gentiles). Critics maintain that these restrictions are just a vehicle to control the people, but there does seem to be some logically rational behind things such as modest dress, no TV or movies, boys and girls not socializing, etc. The restrictions are rationalized as being needed to ensure family members are on a path to be faithful in receiving priesthood, entering an arranged marriage, entering plural marriage, having children, and living a good life. Where this falls apart in the FLDS society are the penalties for coming up short, the unjust internal persecution, and the lack of second chances.
When a daughter is married, she is no longer part of her father’s family. He has no claim on her anymore. She is now in her husband’s family. After this life, the fathers will bring forth their families in the after-life resurrection. “The father will take hold of the hand of his wives - he will raise them up, one by one, out of the grave because he was... then he will go to his sons and raise them out of the grave. I'm talking about faithful fathers, mothers, and sons. The girls will be raised out of the graves by their husbands - not their earthly father.” (WSJ 10/31/95)
If a father is deemed to be unfaithful, his family can be taken away from him by the prophet and his wives are assigned and married to other men who are viewed as faithful. Hundreds of families have been broken up and dissolved by decree of the FLDS leaders. This obviously has a deep impact on the father, but the family left behind have serious difficulties adapting to their new family life. One FLDS member wrote: “I had the experience as a child of my mother remarrying several times. I got to feel first hand what it was like to be told ‘He is not your father any more. This is your Priesthood Father, your only father.’ I accepted it and pretended it was so. Then my father changed, again and again. The whole experience hurt me very deeply.”
Curiously, the FLDS don’t seek after their “lost sheep.” Instead they turn their backs on them, let them stray, and forget about them.
Those who are shunned most often lose their faith in the FLDS beliefs, but they don’t lose their love for their families. One former member wrote: “I miss my family out there too. Some days I want to cry, but the tears don't come, because I KNOW that underneath all the stuff that is between us, my family really does love me. And it is hard, but I don't have to see them to remember. I know they are just trying to do what they think is right, and I don't think it is my place to push them to believe what I believe. I only need to understand. And, I keep things. I keep the last birthday present my mother gave me and it's on my dresser every day so I can remember that she loves me and every year that goes by without a phone call, I know she is thinking of me and loving me, and maybe shedding a few tears for me that day. And that is enough.”
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
FLDS Beliefs 101 - One Man Rule
The FLDS traces its roots and authority from God back to a group of families who believed they were instructed by God to keep the principle of plural marriage alive after the Mormon Church abandoned the practice in 1890. Their families were led by a “priesthood council” -- a group of men. The council had a senior member, but they all made decisions together. In those early years they concentrated on keeping plural marriage alive. They didn’t worry about controlling the people or demanding loyally to one man. But over time things changed in the current FLDS doctrine where loyalty to the “one man” who has the sealing powers is more important than anything else, including families.
In the early 1980s, LeRoy Johnson was the senior member of the priesthood council. “Uncle Roy,” influenced by others seeking power, outlined extreme actions that other members of the council didn’t want to follow. He explained that it was not a democracy, that he didn’t need their support since he held all the keys (authority from God). Marrion Hammon, second in seniority questioned this belief, and referenced a past revelation that stated that all members of the council held the same keys (authority). Johnson insisted that the source of the revelation was of the devil. A serious split resulted in the priesthood council. Marrion Hammon and Alma Timpson could not accept the doctrinal changes Johnson and others were introducing in this power struggle. A split eventually occurred and about 1/3 of the families followed after Hammon and Timpson. They became what was referred to as “the Second Ward.” The rest stayed loyal to Johnson. The Second Ward today is not part of the FLDS and is known as the
Under Rulon Jeffs’ leadership, he further solidified the “one man rule” doctrine. He went so far as to change the history of the group by eliminating from their succession of leaders, any senior member who had taught against the “one man rule” doctrine. In the 1950s, The FLDS magazine “TRUTH” showed their line of authority as: Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, John Woolley, Lorin Woolley, Leslie Broadbent, Joseph Musser, and Charles Zitting. But Jeffs changed history and now, if you look closely at picture of YFZ walls, and on the FLDS website, you will not see pictures of these men: Wilford Woodruff, Leslie Broadbent, Joseph Musser, and Charles Zitting. These men were eliminated from FLDS history and stripped of their priesthood posthumously because they taught things that didn’t line up with the “one man rule” doctrine desired.
It is rumored that they went even further by sanitizing transcripts of LeRoy Johnson’s sermons after his death, removing references to Joseph Musser during the time he was recognized as being “the one.”
Warren Jeffs taught the FLDS children a different version: “About 15-17 years ago, there were several apostles who turned traitor against President Johnson. Many apostles have fallen away, not believing. There is only one man who holds all the powers of priesthood and is the key holder, and that one man today is President Jeffs. He is our Enoch, our Moses, our Elijah. The work of all the prophets is now alive in President Jeffs. . . . A few years ago, Marion Hammon, Guy Musser, Alma Timpson - men who were ordained apostles - turned traitor against Uncle Roy. They wanted to be the great power over the earth, and they wanted Uncle Roy to die, but President Jeffs was there to help him.” (WSJ 11/20/95)
Now with this “one man rule” established, the FLDS prophet could call all the shots. To the FLDS, the prophet is God to them. They don’t worship the prophet, but his word is God’s word. “Because of this great power President Jeffs holds, he is everything to us. All your happiness comes through him. The Lord has promised this prophet, ‘Whoever you bless, I will bless. Whoever you curse, I will curse.’” “To obey the prophet is to obey God.” (WSJ 11/20/95) “You become like God through obeying the prophet - the man who stands as God.” (WSJ 11/20/95) “We worship the true and living God by obeying His prophet.” (WSJ 11/22/95).
As you can see, for the FLDS today, everything flows through the prophet. A chain of obedience exists. The man must obey the prophet. The woman must obey the husband as he obeys the prophet. If a woman disobeys her husband, she is disobeying the prophet, and disobeying God. “No father, can go off and make up his own rules. For him to stay a faithful father, he must live the prophet's rules. Nobody can be their own big boss and get to heaven, right up to our Savior, direct. You only get to heaven through the living prophet in your time. Because of this great power President Jeffs holds, he is everything to us.” (WSJ 11/20/95)
What is the consequence for not obeying the prophet? One bad thing, is death. “This land has to be cleansed of all the people except the priesthood people [faithful FLDS]. Only those who obey President Jeffs will survive.” (WSJ 11/19/95). “We've told you what happens to the disobedient. They will never see Heavenly Father again.” (WSJ 11/8/95)
A former FLDS member explains “THERE IS NO LOVE. The only motivation out there is FEAR. They live in fear of having all that they hold dear removed from them. They live in fear of going to hell because they do not implicitly obey the fiendish dictates of a man in a desperate power struggle, who just can't seem to get enough.”
An FLDS believer claimed these people aren’t controlled, they have choice: “They are just taught that they are the only true people of God. They don’t have to stay where they are. They choose to. They are true believers of
Believe or be kicked out, lose your home, family, all that you know and love. This is systematic removal of individuality and free choice in the name of “perfect obedience to authority.”
FLDS Beliefs 101 – “Keep Sweet”
"Keep Sweet" was a favorite phrase used by Rulon Jeffs, Warren Jeff's father, the prophet before him.
Here is how Rulon Jeffs described the meaning of keep sweet in a talk on Dec. 6, 1991, in Sandy, Utah: ''I want you all to understand the continual use of the two words ''keep sweet'' means keep the Holy Spirit of the Lord, until you are full of it. Only those who have it will survive the judgments of God which are about to be poured out.” In 1994, again in Sandy, Utah, Rulon Jeffs also said: ''Keeping sweet no matter what is a matter of life or death as we approach the day of the great judgments that are to go over the earth. . . Let us get it and keep it. You don't turn it off and on. It must be a permanent thing in our very nature, and a part of our character.”
In the late 1990s, the FLDS published a newsletter for the members and the masthead included, “With Every Breath, Keep Sweet, No Matter What.” At the Bountiful compound in
Warren Jeffs has taken this phase a step further, making it into a commandment, a mantra to keep your feelings under control. “If you are keeping sweet no matter what, you are a person ready to give up your own will and just obey the priesthood over you. In order to Keep Sweet, it requires the sacrifice of our feelings.” (WSJ 11/2/95) "To be loyal to Heavenly Father, to truly love Him and obey Him, you must keep sweet no matter what. If your feelings can be disturbed and you simply need more of the spirit of God to have and earn more of that sweet spirit, you must pay the price. The price is sacrifice. Set aside any feeling or thought that disturbs the spirit of God." (WSJ 1/28/2003) “Keeping sweet means saying your prayers and obeying the priesthood over you.” (WSJ 3/6/96)
The command to keep sweet intensified as the FLDS leaders taught that the end of the world would come in 2000. “We only have four years left, young people. The time is so short. That's why you hear President Jeffs say in meeting, ‘Keep sweet no matter what, it's a matter of life or death.’” (WSJ 2/8/96)
FLDS members and former members have their own understanding of the phrase. Swallow pride, swallow emotions. Suffer silently regardless of what concerns you might have. Don’t show any emotion, don’t rock the boat, don’t make any trouble, don’t ask questions, don’t criticize, don’t find fault. Girls should accept the polygamist lifestyle and the men's wishes without complaint. Don't flinch when you're told to do something that doesn't quite feel right. Just be nice, don't complain because complaining disturbs the spirit of god.
And finally, be “immune to gloom.”
FLDS Beliefs 101 - Apostates
During the past twenty years, the FLDS leadership introduced a policy of casting out members from their society for various reasons. Some of these people have gone away quietly, still believing in the Church. Others have been deeply hurt, feeling that they have been treated unjustly, losing their homes and families. Still others have left voluntarily or escaped. In the 1952 and 1984, large groups of families have split off from the FLDS because of disputations over leadership and doctrine.
In all cases, these former members are referred to as “apostates.”
Warren Jeffs gave a definition of an apostate. “An apostate is a person that turns against the prophet. They turn away from him at first then they turn to fight him in the end. People who criticize the prophet will eventually turn against him. What brings a person to do this? It is simply losing the spirit of God through disobedience.” (WSJ 4/2/96)
Anyone within the FLDS who starts to criticize or disobey the prophet is viewed as heading down the road to being an apostate. This is another mechanism of control used by the FLDS leaders. FLDS fear greatly being branded as apostates.
Not only are the apostates terribly wicked, but their descendants are too. “Where people have heard the gospel and then turned against it, they usually teach their children to hate the priesthood also, and they put into their own being a hate for priesthood.” (WSJ 11/22/95) “Apostates become more dark in their minds and their ways, than even gentiles are. Those who have heard the gospel and fall away from it - they are all the more darkened. It's like they turn traitor against light and truth. Also, their children and those that follow after their ways, become dark and filthy. (WSJ 4/2/96)
“The Jews were apostate. They knew the gospel was true and hated it. The Lord will not allow apostates to prosper. They must go down. Eventually, they become nothing, as it is with their descendants.” (WSJ 4/27/96)
The FLDS believe that the eternal destination for apostates is worse than hell. “The wicked who were a part of this work (FLDS) and then apostatized - or the wicked who were offered this priesthood and would not live it - when they die, they go and live among the worst, most evil spirits. They become angels to the devil. They become the people that hate us the worst. The apostates are the worst spirits. They are the ones who know how the best, to tempt us - and they're always trying to destroy the priesthood people here.” (WSJ 10/31/95)
“When they come out of the grave and are resurrected, they will not go into any of the degrees of happiness. They will go immediately into eternal punishment that will never die. They are the worst of beings and the terror and pain they will suffer cannot even be described. The worst thing a person could be is an apostate and turn against the prophet. They will suffer even as Lucifer, who fell from the heavens, will.” (WSJ 11/1/95)
As early as 1967, Leroy Johnson taught that some day the disobedient would need to be purged out of the FLDS. “And the time is coming when the Lord is going to ask us to invite men and women out who do not obey and are not worthy of the blessings of eternal life" (LSJ 2/12/67)
That day arrived under the leadership of Warren Jeffs. In recent years, Jeffs has seized on this concept as a core strategy for purifying his followers. Hundreds have been cast out of the FLDS and then shunned as apostates. Sadly, frequently this has been done by Jeffs being the judge, jury, and executioner. A person is accused by Jeffs, that the Lord revealed to him the sins. Often they are told that they have immorality in their heart and have no hope to repent. Others are not told the reason, just told to leave, repent from afar, and while they are away their homes and families are reassigned to others.
Sometimes the FLDS are “kicked” because they are a threat to the leadership. A member wrote: “I was there when
Leaders tell these FLDS members hurtful things on their way out the door such as: “you are not worth the air you breath”, “you are not worth the powder to blow you to hell”, and “you are nothing more than dogs and cats and cows and horses, and they are already dead!"
The families are ordered to have no more contact with the person because they are apostates. “When my father got kicked out, they took all the pictures and burned them. ‘Take the pictures down,’ forget the past acquaintances, and carry on with your life like nothing ever happened. Act like your loved ones never existed.”
The impact to real lives is devastating. One “kicked” member wrote, “One of my children who follows Warren Jeffs has been told to no longer associate with me or my other children. I only see her if I happen to meet her in town shopping or something. If her husband is with her at that time she won't even look at me. If she is alone I might be able to get close enough to give her a hug and let her know I love her. But she doesn't stay for long, just hurries away. I am not allowed to talk to her children--my grandchildren. They won't come near me. They have been taught that I am an apostate, which is absolutely not true. My religion is stronger than ever. I believe as I always have.”
Most former members branded as apostates just bear the pain quietly. “I miss my family out there too. Some days I want to cry, but the tears don't come, because I KNOW that underneath all the stuff that is between us, my family really does love me. I know they are just trying to do what they think is right, and I don't think it is my place to push them to believe what I believe. I only need to understand. And, I keep things. I keep the last birthday present my mother gave me and it's on my dresser every day so I can remember that she loves me and every year that goes by without a phone call, I know she is thinking of me and loving me, and maybe shedding a few tears for me that day. And that is enough.”
The large groups that broke off from the FLDS are also treated as apostates. On July 16, 2000, Jeffs ordered FLDS members to have no contact with "2nd Warders," a group located in
FLDS Beliefs 101 - Arranged Marriages
The “Law of the Placement” started to be introduced among the FLDS as early as the 1940’s. It was considered by the “priesthood council” (the leaders) as a way to control the number of wives men were taken. Leaders John Y. Barlow and Joseph Musser disagreed sharply on this subject and this was one of the main reasons why the Allred group (now in
In the coming years, FLDS prophets, Leroy Johnson, Rulon Jeffs, and Warren Jeffs further defined this practice, making it a core FLDS doctrine.
To have a proper marriage, one that will exists for eternity in heaven, a marriage must be assigned by the prophet. “You can only get married and be a priesthood family if he (the prophet) says whom you should marry. “(WSJ 10/31/1995). No dating, courting, or choosing your own spouse is allowed. “If a boy and girl agree to get married and just go do it, they can never be gods, because you must be married by revelation through the prophet.” (WSJ 11/1/95)
Contrary to factual history, Warren Jeffs has convinced the FLDS that assigned marriages by the prophet is the way it has always been done. “Priesthood marriage is always by revelation through the prophet. It has always been this way, and this is what you look forward to.” (WSJ 11/28/95)
Being in love at the time of marriage isn’t important. “In priesthood marriage, the Lord makes the love. In the world marriage, they date and try to figure out if they like each other, then decide if they'll get married. In priesthood marriage, the Lord appoints it and He makes the love. He puts in that husband and wife a love for each other, and it grows as they obey the prophet together.” (WSJ 11/28/95)
One of the protections of having the prophet arrange the marriage is that he will make sure no African American blood is introduced to the union. “That is why we marry only who the prophet says - because if you marry anybody out in the world, there's a chance they could have Negro blood in them.” This would have serious eternal consequence on the family. “If you young people were to marry a Negro, you could not be a priesthood person, even if you repented. You could not stay in this work.” (WSJ 11/9/1995)To really make this system work, the FLDS needed to be convinced that if they didn’t accept arranged marriages, they would suffer serious eternal consequences.
What are the consequences of entering a marriage that isn’t arranged by the prophet? They won’t go the highest heaven (
Instilling fear is key to obeying this principle.
- “We've told you what happens to the disobedient. They will never see Heavenly Father again.” (WSJ 11/8/1995)
- “The only ones who will remain on this earth after the destructions are those who are like Heavenly Father, or in other words, they "Keep Sweet No Matter What". (WSJ 11/19/95) . If you are keeping sweet no matter what, you are a person ready to give up your own will and just obey the priesthood over you. In order to Keep Sweet, it requires the sacrifice of our feelings. (WSJ 11/2/95)
The most dangerous factor that attacks this arranged system is a natural event: boys and girls falling in love. To counter this, FLDS leaders teach over and over again that boys and girls must not socially interact or date. “You have to come to loyalty and the love of priesthood, to where you'd rather die - you boys, than ever touch a girl and you girls, you'd rather die than ever touch a boy or want to be touched, because once certain things are done, you cannot go to the celestial kingdom. You cannot go to the celestial kingdom if you get married wrong.” (WSJ 12/5/95)
Parents cannot object to a marriage specified by the prophet. If they do, they are being disobedient and risk losing their membership, home, and family. One member explained: “I never wanted to be married to my husband. My parents objected to the marriage but they never said a word about that until it was all over and it was safe to do so. They were afraid of what would happen if they did.”
The FLDS are taught strictly not to come to the prophet to request specific marriages. However, if a girl starts being attracted to a boy, it is common for the father to come to the prophet to ask him to marry off his daughter quickly so she can be married “the right way.” This can frequently result in underage marriages. On former member wrote: “I have seen and heard young girls get married, and come home crying to their mothers, and the mothers tell them that it is the Lord's will, and they must go back to the man who forced himself upon them. I SAW IT!!!! Don't you understand?!!! It broke my heart. That is one of the reasons I left.”
Conclusion: Arranged marriages by the prophet is a key FLDS doctrine. They loosely base it on Old Testament examples. This system allows the leaders to maintain control over the people, eliminate chaotic competition for wives, to ensure that wives are only assigned to men loyal to the prophet, and to allow older men to more easily obtain young wives.
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