92 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 1, No. 1, 2010
Lost Boy
Brent W. Jeffs, with Maia Szalavitz
Reviewed by Janja Lalich, Ph.D.
New York: Broadway Books. 2009. ISBN-10:
0767931777 ISBN-13: 978-0-7679-3177-9
(hardcover). $24.95 ($16.47, Amazon.com). 256
pages.
“The stories of my childhood are either idyllic,
horrific, or filled with a sense of unreality,”
writes the author of this important, highly
informative, and poignant book. Lost Boy is the
memoir of Brent Jeffs, nephew of Warren Jeffs,
the imprisoned leader of the Fundamentalist
Church of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). The FLDS
sect split off from the Mormon church (LDS) in
Utah when the LDS abandoned polygamy as a
sacred practice in order to accommodate U.S.
law and public pressure. Believing that the LDS
had lost its way, some true believers who
refused to refrain from being polygamous
established their own churches, one being the
FLDS. The FLDS garnered quite a bit of
publicity and some measure of public sympathy
when the group’s Eldorado, Texas ranch,
Yearning for Zion, was raided by state officials
on April 3, 2008. More than 400 children were
removed from the compound on suspicion of
child abuse and underage marriage. Shortly
afterward, the Texas Department of Family and
Child Protective Services invited me to
participate in a weekend consultation with state
officials, representatives from child welfare
agencies and foster homes, education
department officials, and experts in various
fields. We discussed and struggled with the best
way to serve and protect the Yearning for Zion
children, and their mothers, in that highly
unusual situation. Over the course of the
weekend, I learned a great deal more than I
already knew about the ideology and inner
workings of the FLDS, thanks to excellent
presentations by, and my own lengthy
discussions with, former FLDS folks and others
there who had worked closely with ex-FLDSers
and/or are related to FLDS members. Therefore,
much of what I read in Brent Jeffs’ memoir
aligned with what I heard at that meeting and
reinforced my understanding of what life might
be like during and after membership in the
FLDS.
Lost Boy, as one may gather from the title,
focuses in particular on the life of one of those
many young men who were and are ejected from
the cult at an early age in order not to be “in
competition” with the older men in their
incessant pursuit of wives. As the author writes,
“Since 1999, hundreds of boys have been forced
out of the FLDS. Many succumb to drink, drugs,
and depression. Even as our prophet’s grandson,
I wasn’t exempt.” Brent Jeffs came from what
inside the FLDS is considered royalty—a family
of “royal blood.” His grandfather, Rulon, was
the FLDS prophet who was believed to speak
directly to God Rulon had 19 wives. Brent’s
father and uncle Warren were 2 of 65 siblings.
Brent’s father had three wives, two of whom
were full-blooded sisters, who gave birth to 20
children. Brent describes having literally
thousands of cousins. Given his royal heritage,
one might expect him to have been destined for
great things within this secretive and reclusive
clan. But it didn’t quite turn out that way.
Polygamy was the only world Brent or his
family knew. He explains that both his parents
came from generations of the practice, having
“lived polygamy since Joseph Smith first
introduced the ‘principle’ of ‘celestial marriage’
in 1843—and the same is true for most [FLDS]
members.” Brent uses plain language, clear
descriptions, and sometimes startling examples
to paint a picture of family life in such an
environment. For example, he writes,
“Polygamy and its power structure continuously
produce a constant, exhausting struggle for
attention and resources.” A statement such as
that is either preceded by or concludes with
vivid first-hand illustrations, creating an
impressive panoply of scenes that forcefully
substantiate the author’s claims.
Lost Boy
Brent W. Jeffs, with Maia Szalavitz
Reviewed by Janja Lalich, Ph.D.
New York: Broadway Books. 2009. ISBN-10:
0767931777 ISBN-13: 978-0-7679-3177-9
(hardcover). $24.95 ($16.47, Amazon.com). 256
pages.
“The stories of my childhood are either idyllic,
horrific, or filled with a sense of unreality,”
writes the author of this important, highly
informative, and poignant book. Lost Boy is the
memoir of Brent Jeffs, nephew of Warren Jeffs,
the imprisoned leader of the Fundamentalist
Church of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). The FLDS
sect split off from the Mormon church (LDS) in
Utah when the LDS abandoned polygamy as a
sacred practice in order to accommodate U.S.
law and public pressure. Believing that the LDS
had lost its way, some true believers who
refused to refrain from being polygamous
established their own churches, one being the
FLDS. The FLDS garnered quite a bit of
publicity and some measure of public sympathy
when the group’s Eldorado, Texas ranch,
Yearning for Zion, was raided by state officials
on April 3, 2008. More than 400 children were
removed from the compound on suspicion of
child abuse and underage marriage. Shortly
afterward, the Texas Department of Family and
Child Protective Services invited me to
participate in a weekend consultation with state
officials, representatives from child welfare
agencies and foster homes, education
department officials, and experts in various
fields. We discussed and struggled with the best
way to serve and protect the Yearning for Zion
children, and their mothers, in that highly
unusual situation. Over the course of the
weekend, I learned a great deal more than I
already knew about the ideology and inner
workings of the FLDS, thanks to excellent
presentations by, and my own lengthy
discussions with, former FLDS folks and others
there who had worked closely with ex-FLDSers
and/or are related to FLDS members. Therefore,
much of what I read in Brent Jeffs’ memoir
aligned with what I heard at that meeting and
reinforced my understanding of what life might
be like during and after membership in the
FLDS.
Lost Boy, as one may gather from the title,
focuses in particular on the life of one of those
many young men who were and are ejected from
the cult at an early age in order not to be “in
competition” with the older men in their
incessant pursuit of wives. As the author writes,
“Since 1999, hundreds of boys have been forced
out of the FLDS. Many succumb to drink, drugs,
and depression. Even as our prophet’s grandson,
I wasn’t exempt.” Brent Jeffs came from what
inside the FLDS is considered royalty—a family
of “royal blood.” His grandfather, Rulon, was
the FLDS prophet who was believed to speak
directly to God Rulon had 19 wives. Brent’s
father and uncle Warren were 2 of 65 siblings.
Brent’s father had three wives, two of whom
were full-blooded sisters, who gave birth to 20
children. Brent describes having literally
thousands of cousins. Given his royal heritage,
one might expect him to have been destined for
great things within this secretive and reclusive
clan. But it didn’t quite turn out that way.
Polygamy was the only world Brent or his
family knew. He explains that both his parents
came from generations of the practice, having
“lived polygamy since Joseph Smith first
introduced the ‘principle’ of ‘celestial marriage’
in 1843—and the same is true for most [FLDS]
members.” Brent uses plain language, clear
descriptions, and sometimes startling examples
to paint a picture of family life in such an
environment. For example, he writes,
“Polygamy and its power structure continuously
produce a constant, exhausting struggle for
attention and resources.” A statement such as
that is either preceded by or concludes with
vivid first-hand illustrations, creating an
impressive panoply of scenes that forcefully
substantiate the author’s claims.
