Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2005, Page 52
other public assistance fraudulently, pretending to be a single mother [while actually being
one among several plural wives], as critics charge.
As to the allegation that many young FLDS men have been excommunicated because they
offer too much competition to older men, who seek multiple wives, the woman said that the
younger leavers simply don‘t want to live by the community‘s rules, preferring instead the
―party‖ lifestyle, under-age drinking, sex before marriage, smoking, drugs, and the like.
Regarding the perception that FLDS leader Warren Jeffs is ‗lying low‘, she recalled that
Mormon founder Joseph Smith was murdered by a crowd that had been threatening him,
and the government had done nothing to stop it. ―Would we want to risk that?‖ (Mike
Weland, Kootenai Valley Press, Internet, 1/12/05)
Texas Settlement Reflects 19th Century Conflict
The new Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints settlement in
Texas under prophet Warren Jeffs includes a building that seems patterned after a temple
ordered built in 1846 by Mormon founder Joseph Smith, in Nauvoo, IL, before the Mormons
fled west, to Utah. Jeffs and the FLDS are facing lawsuits and state investigations in the
FLDS home communities in Arizona and Utah.
John Krakauer, author of a book on the church, and critical of it, says the new structure
could be linked to Jeffs‘ apocalyptic preaching as well as to his sense of himself as the final
Mormon prophet. ―Warren has predicted the end of the world twice already this year. He‘s
also said the ‗the destructions‘ will come sometime between the laying of the cornerstone
and the completion of the temple.‖
Krakauer believes that when Jeffs is ―finally cornered ...he‘ll fight to the bitter end.‖ Jeffs
compares himself to the martyred Joseph Smith, Krakauer says, ―and it‘s all coinciding with
God‘s plan for destruction.‖ An excommunicated follower says he thinks Jeffs is more like
Jim Jones than David Koresh. ―He won‘t go out guns firing. It will be suicide. And if he gets
backed into a corner, he‘ll take them all with him, those that will go, the faithful.‖ (John
MacCormack, San Antonio Express-News, Internet, 2/2/05)
Gene Scott
Faith Healer Turns to Surgeons
Televangelist Gene Scott, who until recently depended on prayer to cure his prostate
cancer, now says he‘ll have surgery, as well as chemotherapy and radiation, because his
disease has gotten ―out of control.‖ Scott emphasized that he has never asked parishioners
absolutely to shun medical treatment, and that in his case he only wants to ―give God the
first shot.‖ (Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times, Internet, 9/21/04)
Gentle Wind Project
Critical Comments Suit Dismissed
A New Jersey judge has ruled that cult observer Rick Ross should be dismissed from the
Gentle Wind Project’s lawsuit against the operator of a Utah-based website that compares
the Kittery-Maine-based group to a ―mind-control cult.‖ The judge said Ross, who has
referred to Gentle Wind as a ―purported cult,‖ has no connection to Maine and therefore
cannot be sued in that state for alleged defamation. James Bergin and Judy Garvey say in
their website that Gentle Wind, which employs spiritual healing, exploited them financially
and Garvey engaged in sexual rituals with the group‘s inner circle. (Gregory D. Kesich,
Portland Press Herald, Internet, 1/11/05)
other public assistance fraudulently, pretending to be a single mother [while actually being
one among several plural wives], as critics charge.
As to the allegation that many young FLDS men have been excommunicated because they
offer too much competition to older men, who seek multiple wives, the woman said that the
younger leavers simply don‘t want to live by the community‘s rules, preferring instead the
―party‖ lifestyle, under-age drinking, sex before marriage, smoking, drugs, and the like.
Regarding the perception that FLDS leader Warren Jeffs is ‗lying low‘, she recalled that
Mormon founder Joseph Smith was murdered by a crowd that had been threatening him,
and the government had done nothing to stop it. ―Would we want to risk that?‖ (Mike
Weland, Kootenai Valley Press, Internet, 1/12/05)
Texas Settlement Reflects 19th Century Conflict
The new Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints settlement in
Texas under prophet Warren Jeffs includes a building that seems patterned after a temple
ordered built in 1846 by Mormon founder Joseph Smith, in Nauvoo, IL, before the Mormons
fled west, to Utah. Jeffs and the FLDS are facing lawsuits and state investigations in the
FLDS home communities in Arizona and Utah.
John Krakauer, author of a book on the church, and critical of it, says the new structure
could be linked to Jeffs‘ apocalyptic preaching as well as to his sense of himself as the final
Mormon prophet. ―Warren has predicted the end of the world twice already this year. He‘s
also said the ‗the destructions‘ will come sometime between the laying of the cornerstone
and the completion of the temple.‖
Krakauer believes that when Jeffs is ―finally cornered ...he‘ll fight to the bitter end.‖ Jeffs
compares himself to the martyred Joseph Smith, Krakauer says, ―and it‘s all coinciding with
God‘s plan for destruction.‖ An excommunicated follower says he thinks Jeffs is more like
Jim Jones than David Koresh. ―He won‘t go out guns firing. It will be suicide. And if he gets
backed into a corner, he‘ll take them all with him, those that will go, the faithful.‖ (John
MacCormack, San Antonio Express-News, Internet, 2/2/05)
Gene Scott
Faith Healer Turns to Surgeons
Televangelist Gene Scott, who until recently depended on prayer to cure his prostate
cancer, now says he‘ll have surgery, as well as chemotherapy and radiation, because his
disease has gotten ―out of control.‖ Scott emphasized that he has never asked parishioners
absolutely to shun medical treatment, and that in his case he only wants to ―give God the
first shot.‖ (Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times, Internet, 9/21/04)
Gentle Wind Project
Critical Comments Suit Dismissed
A New Jersey judge has ruled that cult observer Rick Ross should be dismissed from the
Gentle Wind Project’s lawsuit against the operator of a Utah-based website that compares
the Kittery-Maine-based group to a ―mind-control cult.‖ The judge said Ross, who has
referred to Gentle Wind as a ―purported cult,‖ has no connection to Maine and therefore
cannot be sued in that state for alleged defamation. James Bergin and Judy Garvey say in
their website that Gentle Wind, which employs spiritual healing, exploited them financially
and Garvey engaged in sexual rituals with the group‘s inner circle. (Gregory D. Kesich,
Portland Press Herald, Internet, 1/11/05)
