Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 4, No. 2, 2005, Page 48
Arizona-Utah border. Shem Fisher alleges that Jeffs acted because Fisher supposedly no
longer adhered to the FLDS faith. (Pamela Manson, Salt Lake Tribune, Internet, 3/12/05)
Move to Check FLDS
Texas State Rep. Harvey Hildebrand has filed bills aimed to control the activities of the new
settlement, in San Angelo, of the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints. He would raise the minimum age of marriage with parents‘ consent
from 14 to 16, make it illegal for stepparents to marry stepchildren, and make stricter
residency rules for public office seekers. One bill would allow the local county hospital
district to switch from at-large to single-member district to prevent the FLDS from
controlling the hospital board and its money.
The legislator says he wants to prevent the growth of a community like the ones on the
Arizona-Utah border from which the FLDS settlers have come. An FLDS attorney says it is
impossible to enact laws against the group because sect members believe their salvation
depends on practicing polygamy, and ―there‘s not a lot the state can do to stop someone
who thinks their eternal salvation is at stake.‖ (Bill Hanna, Knight Rider News Service in Salt
Lake Tribune, Internet, 3/28/05)
Texas House Committee Inquiry
Utah attorney general Mark Shurtleff has told the Texas House Juvenile Justice and Family
Issues Committee that he spent most of his last term in office trying to bring charges of
pedophilia, child sexual abuse, and welfare fraud against Warren Jeffs, the leader of the
Utah-based Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS),
which is building a large settlement in Texas.
John Krakauer, who has written a book about the FLDS, told the committee that FLDS
women are assigned husbands by leader Warren Jeffs, prohibited from gaining a formal
education, and cut off from contact with much of the outside world.
Rep. Toby Goodman said: ―I hope this group doesn‘t think it can come to Texas, which is
kind of a law-and-order state, and commit acts of sodomy and child abuse. This state will
literally go after these people.‖ (Cox News Service in Oxford Press, Internet, 4/14/05)
Added to Hate Group List
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups and extremist activities, has
added the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to its list
because of leader Warren Jeffs’ remarks that blacks are the ―seed of Cain‖ and ―uncouth
or rude and filthy ...low in their habits, wild and seemingly deprived of nearly all the
blessings of the intelligence that is generally bestowed on mankind.‖ (Pamela Mason, Salt
Lake Tribune, Internet, 4/21/05)
Senate Rejects Broad Grounds for School Takeover
The Arizona Senate has voted to limit to ―financial mismanagement‖ the possible grounds
for state takeovers of dysfunctional school districts. The legislators acted in response to
reform calls stemming from allegations that the school district, staffed mainly by members
of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, was not in
compliance with many state regulations. One senator said that state funding for Colorado
City‘s public schools ―supports the polygamist community and, indirectly, the victimization
of young women.‖ (AP in Mohave Daily News, Internet, 4/29/05)
State Seizes Funds
A Utah court has temporarily frozen $100 million in land, housing, and other assets of the
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) because of
Arizona-Utah border. Shem Fisher alleges that Jeffs acted because Fisher supposedly no
longer adhered to the FLDS faith. (Pamela Manson, Salt Lake Tribune, Internet, 3/12/05)
Move to Check FLDS
Texas State Rep. Harvey Hildebrand has filed bills aimed to control the activities of the new
settlement, in San Angelo, of the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints. He would raise the minimum age of marriage with parents‘ consent
from 14 to 16, make it illegal for stepparents to marry stepchildren, and make stricter
residency rules for public office seekers. One bill would allow the local county hospital
district to switch from at-large to single-member district to prevent the FLDS from
controlling the hospital board and its money.
The legislator says he wants to prevent the growth of a community like the ones on the
Arizona-Utah border from which the FLDS settlers have come. An FLDS attorney says it is
impossible to enact laws against the group because sect members believe their salvation
depends on practicing polygamy, and ―there‘s not a lot the state can do to stop someone
who thinks their eternal salvation is at stake.‖ (Bill Hanna, Knight Rider News Service in Salt
Lake Tribune, Internet, 3/28/05)
Texas House Committee Inquiry
Utah attorney general Mark Shurtleff has told the Texas House Juvenile Justice and Family
Issues Committee that he spent most of his last term in office trying to bring charges of
pedophilia, child sexual abuse, and welfare fraud against Warren Jeffs, the leader of the
Utah-based Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS),
which is building a large settlement in Texas.
John Krakauer, who has written a book about the FLDS, told the committee that FLDS
women are assigned husbands by leader Warren Jeffs, prohibited from gaining a formal
education, and cut off from contact with much of the outside world.
Rep. Toby Goodman said: ―I hope this group doesn‘t think it can come to Texas, which is
kind of a law-and-order state, and commit acts of sodomy and child abuse. This state will
literally go after these people.‖ (Cox News Service in Oxford Press, Internet, 4/14/05)
Added to Hate Group List
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups and extremist activities, has
added the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to its list
because of leader Warren Jeffs’ remarks that blacks are the ―seed of Cain‖ and ―uncouth
or rude and filthy ...low in their habits, wild and seemingly deprived of nearly all the
blessings of the intelligence that is generally bestowed on mankind.‖ (Pamela Mason, Salt
Lake Tribune, Internet, 4/21/05)
Senate Rejects Broad Grounds for School Takeover
The Arizona Senate has voted to limit to ―financial mismanagement‖ the possible grounds
for state takeovers of dysfunctional school districts. The legislators acted in response to
reform calls stemming from allegations that the school district, staffed mainly by members
of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, was not in
compliance with many state regulations. One senator said that state funding for Colorado
City‘s public schools ―supports the polygamist community and, indirectly, the victimization
of young women.‖ (AP in Mohave Daily News, Internet, 4/29/05)
State Seizes Funds
A Utah court has temporarily frozen $100 million in land, housing, and other assets of the
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) because of
