Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 4, No. 2, 2005, Page 49
―sufficient evidence‖ that FLDS head Warren Jeffs, and several of his associates in a
controlling trust, committed a breach of faith by selling property to church insiders at less
than market value. The attorney general of Arizona, which is home to an FLDS community,
called the ruling ―a major step toward reducing the arbitrary power of Warren Jeffs and
protecting the trust from his manipulation, liquidation [Jeff‘s appears to be moving his
headquarters settlement to Texas], and misuse.‖ (Robert Anglen, Arizona Republic,
Internet, 5/28/05)
Buildings Disappear in Wake of Judgment
Two buildings in the adjoining Arizona and Utah communities of the Fundamentalist
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have been dismantled and carted away in
the wake of a Utah judge‘s order to freeze the assets of the trust that controls most of the
property and assets in the polygamous communities. (AP in KSL NewsRadio 1160, Internet,
6/2/05)
AG Says He Can’t Prosecute Polygamy
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff says, ―There‘s no way we have the resources‖ to
prosecute polygamy in Utah. The number of polygamists in the state, between 30,000 and
40,000, are too many to move against and put in jail, he explained. And the upshot, if the
state were to act, he said, would be to leave 20,000 children without parents.
―Shurtleff‘s comments seem particularly disingenuous in light of the fact that Utah has in
the past found resources to create a porn czar, and regularly puts away people for
significant periods of time for crimes as small as drug possession.‖ His claim that action
against polygamists would put thousands of children on the welfare roles ignores the fact
that many are already on welfare, fraudulently. (The Spectrum, So. Utah, Internet, 6/5/05)
Women Taught to Conform to “The Principle”
Women raised in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are
taught to conform to ―The Principle‖ that men must have at least three wives to reach
heaven‘s highest level. They are also taught that ―we would become goddesses beside the
man we were assigned to because he would be a God,‖ to them, said Debbie Palmer,
formerly in a polygamous marriage, who added that women are forced to have sex during
the fertile period of their menstrual cycle. FLDS prophet Warren Jeffs also teaches that a
woman can be exalted and live with her children after death only if she is married to a man
with at least three wives.
Palmer said her newborn son was given away to be raised ―to be a man in the priesthood‖
by another of her husband‘s wives, 150 miles away. ―When they bought the boy back three
months later, I was in shock and I was afraid to get attached.‖ When her husband fell out of
favor with FLDS leadership, she was released form the marriage and given to another, who
abused her and molested two of her children, she said.
Children are told that their only father is their mother‘s new husband, which destroys the
genealogy. As families and last names are confused, blood relatives will increasingly marry,
according to attorney Roger Hoole, who is prosecuting a civil suit against Jeffs. (Deborah
Frazier and Gwen Florio, Rocky Mountain News, Internet, 7/16/05 Roger H. Hoole, Opinion,
Salt Lake Tribune, Internet, 6/11/05)
Jeffs Charged with Sexual Misconduct
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints leader Warren Jeffs,
who has not been seen in public for 18 months, was recently charged in Arizona with the
felony of arranging a marriage between a 16-year-old girl and a 28-year old married man,
―sufficient evidence‖ that FLDS head Warren Jeffs, and several of his associates in a
controlling trust, committed a breach of faith by selling property to church insiders at less
than market value. The attorney general of Arizona, which is home to an FLDS community,
called the ruling ―a major step toward reducing the arbitrary power of Warren Jeffs and
protecting the trust from his manipulation, liquidation [Jeff‘s appears to be moving his
headquarters settlement to Texas], and misuse.‖ (Robert Anglen, Arizona Republic,
Internet, 5/28/05)
Buildings Disappear in Wake of Judgment
Two buildings in the adjoining Arizona and Utah communities of the Fundamentalist
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have been dismantled and carted away in
the wake of a Utah judge‘s order to freeze the assets of the trust that controls most of the
property and assets in the polygamous communities. (AP in KSL NewsRadio 1160, Internet,
6/2/05)
AG Says He Can’t Prosecute Polygamy
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff says, ―There‘s no way we have the resources‖ to
prosecute polygamy in Utah. The number of polygamists in the state, between 30,000 and
40,000, are too many to move against and put in jail, he explained. And the upshot, if the
state were to act, he said, would be to leave 20,000 children without parents.
―Shurtleff‘s comments seem particularly disingenuous in light of the fact that Utah has in
the past found resources to create a porn czar, and regularly puts away people for
significant periods of time for crimes as small as drug possession.‖ His claim that action
against polygamists would put thousands of children on the welfare roles ignores the fact
that many are already on welfare, fraudulently. (The Spectrum, So. Utah, Internet, 6/5/05)
Women Taught to Conform to “The Principle”
Women raised in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are
taught to conform to ―The Principle‖ that men must have at least three wives to reach
heaven‘s highest level. They are also taught that ―we would become goddesses beside the
man we were assigned to because he would be a God,‖ to them, said Debbie Palmer,
formerly in a polygamous marriage, who added that women are forced to have sex during
the fertile period of their menstrual cycle. FLDS prophet Warren Jeffs also teaches that a
woman can be exalted and live with her children after death only if she is married to a man
with at least three wives.
Palmer said her newborn son was given away to be raised ―to be a man in the priesthood‖
by another of her husband‘s wives, 150 miles away. ―When they bought the boy back three
months later, I was in shock and I was afraid to get attached.‖ When her husband fell out of
favor with FLDS leadership, she was released form the marriage and given to another, who
abused her and molested two of her children, she said.
Children are told that their only father is their mother‘s new husband, which destroys the
genealogy. As families and last names are confused, blood relatives will increasingly marry,
according to attorney Roger Hoole, who is prosecuting a civil suit against Jeffs. (Deborah
Frazier and Gwen Florio, Rocky Mountain News, Internet, 7/16/05 Roger H. Hoole, Opinion,
Salt Lake Tribune, Internet, 6/11/05)
Jeffs Charged with Sexual Misconduct
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints leader Warren Jeffs,
who has not been seen in public for 18 months, was recently charged in Arizona with the
felony of arranging a marriage between a 16-year-old girl and a 28-year old married man,
