Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 7, No. 3, 2008, Page 61
staying removed, she was able to leave. Ironically, she soon learned that her previous
miscarriages were to the result of her Rh negative blood type, a condition that would have
been routinely dealt with had she been provided appropriate medical care.
The heart of Stolen Innocence is the narrative of Elissa‘s decision to testify against Warren
Jeffs at his 2007 trial, and the events leading to his eventual conviction on charges of
accomplice to rape. The process by which she reached that decision, the pressures on her
and her family to prevent her from testifying, the support from the government attorneys to
counter that pressure, and much of the actual trial proceedings are set forth in gripping
detail. One can only imagine the courage it took for her to take the stand, to reveal and
subject to cross-examination intimate details of her life, and to maintain her composure in
the face of the united hostility of those she had lived among most of her life.
One could enjoy all these books for their stories alone, gripping narratives of hardship and
courage culminating in events that effectively raised the curtain on the secret world of the
FLDS. But for the student of cults and cult involvement, there is much more.
All three authors convey the stunning power of belief. Why did Irene Spencer stay in a
marriage that required her over and over to welcome additional wives whose presence
deprived her even more of the emotional and physical intimacy she craved? What brings a
mother to abandon an 18 year-old son by the roadside? Or a child to struggle, as Carolyn
Jessop‘s daughter did, to return to a life of constriction, stigmatized by her mother‘s
apostasy?
But we also see that even in a high-demand, tightly controlled group, life has pleasures and
joys, whether annual celebrations in Hildale-Colorado City, teenagers sneaking out of
lectures to socialize clandestinely, family picnics, or even the gathering of pine nuts in the
Sierras.
While Irene Spencer in the 1960s and ‗70s experienced many evils as a polygamous wife,
Carolyn Jessop and Elissa Wall a generation later lived under far tighter control. From the
perspective of Warren Jeffs‘ reign, Carolyn Jessop looks back with nostalgia to the
benevolent rule of ―Uncle Roy‖ yet it was during Uncle Roy‘s reign that she experienced
serious physical abuse and the forced marriages of both her sister and herself. Elissa Wall
describes Warren Jeffs‘ impact, first on her school in the Salt Lake City area, then on the
entire community, as his power grew. One can see how much a totalist organization is
subject to the personality of the leader, and how much can change on short notice.
Members might find themselves in a system vastly different from the one they entered, yet
they accept change because refusal would bring dire consequences.
For all three women, contact with the outside world, and the growing conviction that this
world was not really populated by evil people, was key to their decision to leave, while
family ties anchored them to the group. Irene talks about the kindness of people in the
European countries she visited with her husband during a reconciliation attempt. Carolyn
noted not only the kind treatment she received at the local hospital, but also other
kindnesses she experienced while managing a motel for her husband. Elissa made long
visits to siblings who had left. Her ingenuity in getting permission to visit them for stays of
several weeks was considerable but, despite her enjoyment, she found it impossible to
abandon her mother and sisters. Neither Irene nor Carolyn would leave children behind. For
all, these emotional ties kept them in the group long after they became disillusioned with its
beliefs and practices.
All three struggled mightily after leaving. Carolyn found the available services—housing,
health care for her children, and protection—miserably inadequate for her large family and
despite her efforts to convince them, not all her children would stay out. Elissa, supported
staying removed, she was able to leave. Ironically, she soon learned that her previous
miscarriages were to the result of her Rh negative blood type, a condition that would have
been routinely dealt with had she been provided appropriate medical care.
The heart of Stolen Innocence is the narrative of Elissa‘s decision to testify against Warren
Jeffs at his 2007 trial, and the events leading to his eventual conviction on charges of
accomplice to rape. The process by which she reached that decision, the pressures on her
and her family to prevent her from testifying, the support from the government attorneys to
counter that pressure, and much of the actual trial proceedings are set forth in gripping
detail. One can only imagine the courage it took for her to take the stand, to reveal and
subject to cross-examination intimate details of her life, and to maintain her composure in
the face of the united hostility of those she had lived among most of her life.
One could enjoy all these books for their stories alone, gripping narratives of hardship and
courage culminating in events that effectively raised the curtain on the secret world of the
FLDS. But for the student of cults and cult involvement, there is much more.
All three authors convey the stunning power of belief. Why did Irene Spencer stay in a
marriage that required her over and over to welcome additional wives whose presence
deprived her even more of the emotional and physical intimacy she craved? What brings a
mother to abandon an 18 year-old son by the roadside? Or a child to struggle, as Carolyn
Jessop‘s daughter did, to return to a life of constriction, stigmatized by her mother‘s
apostasy?
But we also see that even in a high-demand, tightly controlled group, life has pleasures and
joys, whether annual celebrations in Hildale-Colorado City, teenagers sneaking out of
lectures to socialize clandestinely, family picnics, or even the gathering of pine nuts in the
Sierras.
While Irene Spencer in the 1960s and ‗70s experienced many evils as a polygamous wife,
Carolyn Jessop and Elissa Wall a generation later lived under far tighter control. From the
perspective of Warren Jeffs‘ reign, Carolyn Jessop looks back with nostalgia to the
benevolent rule of ―Uncle Roy‖ yet it was during Uncle Roy‘s reign that she experienced
serious physical abuse and the forced marriages of both her sister and herself. Elissa Wall
describes Warren Jeffs‘ impact, first on her school in the Salt Lake City area, then on the
entire community, as his power grew. One can see how much a totalist organization is
subject to the personality of the leader, and how much can change on short notice.
Members might find themselves in a system vastly different from the one they entered, yet
they accept change because refusal would bring dire consequences.
For all three women, contact with the outside world, and the growing conviction that this
world was not really populated by evil people, was key to their decision to leave, while
family ties anchored them to the group. Irene talks about the kindness of people in the
European countries she visited with her husband during a reconciliation attempt. Carolyn
noted not only the kind treatment she received at the local hospital, but also other
kindnesses she experienced while managing a motel for her husband. Elissa made long
visits to siblings who had left. Her ingenuity in getting permission to visit them for stays of
several weeks was considerable but, despite her enjoyment, she found it impossible to
abandon her mother and sisters. Neither Irene nor Carolyn would leave children behind. For
all, these emotional ties kept them in the group long after they became disillusioned with its
beliefs and practices.
All three struggled mightily after leaving. Carolyn found the available services—housing,
health care for her children, and protection—miserably inadequate for her large family and
despite her efforts to convince them, not all her children would stay out. Elissa, supported
