Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 7, No. 3, 2008, Page 70
marriages were consensual. It was noted that, by giving their ages and the names and ages
of their children to a grand jury, and undergoing court ordered paternity tests, some of the
FLDS mothers might thus contribute to the indictment of their husbands.
The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled in August that that there is no religious right to practice
polygamy — at least with minors — thus rejecting the claim of an FLDS member that he
was entitled to have sex with a 16-year-old girl because she was his ―celestial wife.‖ The
unanimous decision held that while the right to believe is absolute, the right to act on that
belief is not. The appellant says he may now go to the U.S. Supreme Court, citing the recent
striking down of the Texas anti-sodomy law as an argument against anti-polygamy laws,
but it may be difficult to sustain that claim because the Arizona case involves a minor, while
the Texas case involved adults. The Texas attorney general has indicted imprisoned FLDS
leader Warren Jeffs and four followers on charges of first-degree felony sexual assault of a
minor. Evidence from the raid on the FLDS compound in Eldorado included two photos of
two girls, one 12 and other 13, sitting in Jeffs‘ lap and embracing and kissing him. One
photo is captioned ―first anniversary,‖ the caption on the other says it‘s a ―marriage
picture.‖
Utah-based private detective Sam Bower says daughters of FLDS members serve as pawns
in alliances. ―If your father-in-law is prominent, this helps with business dealings — maybe
you have another wife and then you have daughters that you can place with other church
members. The circle goes around — the more business dealings, the more wives, the more
daughters, the more business dealings, and it goes on.‖
When the Supreme Court struck down the Texas sodomy law, the state raised the age of
consent from 14 to 16, and outlawed marriages between stepchildren and stepparents.
These changes were modeled on a Utah law that is thought to have prompted Jeffs to move
his followers to Texas. The FLDS now says it will not sanction the marriage of underage
girls.
Former FLDS member Carolyn Jessop says Jeffs‘ continuing hold on members is not simply
religious he is also at the center of a financial and business trust that involves them all. ―So
many are networked into his crime. Husbands were kicked out ladies knew they were safe
if they were obedient. If they had lots of daughters, they got handed out to everybody — it
was like a feast.‖ If a man resists the leadership, he risks losing his wife (or wives) and his
home, she says. ―If a woman does [resist], her children are taken from her. The coercive
power of the FLDS is immense. Right now, leaving the FLDS is like jumping off a cliff.‖
Fifty-six percent of Utahns polled in August believe that the federal government should help
prosecute crimes in polygamous communities in the state, although members of the
mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, who publicly disavow polygamy,
were more likely to oppose federal prosecution than non-LDS respondents. One LDS
member said: ―If [polygamists] are working hard, holding down jobs, as far as I‘m
concerned, we ought to leave them alone.‖ The Texas attorney general said a federal
response would greatly diminish ―the possibility that persons within the FLDS who may be
predisposed to commit polygamy, or other crimes, will simply move their operations to
another location. The poll followed Senate Judiciary Committee hearings focused on the
FLDS, at which Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid called the communities a ―form of organized
crime.‖
The FLDS filed suit in Utah in August seeking to set aside a 2007 judgment awarding $8.8
to a trust, once controlled by Warren Jeffs and other FLDS trustees, which a court-appointed
fiduciary found had been misused. The church says the judgment ―is now being used to
destroy the FLDS Church by systematically taking away its property.‖ The fiduciary has
identified, among other assets, 596 acres in Apple Valley that he says Jeffs transferred to
private individuals in order to protect the property from court action.
marriages were consensual. It was noted that, by giving their ages and the names and ages
of their children to a grand jury, and undergoing court ordered paternity tests, some of the
FLDS mothers might thus contribute to the indictment of their husbands.
The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled in August that that there is no religious right to practice
polygamy — at least with minors — thus rejecting the claim of an FLDS member that he
was entitled to have sex with a 16-year-old girl because she was his ―celestial wife.‖ The
unanimous decision held that while the right to believe is absolute, the right to act on that
belief is not. The appellant says he may now go to the U.S. Supreme Court, citing the recent
striking down of the Texas anti-sodomy law as an argument against anti-polygamy laws,
but it may be difficult to sustain that claim because the Arizona case involves a minor, while
the Texas case involved adults. The Texas attorney general has indicted imprisoned FLDS
leader Warren Jeffs and four followers on charges of first-degree felony sexual assault of a
minor. Evidence from the raid on the FLDS compound in Eldorado included two photos of
two girls, one 12 and other 13, sitting in Jeffs‘ lap and embracing and kissing him. One
photo is captioned ―first anniversary,‖ the caption on the other says it‘s a ―marriage
picture.‖
Utah-based private detective Sam Bower says daughters of FLDS members serve as pawns
in alliances. ―If your father-in-law is prominent, this helps with business dealings — maybe
you have another wife and then you have daughters that you can place with other church
members. The circle goes around — the more business dealings, the more wives, the more
daughters, the more business dealings, and it goes on.‖
When the Supreme Court struck down the Texas sodomy law, the state raised the age of
consent from 14 to 16, and outlawed marriages between stepchildren and stepparents.
These changes were modeled on a Utah law that is thought to have prompted Jeffs to move
his followers to Texas. The FLDS now says it will not sanction the marriage of underage
girls.
Former FLDS member Carolyn Jessop says Jeffs‘ continuing hold on members is not simply
religious he is also at the center of a financial and business trust that involves them all. ―So
many are networked into his crime. Husbands were kicked out ladies knew they were safe
if they were obedient. If they had lots of daughters, they got handed out to everybody — it
was like a feast.‖ If a man resists the leadership, he risks losing his wife (or wives) and his
home, she says. ―If a woman does [resist], her children are taken from her. The coercive
power of the FLDS is immense. Right now, leaving the FLDS is like jumping off a cliff.‖
Fifty-six percent of Utahns polled in August believe that the federal government should help
prosecute crimes in polygamous communities in the state, although members of the
mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, who publicly disavow polygamy,
were more likely to oppose federal prosecution than non-LDS respondents. One LDS
member said: ―If [polygamists] are working hard, holding down jobs, as far as I‘m
concerned, we ought to leave them alone.‖ The Texas attorney general said a federal
response would greatly diminish ―the possibility that persons within the FLDS who may be
predisposed to commit polygamy, or other crimes, will simply move their operations to
another location. The poll followed Senate Judiciary Committee hearings focused on the
FLDS, at which Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid called the communities a ―form of organized
crime.‖
The FLDS filed suit in Utah in August seeking to set aside a 2007 judgment awarding $8.8
to a trust, once controlled by Warren Jeffs and other FLDS trustees, which a court-appointed
fiduciary found had been misused. The church says the judgment ―is now being used to
destroy the FLDS Church by systematically taking away its property.‖ The fiduciary has
identified, among other assets, 596 acres in Apple Valley that he says Jeffs transferred to
private individuals in order to protect the property from court action.
