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Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

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The FLDS Temple near Eldorado, Texas

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS Church) is the largest Mormon fundamentalist denomination[1][2] and one of America's largest practitioners of plural marriage.[3] The FLDS Church emerged in the 1930s as an offshoot of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church); the split occurred largely because of the LDS Church's continued renunciation of polygamy and its decision to excommunicate practitioners of plural marriage in southern Utah and northern Arizona. There is no official connection between the FLDS Church and the LDS Church; they are distinct and separate denominations.

Since its inception, the headquarters of the FLDS Church have been in Hildale, Utah, which is a twin city with Colorado City, Arizona. However, news reports since 2004 have suggested a possible shift of the church's headquarters to Eldorado, Texas, where a temple has been built by FLDS Church members.[4] Until 2007, the church was led by Warren Jeffs, who succeeded his father Rulon Jeffs in 2002. For nearly two years, Warren Jeffs had been wanted on sex-crimes charges; and from May 2004 until his arrest in August 2006 he was on the FBI's Ten Most-Wanted List.[5] On September 25, 2007, Jeffs was found guilty of two counts of being an accomplice to rape[6][7] and was sentenced to ten years to life in prison.[8] He formally resigned as the president of the FLDS Church on November 20, 2007.[9]

Membership and headquarters

The exact number of members of the FLDS Church is unknown due to the relatively closed nature of the organization; however, their population has been estimated at between 6000 to 10,000 in the twin communities of Colorado City, Arizona and Hildale, Utah.[10][11] After purchasing land now called the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas, there appears to be a shift in the headquarters of the church along with a large exodus of the "most faithful" church members. The church also has a colony in Bountiful, British Columbia. In the British Columbia town, the church is the primary influence and reason for being.[12]

History

Origins

The residents in the area of Hildale and Colorado City have had a long history of practicing plural marriage, dating to the mid-nineteenth century. LDS Church president Brigham Young once visited the area and stated, "This will someday be the head and not the tail of the church."[13] The twin cities were once known as Short Creek, officially founded in 1913 as a ranching community.

The FLDS Church, although officially claiming roots back to John Taylor and the LDS Church,[14] can trace their inception back to a schism from the LDS Church after many prominent members in and around the community of Short Creek were excommunicated in the late 1920s and early 1930s.[15] After the LDS Church formally abandoned plural marriage in 1890, many members continued to practice it and enter into new plural marriages. After the Second Manifesto renouncing polygamy was issued in 1904, the LDS Church began excommunicating those who continued to solemnize or enter into new plural marriages.

Short Creek soon became a gathering place for polygamist members of the LDS Church.[16] In 1935, the LDS Church excommunicated the Mormon residents of Short Creek who refused to sign an oath renouncing polygamy. Following this event, John Y. Barlow began to lead a group of Mormon fundamentalists who were dedicated to preserving the practice of plural marriage.[citation needed] The location on the Utah–Arizona border was thought to be ideal for the group because it allowed them to avoid raids by one state by moving across the state line to the other.[16]

Many prominent men in the LDS Church were excommunicated and would become leaders of the fundamentalist movement, including Lorin C. Woolley, J. Leslie Broadbent, John Y. Barlow, Charles Zitting, Joseph White Musser, LeGrand Wooley, and Louis A. Kelsch. In 1932, some of these leaders created the organization known as the Council of Friends, a group of seven high priests that was said to be the governing priesthood body on the earth.[17] The Council of Friends became the governing ecclesiastical body over the Mormon fundamentalists at Short Creek.

The early years of the movement were contentious and saw many differing interpretations and opinions among leaders as to how plural marriage should be practiced. These contentions eventually lead to the subsequent schisms that created the multiple Mormon fundamentalist organizations that now exist, including the FLDS Church.[18][19] It is commonly believed by all of these sects that the early leaders of the fundamentalist movement received revelations from God commanding that plural marriage should not cease.[18]

Leaders

The FLDS Church has been led by a succession of prophets, many of whom have claimed to have been called of God to lead the fundamentalists. The first leader of the FLDS Church was John Y. Barlow, who led the community of Short Creek until his death on December 29, 1949. He was succeeded by Joseph White Musser who was the leader during the Short Creek raid, in which all of the FLDS Church members of Short Creek were arrested, including 236 children.

Musser led the community until a contentious appointment of Rulon Allred to a high position of authority in 1951 angered some members of the Short Creek community. Musser had appointed Allred to be his successor, but Allred was not accepted by the Short Creek community as such. This led to a schism among the followers, with many breaking off and following Allred; this offshoot became known as the Apostolic United Brethren. The core faithful in the Short Creek area instead followed Charles Zitting as their leader. This schism may be seen as the point at which the FLDS Church became a distinct organization within the greater Mormon fundamentalist movement.

Zitting died in 1954 and Leroy S. Johnson was chosen to lead the church in Short Creek. Johnson led the FLDS Church until his death in 1986. He was succeeded by Rulon Jeffs, who assumed the position of prophet, a title his predecessor refused to use. In Jeffs' later years, his poor health led to his son Warren serving as leader of the church in his stead, and upon Rulon's death, Warren Jeffs essentially proclaimed himself prophet and leader of the FLDS Church. Warren Jeffs resigned his leadership of the FLDS Church, shortly after being convicted of being an accomplice to rape by the state of Utah. No public statements have been made by officials of the church indicating a successor to Warren Jeffs, and as such it is now unknown who may be leading the FLDS church.

Recent events

File:DSCN7430.JPG
The compound of FLDS leader Warren Jeffs in Colorado City

In 2003, the church received increased attention from the state of Utah when police officer Rodney Holm, a member of the church, was convicted of unlawful sexual conduct with a 16- or 17-year-old and one count of bigamy for his marriage to and impregnation of plural wife Ruth Stubbs. The conviction was the first legal action against a member of the FLDS Church since the Short Creek raid.

In November 2003, church member David Allred purchased "as a hunting retreat" the 1,371 acre (5.5 km²) Isaacs Ranch 4 miles northeast of Eldorado, Texas on Schleicher County Road 300 and sent 30 to 40 construction workers from Colorado City–Hildale to begin work on the property. Improvements soon included three 3-story houses—each 8,000 to 10,000 square feet (740 to 930 m²), a concrete plant and a plowed field. After seeing high-profile FLDS Church critic Flora Jessop on the ABC television program Primetime Live on March 4, 2004, concerned Eldorado residents contacted Jessop. She investigated and on March 25, 2004, Jessop held a press conference in Eldorado confirming that the new neighbors were FLDS Church adherents. On May 18, 2004, Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran and his Chief Deputy visited Colorado City, and the FLDS Church officially acknowledged that the Schleicher County property would be a new base for the church. It has been reported in the media that the church is building a temple at the YFZ Ranch, which has been supported by evidence including aerial photographs of a large stone structure (approximately 88 feet wide) being built. Recent pictures now show the temple in a state of relative completion. A local newspaper, the Eldorado Success, reported that the temple foundation was dedicated January 1, 2005 by Warren Jeffs.

On January 10, 2004, the church suffered major upheaval when Dan Barlow, the mayor of Colorado City, and about 20 men were excommunicated from the church and stripped of their wives and children (who would be reassigned to other men), and the right to live in the town. As a result, a few teenage women reportedly fled the towns with the aid of activists who advocate the escape of plural wives from polygamy. Two of the young women, Fawn Broadbent and Fawn Holm, soon found themselves in a broadly publicized dispute over their freedom and custody. They fled state custody together on February 15, and have been on the run in multiple states since.

In October 2004, disaffected members of the church reported that David Allred purchased a 60-acre (240,000 m²) parcel of land near Mancos, Colorado (midway between Cortez and Durango) about the same time he bought the Schleicher County property. Allred told authorities the parcel is to be used as a hunting retreat.

On July 11, 2005, eight men of the church were indicted for sexual contact with minors. At least some of them surrendered to police in Kingman, Arizona.

On July 29, 2005, Brent Jeffs filed suit accusing three of his uncles, including Warren Jeffs, of sexually assaulting him when he was a child. The suit also named the FLDS Church as a defendant. On August 10, former FLDS Church member Shem Fischer, Dan Fischer's brother, added the church and Warren Jeffs as defendants to a 2002 lawsuit claiming he was illegally fired because he no longer adhered to the faith. Fischer, who was a salesman for a wooden cabinetry business in Hildale, claims church officials interfered with his relationship with his employer and blacklisted him.

In July 2005, a half-dozen lost boys who say they were cast out of their homes on the Utah–Arizona border to reduce competition for wives filed suit against the FLDS Church. "The [boys] have been excommunicated pursuant to that policy and practice and have been cut off from family, friends, benefits, business and employment relationships, and purportedly condemned to eternal damnation," their suit says. "They have become 'lost boys' in the world outside the FLDS community."

On May 7, 2006, the FBI named Warren Jeffs to their Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on charges of sexual misconduct with minors.

The mayor of Colorado City, Terrill C. Johnson, was arrested on May 26, 2006 for eight fraudulent vehicle registration charges (providing false registration and title papers eight separate times)—a felony. He was booked in to Purgatory Correctional Facility in Hurricane, Utah and was released after paying the $5,000 bail in cash.[citation needed]

On August 28, 2006, Jeffs was captured on Interstate 15 just north of Las Vegas, Nevada, after a routine traffic stop. He was captured with his brother, Isaac Steve Jeffs, and one of his wives, Naomi Jeffs, both 32. Isaac and Naomi were both released. Jeffs was tried in St. George, Utah and was found guilty by a jury of two counts of being an accomplice to rape.

On April 4, 2008, troopers and child welfare officials arrived at the church's YFZ Ranch and removed 52 children, placing 18 girls in temporary custody of the state, after responding to the alleged sexual abuse of a 16-year-old girl by a 50-year-old man.[20] On April 5, 2008, Judge Barbara Walther of the 51st District Court issued an order instructing officials to bring all children, including boys under age 18, out of the compound. [21]

Distinctive doctrines

Plural marriage and the law of placing

The FLDS Church teaches the doctrine of plural marriage, which states that a man having multiple wives is ordained by God and is a requirement for a man to receive the highest form of salvation. It is generally believed in the church that a man should have a minimum of three wives to fulfill this requirement.[22] Connected with this doctrine is the concept that wives are required to be subordinate to their husbands.

The church currently practices the law of placing, whereby a young woman of marriageable age is assigned a husband by revelation from God to the leader of the church, who is regarded as a prophet.[23] The prophet elects to take and give wives to and from men according to their worthiness. Wives may be taken from one man and reassigned to men that are more worthy.

Dress code

All members of the church are required to abide by a strict dress code. In general, women are forbidden to wear makeup, trousers or any skirt above the knees or to cut their hair. Men are usually seen wearing plain clothing, usually a collared shirt and trousers. Men and women do not have any tattoos or body piercings. Women and girls usually wear homemade dresses and long stockings, keeping their hair coiffed.[24]

Property ownership

The FLDS Church also prevents its members from owning real estate and other property. The land and houses occupied by the FLDS Church are owned by the United Effort Plan (UEP), a subsidiary organization of the church. The UEP also owns most businesses that are controlled by FLDS Church members. The church views this "United Order" as a means of living the traditional Latter Day Saint doctrine of the "Law of Consecration". The Attorney General of Utah has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to protect the holdings of the UEP for the current residents of Colorado City and Hildale. The Attorney General is seeking to have the assets of the UEP reassigned to the FLDS Church members. The UEP has been frozen by court order pending a resolution of the lawsuit.

Home schooling

In 2000, the Colorado City Unified School District had more than 1200 students. When Jeffs ordered FLDS Church members to pull their children out of public schools, the number declined to around 250.[25]

Temple worship

The FLDS Church is the fifth Latter Day Saint denomination to have built a temple.[26]

Criticisms of the church

Plural marriage

A view of the FLDS compound in Eldorado, Texas

At the time of his death, church leader Rulon Jeffs was confirmed to have married 22 women and fathered more than 60 children, although some[citation needed] have suggested that he had close to 75 wives. Current estimates also state that Warren Jeffs may have upwards of 60 wives.[citation needed] Critics of this lifestyle[citation needed] say that its practice inevitably leads to bride shortages and likely to child marriages, incest, and child abuse.

It has been reported that the FLDS Church has recently excommunicated over 400 teenage boys, some as young as 13, for offenses such as dating and listening to rock music. Former members claim that the real reason for these excommunications is that there are not enough women for each male to receive three or more wives. Six such teenage boys have filed a conspiracy lawsuit against Jeffs and Sam Barlow, a former Mohave County deputy sheriff and close associate of Jeffs, for a "systematic excommunication" of young men to reduce competition for wives.[27][28]

Critics claim that some members of the church are violating laws (because polygamy is illegal in the United States) when they participate in polygamy.[29] Critics claim that incest and sexual abuse of children are prevalent among church members.[30][31][32]

Race

In its Spring 2005 "Intelligence Report," the Southern Poverty Law Center named the FLDS Church to its "hate group" listing[33] because of the church's teachings on race, which include a fierce condemnation of interracial relationships. Warren Jeffs has said, "the black race is the people through which the devil has always been able to bring evil unto the earth."[34]

Blood atonement

Former FLDS Church member Robert Richter reported to the Phoenix New Times that Warren Jeffs has repeatedly alluded to the nineteenth century Mormon teaching of "blood atonement" in church sermons. Under the doctrine of blood atonement, certain serious sins can only be atoned for by the sinner's death. Richter also claims that he was asked to design a thermostat for a high-temperature furnace that would be capable of destroying DNA evidence if such "atonements" were to take place.[35]

Birth defects

The Colorado City/Hildale area has the world's highest incidence of fumarase deficiency,[36] an extremely rare genetic condition which causes severe mental retardation. Geneticists attribute this to the prevalence of cousin marriage between descendants of two of the town's founders, Joseph Smith Jessup and John Yeates Barlow; one local historian reports that 75–80 percent of the double-communities' roughly 10,000 inhabitants are descended from one or both of these men.[37]

General

Allegations of welfare fraud, militant organizations, incest, statutory rape, physical, emotional and psychological abuse—all of which are hidden by a veil of secrecy, isolation, and deprivation in Colorado City–Hildale—have been widely reported in American media.[38]

Books about the FLDS

Escape (book)

Notes

  1. ^ Krakauer, Jon. Under the Banner of Heaven. New York:Random House, 2003. ISBN 1400032806
  2. ^ The church has an estimated 8000 members: http://www.rickross.com/reference/polygamy/polygamy684.html
  3. ^ Principle Voices - Polygamist Census: LDS Splinter Groups Growing
  4. ^ The Eldorado Success
  5. ^ [1][dead link]
  6. ^ "Jeffs guilty on both counts". The Salt Lake Tribune. 2007-09-25. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
  7. ^ "Leader of Utah Polygamist Sect Guilty in Rape Case". The Associated Press. 2007-09-25. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
  8. ^ Polygamist 'prophet' to serve at least 10 years in prison - CNN.com
  9. ^ Nancy Perkins, "Warren Jeffs resigns as leader of the FLDS Church", Deseret Morning News, 2007-12-05.
  10. ^ http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/tables/SUB-EST2005-04-04.csv
  11. ^ http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/tables/SUB-EST2006-04-49.csv
  12. ^ Mormon polygyny in Canada
  13. ^ Polygamy: Throughout history
  14. ^ http://www.childbrides.org/history_SLTrib_plig_throughout_history.html
  15. ^ Polygamy's Odyssey
  16. ^ a b Polygamy's Odyssey
  17. ^ The Council of Friends
  18. ^ a b Most polygamists trace lineage to 1929 group
  19. ^ About.com: http://childbrides.org/PolygamyLeaders.pdf
  20. ^ "Dozens of children removed from polygamist ranch". CNN.com. 2008-04-04. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
  21. ^ "Update: Judge orders all children out of FLDS compound". sltrib.com. 2008-04-05. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Text "http://www.sltrib.com/ci_8822573" ignored (help)
  22. ^ Three wives will guarantee you a place in paradise. The Taliban? No: welcome to the rebel Mormons - Telegraph
  23. ^ Sixth of Seven Wives
  24. ^ The polygamist women of Colorado City
  25. ^ State officials prepare to seize control of Colorado City school district
  26. ^ The other four are the Church of Christ, the LDS Church, the Community of Christ, and the Apostolic United Brethren.
  27. ^ Lost Boys Found
  28. ^ FLDS church, leaders sued by 6 'lost boys' | Deseret News (Salt Lake City) | Find Articles at BNET.com
  29. ^ Tracy, Kathleen (2001). The Secret Story of Polygamy. Sourcebooks. ISBN 1570717230.
  30. ^ Llewellyn, John R. Polygamy's Rape of Rachael Strong: Protected Environment for Predators. Agreka Books. ISBN 0977707210. {{cite book}}: Text "Published 2006" ignored (help)
  31. ^ Daniels, April. Paperdolls: A True Story of Childhood Sexual Abuse in Mormon Neighborhoods. Recovery Publications. ISBN 0941405273. {{cite book}}: Text "Published 1993" ignored (help)
  32. ^ Moore-Emmett, Andrea. God's Brothel: The Extortion of Sex for Salvation in Contemporary Mormon and Christian Fundamentalist Polygamy and the Stories of 18. Pince-Nez Press. ISBN 1930074131. {{cite book}}: Text "Published 2004" ignored (help)
  33. ^ SPLCenter.org: Hate Groups Map
  34. ^ SPLCenter.org: In His Own Words
  35. ^ Phoenix - News - Wanted: Armed and Dangerous
  36. ^ Hollenhorst, John (2006-02-09). "Birth defect is plaguing children in FLDS towns". deseretnews.com. Retrieved 2006-08-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  37. ^ Polygamist community faces rare genetic disorder. Yahoo! News. Accessed June 14, 2007.
  38. ^ Polygamy Puzzle

References

  1. Hales, Brian C. (2007), Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism: The Generations After the Manifesto, Greg Kofford Books, ISBN 1-58958-035-4.
  2. Southern Poverty Law Center: In His Own Words; Intelligence Report (Spring 2005)
  3. Dougherty, John: Wanted: Armed and Dangerous; Phoenix New Times (10 Nov. 2005)
  4. [2] and [3]: Information on Utah Attorney General's Lawsuit against the United Effort Plan
  5. Krakauer, Jon: Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith (July 15, 2003)
  6. Template:Harvard reference.

Audio and video documents

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News articles


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