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Lost boys (Mormon fundamentalism)

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Portrait of five caucasian Latter-day Saints, married to each other in nineteenth-century Latter-day Saint polygamy, against the backdrop of what may be a hedge. All seem to be posing; none face the camera. Leftmost is a woman, seated, her hair done in a high, braided bun, wearing a dress with buttons down the middle; in her hands are an open book. Center-left, standing furthest to the back (though still very much with the portraited group) is a woman, her hair done up but resting low, in a polka-dotted top and a scarf or ascot around her neck and a skirt. She carries a hat, held to her waist. Center is a woman, sort of kneeling or seated (perhaps there is an unseen stool she's sitting on?). She wears a white dress, her hair is done up in a high and large bun and she wears a headband. In her right arm she holds a hat, over her knees; her left arm rests on the lap of the man sitting center right. She may be leaning against his legs. Center-right is a man, wearing a suit jacket of some kind and a high-collared shirt. He is balded and bearded. His left hand is placed over the left arm of the center woman. Rightmost is a woman, her hair done up but resting low, sitting in a visibly wooden (likely handcrafted) chair. She wears a dress with buttons going down the middle. She holds a hat, which looks very like center's hat, over her knees.
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"Lost boys" is a term used for young men who have been excommunicated or pressured to leave polygamous Mormon fundamentalism groups such as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS).[1] They are pressured to leave by adult men to reduce competition for wives within such sects, usually when they are between the ages of 13 and 21. [2]

Background

FLDS men are each expected to marry at least three wives.[1] Since birth rates for boys and girls are roughly equal, and women do not enter the community in large numbers, there are not enough women for all men to do this.

While some boys leave by their own choice, many are ostensibly banished for conduct such as watching a movie,[3] watching television,[4] playing football, or talking to a girl.[2] Some boys are told not to return unless they can return with a wife. One estimate is that between 400 and 1,000 boys and young men have been pressured to leave for such reasons.[1] There are also young women[5] who have left or been pressured to leave because they did not want to be part of polygamous marriages.[6]

Boys in these sects are commonly raised not to trust the outside world, and may be taught that leaving their communities is a sin worse than murder.[7][8] These boys are usually left with little education or skills applicable to life outside of their community of birth, and must learn to live in a society about which they know little, while dealing with the consequences of being shunned by their families, and believing they are beyond spiritual redemption. The families of banished boys are told that the boys are now dead to them.[4] Some individuals, such as Dan Fischer, a dentist who left the FLDS church, work to help young men who have left or who have been ejected from polygamist organizations in cities like Hildale, Utah, or Colorado City, Arizona.[2][9]

In the 2006-2011 HBO television series Big Love, the main protagonist is a former lost boy, having grown up challenging the elder who drove him out of their community as a teenager. The series portrays machinations of some senior men within a fundamentalist congregation to "reserve" young unmarried women for themselves.

The 2010 documentary film Sons of Perdition depicts the struggles of three real-life lost boys.

See also

Template:Wikipedia books

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Borger, Julian (2005-06-14). "The lost boys, thrown out of US sect so that older men can marry more wives". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
  2. ^ a b c Henetz, Patty (July 31, 2004). "Krakauer still vexed by FLDS". Deseret News. AP. Archived from the original on 2010-07-31. Retrieved 2013-12-11. [...] Fischer has housed the castoff children and given them jobs in his company, Krakauer said. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Holstein, MD, MS, Ned (2008-04-15). "Texas Polygamy Case: Don't the Boys Count?". Fathers and Families. Retrieved 2013-06-20.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ a b Kelly, David (2005-06-19). "Polygamy's 'Lost Boys' expelled from only life they knew". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
  5. ^ "Man Accused Of Assaulting Kingston Polygamist Daughter Appears In Court". KSL-TV News. 2006-06-24. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
  6. ^ "Polygamy or abuse? Utah case stirs controversy". CNN. 1998-08-18. Archived from the original on February 11, 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
  7. ^ Wagner, Angie (2004-09-04). "Religious sect's outcasts caught between worlds". Associated Press.
  8. ^ Wagner, Angie. "Boys exiled from polygamist sect seek new life in the outside world". Associated Press. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
  9. ^ http://helpthechildbrides.com/stories/lostboys.htm The Lost Boys of Polygamy

References

  • Krakauer, Jon. Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith (2003).
  • Emmett, Andrea Moore. God's Brothel: The Extortion of Sex for Salvation in Contemporary Mormon and Christian Fundamentalist Polygamy and the Stories of 18 Women Who Escaped (2004).
  • Bistline, Benjamin G. Colorado City Polygamists: An Inside Look for the Outsider (2004). A Colorado City historian presents the beginnings of the group and its original religious doctrine.
  • Bistline, Benjamin G. The Polygamists: A History of Colorado City, Arizona (2004)
  • Tracy, Kathleen. The Secret Story of Polygamy (2001). Centered around the trial of John Daniel Kingston, who was tried for assault on his 16-year-old daughter.
  • Llewellyn, John R. Polygamy Under Attack: From Tom Green to Brian David Mitchell (2004)
  • Dan Simon and Amanda Townsend (September 7, 2007). "Warren Jeffs' 'lost boys' find themselves in strange world". CNN. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  • Main Street Church. Lifting the Veil of Polygamy (2007). A documentary film on the history and modern-day expressions of Mormon polygamy, including numerous testimonials.
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