Posted on 06/14/2009 5:31:35 AM PDT by Colofornian
Brent Jeffs was one tired-out ex-Mormon fundamentalist last week in Denver, but still a man on a mission.
Back-to-back book-signings and 17-hour days in Salt Lake City, Phoenix and Denver for Jeff's recently released memoir, "Lost Boy," alternately wound him up or wore him down to feeling like "a zombie," he said.
Jeffs juggles a day job with Ultradent dental products with a personal quest.
Brent, the 26-year-old nephew of Warren Jeffs, the convicted felon and former prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is determined to make known the extent of what he describes as his Uncle Warren's evil.
At the same time, Brent advocates for fair treatment of remaining members of the sect, which has several outposts in Colorado.
Brent wants people to know that forced underage marriages were not the only horrors under Warren Jeffs.
Brent years ago filed a civil lawsuit against Warren Jeffs in which he alleged that his uncle had raped him several times when he was in kindergarten and first grade.
Warren Jeffs used church tenets to satisfy his own perverse sexual appetites and to control every aspect of members' lives, Brent claims. As prophet — the title the sect gave its leader — he banned almost all music and all literature except the Book of Mormon and the Bible. He even banned dogs and, most infamously, ejected many young boys from FLDS families.
With Warren Jeffs now in the Utah State Prison after conviction on two counts of being an accomplice to rape, the sect's towns, such as Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah, are coming back to a semblance of normal life, Brent said.
"Things are much more mellow there now," Brent said.
Brent is asking the "gentile" neighbors of the estimated 10,000 sect members scattered from Mexico to Canada to be warm and welcoming to FLDS members.
"Treat them with dignity and respect and maybe you can plant a seed in their minds: 'Maybe I could leave and have a normal life outside,' " Brent said. Last year he told people in Westcliffe, which is near one of the newer FLDS settlements, "If they're not so isolated, maybe they can get out."
Sect members also hold property near Crawford in Delta County, Mancos in Montezuma County and Cotopaxi in Fremont County.
Growing up FLDS
Brent, who is bright and articulate, was well-received, said Shannon Price, spokeswoman for the Diversity Foundation, a Salt Lake City-based nonprofit that has offered support to some 350 young ex-FLDS members. It helped arrange the Westcliffe forum.
"Everything he has been through only deepened his soul and compassion," Price said.
Uncle Warren was one of Brent's 65 uncles and aunts on his father's side of the family. There were 22 on his mother's side.
Brent said the abuse began when he was 5 and took place in a bathroom at the church. It continued when he was enrolled in first grade in the FLDS Alta Academy, where Warren Jeffs served first as a teacher and later as its principal.
When Brent moved on to second grade, he said, Warren Jeffs moved on to other victims. Some of Brent's brothers were also sexual-abuse victims at the same ages, he says.
Brent's father had three wives and 17 children. His mother was loving. His father's younger two wives were not particularly kind, he said, and were even brutal at times.
Although Brent was the grandson of a revered prophet, Rulon Jeffs, he was one of the hundreds of teenagers forced out of the FLDS church.
The boys, some as young as 13, were considered surplus to requirements. The older, more powerful men required at least three wives to achieve the highest realm of heaven. Younger men competing for young women upset the balance.
The issue of polygamy is what split this Mormon sect from the mainstream church in 1886. The breakaway FLDS sect, originally called "The Work," refused to relinquish the practice of plural marriage when a majority of Mormons did so in 1890. The mainstream Mormons gave up polygamy because it stood in the way of statehood for Utah.
In 1986, Rulon Jeffs ascended as prophet. He eventually instituted a very significant change, "the one-man rule," Brent said. It gave absolute authority to the prophet, rather than portioning out some functions, such as control of church property, to a leadership council.
He also began a practice of reassigning the wives and children of men who were not suitably obedient to the church's more faithful servants.
Crying for enforcement
Things went from bad to worse under Warren Jeffs, who succeeded his father about a year after Rulon Jeffs' death in 2002 at 93.
By then, Brent and five of his brothers had left the church as teenagers.
Only one brother had completed high school before leaving home. None received financial support or guidance. Almost everyone eventually got a diploma or GED, but only one went to college.
Many, including Brent, struggled with alcohol and drug problems. Many suffered depression and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
One brother shot himself. Another died of a drug overdose.
Brent's 2004 marriage is now ending in divorce, but he has joint custody of his 2½-year old daughter Hailee, he said.
"Having a family is all I ever wanted," Brent said.
Brent was not the only boy to file a civil suit against Warren Jeffs. Soon after his was filed, a group of about six dozen boys brought another suit alleging child abuse and abandonment as a result of Warren Jeffs' leadership of the sect.
The two suits together put pressure on law enforcement to do something about reports of underage marriages, sexual abuse, domestic violence, welfare fraud and other crimes.
"I like to think there was a ripple effect from my lawsuit," Brent said.
Brent dropped his suit after Warren Jeffs was arrested on Aug. 26, 2006, because he had "just wanted him stopped.
"I've forgiven him for what he's done to me," Brent said.
"I still believe in God and doing good for mankind, but I won't go back to organized religion."
And where did this concept of "older, more powerful men" being required to take additional wives find original religious sanction in Utah?
LDS scholar/researcher Richard S. Van Wagoner on 19th-century mainstream Mormonism: "Pressures to live polygamously...were compelling to Mormon males desirous of advancement in church position. Apostle John Taylor was told by Joseph Smith to take a second wife, and when Taylor hesitated, Smith spelled out the consequences of failure to enter polygamy: 'Elder Taylor, have you concluded to enter into that principle and observe the counsel that you have received?' I told him I was thinking about it very seriouisly, when he replied, 'Unless that principle is observed and acted upon, you can proceed no further with the full fellowship of God'...In 1875 Apostle Wilford Woodruff announced, 'We have many bishops and elders who have but one wife. They are abundantly qualified to enter the higher law and take more, but their wives will not let them. Any man who permits a woman to lead him and bind him down is but little account in the church and Kingdom of God.'" (Richard S. Van Wagoner, Mormon Polygamy: A History, p. 97)
Mormonism = Cult - I think we all know that ...
Here, lawsuits filed by FLDS "lost boys" want law enforcement in Utah & AZ, etc. to do more...yet we see so many libertarians who want hands-off from govt despite the underage marriages, sexual abuse, domestic violence, welfare fraud and other crimes.
Obviously, you are just picking on those poor old FLDS men who were doing nothing wrong.
What are the direct similarities of this group, the FLDS, and the main Mormon group, LDS, headquartered in Salt Lake City?
I am NOT “just picking on those poor old FLDS men”.
I will, however, suggest that they are behaving more as proper Muslims than as proper Mormons.
Raping 5 year old boys is a Muslim practice, NOT a Mormon practice.
Just an opinion of a non-Mormon, but a defensible position, IMHO.
This is where it shows the journalist doesn't know the heritage from which fLDS has descended. This wasn't a new "change" to a "one-man rule"; this was simply a reversion to common leadership in the mainstream Mormon church:
1857: Brigham Young was both Lds "prophet" and territorial governor, ruling Utah during the iron-handed 1850s "reformation" of the internal church.
Early 1840s: Joseph Smith was both Lds "prophet" and mayor. When he didn't like his polygamy criticized, he ordered the destruction of the printing press that published it.
1841: Joseph Smith regularly sends out missionaries at will with the added "prerogative" of claiming their wives upon exiting the local scene. After sending out Levi Hancock as a missionary, author Fawn Brodie (referenced in No Man Knows My History, see p. 464) says Smith "married" Clarissa Reed Hancock while she was still married to Levi Hancock. (She was Smith's 7th wife...the 2nd wife at that time who was already married to someone else...He added dozens of more wives in the remaining years of his life)
Now Fast forward to the 20th century -- 1980: Ezra Taft Benson, Lds "prophet," gives address @ BYU Feb. 26 which shows vast reach of the "one-man rule" practice within Mormonism: In conclusion let us summarize this grand key, these “Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet”, for our salvation depends on them.
1. The prophet is the only man who speaks for the Lord in everything.
2. The living prophet is more vital to us than the standard works.
3. The living prophet is more important to us than a dead prophet.
4. The prophet will never lead the church astray.
5. The prophet is not required to have any particular earthly training or credentials to speak on any subject or act on any matter at any time.
6. The prophet does not have to say “Thus Saith the Lord,” to give us scripture.
7. The prophet tells us what we need to know, not always what we want to know.
8. The prophet is not limited by men’s reasoning.
9. The prophet can receive revelation on any matter, temporal or spiritual.
10. The prophet may advise on civic matters.
11. The two groups who have the greatest difficulty in following the prophet are the proud who are learned and the proud who are rich.
12. The prophet will not necessarily be popular with the world or the worldly.
13. The prophet and his counselors make up the First Presidency—the highest quorum in the Church.
14. The prophet and the presidency—the living prophet and the First Presidency—follow them and be blessed—reject them and suffer.
Benson: I testify that these fourteen fundamentals in following the living prophet are true. If we want to know how well we stand with the Lord then let us ask ourselves how well we stand with His mortal captain—how close do our lives harmonize with the Lord’s anointed—the living Prophet—President of the Church, and with the Quorum of the First Presidency.
LDS believe in polygamy, but do not practice it on earth at this time since it is against the law.
Here is a link to the proclamation discontinuing the living practice of polygamy within the LDS Church. the Wilford Woodruff Manifesto (from LDS.org)
See post #8 for the "one-man rule" similarities in history.
fLDS take polygamy from that which LDS still regard as "scripture" -- Doctrine & Covenants 132 (that chapter's never been rescinded or deleted by LDS).
BOTH believe:
Marriage, including polygamous unions, are forever.
That contemporary Mormons, fundamental or otherwise, may practice polygamy as part of eternal life. (Mainstream Mormons say this would apply only to those Mormons who earned the highest degree of glory; who were married to all their serial spouses in the temple and sealed to each for eternity).
They share common...
...past leadership up until the period between the 1930s and 1950...
..."scriptures"
...family bloodlines, etc.
Dissimilarities include "introverted" isolated nature (due to polygamy) vs. proselytizing spirit of mainstreamers & less emphasis on geneology of the world & building temples to proxy baptism. (They adhere to proxy baptisms -- they just don't exercise a world-wide zeal nor financial means to build temples)
This is actually one of the problems of Islam and is thought to account for some of the constant rage of young men in those cultures. All things being equal, males and females occur in equal numbers among human beings, and when older, more powerful males get more than their share, so to speak, this leaves younger or less wealthy or less powerful males with no hopes at all of marrying and having their own families. This in turn leads to a sense of hopelessness, loss of faith in the future, and a deep resentment that their culture teaches them to turn outwards, blaming forces outside of their Islamic environment.
Mormonism and Islam are very similar - both syncretist cults based on the Old Testament and a somewhat corrupted form of Christianity (Arian-spawned heresies in the case of Islam and 19th century spiritualist Christianity in the case of Mormonism), founded by a "prophet" whose word became law, both very aggressive and violent (although outside of the FLDS, Mormons no longer practice this part of it), and of course, both pracitioners of polygamy (also renounced by modern mainstream Mormons). Like Islam, Mormonism also had its own bizarre "science," with beliefs such as that of the Indians arriving in the US in cork submarines. Oddly enough, many modern Mormons go into computer sciences, perhaps thirsting for something real that can't be manipulated.
I have always thought that an examination of the origin and development of Mormonism would give us important clues on the way to defeat Islam or at least force some of its adherents to modify their behavior. Of course, the Mormons themselves only "got respectable" and dropped some of their more objectionable practices, such as polygamy, because they met the superior force of the US Army and because they wanted Utah to become part of the Union and those were the conditions. So once again, perhaps, we get back to superior force.
But Islam is much more widespread and well-established than Mormonism, so it's going to take a lot more force to knock it back, let alone extinguish it.
:) [good to hear from you, FC]
Among the initial first camera images was the daguerreotype process of the 1820s, which took eight hours of exposure time. I mention that because that's a good "image" to think about upon observing the fLDS. The fLDS are a lingering "exposure" portrait of what the LDS were like in the 19th century. [See my tagline]
Dr. Dan Fischer, the president and founder of Ultradent, is a very remarkable man in his profession and community, and has done much to help these “Lost Boys”.
LOL!
What I don’t understand is this: Why do mainstream Mormons apologize for the FLDS? If some cult of sedevacantists were doing something evil, I, as a Catholic, would hardly be trying to justify their actions.
Wow, your post has been up two hours and no defenders are out yet, calling the story lies and distortions.
These people are sick, and they are an off shoot of lds, who believe they are the one and true lds.
Well, when a people decide they're going to live by new "revelations" and new "prophet" manifestos, then they die by them as well. What we see from LDS is a sort of, "Uh...well, you see, the fLDS didn't get the 1890 memo and they're just living on past 'revelational' fumes...whereas we go direct to the source...OUR 'prophet.'"
Because of this, there's a sense of family embarassment. fLDS, you have to remember, are Mormons heritage-wise, they're Mormons family blood wise, and they're Mormons theologically. Yet, family-image conscious mainstream Mormons treat the fLDS like they're the crazy aunt they need to keep locked in the basement closet downstairs. And why is that? (Well, that goes back to what I just said in post #14):
Among the initial first camera images was the daguerreotype process of the 1820s, which took eight hours of exposure time. I mention that because that's a good "image" to think about upon observing the fLDS. The fLDS are a lingering "exposure" portrait of what the LDS were like in the 19th century. [See my tagline]
“I won’t go back to organized religion.”
A sad last line; organized religion was not the problem. This particular organized religion was.
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