Plural marriage is what Joseph Smith called ‘the most holy and most important doctrine revealed to any man on Earth.’ Each Mormon males would need at least three wives to reach that Celestial kingdom. Prophet’s Prey, Sundance 2015
In 1986 A single family, the Jeffs family, gained control of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. ibid.
All worldly media has been banned by the prophet Warren Jeffs. ibid.
‘You need to be perfectly obedient to all of your teachers and your father.’ ibid. Warren Jeffs’ nephew
‘Behind closed doors he is a predator; he is abusing these kids.’ ibid. victim
‘Soon a day of judgment will be upon us.’ ibid. Warren’s 2000 prediction
Being married at 16 [to the prophet] took away my entire life.’ ibid. victim
‘He started casting out anybody that he felt was a threat to the power of his authority.’ ibid.
‘People finally getting enough courage to go after him.’ ibid.
‘I have been a liar. And the truth is not in me.’ ibid. Jeffs’ temporary confession upon incarceration, later recanted
Q: Do you feel any remorse for what you’ve done?
Jeffs: Fifth amendment. ibid.
Polygamous Sect and Child Labor. ibid. CNN report
An estimated 10,000 FDLS members under the control of Warren Jeffs. ibid.
The State of Texas vs Warren S Jeffs July 2011: ‘The trial of Warren Jeffs was as bizarre as anything I have ever seen.’ Warren Jeffs: Prophet of Evil, Mike Watkiss, reporter, CI 2018
‘Warren Jeffs is a monster.’ ibid. critic
His crime: the sexual assault of two minors. Some allege the number is much higher. Yet he remains the Prophet of his devoted followers. Warren has an estimated 78 wives. ibid. captions
Polygamy has been practised by Fundamentalist Mormons for generations. ibid.
‘Warren Jeffs was absolutely abusing children from the get-go.’ ibid. victim
‘I was eight years old when he started his abuse … He couldn’t help himself.’ ibid. victim daughter
‘Keep Sweet mask – look at the eyes though.’ ibid. Flora Jessop
‘This guy is a conniving rat who seized power.’ ibid. Watkiss
‘Anyone who stood in his way he eliminated.’ ibid. victim
In March 2005 the State of Arizona convenes a grand jury to investigate the FLDS and Warren Jeffs. ibid.
‘Warren established a very effective social architecture to deal with getting rid of the boys.’ ibid. Watkiss
‘I have been the most wicked man.’ ibid. Jeffs’ temporary bout of conscience, later recanted
‘The 55-year-old Jeffs will be eligible for parole in 35 years. Jeffs’ led a radical offshoot of the Mormon church; his 10,000 followers see him as God’s spokesman on Earth.’ Cults and Extreme Belief s1e2: FLDS, news report
As part of the media firestorm that followed Warren Jeffs’ conviction, several other victims have come forward with abuse allegations. ibid. caption
Jeffs has also been publicly accused of rape by two of his own children. ibid.
‘If the world knew what I was doing, they would hang me from the highest tree.’ ibid. Jeffs’ diary entry 25 January 2004
The temple inside [the FLDS] polygamous sect’s outpost was used by husbands when they had sex for the first time with their new underage wives, according to an affidavit released Wednesday by Texas officials.
The search-and-arrest warrant affidavit said the temple at the YFZ (Yearn for Zion) Ranch contains an area with a bed where males over 17 engaged in sexual activity with females under 17.
On Saturday, investigators found ‘disturbed bed linens and a strand of hair that appears to be from a female head’, the affidavit states.
... The affidavit, signed by Department of Public Safety investigator Leslie Brooks, said evidence was found inside the temple that the men would force the young girls to have sex ‘at the initial time of marriage’.
... Investigators have refused to reveal how many men are being detained at the ranch. Fort Worth Star Telegram, article ‘Eldorado Temple Used For Sex With Young Girls, Records Say’
There’s definitely jealousy in plural marriage. Marsha Chatwin, Winston Blackmore’s 10th wife
‘We were always taught we were special. We were these special people. We gotta come to this special place.’ Keep Sweet, DiscoveryPlus 2021
Short Creek: Border towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona: We still consider ourselves Mormon. We believe in the Book of Mormon, but that we believe in the original teachings of Joseph Smith. ibid.
We didn’t own anything out here; everything was God’s and the Trust’s. Everybody here believed the same thing. ibid.
Polygamists Are Raided: Strip Country Raid Nets 36 Men, 86 Wives. ibid. The Yuma Daily Sun 27 Jule 1953
Warren got up in church and announced they needed to shut down the public school because we had to associate with the apostates too much … We had to shun and hate. ibid. ex-member
‘You ladies belong to the prophet.’ ibid. Jeffs
The Exiled Children of Utah. ibid. Time online article Hilary Hylton 24 September 2007
This is the group of people that will always be in my heart and in my head … Everybody has their story. ibid. documentary maker
A prophesy [Joseph] saying this place [Kirkland] must be built up, and would be built up, and that every brother that would take hold and help secure and discharge those contracts that had been made, should be rich. Messenger and Advocate April 1937
Ephesians 5:22: Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey I, Netflix 2022
When I was 14 they forced me to marry my cousin. I asked Warren, begged him. ibid. victim
Warren Jeffs is the leader of a secretive religion called the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Church of Latter-Day Saints. ibid. news
We didn’t go to movies, we didn’t go to game parks… ibid. victim
We were told that our prophet Rulon Jeffs would never die. ibid.
Rulon Jeffs was 85 when I married him. And I was 19. ibid.
They didn’t let us work, they didn’t let us go to school … ibid.
Keep sweet no matter what is the road to perfection. ibid. prophet
You couldn’t get close to Warren. He had this holier than thou attitude. ibid. brother
Anything that had an outside influence was purged. ibid. victim
We needed to be more perfect. We need to be more obedient. And it was never enough. We were never good enough. ibid.
Rulon Jeffs: All of his wives. 65 of them. ibid.
Warren Jeffs … The man who could take them into heaven. So the stakes for them are eternal … He manipulated their beliefs and turned it into money and power and sex. And they ended up following him right off the cliff. ibid.
Who marries your mom? Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey II, victim
Warren Jeffs was kicking young boys out of the FDLS. Literally leaving them homeless. They were just trying to survive on the streets. ibid.
Nobody owned their own homes. They were all owned by the church. ibid. Investigator of Jeff
There are now growing concerns for those children in this polygamist town. ibid. TV news