Fundamentalist Church Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter of Jesus Christ of Latter

Day SaintsDay Saints

Fundamentalist Church Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter of Jesus Christ of Latter

Day SaintsDay Saints

RELS 225RELS 225

Cults and New Religious MovementsCults and New Religious MovementsRELS 225RELS 225

Cults and New Religious MovementsCults and New Religious Movements

FLDS HistoryFLDS HistoryFLDS HistoryFLDS History

• Name: Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

• One of largest Mormon denominations• The largest one practicing plural marriage

• Split from main Mormon church 100 years ago because plural marriage was renounced.

• Where: Utah, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, South Dakota, Creston and Bountiful, BC

Warren JeffsWarren JeffsWarren JeffsWarren Jeffs• On FBI’s Most Wanted list

from May-August 2006• Leader until November

20, 2007• Guilty of two counts of

accomplice to rape.• 10 years to life

• Resigned as President of the corporation

April 2008 RaidApril 2008 RaidApril 2008 RaidApril 2008 Raid• March 30, 2008: Flora Jessop receives a call from

a person alleging systematic child abuse on the FLDS Church's Texas compound

• Flora passed the tip on to Texas Child Protective Services

• CPS took custody of all 439 children under age 18 from the church's Yearning for Zion Ranch

• April 3-10: Texas Rangers in control of YFZ Ranch.• Rozita Swinton faced criminal charges from this false

report and is believed to have filed similar false reports in the past.

• May 29: Texas Supreme Court rules Texas CPS not justified in removing every child from the ranch; orders children to be returned.

FLDSFLDSFLDSFLDS

CNN Report 2008-04-04CNN Report 2008-04-04CNN Report 2008-04-04CNN Report 2008-04-04

Plural marriage and Plural marriage and placement marriageplacement marriagePlural marriage and Plural marriage and placement marriageplacement marriage

• plural marriage: a man having multiple wives is ordained by God;

• the doctrine requires it in order 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.

• patriarchal doctrine: wives are required to be subordinate to their husbands.

• placement marriage: 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.

• The prophet takes and give wives to and from men according to their worthiness. This is also called the law of placing.

DressDressDressDress• Men wear plain clothing, usually a long-

sleeved collared shirt and full-length pants. • In general, women do not cut their hair

short or wear makeup, pants, or any skirt above the knees.

• Women and girls usually wear monochromatic homemade long-sleeved "prairie dresses," with hems between ankle and mid-calf, along with long stockings or trousers underneath, usually keeping their hair coiffed.

• Men and women are forbidden to have any tattoos or body piercings.

Property ownershipProperty ownershipProperty ownershipProperty ownership• The land and houses occupied by the FLDS Church on the

Utah/Arizona border are owned by the United Effort Plan (UEP), which was once a subsidiary organization of the church.

• The UEP also owns most of the property of the businesses that are controlled by FLDS Church members in that area.

• 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 filed a lawsuit and seized the holdings of the UEP for the current residents of Colorado City and Hilldale.

• The Attorney General is seeking to distribute the assets of the UEP to the FLDS Church members and ex-members who contributed to the UEP.

• In 2005, a court order froze the UEP pending a resolution of the lawsuit.[46] At the time of the court order, the UEP was worth $100 million.

Home schoolingHome schoolingHome schoolingHome 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.

LDS vs FLDSLDS vs FLDSLDS vs FLDSLDS vs FLDS

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) has repeatedly emphasized that it is not affiliated with the FLDS Church.

• If members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints engage in polygamy, they are excommunicated.

• The FLDS Church believes that the LDS Church has fallen away because it abandoned the fundamental teachings of the early leaders of the Church.

Lost BoysLost BoysLost BoysLost Boys• Polygyny presents obvious problems for a religious

group or community. Since roughly equal numbers of boy and girl babies are born, it takes extraordinary steps to provide men with multiple wives.

• Policies have to be developed to control:• The expulsion of the excess males during their teen years; • The importing of additional females via human trafficking; • A high level of genetic disorders due to inbreeding over

many generations within a small, closed group. • in order to maintain a culture in which most men have

many wives, it is necessary to persuade or force most male youths to leave the community at a relatively young age.

• Teenage women with restricted education are then matched up with older men, preferably before they develop an interest in boys their own age.

FLDS/Canada's marriage FLDS/Canada's marriage practices practices

(http://www.religioustolerance.org/lds_poly1a.htm)(http://www.religioustolerance.org/lds_poly1a.htm)

FLDS/Canada's marriage FLDS/Canada's marriage practices practices

(http://www.religioustolerance.org/lds_poly1a.htm)(http://www.religioustolerance.org/lds_poly1a.htm)

• After an unregistered marriage, the new wives often financially support the family by applying for welfare as single mothers.

• There have been allegations in the U.S. and Canadian media that teenage women have been exported from the U.S. group to supply men in Bountiful with additional brides.

Marriage Beliefs Marriage Beliefs (http://www.religioustolerance.org/lds_poly1a.htm)(http://www.religioustolerance.org/lds_poly1a.htm)

Marriage Beliefs Marriage Beliefs (http://www.religioustolerance.org/lds_poly1a.htm)(http://www.religioustolerance.org/lds_poly1a.htm)

• Men must have at least three wives and as many children as possible in order to enter the highest level of heaven, and to have the opportunity to evolve into a God.

• This belief was first taught by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon movement.

• A wife can only attain this highest level if invited by her husband. This places incredible pressure on women to conform to their husband's demands.

• A woman's role is to serve a man and be submissive to his needs. Women who disobey men will have their souls burn in Hell for eternity.

• Children are usually required to leave school at the age of 13 or 14.

• Their marriage ceremony consists of the woman placing her hand in the man's hand in what is called "the patriarchal grip."

Marriage Beliefs Marriage Beliefs (http://www.religioustolerance.org/lds_poly1a.htm)(http://www.religioustolerance.org/lds_poly1a.htm)

Marriage Beliefs Marriage Beliefs (http://www.religioustolerance.org/lds_poly1a.htm)(http://www.religioustolerance.org/lds_poly1a.htm)

• A man is not permitted to have sexual intercourse with one of his wives if she is pregnant.

• Former Bishop Winston Blackmore of Bountiful claimed that because all the plural marriages, except perhaps for the first one, are celestial, and not legal unions, FLDS men are not legally polygamists; they are only adulterers in the eyes of the state. Adultery is not a criminal act.

• He does not seem to be aware of the specific wording of the Law prohibiting polygamy in Canada.

• According to The Economist, critics say that the schools run by the Canadian branch of the FLDS provide minimal education.

• Boys are trained as farm and forest laborers. • Girls are trained to be brides and mothers.

Criminal Code of CanadaCriminal Code of CanadaCriminal Code of CanadaCriminal Code of Canada

• Right after Section 289 "venereal diseases," which has been repealed, comes a series of "Offences Against Conjugal Rights." Section 290 discusses bigamy. Section 293 covers polygamy. The latter states:

• Every one who:(a) practises or enters into or in any manner agrees or consents to practise or enter into(i) any form of polygamy, or(ii) any kind of conjugal union with more than one person at the same time, whether or not it is by law recognized as a binding form of marriage, or(b) celebrates, assists or is a party to a rite, ceremony, contract or consent that purports to sanction a relationship mentioned in subparagraph (i) or (ii), is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.  Where an accused is charged with an offence under this section, no averment or proof of the method by which the alleged relationship was entered into, agreed to or consented to is necessary in the indictment or on the trial of the accused, nor is it necessary on the trial to prove that the persons who are alleged to have entered into the relationship had or intended to have sexual intercourse. 1

• Section 293 was added to the Criminal Code in the late 19th century, allegedly to keep Mormons out of Canada. No charges have been laid under this law since the late 1940s. 5

Lifting the Veil of PolygamyLifting the Veil of PolygamyLifting the Veil of PolygamyLifting the Veil of Polygamy

Review: FLDSReview: FLDSReview: FLDSReview: FLDS• FLDS History: Split from main Mormon church 100 years ago • Where: Utah, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, South Dakota, Creston and

Bountiful, BC• Warren Jeffs

• Leader until November 20, 2007• April 2008 Raid

• March 30, 2008 tip• April 3-10: Texas Rangers in control of YFZ Ranch.• May 29: Texas Supreme Court rules orders children to be returned.

• Plural marriage and placement marriage• a man having multiple wives is ordained by God• wives are required to be subordinate to their husbands.• Women are assigned a husband by revelation to the prophet.

• Social implications of polygyny • excess males must leave (teen years) • Importing females • genetic disorders • Females marry young before develop an interest in boys their own age. • New unregistered wives can apply for welfare as single mothers. • minimal education