Sunday, January 9, 2011

Polygamy and FLDS Quiz!

1.) What is polygamy?
             A.) Having lots of children
 B.) Marrying more than one spouse at a time
C.) Getting divorced then remarried
D.) Practicing a religious belief

2.) Which religion is the FLDS most related to?
A.) Catholic
B.) Jewish
C.) Islamic
D.) Mormon

3.) What disease affects a lot of newborn children in the FLDS?
                        A.) Down’s Syndrome   
            B.) ADHD
 C.) Fumarase Deficiency 
            D.)ADD

4.) Who is currently the Prophet of the FLDS?
A.) Warren Jeffs
B.) Rulon Jeffs
C.) Brent Jeffs
D.) Merril Jessop

5.) Who are the Lost Boys of Polygamy?
A.) Boys that have gotten lost
B.) Boys that are favored in the FLDS
C.) Boys that have run away or been excommunicated
D.) Boys that live with the Prophet

6.) How many children did Carolyn Jessop have when she escaped from the FLDS?
A.) 10
B.) 7
C.) 4
D.) 8

7.) What year did the Short Creek raid take place?
A.) 1987
B.) 2002
C.) 1953
D.) 2008

8.) What year did the YFZ Ranch raid take place?
A.) 1987
B.) 2002
C.) 1953
D.) 2008

9.) What race does Warren Jeffs preach that they are to be the "servants of servant"?
A.) Black
B.) Asian
C.) Indian
D.) White

10.) What famous person was granted access into to YFZ compound in Eldorado, Texas?
A.) Brad Pitt
B.) Barack Obama
C.) Oprah Winfrey
D.) George W. Bush







Answers: B D C A C D C D A B

HOPE Organization

Rulon Jeffs with his two new brides.
     Some people may ask, If polygamy is such a big problem is anyone trying to help these women and children? The answer is yes. The HOPE Organization is a group of concerned citizens based in St. George, Utah. It is a non-profit organization that, "Offers support, protection, assistance, choices, opportunities, and hope for the women, children, families, and young adults (both male and female) who have been kicked out or have chosen to leave this culture." They offer things such as food, shelter, legal assistance, finacial support, and counseling. They also offer presentations, videos, and speakers that will come to public events and talk about the all of the problems polygamy creates and to raise awareness of what is going on in polygamous cultures. Their website inculdes many good articles on polygamy and first hand accounts of survivors who have escaped polygamy. Below is a link to their website to learn more about polygamy.

Below is a video of Warren Jeffs talking about a girls job to marry in a 5th to 10th grade classroom.


Sources:
TheHOPEorg.org. Web. 24 Nov. 2010. http://www.childbrides.org/.

Pictures Taken From: Google Images

Video Taken From: Youtube

Raids

Short Creek Raid
     Throughout FLDS history there have been two massive raids. The first one took place in
the early hours of July 26, 1953.  Over 100 Arizona state police officers and National Guard soldiers invaded Short Creek. They arrested all the men and took into state custody 236 children. Of those 236 children, 150 were not allowed to return to their parents for more than two years. Some parents never got to see their children again. The Short Creek raid was the largest mass arrest of polygamists in American history. It seemed to be all over the news and people got to see for the first time behind this hidden community.
YFZ Raid
     The 2nd major raid took place not too long ago, but this time at the Yearning For Zion (YFZ) compound in Eldorado, Texas. In April, 2008 a local abuse hotline recieved a call from a young girl who said her name was Sarah and stated she was in the FLDS and was being sexually abused. Texas Child Protective Services and Department of Public Safety officers went into the compound to search for signs of abuse and to arrest males of the community just like what had happened during the Short Creek raid. They took over 400 kids into their custody and didn't return them for months. Police finally figuared out the call was a prank and dropped most of the men of their charges. Only six men where arrested and now face up to 75 years in jail. With both of these raids members of the FLDS played it off as a 'test from God' and proved to them that the outside world really can't be trusted.

Sources:
"Inside Warren Jeffs' Polygamous Group - ABC News." ABCNews.com - ABCNews.com: Breaking News, Politics, World News, Good Morning America, Exclusive Interviews - ABC News. Web. 09 Jan. 2011. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Books/story?id=7633887&page=1.

Pictures Taken From: Google Images

Carolyn Jessop

Merril Jessop with his six wives. Carolyn Jessop is on right.
    Carolyn Jessop was born in raised in the FLDS com munity of Short Creek. At 18 years old she was forced by the prophet to marry an elder of the community named Merril Jessop, who today runs the YFZ Ranch in Eldorado, Texas. On their wedding day he was 50 years old and already had three wives. Over the next 15 years she had eight of his 54 children. During that time she endured sexual, physical, and mental abuse from her husband.  At age 35 she had had enough and wanted to escape her horrible life in the FLDS. Against all odd she fled the FLDS community in the middle of the night with her eight children and reached safety. Once getting out, Carolyn faced many struggles of being a single mother and living in a world in which she had been taught was not to be trusted. Merril, her husband, tried numorous times to get his children back and a custody battle was started. After many cases Carolyn finally recieved full custody of her children. Merril also sent scouts to keep an eye on Carolyn and his children by essentially stalking them. She then was granted a restraining order from Merril. Carolyn's heroic story of her escape was so powerful she felt the need to share it. In 2007 Carolyn did just that. She released her book Escape that tell about her stuggles in the FLDS as a child, a young bride, and a mother. Below is a video of Carolyn dicussing her ex-religion and her escape from the FLDS.

Sources:
TheHOPEorg.org. Web. 24 Nov. 2010. http://www.childbrides.org/.

Pictures Taken From: Google Images

Video Taken From: Youtube

The Lost Boys of Polygamy

     Although women in FLDS communities usually get more attention from the outside world for being raped and abused many teenage and young boys are being hurt just as badly in the FLDS. With Warren Jeffs marrying off all of the women and girls to older men the young boys have nobody to marry. Jeffs is then excommunicating these boys and forcing them to face a world that they have been taught is evil. Once these boys are excommunicated they have nowhere to go because once they are not allowed in the community Jeffs makes sure that the boys families disown them as relatives and tells them the boys have diobeyed God's wishes. Brent Jeffs, Warren Jeffs nephew, released a book in 2009 called The Lost Boy. He tells the story of growing up in the polygamous sect through a little boys eyes. As a child he was sexually molested by his uncle and after he left the FLDS he was the first to file charges against Warren Jeffs. Many excommunicated boys of the FLDS have become known as the Lost Boys and most have turned to drugs and alcohol to try to cope with losing everything they knew. Brent Jeffs has lost two brothers to suicide and to an overdose. In this book Brent Jeffs shows how boy can triumph and overcome all odds after leaving the FLDS with a little help. If you would like to read more aobut Brent Jeffs and The Lost Boy check out the link below.
http://books.google.com/books?id=zSQsT79Az0gC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
 Below is a video clip of a documentary on youtube about the Lost Boys of Polygamy.



Sources:
"Inside Warren Jeffs' Polygamous Group - ABC News." ABCNews.com - ABCNews.com: Breaking News, Politics, World News, Good Morning America, Exclusive Interviews - ABC News. Web. 09 Jan. 2011. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Books/story?id=7633887&page=1.

Pictures Taken From: Google Images

The Prophet: Warren Jeffs


Jeffs and one of his child brides.
     Warren Jeffs took over the FLDS after his father, Rulon Jeffs, died in 2002. Members of the FLDS are taught that because Jeffs is a prophet he is 'God's mouth on Earth' so they must obey everything that he says. He controls every single part of the community including the city government, police, schools, and buisnesses. Jeffs also restricts things such as family pets, TV, holidays. music, and swimming which are all not allowed in the community. Since Jeffs is currently in jail, he has young men known as 'God Squads' that are sent around the community to make sure that families are following his rules. To any outsider of the religion Jeffs rules are nothing short of crazy. Jeffs ordered member to create a 'launching pad' in Short Creek in a grassy field that is to be used as a gathering place for when the Lord destroys the wicked ouside world, but takes worthy memebers to heaven. One diary entry of Jeffs states,"The Lord directed that I go to the sun tanning salon and get sun tanned more evenly on their suntanning beds." The Southern Poverty Law Center has named the FLDS as a hate group because of Jeffs teaching on black people. Jeffs states that blacks are descendants of Cain and are cursed with the black sking. He also says they are selected by God to be the servants of servants. As stated before Jeffs is currently being sentenced for two counts of first-degree rape as an acomplice for marrying a 14 year old girls to her cousin as well as molestation of his newphew. Nobody knows for sure how many wives or children Jeffs has but it has been estimated that he has over 100 wives.  

Sources:
 Anderson, Scott. "The Polygamists." National Geographic 1 Feb. 2010: 34. SIRS Researcher. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.

Buchanan, By Susy. "Tempest in Texas." Southern Poverty Law Center. Spring 2005. Web. 12 Nov. 2010. http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2005/spring/tempest-in-texas?page=0,1.

Pictures Taken From: Google Images

Life In The FLDS


An FLDS elder and his wives, children, and grandchildren.
     The FLDS has many small communities throughout the United States and Canada with over 10,000 members altogether. The largest of these communities, with about 6,000 members, is called Short Creek and includes the cities of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona. The two cities are all run by memebers of the FLDS and outsiders are not welcome. Followers of this religion are taught that everyone outside of the chruch are to be associated with the 'devil'. This makes the community very cut off from the rest of the world. Members of the FLDS have very little say in what they can wear. Women must be extremely modest by wear long plan dresses that cover their arms and legs. Men must wear long pants and nice shirts that are also very plain. The FLDS is a very patriarchal society. Women have no say in anything and are very often abused both sexually and  physically. In the FLDS, the more wives a man has the more power he has in the community and the more likely he is to get a good spot in heaven. Girls are taught to always 'keep sweet for the lord' by not questioning men and doing everything they are told, even if they know it will hurt them. When the FLDS first settled in Short Creek in the early 1920's and 30's it was started by the Jessops and a few other founding families. Since there are not a ton of memebers incest has become a big problem. Most members seem to look the same with a high forehead, pointed nose, and reddish gold hair. The prophet, Warren Jeffs, often marries off cousins to eachother which creates big problem when it comes to offspring. A disease called fumarase deficiency that is caused by a recessive gene has been showing up in more FLDS babies due to intermarrige and lack of new blood in the religion.

Sources:
Anderson, Scott. "The Polygamists." National Geographic 1 Feb. 2010: 34. SIRS Researcher. Web.10 Nov. 2010.

Pictures Taken From: Google Images