The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a polygamous sect that has been known to abuse women and children both sexually and physically. Warren Jeffs, the leader and prophet, marries off young teenage girls to much older men.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
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.
