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Fundamentalist Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints

Some Boys Were Forced To Work

Compound owned by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saint sold

From the age of 14, former FLDS member Wendell Jeffson said he was forced to work in construction, operating heavy machinery, he told Insider. He helped in construction for Par 2 Contractors, based in Hilldale, Utah, working at a Holiday Inn in St. George, which was owned by a well-known FLDS family, in addition to other projects on-site of private homes of FLDS members. The family that owned the Holiday Inn already faced allegations of violating child labor laws at its earlier company, Paragon Contractors, per the Department of Labor and court records obtained by Insider.

Federal labor laws prohibit those under the age of 18 from working in dangerous jobs such as construction, but the members of the FLDS hardly complained because they were told that their work was in service to the church and God, Jeffson said.

In The 19th Century Mormon Fundamentalists Separated From The Church Of Latter

In 1890, the President, Prophet, Seer, and Revelator of the Mormon Church succumbed to federal pressure and issued a manifesto to officially condemn the practice of polygamy. A second manifesto was issued in 1904, reiterating condemnation of the practice. By its own admittance, members of the LDS Church continued to practice polygamy well into the 1930s, but the public condemnation prompted thousands of Mormons to splinter off into fundamentalist sects to practice their religion as it had been prescribed by the founder, Joseph Smith, a little less than a century before.

While the Church of Latter-day Saints insists that Fundamentalists are not members of their ilk , members of both communities believe that Joseph Smith discovered gold plates on a hill in western New York in 1827 with the help of an angel named Moroni, that Jesus came to North America after His resurrection in the first century, and that God proclaimed through His prophet, Joseph Smith, that polygamy was the righteous standard for marriage.

Bountiful British Columbia Community

The first member of the group that bought property near Lister was Harold Michael Blackmore, who moved there with his family in 1946. Other members of the church who believed in the principles of plural marriages soon followed. After Winston Blackmore became the bishop in the 1980s, the group took the name of Bountiful.

In 1998 the estimated population was 600 and has since grown to about 1,000. Most of the residents are descended from only half a dozen men. The current FLDS bishop is James Oler.

In 2002 the Mormon fundamentalists in Bountiful divided into two groups: about half are members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , and the other half are members of the Church of Jesus Christ Inc.

Church of Jesus Christ Inc.

The Church of Jesus Christ Inc., is an FLDS-offshoot based on the teachings of Winston Blackmore, who split with the FLDS Church after concluding the president of the church, Warren Jeffs, had exceeded his authority and become too dictatorial. This group was formed in September 2002, when FLDS Church president Warren Jeffs excommunicated Winston Blackmore, who for two decades was Bishop of the Bountiful, British Columbia group of the FLDS Church. About 700 people continue to follow Blackmore, while about 500 follow Jeffs.

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Terminology And Relationship With The Lds Church

The term “Mormon fundamentalist” appears to have been coined in the 1940s by LDS Church apostle to refer to groups who had left the LDS Church. However, Mormon fundamentalists do not universally embrace this usage and many simply consider themselves to be “Mormon”. Today, the LDS Church considers the designation “Mormon” to apply only to its own members and not to members of other sects of the Latter Day Saint movement. One LDS leader went as far as claiming that there is no such thing as a “Mormon fundamentalist”, and that using the two terms together is a “contradiction.” The LDS Church suggests that the correct term to describe Mormon fundamentalist groups is “polygamist communities”.

In rebuttal to this nomenclature argument, certain Mormon fundamentalists have argued that they themselves are in fact more correctly designated as Mormons in so far as they follow what they consider to be the true and original Mormon teachings as handed down from Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Within this context, the LDS Church is often regarded by such fundamentalists as having abandoned several foundational aspects of Mormonism as noted above.

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The Crimes Of Warren Jeffs: " President/Prophet"  Of The Fundamentalist ...

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    They’re Taught To Keep Their Emotions Tamped Down

    The churchâs motto is “Keep Sweet” . When Warren Jeffsâs father, Rulon Jeffs made the mantra popular in the 90s, he meant that one should fill themselves with the Holy Spirit, according to BuzzFeed. When Warren took over, it became more extreme . Now FLDS uses âkeep sweetâ as a reminder to tamp down your emotions.

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    Warren Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, is prominently discussed in Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey, a new Netflix documentary about the sect.

    The FLDS is a sect that developed when mainstream Mormonism banned polygamy. Members of the FLDS still practice it, and a former member says in Netflixs four-part documentary that within the group, a mans status depends on how many wives he has.

    Warren Jeffs became the groups leader following the death of his father Rulon Jeffs in 2002. Rulon Jeffs had been the leader of the FLDS since the Eighties.

    In 2011, Warren Jeffs was convicted in Texas of two counts of sexual assault of a child. He was sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting a a 12-year-old girl, and 20 years for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl. Warren Jeffs was previously convicted in Utah on two counts of being an accomplice to rape in 2007, but that conviction was overturned by the Utah Supreme Court in 2010.

    According to a former US Attorney Special Prosecutor who participated in the Netflix documentary, evidence during the sentence phase of the trial reflected that Jeffs was involved in conducting the marriages of 67 underage girls to FLDS men, and that he had himself 78 wives 24 of those wives were underage.

    Warren Jeffs is now serving his life sentence at the Louis C Powledge Unit, a prison located near the city of Palestine, Texas.

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    Jeffs’ Reign Included A Lot Of Strict Rules

    FLDS has been a target of criminal investigations since its inception, but things got even more extreme with Warren Jeffs at the helm. Jeffs had more than 70 wives.

    Jeffs dictated how people dressed, who they married, and what they ate.

    In 2011, after he was convicted, even more rules came down: All members had to turn over their possessions to the churchâs leadership, the Salt Lake City Tribune reported. After members turned over everything they had, they were interviewed to determine if they were “worthy” of staying in the church. If they were found “unworthy”âwhich many wereâthey were excommunicated, the newspaper reported.

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    One determinant for âworthinessâ was ignorance of Jeffsâs sexual assault convictions, Willie Jessop, former church spokesman told the newspaper at the time. Members also had to hand over $5,000 to prove their faithfulness and get rid of their childrenâs toys.

    But those weren’t all the rules they had to follow…

    Official Websites Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter

    What do Mormons Believe About God? | Now You Know

    The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sponsors many websites for the benefit of Church members, news media, and others who are interested in learning more about the Church. You can tell if a site is from the Church because it will have the Church logo. Individuals and Church units are not authorized to use the logo on anything they create.

    In an effort to reflect the full name of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and better convey the faiths commitment to follow Jesus Christ, LDS.org, Mormon.org, and other Church communication channels have made changes to reflect the full name of the Church. In the letter titled, Using the correct name of the Church, the First Presidency wrote, Jesus Christ is at the center of His Church and we will be blessed as we strive to make Him the center of our lives.

    The following are the websites owned and managed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often referred to as the Mormon Church.

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    The Fundamentalist Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter

    GettyLocal residents walk along the edge of Short Creek where two vans were swept away the day before on September 15, 2015 in Colorado City, Arizona.

    In the century since the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints publicly condemned polygamy, Mormon fundamentalists have splintered off into different sects and offshoots throughout the western United States, as well as in Canada and Mexico.

    The hyper-regressive religion has touted thousands of members despite its long history of child abuse, poverty, and sexual assault.

    Heres what you need to know:

    What Religion Is Most Similar To Mormonism

    Although Mormonism and Islam certainly have many similarities, there are also significant, fundamental differences between the two religions. MormonMuslim relations have historically been cordial recent years have seen increasing dialogue between adherents of the two faiths, and cooperation in charitable endeavors.

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    Finding Aids For Latter

    The Studies in Mormon History Database includes citations to articles, books, theses, and Ph.D. dissertations dealing with the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, written from the time of its inception in 1830 to the present. It is intended to be comprehensive. It includes citations to over 2,000 Latter-day Saint biographies and 800 published Latter-day Saint diaries. The diary entries have abstracts describing dates of coverage and a summary of the contents. There are some links to full-text items.

    The former FLDS temple at the YFZ Ranch near Eldorado, Texas
    Abbreviation

    The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a religious sect of the fundamentalist Mormon denominations whose members practice polygamy. The fundamentalist Mormon movement emerged in the early 20th century, when its founding members were excommunicated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , largely because of their refusal to abandon the practice of plural marriage after it was renounced in the Second Manifesto . The FLDS Church as a distinct group traces its origins to the 1950s in the Short Creek community , where the group is still based.

    Mormon Fundamentalists Have Repeatedly Been Accused And Convicted Of Rape Incest And Polygamy

    The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter

    Mormon fundamentalists have been arrested on a number of occasions over the last three decades and convicted of crimes relating to rape, incest, child abuse, and, of course, polygamy. Brian Mitchell, a Mormon fundamentalist, was implicated in the high-profile, nine-month-long abduction and rape of then-fourteen-year-old, Elizabeth Smart, in 2002. The leader of the Colorado City fundamentalist sect, Warren Jeffs, was accused of crimes relating to sexual violence against children in Arizona, Utah, and Texas, crimes for which he is now serving a life sentence in prison. Tom Green, an independent fundamentalist who fathered at least 30 children, was convicted of first-degree felony child rape, for which he served only five years of his five-to-life sentence.

    Under The Banner of Heaven, Jon Krakauers 2003 account of a vicious double-homicide at the hands of a pair of Mormon fundamentalists, details the extent of the crimes committed by fundamentalists against the women and young girls of their communities and implicates zealous religious indoctrination as the mechanism that emboldened a community to commit heinous crimes against its vulnerable members.

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    The Woman Who Escaped A Polygamous Cult And Turned Its Hq Into A Refuge

    Briell Decker was 18 when she became the 65th wife of US cult leader Warren Jeffs. Can she help heal the town his FLDS sect ruled for generations?

    Briell Decker carefully removed the screws from the corners of the window and began pounding on the glass until it started to come loose. Hearing the noise, her sister-in-law, who had been in the lounge area of their trailer home, came in and took the screwdriver away. But it was too late: Decker had already unscrewed one side of the pane as soon as she was alone again, she opened the window, climbed out into the street and ran away. She was escaping her brother, his wife, and the fundamentalist Mormon cult they all belonged to. Decker had been forced to marry its leader, Warren Jeffs, aged 18.

    Six years later, Decker sits on the back porch of the $1.2m mansion where she once lived with Jeffs. I knew I wasnt going to give up, whether I made it out or not, she says of her escape. Nothing was going to stop me.

    Everything has changed since then. Jeffs is seven years into a life sentence for sexual assault. Decker has made a life for herself, and recently remarried. The town in which she lives has started to open itself up to people outside the cult for the first time in 90 years, and to welcome back excommunicated members.

    I ask if she thinks the FLDS is breaking apart. Not fast enough, she says. Everyone tells me Ill see my other kids again, but right now its too hard to think about.

    A Book About Escaping From The Flds:

    Author Carolyn Jessop was born into the FLDS and grew up in Colorado City, AZ. She successfully escaped from the group and lives elsewhere in Utah with her eight children. Her book discusses the abuse that she endured and her liberation from polygyny. . The book is also available in paperback and audio formats.

    Apologetics Index has a 40 minute video showing Jessop discussing her life & book, and answering questions from the audience. See:Apologetics Index is an evangelicalcounter-cult Christian web site.

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    Social Events And Gatherings

    Additional meetings are also held at the meetinghouse. Church officers may conduct leadership meetings or host training sessions and classes. The ward or branch community may schedule social activities at the meetinghouse, including dances, dinners, holiday parties and musical presentations. The churchs Young Men and Young Women organizations meet at the meetinghouse once a week, where the youth participate in activities. At the start of 2020, the church implemented a new initiative for children and youth worldwide, which replaced all other church youth programs.

    In LDS theology, a temple is considered to be a holy building, dedicated as a House of the Lord and held as more sacred than a typical meetinghouse or chapel. In temples, church members participate in ceremonies that are considered the most sacred in the church, including marriage, and an endowment ceremony that includes a washing and anointing, receiving a temple garment, and making covenants with God. Baptisms for the dead are performed in the temples as well.

    In order to perform ordinances in temples on behalf of deceased family members, the church emphasizes genealogical research, and encourages its lay members to participate in genealogy.It operates FamilySearch, the largest genealogical organization in the world.

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    Prayer Will Help Warren Jeffs Escape From Prison

    13 Mormon Beliefs | Now You Know

    Former FLDS member Joe Broadbent told ABC News that members have to drop whatever they are doing every hour on the hour and pray for Warren Jeffss escape from prison. According to Broadbent, Jeffs puts a lot of pressure on his followers and makes them feel guilty by saying, the only way that Im not out is because youre not faithful enough. Followers go days without eating, hoping that fasting and prayers will help Jeffs escape.

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    Can A Democrat Win Over Rural Ohio Tim Ryan Gives It A Shot

    The Mormon Church excommunicates members who are publicly revealed as polygamists, writes Debra Weyermann in a lengthy cover story in the current issue of High Country News magazine. But it has refused to condemn the FLDS, even though its spokesmen have often been asked to do so.

    Ms. Weyermann, a former reporter for the Arizona Daily Star, is the author of Answer Them Nothing: Bringing Down the Polygamous Empire of Warren Jeffs, a book about the FLDS.

    FLDS leader Jeffs is currently serving a life sentence in Texas for two counts of sexual assault of a child girls ages 15 and 12 who were taken as his brides in a spiritual marriage.

    Still, Jeffs is widely believed to direct FLDS activities in Colorado City, Hildale, and elsewhere from his prison cell, including the assignment of wives.

    “The cities’ governments, including the Marshal’s Office, have been deployed to carry out the will and dictates of FLDS leaders, particularly Warren Jeffs and the officials to whom he delegates authority,” the Justice Department lawsuit states.

    In 2008, 465 children were removed from the FLDS Yearning for Zion ranch near Eldorado, Texas, resulting in the biggest child custody case in US history. Authorities determined that at least several dozen underage girls already had children, were pregnant, or both. Following legal challenges and a period of foster care while child protection authorities investigated the cases, most of the children were returned to their families.

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