Update: Abuse In America

A couple of updates to the 3-part "Abuse in America" story.

Yesterday in an Arizona courtroom, Warren Jeffs entered a plea of Not Guilty to ten charges against him. If convicted he could receive anything from probation to 26 years in jail. The next hearing date is set for March 19. You can read one of the press stories here: http://www.theconservativevoice.com/ap/article.html?mi=D8V2V7IO0&apc=9001.

New aerial photographs of the YFZ Ranch near Eldorado, TX were posted to this site on February 19, http://web.sccn2.net/flds/. Several of these pictures show the construction of a new guardhouse at the entrance to the compound. The dugout wall behind the guardhouse appears to me to be a precursor for when and if a stand-off would take place.

Even the walls of Jericho came down...

California CBEST - Waiting, Waiting, Waiting

With a little more angst than I would probably like to admit publicly, today I am trying something a little different with this site. My hope is by writing throughout my day, I can relieve some of my anticipation and fear.

Background
On Saturday, February 9, I took the California Teacher's Exam, known as the CBEST.

My alarm went off at 5AM that Saturday morning. Because I was anxious and nervous about taking the test, I had no trouble answering my alarm clock's wake-up call. I knew I had studied for this exam. Maybe I had not applied myself as much as could, or should have, but I had studied. I had spent the entire day Friday taking sample tests of the CBEST.

As I drove through the parking lot of the high school testing site, my first thought was the school was participating in some type of Saturday school activity. People and cars were everywhere. I had left my home early to allow a few extra minutes to review my study aids prior to taking the test. My extra study time disappeared as I searched for parking in the crowded lot. The crowd shocked me. There must have been more than 500 people waiting to be admitted to their testing rooms. I joined the herd of people at the entrance as the gate-keeper started allowing admission by corralling people in the proper direction to their testing room.

As I entered my testing room, the test proctor said to place everything except your identification, pencils and CBEST confirmation on the floor against the wall the greatest distance from the desks in the classroom. I kept the instructed items and left my purse and water bottle on the floor against the aforementioned wall. Each desk in the classroom was numbered. I found my correct seat number and waited.

After the classroom desks were filled with test-takers, the proctor moved from desk to desk with a box of CBEST tests and an ink pad. At each desk, the proctor would check identification, find the correctly identified test in the box, ink the thumb of the test-taker and instruct each to roll our thumb from right to left in the appropriate box on the front of our test. Our test was then turned over and left on our desk.

With all administrative duties and instructions completed by the proctor, we started the four hour exam. This test was a grueling challenge between the questions on paper and my "little-used-of-late" skills in reading comprehension and math (including algebra, geometry, calculus) functions. Four hours to answer 50 multiple choice questions each in reading and math and to write two short essays on topics given to me on the exam. The multiple choice sections for math and reading took an hour and a half each, leaving me with one hour to create, write, re-read and edit my two essays. I used every second of the allotted four hour time. I had just finished re-reading the second of my essays as the proctor told us to put our pencils down.

I knew I had done the best I could do on the multiple choice questions. And although I completed both essays, I felt they each suffered because of the time constraints. The test was over, but surely not forgotten. An upside of this exam is if you fail any of the three parts (reading, math, essays), you only have to re-take the parts of the test you failed. I hope this is not the case for me. I really don't want to re-take any of the test again.

I have checked the CBEST website for my "unofficial" scores several times in the past couple of weeks. (The last time I checked was about 10PM last night.) Each time the website tells me the same information. The scores for the February 9 CBEST exam will not be posted until 5PM on February 25.

February 25, 2008, Monday
8:19AM - I just checked the CBEST website again, and again received the same response of scores being posted at 5PM today. At least the NASCAR races were rained out this week-end and rescheduled for today which should keep my mind occupied and busy for a good part of the day. I am very anxious to learn how I did on the exam. I hate this waiting . . . waiting . . . waiting. Think I will go catch up on my e-mail. The Colonel and I have been battling a cold or the flu for almost a week and I my e-mail is a little back-logged.

10:02AM - Still no scores posted on the CBEST website. If I don't pass I guess I can decide to not post this to my website. It would be embarrassing to be doing this in real time, with all of this pressure and then learn of failing this exam. I guess this is a positive to having my own site. I can decide what to post and what not to post. My fingers are still crossed on passing. NASCAR Race should be starting right now. I'm off to watch the "good ole' boys."

12:25PM - Still no scores posted on the CBEST website. Considering giving up this writing effort for fear I have failed and am writing in vain. The first postponed NASCAR Race is finished with Carl Edwards claiming 1st. My favorite driver placed high in the "top ten" finishers. Second postponed race should be starting soon. This will keep my mind occupied for another few hours. Think I will go start some chili for dinner.

3:16PM - My chili for dinner is finished and simmering. The second postponed NASCAR Race is finished. And, my wait is over for my "unofficial" CA CBEST Test score. I PASSED! I'm so excited. Not sure what I need to do now - in addition to waiting to receive my official test score in the mail. WOOHOO! It's a great day!

2008 AMGEN Tour of California

I've been under the weather for a couple of days with a cold. Or, at least I think it's a cold. It's some kind of nasty little bug. (Whatever it is, it must be contagious because today the Colonel came down with the same ailment.) Accompanied by boxes of Kleenex and Dayquil, I lounged on the couch Wednesday. Wednesday was also the Stage 3 Modesto start of the 2008 AMGEN Tour of California. Haven't heard of the AMGEN Tour of California? Don't feel alone. Although the topic had been highlighted nightly on our evening news, I paid little attention to it, until I felt like doing little else except watching television.

Wednesday morning, low and behold, one of the local television stations had a helicopter over the city of Modesto. At first I thought, oh no, here we go again - the police are chasing someone through Modesto and our city is about to gain more bad press (think Scott Peterson). But, the helicopter cameras were not focused on police, or a chase, or a bad guy. Right in the middle of Modesto, in front of our new Gallo Center, a crowd of thousands had gathered around a group of more than 100 cyclists.

I have never been much of a cycling fan. I've never watched the Tour de France. I know Lance Armstrong's name more because of his battle with cancer and his dating Sheryl Crowe, than because of his cycling titles. But, Modesto was on television and I felt like doing little more than lying around on the couch.

As I watched and listened, I learned these riders were starting "Stage 3" of the 2008 AMGEN Tour of California. Stage 3 meant day 3 of competition for the riders. In the prior two days, the first two stages of the race, these athletes had already covered more than 200+ miles of N. California roadway. Stage 3 would be the toughest day thus far in the race for the cyclists. This stage would push them another 100+ miles from Modesto through the Central Valley to Patterson, CA and then up through the foothills of Del Puerto Canyon and over Mt. Hamilton (elevation 4,000+) and finally to the finish line in the city of San Jose.

Soon after the race started in Modesto, the television coverage ended. The local announcer said aerial coverage of the race would continue on the station's web-site. The Colonel and I travel the "race route" to Patterson at least once a week to visit the Colonel's Mom. I thought it would be pretty cool to see this route from the air so I logged on to the station's web-site. As the riders passed the palm trees lining Los Palmas Avenue heading into Patterson and entered "The Circle" in the center of town, I was more interested in the three riders leading the race than the scenery. As the riders left Patterson, travelled under under I-5 and started up Del Puerto Canyon, the station commentator said, "Once all of the riders enter the canyon, our aerial coverage of the race will end."

Huh? The most beautiful part of the ride through the Canyon and up to Mt. Hamilton would not be covered? Frantically, I opened Dogpile and searched for the race. I found the AMGEN TOC web-site. I never expected the great race coverage I found. Better yet, I never expected to get such great coverage for free. (I pay a fee to get fewer features and less coverage of NASCAR races!) I watched live coverage of the race until well after 5pm when the cyclists crossed the finish line in San Jose. Not only did I see the live coverage, utilizing GPS, the site was enabled so I could watch each racer's progress on the Stage map. And, with the help of the provided terrain map I could tell if the racer's were climbing or descending. This site had so many features, I found myself forgetting to watch the race to watch the stats and maps. The 2008 AMGEN Tour of California web-site is some of the best sports racing technology I have ever seen. These guys could teach NASCAR a few things about integrating race info into a web-site.

Can you guess what I have spent the last two days doing? Well, my excuse is I'm sick. But, I'm not so sick that I can't log on daily to watch the TOC. Yesterday, the cyclists rode more than 135 miles from Seaside, CA to San Luis Obispo. Today, they rode 15 mile time trials in Solvang, CA. (Solvang reminds me of Helen, GA, a Dutch village. The Colonel and I are going to have to plan a trip to Solvang and find out first hand if this town is like Helen, a town we both loved.) Where was I? Oh yea, Stage 3 - Modesto, Stage 4 - Seaside, Stage 5 - time trials in Solvang. Tomorrow, Stage 6 is the 105 mile ride from Santa Barbara, CA to Santa Clarita. On Sunday, Stage 7, the final Stage of the race is the 93 mile ride from Santa Clarita, CA to Pasadena. This final stage includes the climb of Millcreek Summit (4,900+ elevation).

These cyclists are true athletes. Can you imagine riding 132 miles in rainy, windy weather right next to the ocean on Highway 1, the coastal highway of California? Probably not. Me neither. I have gained a new appreciation for cycling and the athletes who ride. If you're interested to see what I have been watching and some really great scenery of California, here's the AMGEN website, http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/. Once at this site, to view live coverage click on "Live! Watch with Adobe's Tour Tracker."

I think this cold is kind of lingering. Maybe I'll feel better by . . . Monday! *wink*

The Race Is On . . . NASCAR in 2008

The kick-off of the 2008 NASCAR Racing season with the running of the 50th Anniversary of the Daytona 500 is over.

The finish of today's Daytona 500 proved one thing. Those drivers, teams and manufacturers who receive the most press coverage and pre-race hype don't necessarily win. Ryan Newman and his #12 Dodge team received very little pre-race coverage, and yet, he was the first to cross the finish line. Congratulations to him and his team.

The Top Ten finishers by manufacturer were 6 Dodges, 2 Toyotas, 1 Ford and 1 Chevy. I know you are thinking that must be a typo, but it's not. Ford and Chevy each had one car in the top 10. To make it worse, the Chevy was 9th and the Ford was 10th. Come on boys, you've got to do a better job to level this stat. Or, from the looks of it the Dodge teams will be dominating race tracks and the point's championship this year.

One team receiving a lot of pre-race coverage was the Rick Hendrick's team of Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Casey Mears and first year Hendricks team member, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. The addition of Earnhardt to this "super-driver" team was the cause of the extra press coverage and hype. Many said the Hendrick's team would be tough to beat. They would dominate NASCAR in 2008. None of these predictions came true during the Daytona 500. At the end of the race, Earnhardt was the only Hendrick's driver in the Top Ten. Race broadcasters and some of the NASCAR chat sites are already dogging Dale Jr. about his "disappointing" race with his new team. Fact is, last year he finished the Daytona 500 in the 30th-something position. How can you be disappointed with a Top Ten finish after having his 2007 NASCAR season?

Another team receiving a lot of pre-race hype was the Joe Gibbs Toyota team and a couple of their cocky, high profile drivers. Either of these drivers could have won. Maybe one of them should have. I'm glad neither did.

And that cute "little boy" Kasey Kahne finished 7th in his Budweiser Dodge. This was a very good finish for him. He also had a very tough 2007 season.

For 2008, I am a NASCAR fan who . . .
- is still anxiously awaiting Danica Patrick's migration from Indy cars to NASCAR to kick some "good ole' boy" butt.

- enjoyed NASCAR Racing a lot more before restrictor-plates and the "Car of Tomorrow."

- has never been much of an Earnhardt fan (Sr. or Jr.), but I am not a "Jr. Hater" either. As a matter of fact, if there is ONE driver who truly has something to prove in the 2008 season, it is Dale Jr.

- will NEVER pull for a Toyota no matter who the driver or owner may be. I never did like TS or KyB much anyhow. Their move with the Gibbs team to Toyota just makes me dislike them even more.

- is tired of trying to keep up with the changing names of the NASCAR Series. (I have a difficult enough time trying to figure out who is driving which car at the beginning of each season!) Starting this year, I am going to call them all NASCAR. The series previously called the Winston Cup, Nextel Cup and currently the Sprint Cup; I will call the NASCAR "Top" Series. The series previously known as the Busch Series, currently the Nationwide Series, I will call the NASCAR "Bush" Series for "bush league." (So what if it sounds like Busch. Undoubtedly, at a later date, someone will think it's a typo or misspelled and I will get e-mail about how dumb I am, then I'll have to explain this all over again.) The series known as the Craftsman Truck Series is easy. I will call that one the "Truck" Series.

The NASCAR 2008 season has officially started with a lot of hype for a few, and these few showing few results. We will just have to wait and see what happens next week as the "good ole' boys" of NASCAR travel to California.

"Runway Incursion" - NBC Nightly News, February 16, 2008

Most of the time, for the past several weeks, our television seems to serve as low volume background noise in our living room. With the Colonel's time occupied as a crazed genealogist on one laptop and my writing occupying my time on another, our TiVo records our favorite shows and we watch them, and pay attention to them, some time later. At 5PM every afternoon, when we are home, one of us turns the television channel to our local NBC affiliate KCRA. Our local news is followed by NBC Nightly News at 5:30. Turning the channel to the news usually means the volume is turned up a little so each of us can at least listen to the headlines with one ear while our mind is occupied by a computer screen in front of us. Tonight, the situation was much the same during the NBC News, until my one listening ear caught these frantic words, "SkyWest -uh - 5741 - Hold! Hold! Hold!"

On hearing these words, I lost all interest in my computer screen and turned my full attention to the news. Well, I should say I turned my full attention to finding the TiVo remote. One of the great features of TiVo is you can rewind "live" television. I found the remote and hit the rewind button, backing the news up to the beginning of the segment which had caught my attention.

While I am rewinding, I am excitedly telling the Colonel, "That's the Modesto-San Francisco flight! That flight number, 5741, - the one he just announced. It's the Modesto-San Francisco flight!"

As I pushed "Play" on the TiVo remote and the news segment started, our eyes were glued to the television screen. From what I now understand a "runway incursion" is when one plane gets on the runway in the path of another plane that is taking off or landing. The news segment was about "near misses" on our nation's runways. In the first NTSB simulation a large plane is coming in for a landing at San Francisco International while another smaller plane taxis toward this runway on a collision course from an intersecting airport road. You hear the frantic audio of the Air Traffic Controller trying to stop the smaller plane before it moves into the path of the landing, larger plane, "SkyWest -uh - 5741 - Hold! Hold! Hold!"

SkyWest 5741 is the number designated for two daily SkyWest flights. One is from San Francisco to Modesto. The other is the return flight from Modesto to SFO. I know that flight number by heart. I flew on that flight both ways, many, many times. When I heard the flight number and the urgency in the controller's voice, I felt fear in the pit of my stomach. Even though it has been almost a year since I flew the Modesto-SFO-Modesto route twice weekly, this report scared me.

Could I have been on THAT flight THAT day on THAT runway? If I had been, would I have even known there was a "near miss" involving my plane at SFO? Or, would I have been engrossed in a business document, novel, or crossword puzzle, or maybe even asleep? Maybe I wouldn't have been sleeping. Although I flew so much back then, I learned to sleep easily on planes; the usual jolt of the plane landing on the runway would always awaken me. Unless you were seated on the left side of the plane looking out the window and saw the other plane coming in for a landing, chances are good you didn't have any idea what happened that day with the "near miss" of SkyWest 5741.

Apparently, runway incursions are becoming more frequent at our airports. As the NBC reporter said, our runways today look more like freeways at rush hour than runways for airplane landings and take-offs. At SFO, Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, Kansas City and Chicago's O'Hare, sometimes, I have sat in a plane, in a line of planes, waiting to take off for 45 minutes or more. Although maybe not as bad as a freeway at rush hour, airplane ground traffic at our country's major airports is pretty congested.

I am very, very glad I don't fly as much as I did a year ago. I am also very glad to know, because I haven't travelled as frequently in the past year, there is only a slim chance I could have been on that particular Flight 5741. But, even knowing these facts, just watching this news report gave me a pretty good scare.

The Colonel thinks we should give up planes for Greyhound. As a matter of fact, I think NBC has already heard from the Colonel in an e-mail concerning this and the NBC News "Runway Incursion" story. However, thinking about taking Greyhound, likely a 6-7 day bus ride from CA to SC, to visit my family probably scares me worse than not knowing about a "near miss" on a plane. I think I remember hearing about several pretty bad Greyhound bus accidents in the past couple of years. Interesting . . . when a bus wrecks, it's called a "bus accident." When a plane wrecks, it's called a "plane crash." I don't think I have ever heard of a "near miss" occurring while riding a bus.

The scare of the "near miss" of SkyWest Flight 5741 has now subsided. Life is back to usual in our living room. The television volume is low enough to be background noise to the sounds of laptop keystrokes and mouse clicks. The same setting will likely remain until the ten o'clock KCRA News. Tonight, I think I'll close my laptop, turn up the television volume and watch the news for a change.

Abuse in America - Part 3 (Conclusion)

(Abuse in America - Part 1 & Part 2 are posted below this entry in descending order. To better understand Part 3, please read Parts 1 & 2 prior to reading this post.)

Warren Jeffs knew legal trouble was just around the corner. Utah and Arizona authorities were cracking down on the marriages he performed involving underage girls. Many ex-FLDS members, including young run-away women, cast out boys and excommunicated men were talking to law enforcement and the press about the practices and abuses in Hildale and Colorado City.

As referenced in Part 1 of this series, in 2005, Utah took possession of the United Effort Plan, or UEP, land-holding subsidiary of the FLDS. Unknown to most of the FLDS residents of Hildale and Colorado City, the FLDS was selling undeveloped UEP owned property to gain capital to purchase land in three other states, Colorado, South Dakota and Texas. Only Jeffs' closest aides knew of these purchases.

During the same time, these land purchases were being made, FLDS members in Hildale and Colorado City erected a monument commemorating their leaders for leading them through a 1953 government raid of Short Creek. Warren Jeffs became enraged when he found out about this monument and seized the opportunity to put more of his plan in motion. Jeffs castigated the FLDS members for erecting and worshipping an idol. As punishment for this sin, Warren Jeffs mandated there would be no more social gatherings, including church on Sunday, in these two cities.

Jeffs' ban of these social gatherings served two major purposes. The first purpose was he needed to run from the law. He had been charged in Utah and Arizona as an "accomplice to rape" for arranging the marriage of a 14-year-old girl. Not wanting to make his warrants public knowledge in the FLDS community, he needed to cancel church services because he would not be able to personally preach the sermon. The second purpose, and likely the most important, he needed to keep the FLDS families in these two cities from socializing so they would not realize many of the families were moving from the community. Those men and their families most loyal to Warren Jeffs were moving to the newest FLDS community and likely their new headquarters, the YFZ (Yearning For Zion) Ranch.

In 2004, the FLDS purchased 1,691 acres near Eldorado, TX. This land was purchased as a "hunting resort for business clients" by the YFZ Land Company. Improvements on this property must have started as soon as the real estate transaction was complete. Merril Jessop, ex-husband of Carolyn Jessop, is the FLDS leader at the YFZ Ranch. As seen from aerial photographs taken in November of 2007, more than 20 exceptionally large homes, many outbuildings, a meeting hall and a huge temple now sit in the center of this property. The first FLDS temple is a very, very grand white stone structure situated within a 12 foot high concrete wall. You can view aerial photographs of the YFZ ranch taken in November 2007 at http://web.sccn2.net/flds/.

The entrance and exit to the YFZ Ranch is a gated, mile-long, dirt road, a "right of way" through property not owned by the FLDS. Situating the community in the center of the property with a mile long road as the only exit, will make escaping very difficult for anyone trying to flee the FLDS.

In 2005, Texas passed two laws specifically aimed at the FLDS presence in Texas. The first law changed the legal age of marriage from 14 to 16. The second law made marrying a step-daughter illegal. This link is to a 2005 article about the YFZ ranch: http://www.religionnewsblog.com/11477/eldorado-sect-is-hammered-on-all-sides.

Surrounded by concrete walls, the first FLDS temple may signify Warren Jeffs' plans to bring back another early Mormon doctrine to his Fundamentalists. In her book Escape, ex-FLDS member Carolyn Jessop tells of the running joke between her and her sister Linda, "Don't drink the punch." These sisters may have been using this phrase as more of a warning than a joke.

The term "blood atonement" is not new to religion. Many cultures and religions have sacrificed animals as blood atonement for transgression. In Christianity, the crucifixion of Jesus was blood atonement for sin and brings God's forgiveness. The early Mormon Church's Doctrine of Blood Atonement was defined by an entirely different meaning. In this use, some serious sins could not be forgiven by the blood of Jesus, but could only bring God's forgiveness with the transgressor's death. For God's forgiveness, the sinner's blood must literally mix with the ground. As with the principle of polygamy, the present-day Mormon Church has abandoned the Doctrine of Blood Atonement.

The FLDS, as opposed to the Mormon Church, is much more secretive and does a much poorer job at record-keeping. No written record of using the term "blood atonement" can be found in reports concerning the FLDS until 1997 when Rulon Jeffs, former FLDS prophet and Warren Jeffs' father, published a series of sermons. These sermons included at least one reference to blood atonement. This quote is from a Rulon Jeffs' sermon:
"This is loving our neighbor as ourselves; if he needs help, help him; if he wants salvation and it is necessary to spill his blood on the earth in order that he may be saved, spill it."
Although written in his sermon, these words are not originally by Rulon Jeffs. Brigham Young, in a sermon he delivered on February 8, 1867, spoke these words. The point is not who wrote the words. The point is Rulon Jeffs' sermon included the reference to blood atonement.
Following what his father had started, Warren Jeffs has continued to use the words "blood atonement" in his sermons and communications.

In Escape, Carolyn Jessop writes, "Warren had begun preaching about blood atonement. In his sermons he said that Jesus Christ died on the cross in atonement for the sins we commit unknowingly. The sins a person commits knowingly can only be redeemed through blood atonement, but it is not a sacrament an individual can choose for herself. It can only be mandated by the priesthood.
In all of my years with the FLDS I'd never heard a prophet preach blood atonement. I was well aware that Warren Jeffs was taking the community in new directions. I'd never thought murder would be one of them."

From the Austin Chronicle, December 23, 2005,
"Chief among the rumors is the suggestion that, pursuant to Jeffs' wishes, the FLDS may be installing a crematorium on YFZ property to dispose of the bodies of members who have been killed as part of the church's 'blood atonement' doctrine – which, among other things, says that members who commit certain sins – like, say, adultery – must be killed and cremated in order to ensure they'll be accepted into heaven.
Former FLDS member Robert Richter, who left the church in April, last month told the Phoenix New Times that while working for the Colorado City electric utility company (and on the taxpayer time clock) he was actually instructed to work on a series of "secret" projects for the FLDS. Specifically, Richter said he was told to build a high temperature thermostat – one that would register up to 2,700 degrees, says Randy Mankin, editor and publisher of The Eldorado Success, hot enough to destroy DNA material...Mankin said that FLDS representatives told Schleicher Co. Sheriff David Doran that they're using the thermostat in a powder coat painting facility on the ranch and, alternatively, that the thermostat was being used in their attempt to bake limestone to make concrete. While Mankin says he doesn't have any hard evidence that the sect is building a crematorium, he doesn't buy the FLDS explanations either: powder coating doesn't require such high heat, and impurities in local limestone render it nearly useless as concrete."
Read the complete Austin Chronicle story here: http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A321297.

Whether the temple inside the YFZ Ranch actually contains a crematorium or not is not known. Prior to its construction, the FLDS believed and have been told for many years, they did not need a temple. Warren Jeffs is rumored to have said a temple would be needed for the Doctrine of Blood Atonement. The secrecy within this sect and the privacy the temple and the YFZ Ranch affords them, makes it difficult to prove the temple holds a furnace with heat capacities able to destroy DNA.

Warren Jeffs was added to the FBI's Most Wanted in 2005. The August 9, 2006 San Antonio Current carried an excellent article by Sanjiv Bhattacharya concerning Warren Jeffs and his "accomplishments" during the time he was eluding authorities. "In the two years since Jeffs has been a fugitive from justice, he has built three compounds from scratch in Colorado, South Dakota and Texas, the latter including a huge white temple. He has rigorously controlled his followers, draining them of $5 million per month by some estimates, and performed scores of marriages in his capacity as 'Prophet', no doubt adding to his own tally of 80 or so wives along the way (no one knows the exact figure)." Read the entire story here: http://www.rickross.com/reference/polygamy/polygamy503.html.

Jeffs was arrested in 2007 near Las Vegas riding in a red Cadillac Escalade. (Hey, wasn't "red" a banned color?) One of his wives and one of his brothers were in the car with him. The property found in the vehicle included $50,000 cash, 15 cell phones, 4 laptops and several wigs. For the ABC News report of Warren Jeffs arrest click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq35i8tsIVU&feature=related.

Late last year, Jeffs was tried and convicted in Utah on two counts of accessory to rape and is serving two 5 year to life sentences. The charges stem from the arranged marriage of a 14-year-old girl in 2001. He is currently incarcerated at Utah State Prison in Draper, UT. His attorneys have recently filed an appeal for a retrial. You can read more about this at http://www.religionnewsblog.com/20421/flds-22. Jeffs is still facing federal and state charges, including two felony charges in AZ arising from the alleged sodomy of a minor boy.

Even with Warren Jeffs' arrest and conviction, he seems to still be the leader and prophet of the FLDS. Although he has written and verbally stated he is not and should have never been the FLDS prophet, the FLDS are not following a new prophet. After a majority of the most-loyal Jeffs' followers moved to the private and secluded YFZ Ranch in Texas, new information from inside the sect is relatively scarce. Previously, most information gathered about the FLDS came from those people thrown out of or fleeing from the sect. Very few interviews or references can be found for ex-FLDS members who escaped, fled, or were thrown within the last twelve months.

This lack of information does not mean the abuses within the FLDS have stopped. Now, no one is getting away to tell their story.

The fear and control tactics of Warren Jeffs and the blind, mindless devotion of his followers, are reminiscent of several other self-proclaimed, maniacal "prophets." Charles Manson, Jim Jones and David Koresh. Government and law enforcement must get involved and stay involved until these abuses end. By staying away because of a right to religious freedoms, authorities are aiding and abetting physical, emotional and sexual abuse of women and children. Additionally, if Jeffs were to order a mass suicide of his followers, the number of dead in Waco and Guyana would be insignificant compared to the thousands of FLDS followers. Never let it be said, "We didn't see the signs." The signs are documented everywhere. The deadly silence now from the FLDS community is deafening.

Additional Comments:
In writing and researching the FLDS, I have absolutely tried my best to document my sources and to link full stories, videos and audio as source reference and additional information for the reader. I have made a genuine effort to separate fact from fiction. With an organization as secretive and secluded as the FLDS, most of these documented "facts" come from ex-FLDS members. Too many documented similar stories detail the abuses inside the FLDS. The number of stories is too big to ignore. The difficulty is to write about the current, ongoing abuse of women and children, and the practices of a modern day cult without interjecting opinion.

Links to additional information about the FLDS:
The most recent events, rumors and general information on the FLDS and the YFZ Ranch can be found at http://texaspolygamy.blogspot.com/

Article about FLDS property, property improvements and FLDS community South Dakota, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/19534/flds-9.

Safe Passage Grant, Press Release, State of Utah, $700,000, August 30, 2004: http://www.attorneygeneral.utah.gov/PrRel/praug302004.htm

State of Utah; instead of focusing on polygamy, focusing on crimes in FLDS; Primer written with Joint effort of AG's from Utah and Arizona; Safety net committee: http://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/polygamy.html

CNN News article, September 2007, Sherriff Barlow and Deputy Barlow relieved of duties and found guilty of misconduct by Arizona. Since 2003, six officers relieved of duties. http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/21/polyg.towns.ap/index.html

Deseret News, November 16, 2007, 47-year-old Thomas Barlow found guilty of mailing threatening letters to the IRS. http://www.childbrides.org/abuses_des_Thomas_Barlow_convicted_sending_threats_to_IRS.html

An excellent article including FLDS history and personal accounts written by Susy Buchanan in the Spring of 2005 for the Southern Poverty Law Center's Website, http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=527

Nine minute preview of documentary Damned to Heaven describing life and abuse in FLDS community: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1cTk2cJQac

John Krakauer's book, Under the Banner of Heaven about his four year investigation of the FLDS, http://www.randomhouse.com/features/krakauer/index.html

ABC Good Morning America video interview of escaped FLDS wife, Lorene Jessop, and Jon Krakauer, author of Under the Banner of Heaven, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCvRJxxcmSA

Video of 15-year-old FLDS escapee: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE_xg9zpd7w

Additional FLDS information:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/flds.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamentalist_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter_Day_Saints
http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/content/fileadmin/oldsite/2004/02/05/cover.html

Abuse in America - Part 2

(Abuse in America - Part 1 is posted below this entry. To better understand Part 2, please read Part 1 first.)

During the 1950's, the FLDS prophet received a new "divine gift," the ability to prophesy who should be married to whom. From this point, all FLDS unions became arranged marriages. Followers no longer had the right or freedom to choose a spouse with whom they had fallen in love. Evidence does exist that early in this practice, FLDS members could request and sometimes receive permission of the prophet to marry a certain person. In recent years, if an FLDS member has requested the prophet's permission to marry a specific person, the request is met with the name of a different person the prophet visions as their new spouse in their "celestial marriage."

As prophet, Warren Jeffs took his ability to prophesy marriage to an all new low. Several stories detail the sleepovers held in Warren Jeffs' home for 12-16 year-old girls. Jeffs told his followers these sleepovers were for him to better "get to know" these younger FLDS members.

The first wife of an FLDS man is his "legal" wife. Due to laws against multiple wives, subsequent wives are called "spiritual wives." All of the wives married to one man are known as "sister-wives" in the family home. When married, an FLDS woman is not only an earthly wife to her husband, she is "sealed" to him for all eternity. Once sealed in marriage, a wife becomes the property of her husband. FLDS women are taught from a very early age, they will be sent to hell if they are not wanted by their husbands in afterlife. Or, if a wife displeases her husband on earth, her husband has the authority to make her a servant to his family in the afterlife. When a wife can begin to think for herself and realize she has truly been damned in this life and for all of eternity, she, like Carolyn Jessop, begins planning her escape.

From the periods under the guidance of the two Jeffs prophets, too many stories exist of young men and women given just a few hours or a few days to prepare to marry spouses they barely knew. As is the case with many young FLDS women, they are placed in arranged marriages to men who are 20, 30, 40 or 50+ years older.

These stories almost always detail a young girl, sometimes as young as 12 or 13, being told of her imminent marriage to an older FLDS man. Most times these girls are to become the - you pick the number - 3rd, 8th, 12th or 20th wife of these men. Most often, girls are given a few hours to prepare for their upcoming marriages. The prophet performs the marriage ceremony. In most cases, what happens on their wedding night is child molestation or rape. On the rare occasion when a young man and woman are entering their first marriage together, and do not know each other very well, the husband is as scared of sex as his new wife. Under these circumstances, the marriage isn't usually consummated on the wedding night. These marriages are rare in the FLDS community. Most marriages are of young women to older men who already have wives and children. Wedding nights for these young women are horrific experiences.

In Escape, Carolyn Jessup relates her story of being an 18-year-old and being awakened by her mother in the middle of the night to meet with her father. During this meeting, her father tells her she will become the 4th wife of Merril Jessop, a 55-year-old FLDS church leader. Within four days, she was married to Merril Jessop. She knew nothing about sex or her wedding night. When she arrived at the hotel with her family for her wedding and she did not have a room, she realized she would be expected to sleep with new husband. Merril Jessop had barely had a conversation with his new wife when he tried to consummate their marriage. His inadequacy stopped the consummation of their marriage on their wedding night. Carolyn was terrified, but knew if she resisted, she risked severe "consequences."

Another story, this one from HelpTheChildBrides.com, is of Ruby Jessop, a 14-year-old girl. Ruby was placed in an arranged marriage to her step-brother. Three weeks later she fled. After being tricked by FLDS members of her family, she was returned to her father's home in Hildale, UT. Looking for her, authorities went to her father's home in Hildale. They questioned her father about her whereabouts. Her father said Ruby was on an extended vacation out of town. Her parents were required to produce Ruby for Utah child welfare authorities. Several weeks later, Ruby, in the company of FLDS family, was questioned by a Utah child welfare officer about her living circumstances, marriage, abuse, etc. According to this story, she was never separated from her captors during the interview. She denied abuse, or being married. She remained in the custody of her parents. Her sister has been searching for her since these events in 2001. You can read more of Ruby's story, news accounts, and the transcript of the conversation between Ruby's sister and the Utah child welfare officer, and other similar stories, at http://helpthechildbrides.com/stories/rubyjess.htm. Ruby's sister, Flora Jessop, has become an advocate for those trying to escape the FLDS. She is an ex-FLDS member who is very out-spoken against the FLDS, its practices and abuses.

Susy Buchanan, writing for the Southern Poverty Law Center website, tells the story of Pennie Peterson in SPLC's Intelligence Report "Tempest in Texas." By hitchhiking or riding a horse, a 9-year-old Pennie began running away from Short Creek to Kanab, Utah, 38 miles away. Pennie says, "The police were nice and would let me play pool and eat pizza before they took me back. Then my father would beat me until I couldn't crawl. Then I'd do it again."

When Pennie turned 14, she was told she would be married to a 48-year-old man. A man, who Pennie claims, had previously molested her. At 14, she ran away for good. Many years later, Pennie assisted her sister Ruth in escaping from the FLDS. Ruth helped the State of Utah in a ground-breaking case against her ex-husband, Rodney Holm. You can read Susy Buchanan's full story, an excellent article which includes personal stories and FLDS history at http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=527.

In 2003, Utah filed bigamy charges for the first time since 1953 against a member of an organized polygamist religion, the FLDS. Rodney Holm, a police officer in Hildale and Colorado City, was arrested, tried and convicted of bigamy and two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a 16 and 17-year-old. According to Utah Code (76-5-401.2), a person 10 years or more the senior of a sexual partner that is 16 or 17 years old is committing unlawful sexual conduct, a third-degree felony. Ruth, Holm's 3rd wife, was 16-years-old when she married him at age 32. This union produced two children before she turned 18. (She was pregnant with their 3rd child when she fled.) Holm was sentenced to up to five years for each of the three charges to be served concurrently. The judge suspended this sentence and sent him to Purgatory Correctional Facility for one year in a work-release program and 36 months of probation. With good behavior and time served, Holm was released after serving 8 months. According to CBSnews.com, in May of 2006, Holm continued to serve his court ordered probation. Read the entire story, including Holm's losing appeal to have Utah's bigamy law overturned at: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/16/national/main1622301.shtml.

From a notarized document used in the custody case of the children of Ruth and Rodney Holm, Ruth said, “At the age of 16, I was pressured to marry Rodney H. Holm, under the rule of the [FLDS] church. Since that time, I have lived in a controlling and abusive environment common in the community. The ‘sister-wives’ were physically and emotionally abusive to both myself and my children. I have scars on my face from one beating. Children were beaten and locked in rooms. On several occasions, younger children would be smothered by one of the mothers until they choked or gasped for air. I was required to work and leave my children with the other 18 in the care of the other two mothers.”

One other fact about the Ruth and Rodney Holm's situation, Holm's first and only "legal" wife and one of the two "sister-wives" mentioned in Ruth's statement above, is Ruth's older sister, Suzie.

The Phoenix New Times published a great article about the Ruth and Rodney Holm story. This story includes Ruth's visit with Rulon Jeffs to ask if she could marry a boy next door - not Holm, her marriage to Holm, through Holm's trial. This article also includes information gathered from a 5-month New Times investigation of the alleged abuses in the FLDS community. You can read the complete Phoenix New Times article here: http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2003-03-13/news/bound-by-fear-polygamy-in-arizona/.

The FLDS practices, beliefs and abuses have caused a deeper problem for their community. Thankfully, the FLDS does not make any effort to recruit new members, nor does there seem to be a waiting list of men or women trying to join this group. The FLDS sect believes the "outside" world, meaning everyone and everything outside of the FLDS, is wicked. This belief makes them intrinsically un-accepting of new members. Without new bloodlines and new genes, they continue to create a very rare genetic problem. According to a December 29, 2005 article in the Phoenix New Times, the FLDS communities in Colorado City and Hildale have the highest concentration of known cases in the world of the genetic disorder fumarase deficiency. Until this discovery, only 12-13 cases of fumarase deficiency existed worldwide.

Fumarase deficiency is a congenital, genetic defect caused when two parents carry the defective recessive gene. The recessive gene for fumarase deficiency is caused when members of the same families continually inbreed over a long period of time. The two founding families of Short Creek, later named Colorado City, who carry this defective recessive gene, are the Barlows and the Jessops.

In 2005, almost half of the 8,000-10,000 residents living in these FLDS communities were blood descendents of the Barlows and the Jessops. An unknown number of these descendents, although likely in the thousands, carry the recessive gene for fumarase deficiency. If both parents carry the recessive gene the likelihood these children will have fumarase deficiency or be a carrier increases dramatically. Dr. Theodore Tarby, who first diagnosed a child from Colorado City with fumarase deficiency said, "It's like any inbred disorder. If the community gets larger, the number of people with fumarase deficiency gets larger."

Fumarase deficiency is a lack of a crucial fumarase enzyme needed inside a cell to change food to energy. This lack of fumarase enzyme can lead to severe mental retardation, facial deformity, brain malformation, seizure disorders and developmental delays. Some children are more debilitated than others. Almost all of these children have an IQ of less than 25. Those children who survive past their first few years of life will need constant care and supervision for as long as they live. Although treatment to lessen some of the symptoms is available, no cure exists for fumarase deficiency. In the isolated FLDS communities, the exact number of young children who have died from fumarase deficiency is unknown.

In late 2004, Dr. Tarby held a town meeting about fumarase deficiency in Colorado City. About one hundred people of the 8,000-10,000 residents of these two cities attended this meeting. Dr. Tarby told those present at this meeting, the way to end fumarase deficiency in the FLDS community would be for the descendants of the founding Barlows and Jessops to marry spouses from outside the community. If this was not possible, the only way to slow the occurence of this recessive gene would be to stop the marriages of couples who were Barlow and Barlow, Jessop and Jessop, or Barlow and Jessop descendants, or, for these marriages to be childless. You can read this entire story from the Phoenix New Times here: http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2005-12-29/news/forbidden-fruit/full.

Three FLDS beliefs will hinder the eradication of fumarase deficiency in their community. The FLDS will not marry those from outside their faith. The prophet, not a health issue, will decide who will be married to whom. The more children a man has, the higher his rewards will be in the afterlife.

Unfortunately, fumarase deficiency is another reason Warren Jeffs does not want any of his FLDS followers to have access to the outside world. Jeffs believes in the "pure blood" of those in the FLDS denomination. To further complicate this issue, Barlow men threatened the power of Warren Jeffs. Most, if not all, of these Barlow men have been excommunicated from the community by Jeffs. Their wives and children have been reassigned to new husbands. These Barlow wives' and children's last names have been changed to reflect their new husband's and step-father's surname. No one really knows if those living inside the FLDS community are aware of fumarase deficiency. An ex-FLDS man said these faithful believers think these severe health issues with their children are "a test from God."

In Escape, Carolyn Jessop details this "test from God" mentality in the FLDS community. Her infant son Harrison was gravely ill. She went to find her husband, Merril Jessop, to discuss taking Harrison to a new doctor in Las Vegas. She did not think her husband would object. After physically abusing Ms. Jessop, Merril Jessop said, "Harrison is going to die because of your rebellion. It is your fault that he is sick. God will take him from you because you have been in rebellion to your priesthood head. You can take him to every damn doctor you can find, but no one will be able to heal him. God is going to destroy his life because of the sins of his mother."

That day, after Ms. Jessop walked away from her husband, she knew "Merril wanted Harrison to die to prove that I was in rebellion to God."

To be continued in Part 3.