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| Just Who's In Control? | |
Things have certainly changed in the FLDS "Kingdom of God" in the past few years! First, life became more restrictive for the "faithful followers" and common possessions became "contraband". Then in September 2002, the elderly prophet, Rulon Jeffs, died and much turmoil began. There was a fierce power struggle for who would control the church, the followers, the communities and the vast amount of money and land. In November 2002, Rulon's son Warren Jeffs took control of the Utah/Arizona group. Warren then stripped control of the Canadian "sister-sect" from Winston Blackmore and began ruling both the Utah/Arizona and the British Columbia colonies. On January 11, 2004, Warren yielded complete control again, by ousting 20 of the most prominent and powerful members of the clan in Colorado City. Warren claimed that the men were "disobedient" and that they had to leave the enclave and would not be able to take their wives and children with them. One of the men was the Colorado City Mayor for the past 20 years, and 4 of the men are Warren's own brothers! Then, longtime Bishop "Uncle" Fred Jessop, who disappeared in December 2003, was reported as "missing" and he later died in a Denver subburb hospital. DENVER???? Why was "Uncle" Fred taken from his home in Hildale in the middle of the night and whisked off to live in the Denver area? In June 2005, Warren Jeffs lost control of the multi-million dollar Church Trust - the UEP - when a court removed him and the other Trustees. And the saga continued when an arrest warrant was issued for Warren Jeffs. On June 10, 2005 Warren became a WANTED MAN on charges of arranging a marriage between a 28-year-old (already married) man and a 16-year-old girl. On June 27, 2005 Warren Jeffs became a fugitive wanted by the FBI and $60,000 in reward money was offered for his capture. On April 6, 2006 Washington County Attorney Brock Belnap charged Warren Jeffs with two counts of rape as an accomplice, a first-degree felony. Fifth District Court Judge James E. Shumate signed a $500,000 cash-only warrant for Jeffs’ arrest. Warren was picked up by a Nevada Highway Patrolman on August 28, 2006 and was sent to Purgatory (the Purgatory Correctional Facility in Hurricane, Utah.) Warren was still sending out edicts from his jail cell in Purgatory. He was still calling the shots in the FLDS and told the brethren that there is to be no more church-run schools or home schooling for the children. In January 2007 he told his brother, Nephi, that he was not the prophet and was never the prophet. Warren was convicted in Utah on 2 counts of Rape as an Accomplice on September 25, 2007 and was sentenced to 2 consecutive terms of 5 years to life at the Utah State Prison on November 20, 2007. Today, he sits in a jail cell in Kingman, Arizona awaiting another trial there for charges brought for his forcing little girls to get married, against their will. Rumors have been circulating that Merrill Jessop (head of the YFZ Ranch in Eldorado, Texas) is now running things or that the Bishop, William T. Jessop, is running things. But then the YFZ Ranch was raided on April 4, 2008 and all of the 416 children were taken into state custody by Child Protective Services. So maybe now the State of Texas is running things. Yet Bruce Wisan is still in charge of the UEP Trust that owns most of the FLDS property, so maybe he is the one running things. Who knows! Read the news articles below about how this community's upheaval has transpired and see if you can figure out just who's in control of the lives of the FLDS members. These articles are listed in chronological order. | |
| Fundamentalist leaders taking more conservative stance | |
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By Mark Schaffer The Arizona Republic Originally published August 30, 1998 | |
| COLORADO CITY - Wayne LeBaron sat on the couch snuggling with his new bride and he shook his head at the strangeness of it all. LeBaron, who lives at the foot of a strawberry-colored cliff near this remote polygamist town, knew something was stirring within the ranks of the Old World - the fundamentalist Mormons who control the community. Then the packages started arriving - sent to LeBaron's ranch for safekeeping from the family of his wife, who was raised in Colorado City. Some contained cassette tapes of popular music. Others had jewelry. Still others held containers of makeup, mascara and eyeliner. But all had one thing in common, he said: They are considered contraband by the fundamentalist Mormon leadership that LeBaron says has recently been reverting to an even more conservative religious stance. Read more | |
| Polygamist Leader Rulon T. Jeffs Dies | |
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The Associated Press Originally published September 9, 2002 | |
| Salt Lake City -- Rulon T. Jeffs, the leader of what may be the nation's largest polygamist sect, has died, a church spokesman said. Jeffs died Sunday of natural causes at Dixie Medical Center in St. George, said R. Scott Berry, attorney for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Berry said Jeffs was 92 or 93. Jeffs' church has thousands of members, mostly in the twin border communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz. Estimates of the membership have ranged as high as 12,000, but Berry said it probably was 6,000 to 8,000. Jeffs, an accountant, was rumored to have had 19 to 75 wives and dozens of children, KSL Radio said. Berry said no information on that would be disclosed. His son Warren Jeffs was the No. 2 man in the church, but KSL TV said there may be a struggle for the leadership of the church. Berry said no decision has been made about the succession. Read more | |
| Cross-border power struggle hits B.C. colony of polygamists | |
| Son of sect's ailing leader strips Canadian of authority, reassigns his youngest wives | |
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By Robert Matas The Globe and Mail Originally published September 9, 2002 | |
| VANCOUVER -- A power struggle over the leadership of a polygamist religious group is tearing apart the controversial colony of Bountiful in British Columbia and may force the Canadian leader to leave with more than a dozen of his wives. Winston Blackmore, 46, has served for almost 20 years as deputy to the Prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Bountiful, an isolated farming community of about 1,000 people 750 kilometres east of Vancouver. Rulon Jeffs of Colorado City, Ariz., had been the breakaway group's Prophet. Mr. Jeffs is 94 or 95 years old, and in failing health. Mr. Blackmore had expected to be recognized as Prophet when Mr. Jeffs dies. But this summer, in a pre-emptive move, Warren Jeffs, one of Rulon Jeffs's 60 children, assumed the title, in effect undermining Mr. Blackmore's claim to the top position in the religion. Read more | |
| Rulon Jeffs | |
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Telegraph.co.uk Originally published September 10, 2002 | |
| Rulon Jeffs, who died on Sunday aged 92, was leader of what is thought to be America's largest polygamous sect; he himself is said to have had anything between 19 and 75 wives. The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), of which Jeffs was the head, is a breakaway branch of the Mormons, who abandoned polygamy in 1890. The Fundamentalists, however, would not comply and, in 1929, they founded their own sect; as a result they were excommunicated by the Mormon church. Jeffs, regarded by his 6,000-strong flock as a prophet, succeeded Leroy Johnson as leader in 1986, and immediately insisted that his rule was absolute. Some members wanted power invested in a council of seven priests, but Jeffs won this battle and promptly sent eviction notices to dissidents living on land owned by "his" church. When the FLDS was formally incorporated in 1991, Jeffs was president and sole trustee, and he expected the church's members to submit to his authority: "I want to tell you," he once preached, "that the greatest freedom you can enjoy is in obedience." Read more | |
| Polygamists in three-way struggle for control of sect | |
| Death of a 'prophet' | |
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By Fabian Dawson The Province Originally published September 10, 2002 | |
| Rulon T. Jeffs, the self-styled prophet of thousands of polygamists in B.C. and the U.S., has died, triggering a three-way power struggle for control of hundreds of millions of dollars in church assets. Jeffs, 93, died Sunday in Utah. His Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has between 10,000 and 20,000 members, mostly in Utah and Arizona, and about 1,000 in the East Kootenay community of Lister. Jeffs, who had 75 wives and scores of children, was also the head of the church's financial arm, the United Effort Plan. It reportedly controls more than $200 million US in assets. Read more | |
| Jeffs' funeral draws 5,080 | |
| FLDS prophet laid to rest in service Thursday | |
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By Angie Parkinson The Spectrum Originally published September 13, 2002 | |
| COLORADO CITY, Ariz. -- The streets and yards in the border communities of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah, were deserted Thursday afternoon. Residents left their homes and businesses to mourn Rulon Jeffs, the deceased president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Jeffs, who was eulogized Thursday at the Leroy S. Johnson Meeting House, became president of the church in 1986 and is regarded not just as a president but as a prophet by followers of the FLDS faith. The church has been a source of controversy over the years because of its polygamist beliefs and allegations of men marrying underage girls. Jeffs was believed to have 17 to 75 wives. Read more | |
| More than 5,000 mourn FLDS leader | |
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By Nancy Perkins Deseret Morning News Originally published September 14, 2002 | |
| COLORADO CITY, Ariz. — As president and spiritual leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Rulon T. Jeffs often admonished his followers to "keep sweet, no matter what." On Thursday some 5,080 mourners, several from as far away as Canada, were reminded of that advice during funeral services for Mr. Jeffs, a former accountant, who died Sunday at the age of 92. "Just keep sweet no matter what. If you keep sweet, you love one another. Never let a cross thing pass your lips," Mr. Jeffs said on March 18, 2002, according to the funeral program. On July 12, 2002, Mr. Jeffs is recorded as saying to his flock, "We must be positive, no excuses. Love the Lord God. Smile and keep sweet." Read more | |
| Years May Pass Before Fundamentalist LDS Name Successor to Jeffs | |
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By Michael Janofsky The New York Times Originally published September 15, 2002 | |
| COLORADO CITY, Ariz. -- In their Sunday best, men in black, women in pastels, they came by the thousands on Thursday to honor their leader, a man they considered a prophet. Outstanding he was, by some measure. President Rulon T. Jeffs, of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, who died Sept. 8 after a long illness, was 93. He is survived by 19 or 20 wives -- no one could say for sure -- about 60 children and hundreds of grandchildren. At least 33 sons were pallbearers, including two of his namesakes, Rulon F. and Rulon H. As the eighth prophet of the church, in a line that began with the Mormon pioneer, Joseph Smith, Jeffs led the largest religious group in North America that still practices plural marriage and is ostracized by the mainstream LDS Church for the same reason. The larger church, based in Salt Lake City, banned polygamy in the 1890s as a condition for Utah gaining statehood. The fundamentalists consider mainstream Mormons the renegades, for abandoning the original Mormon teachings to solve a political problem. On Thursday, more than 5,000 fundamentalists packed the Leroy S. Johnson Meeting House for a two-hour service, then slowly walked along a dusty road to the cemetery where Jeffs was buried. Read more | |
| US polygamist sect facing the end as leader dies | |
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By Chris Ayres The London Times Originally published September 17, 2002 | |
| Los Angeles -- American's largest polygamist sect faces an uncertain future following the death of its leader, a child rape case and economic hardship. Rulon T Jeffs (93), president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, died last week leaving 19 or 20 widows, about 60 children and hundreds of grandchildren. Five thousand followers attended his funeral and at least 33 of his sons were pallbearers. The church, which has an estimated 10,000 members, will have to endure a lengthy succession battle. The two main candidates are Fred Jessop (92), a bishop in the church, and one of Mr Jeffs's sons, Warren (45). But the complex process of deciding on a new prophet, understood by few, could take months, even years. Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs new head of fundamentalist church | |
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The Associated Press Originally published November 28, 2002 | |
| Colorado City, Ariz. -- Warren Jeffs will succeed his late father, Rulon Jeffs, as president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, according to people connected with the polygamous sect. "Warren will continue his father's work," said Dan Barlow, the mayor of Colorado City, where many of the church members live. Rulon Jeffs died Sept. 8 after serving as the sect's president since 1986. His death prompted speculation about a succession fight in the secretive church between the younger Jeffs and 95-year-old Bishop Fred Jessop. Read more | |
| Bound by Fear: Polygamy in Arizona | |
| For decades the state has let a feudal colony of fundamentalist Mormons force underage girls into illegal polygamous marriages | |
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By John Dougherty Phoenix New Times Originally published March 13, 2003 | |
| Sixteen-year-old Ruth Stubbs wanted to marry the boy down the street. So she revealed her desire to a religious leader, a man held in the highest esteem in her rural, isolated community straddling the Arizona-Utah border. On a December morning four years ago, Ruth sought the advice of the Prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 88-year-old Rulon Jeffs. Ruth asked the stroke-ridden Jeffs for permission to marry Carl Cooke, a young man she had been seeing secretly for several months. Jeffs pondered the question for a moment and then delivered a startling pronouncement. "Well," Jeffs said, gesturing toward Rodney Holm, a police officer who had escorted Ruth to the meeting, "I feel she belongs to you." Ruth was stunned, but not surprised. She barely knew Holm, but what she did know was disturbing. Read more | |
| Religious sect’s Prophet wields absolute control | |
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By Al Herron Prescott Daily Courier Originally published Tuesday, July 22, 2003 | |
| Polygamy is alive and flourishing within the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). This sect in Colorado City, AZ, and Hildale, Utah, is not affiliated with the mainstream Mormon church. In the latest column we reviewed their history; today we look at life, marriage, and making babies. The FLDS members call their leader the Prophet, and he controls the members’ lives by allocating wives. The more wives and children a man has, the greater his stature in the community, and in heaven, so this is a big deal. The Prophet assigns a wife to a man without regard for her wishes. He also can remove wives and children from a man who disobeys the Prophet, and reassign them to someone else. (Spiritual control – you can’t get to heaven without the Prophet’s help.) Members believe that the Prophet has direct communication with God, and they treat him like God. He controls all levels of local government, plus the public school system, and most of the land in town – just like a medieval fiefdom. He tells members how to vote, and controls property through an FLDS collective called the United Effort Plan. Read more | |
| Utah Targets Polyg Prophet | |
| While Arizona authorities languish, the Utah Attorney General's Office focuses on the leader of the fundamentalist Mormon Church | |
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By John Dougherty Phoenix New Times Originally published August 21, 2003 | |
| "We are under attack," declared fundamentalist Mormon Prophet Warren Jeffs from his pulpit in Colorado City during an August 10 sermon. "We need the Lord's protection," he warned members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS). Utah authorities are investigating Jeffs for allegedly having sex with underage girls he "married" in polygamous ceremonies, as well as with performing such marriages for members of his community. Jeffs used his 70-minute sermon to announce a series of drastic measures. The most startling were the suspension of church services for the first time in 50 years and the suspension of all future polygamous marriages. The last time the FLDS canceled religious services was under a court order in the wake of the infamous 1953 police raid on the remote town that straddles the Utah border north of the Grand Canyon. Jeffs told the congregation that services were canceled until further notice because he had received a "revelation" from the Lord. Read more | |
| Where polygamy rules | |
| On a B.C. commune called Bountiful, a Mormon sect keeps the world at bay | |
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By Douglas Todd Vancouver Sun Originally published August 26, 2003 | |
| CRESTON - As I drove up to the Bountiful commune, three blond boys, about age 11, spotted me. They stopped -- stunned, panic on their faces. The day was hot. The air tasted of smoke from a brush fire south of the B.C.-Idaho border. Despite the heat, the boys were wearing long jeans and dark long-sleeve shirts, because the polygamists who run this Mormon fundamentalist community forbid the exposing of bare arms and legs. The boys began scrambling up a trail to get away. They glanced furtively over their shoulders as they ran through the grass. They finally got to the top of a hill and slid under a rickety fence that surrounds Bountiful's controversial, taxpayer-funded school. An hour earlier, after trying repeatedly to reach the commune's leaders by phone, I had finally contacted the principal of Bountiful's school. Merrill Palmer told me his Canadian branch of the polygamist sect had recently developed a strict policy of refusing to speak to media. It was on the orders of the Arizona-based leader of the sect, which has more than 10,000 adherents in the U.S. and Canada. "Things are very volatile right now," the principal said. Read more | |
| Cruel America-Hating Cult of 6,000, Controls Town in Arizona | |
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The National Enquirer Originally published September 3, 2003 | |
| A cult-run town where the incestuous rape of underage girls is not uncommon flourishes in the Southwest desert-and your tax dollars are helping to pay for it! The American hating cult of more than 6,000 people completely controls the town of Colorado City, which straddles the Utah-Arizona broader 30 miles north of the Grand Canyon. And “Prophet” Warren Jeffs completely controls the cult. “The people in Colorado City are worse than the Taliban,” said Bob Curan of Help the Child Brides, A Saint George, Utah, organization dedicated to wiping out the abuses in Colorado City. “Having forced sex with your own daughter is not that unusual in Colorado City. This is an absolute nightmare situation and Americans need to know this culture is of violence is funded by their tax dollars.” Read more | |
| Colorado City polishes its image | |
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By Mark Shaffer The Arizona Republic Originally published September 28, 2003 | |
| COLORADO CITY - Ever since the infamous 1953 Short Creek raid, town leaders have tried to improve the image of the remote community. Ben Bistline, a resident and historian of Colorado City and the neighboring community of Hildale, says that for the past 50 years, leaders have tried to portray the area as a pleasant throwback to a simpler time. Ten years after the raid, Short Creek was renamed as the towns of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah. Mayor Dan Barlow and his brother, school Superintendent Alvin Barlow, have become town ambassadors. The high school's choir has performed at the Arizona Capitol. Students compete successfully at the state spelling bee. Town leaders also have exerted their bloc vote political power to curry favor in Mohave County, Ariz., and Kane County, Utah. Read more | |
| Mayor, others ousted from FLDS church | |
| Prophet kicks out about 20 men for disobedience | |
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By Jane Zhang The Spectrum Originally published Sunday, January 11, 2004 | |
| In a shocking twist to the power struggle between the prophet and Colorado City's power family, about 20 men -- including the city's mayor of about 20 years -- were ousted Saturday from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, stirring speculations as to an uncertain future at the polygamous alcove on the Utah-Arizona border. Dan Barlow, who was also a longtime spokesman for the increasingly secretive church, was ripped of his priesthood, his wives and children and the right to live in town, according to a source who attended the 7 a.m. meeting along with about 1,500 people at the Leroy S. Johnson Meeting House. The prophet Warren Jeffs, who surprised the audience by attending the meeting in person, also ordered Dan; his son Roland Barlow; his brothers Joe, Louis and Nephi Barlow; Louis' son Thomas Barlow; and Jeffs' four brothers: David, Brian, Hyrum and Blain Jeffs; and about 10 others to stand up in the congregation so others could identify them. "That hit them really, really, really hard," said the source, who, for fear of retaliation, insisted his name not be used for this article. Read more | |
| Mayor of Polygamist Community Resigns | |
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KSL-TV Channel 5 Originally published January 11, 2004 | |
| The mayor of the region's best-known polygamist community has been forced out... by the religious leader who controls his town. According to some observers, it's the latest development in an intense power struggle within the secretive border community of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona. The new twist was first reported in a copyrighted story in The Spectrum newspaper. Fundamentalist prophet Warren Jeffs reportedly ousted 20 adult men from his church. Among them was long-time Colorado City mayor Dan Barlow. He was reportedly stripped of his priesthood... his wives and children... and his right to live in a church-owned house. Read more | |
| The Mysterious Letter | |
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Originally written January 11, 2004
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| I am a young man. I am simple and do not know the proper way to address you. But I have been commanded of God to stand upon the wall as Samuel and to tell you of a dream I had. For this reason I have chosen to send you letters describing this dream. I do this in humility and trust in God. I beheld this valley before it became Short Creek - before it became Colorado City. I saw a stream that had cut its way into this sandy valley and I saw children playing on the banks of this sandy creek. And while they were children, I recognized them as the town fathers I have come to trust and love. I beheld the children of John Y. Barlow. And a voice that filled my soul and my heart spoke to me in the dream and it said, "Behold, these children are pure in blood and hold the birthright to this sacred valley. They were chosen by God to carve out of the very wilderness you see a community where the people can raise themselves up unto God's glorious work." And, I beheld this happen. I watched as our beloved prophet, Leroy S. Johnson, clung to John Y Barlow's words. Read more | |
| Colorado City mayor quits after FLDS action | |
| Polygamist church strips him, others of their priesthood | |
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By Nancy Perkins Deseret Morning News Originally published Monday, January 12, 2004 | |
| COLORADO CITY, Ariz. — Little more than 24 hours after he was stripped of his priesthood as a member of the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Colorado City Mayor Dan Barlow turned in his resignation to the City Council. Barlow, 71, attended a Saturday morning church meeting where he and more than a dozen other men were notified by FLDS leader Warren Jeffs that they were no longer considered members in good standing. Barlow could not be reached by phone on Sunday. Several other sources declined to be interviewed on the record for this story, but all said they were surprised and saddened by Jeffs' decision. "I can confirm that adjustments were made within the church," said FLDS attorney Rod Parker, who said he spoke with FLDS leaders on Sunday. "As far as I know, the people who were involved have accepted what has happened. Any claims about a struggle for control within the church are untrue. There isn't any reason for concern." Read more | |
| Mayor resigns in Colorado City | |
| After ouster of about 20 men from polygamous church, city power changes | |
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By Jane Zhang The Spectrum Originally published Tuesday, January 13, 2004 | |
| COLORADO CITY, Ariz. -- Entrenched in the starlit canyons, motel-like houses stood silently along unpaved roads. Dim light penetrated through curtained windows, but the town was largely shrouded in darkness. No noises. No pedestrians. No moving vehicles. And, no mayor. Dan Barlow, the town's first and only mayor in its 19-year history, turned in his single-sentence resignation letter Monday morning, which, around 7:40 p.m., was read dryly by a councilman to enter the official Town Council record. "This is to inform, as of Jan. 10, 2004, I (Dan Barlow) resign from the city and city council," read Terrill Johnson, who, like the majority of the six-member council, has occupied the office since the town's incorporation in 1985. No one stirred -- not one person among the 15 men and one women sitting in the town office's downstairs council chamber. Read more | |
| Colorado City called 'tense' | |
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Today's News-Herald - Lake Havasu Originally published January 13, 2004 | |
| A Mohave County Supervisor said the recent expulsion of at least a dozen Colorado City elders, including the town's mayor, from the Arizona Strip town could make for a volatile situation. "It appears the church is imploding by itself," said Supervisor Buster Johnson. "I don't know what the final outcome will be. But it is very tense up there right now. The sheriff's departments on both sides of the border are monitoring the situation." Supervisor Pete Byers said he was concerned about the constitutional separation of church and state in Colorado City. "We need to keep our eye on it because it looks like a big explosion," said Byers. "That's a very serious thing." On Monday, Paul Murphy, a spokesman for the Utah attorney general, said at least 12 men living in the polygamous towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., had been ordered to leave the community without their wives and children. Colorado City mayor Dan Barlow was one of the men ordered to leave during a meeting that took place Saturday morning. A spokesperson at the Colorado City Town Hall confirmed Monday that Barlow, 71, resigned as mayor. Murphy said several community members informed his office of Saturday's purge, but acknowledged that "we're not sure exactly what's happened." Read more | |
| Men Ordered to Leave Polygamist Community Without Families | |
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The Associated Press KUTV Channel 2 Originally published January 13, 2004 | |
| A mayor of the one of the twin polygamist communities straddling the Utah-Arizona border has resigned in an apparent power struggle with church hierarchy. Dan Barlow, the first and only mayor in the 19-year history of Colorado City, Ariz., turned in a single-sentence resignation letter Monday. Kevin Barlow, the town clerk, said a new mayor will be selected by the council. Until then, he told The Spectrum of St. George, the town is in the hands of "Vice Mayor" Edson Jessop, who's also a councilman. At an early Saturday meeting at the Leroy S. Johnson Meeting House, he and about 20 men were ousted from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Spectrum reported. Reading from what he said was a revelation from God, the prophet, Warren Jeffs, stripped the men -- including six Barlows and four Jeffs -- of their priesthood, their wives and children and their right to live in town, an unidentified source told the newspaper. Read more | |
| Letter: Barlow has right to lead | |
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By Jane Zhang The Spectrum Originally published Wednesday, January 14, 2004 | |
| ST. GEORGE -- An anonymous letter believed to be from the excommunicated Barlows appeared in the Colorado City area on Tuesday, saying the eldest Barlow brother has "received the mantle of the prophet." "Behold, these children are pure in blood and hold the birthright to this sacred valley," reads a copy of the letter obtained by The Spectrum. Louis Barlow, it says, has been commanded to "forsake his birthright no more, that his time remaining quiet has passed." Louis Barlow, along with his brothers Joe, Dan and Nephi, was one of about 20 men ousted Saturday from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Reading from what he said was a revelation from God, Warren Jeffs, the prophet since Sept. 2002, stripped the men of their priesthood, their wives and children and their right to live in town, according to a source who attended the meeting at the Leroy S. Johnson Meeting House. While the evictions were widely seen as a power struggle between Colorado City's most powerful family and the prophet, the Barlow brothers have remained out of the public eye. Read more | |
| It's time to stop crimes in secretive towns | |
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IN OUR VIEW The Spectrum Originally published Wednesday, January 14, 2004 | |
| The apparent shake-up in leadership in Colorado City should provide authorities with yet another opportunity to make inroads into their investigations of potential crimes in the polygamist colony along the Arizona-Utah border. Regardless of what leaders in the secretive towns of Colorado City and Hildale might say, there appears to be a struggle for power in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The church, which still holds polygamy among its basic tenets of faith, last weekend expelled longtime Colorado City Mayor Dan Barlow and about 20 other men because of their "sins." Barlow, besides serving as mayor, also was the official voice of the church, serving as its spokesman to the outside world. The men were told that they would have to give up their wives and children, but they would be allowed to regain them and resume a relationship with the church if they repented. In the aftermath, Barlow resigned. Warren Jeffs, the man serving as the prophet for the FLDS church, has remained silent, possibly because authorities in Utah and Arizona are seeking him for questioning in connection with the spiritual "marriages" of underage girls. Read more | |
| Council in no rush for new mayor | |
| May be weeks before Colorado City takes action | |
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By Nancy Perkins Deseret Morning News Originally published Wednesday, January 14, 2004 | |
| COLORADO CITY, Ariz. — It could take weeks before a new mayor is appointed to lead this town of more than 7,000 polygamists on the Utah-Arizona border. A brief, one-sentence letter of resignation from former Colorado City Mayor Dan Barlow was read into the town record Monday night. "Well, we're without our mayor tonight," said Councilman Terrill Johnson to the three other members sitting at the table, who all nodded their heads. "I guess we'll have to elect a new mayor." No one on the council or anyone in the audience commented on the letter or the reason for Barlow's absence. Read more | |
| Anonymous letter decries FLDS leader | |
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By Nancy Perkins Deseret Morning News Originally published Thursday, January 15, 2004 | |
| COLORADO CITY, Ariz. — The writer of an anonymous letter, sent to 460 households in the twin cities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, says he was told in a dream by God that a false prophet is leading the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The single-spaced, typed letter, folded in thirds and addressed by hand to selected post office boxes, was mailed Tuesday. The Deseret Morning News obtained one of the letters from a Colorado City resident Wednesday afternoon. The person who sent the letter has a Colorado City postal permit number and paid 16.2 cents per letter, or $74.52, in postage, said the local postmaster. Kevin Crawford, who has been postmaster for 17 years at the Hildale/Colorado City post office, would not reveal the name of the person who holds the postal permit or who paid for the postage, saying he did not think he could legally release the information. A few of the taped-closed letters were seen tossed in the trash, but the majority of them were apparently taken home with the rest of the mail. One woman, who didn't want her name used, said she tore up her copy of the letter and thinks the author just wants to stir up trouble. Read more | |
| POWER STRUGGLE: Trouble brewing in towns | |
| Polygamist community uneasy after church leader ousts mayor, others | |
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By Brian Haynes, Dave Berns and Dave Hawkins Las Vegas Review Journal Originally published Thursday, January 15, 2004 | |
| COLORADO CITY, Ariz. -- Some residents fear trouble is brewing in this community that is home to one of the largest groups of avowed polygamists in the country. For years, the religious community of about 6,000 has fought accusations of child abuse and molestation because of its practice of marrying girls as young as 12 years old. Now the community and the church intertwined with it face a possible internal power struggle after the church's leader excommunicated some of the town's most influential members. "I think there's big trouble coming," said Pamela Black, a former church member who lives on the outskirts of nearby Hildale, Utah. At the center of the conflict is Warren Jeffs, known as the Prophet by his followers in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a Mormon sect that believes the only way into the upper reaches of heaven is to have at least three wives. The 47-year-old Jeffs on Saturday excommunicated about 20 men who held influential positions in Colorado City's government and history. One of the men was Mayor Dan Barlow, whose father founded the community in the early 20th century. Barlow resigned the post he had held for 19 years and joined the other men in exile, leaving their homes and families behind. Read more | |
| States brace for trouble as infighting embroils polygamist haven | |
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By Mark Thiessen The Associated Press Originally published Sunday January 18, 2004 | |
| HILDALE, Utah (AP) Bishop Fred Jessop is missing. The Barlow boys are in hiding. And Warren Jeffs, the town prophet, is dispatching rivals left and right while holed up in his fort-like compound, protected by a cadre of armed guards nicknamed "The God Squad" by Utah's attorney general. While it may sound like the plot to an old Western, these are the actual and leading characters in a drama playing out in the twin border communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., the epicenter of the polygamist movement in America. The stakes are high if it turns out this is a power struggle for control of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the polygamist breakaway sect of the larger Mormon church. The man who leads the church also controls its million-dollar plus bank account. Some fear blood could be spilled by the split between prophet Warren Jeffs and the Barlows, the sons of the towns' founder. Read more | |
| States brace for trouble in polygamist communities | |
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The Arizona Daily Sun Originally published January 19, 2004 | |
| HILDALE, Utah (AP) -- A beloved church elder is missing, a former mayor is in hiding with three of his brothers and the town prophet is being protected by a "God Squad" while dispatching his rivals. It might make a good movie plot if it wasn't already being played out in the twin border communities of Hildale and Colorado City, Ariz., the epicenter of the polygamist movement in America. The stakes are high if it turns out this is a power struggle for control of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a polygamist-practicing breakaway faction of the larger Mormon church. The man who leads the church also controls its million-dollar plus bank account. Some fear blood could be spilled by the split between prophet Warren Jeffs and the Barlows, the sons of the towns' founder. Utah's attorney general fears Jeffs is turning into a maniacal ruler over the estimated 10,000 members. Read more | |
| Polygamist power struggle intensifies investigation | |
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The Associated Press The Post and Courier - Charleston, South Carolina Originally published January 24, 2004 | |
| COLORADO CITY, ARIZ.--A power struggle has emerged in a small, tight-lipped community known for polygamy, with a number of men getting kicked out of the church-owned town and their wives and children being "reassigned" against their will to other men. Now authorities in Arizona and Utah are stepping up their years-long investigation into the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, with the family "reassignments" sparking concerns of forced marriage of underage girls. In a rare show of defiance in the typically secretive community, one man who was ordered to leave is refusing to do so and is sharing information with authorities about church leader Warren Jeffs. Ross Chatwin, 35, held a news conference Friday at his home in Colorado City. He said he is one of tens of men recently excommunicated from the church, capping a nine-month power struggle with Jeffs. In an apparent move to solidify his control, Jeffs on Jan. 14 ordered 20 men to leave the area but without their wives, children and personal property. Jeffs said a vision from God told him to force the men out. He later purged more men from the community, including Chatwin. Chatwin said Jeffs "has to be stopped." Read more | |
| Man ousted from polygamy sect snubs order | |
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By Mark Thiessen The Associated Press Originally published January 25, 2004 | |
| COLORADO CITY - A man who openly challenged an order from the fundamentalist church leader to leave this border town has paved the way for other dissidents to come forward, an anti-polygamy advocate says. There are "five or six" people who have been ousted by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who now want to follow Ross Chatwin in telling their stories, Jay Beswick said Saturday. "They want to bring it down," said Beswick, of the group Help the Child Brides. Discord within the church has grown since early January after Warren Jeffs, church president and self-proclaimed prophet, excommunicated about 20 men, many considered to be his rivals. The untold number of excommunications have continued with other men like Chatwin being ordered to leave town. Jeffs, 47, assumed leadership of the church 16 months ago at the death of his father, Rulon. Many at the time thought one of two church elders, Louis Barlow or Fred Jessop, would have been named president. Both have now been excommunicated, and Jessop's family has not seen him in a month. Read more | |
| Scathing Split | |
| Feud in Polygamist Town Has Authorities Worried About Violence | |
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Good Morning America ABCNEWS.com Original broadcast January 27, 2004 | |
| COLORADO CITY, Ariz., A former member of the nation's largest polygamist church is calling for the ouster of its cult-like leader, as authorities worry a violent standoff may be brewing. Ross Chatwin, who says he was told to leave the polygamist sect, held a news conference Friday to discuss his feud with the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The secretive sect of Mormon outcasts is based in Colorado City, a town that straddles the Utah-Arizona line. Members believe in plural marriages, a practice that the original Mormon church outlawed in 1890. Chatwin, who compared Warren Jeffs, the sect leader, to Adolf Hilter in a news conference last week, says he believes Jeffs fears he is losing control over his flock. "Ultimately, I feel like he thought I was a threat to his power, regardless of what any kind of excuse he uses," Chatwin, 35, said. Read more | |
| Leader of Polygamous Sect Faces Rebellion | |
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By Nick Madigan The New York Times Originally published January 27, 2004 | |
| Colorado City, Ariz. -- A power struggle between members of a fundamentalist Mormon sect has exposed deep fissures in the largest polygamous community in North America, a town in which most men have several wives and sometimes dozens of children. A handful of congregants normally subservient to the dictates of Warren Jeffs, the self-proclaimed prophet and leader of the sect, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, have begun to rebel against his rule. The rebellion was put in motion this month when Mr. Jeffs expelled more than 20 men from the church, stripping them of their wives and children and forcing them from their houses, over which the church claims ownership through a land trust controlled by Mr. Jeffs. Invariably, in such purges, an excommunicated man's wives and children are put under the control of another man, who may then marry whomever he chooses, including female children, church members say. Read more | |
| Ex-Colorado City mayor on ballot | |
| He resigned after his ouster from FLDS church | |
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By Nancy Perkins Deseret Morning News Originally published Tuesday, January 27, 2004 | |
| COLORADO CITY, Ariz. — Dan Barlow, Colorado City's one and only mayor for nearly 19 years before he suddenly resigned from office two weeks ago, is on the ballot for re-election. Barlow, along with 19 other men, was stripped of his priesthood, wives and children during a Jan. 10 church meeting conducted by Warren Jeffs, leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Within hours of being expelled from the FLDS Church, Barlow submitted his resignation to the City Council and moved out of town. Colorado City town clerk Kevin Barlow said Dan Barlow, Kevin's uncle, must submit a letter of withdrawal if he wants to get his name removed from the ballot. "If he submits a letter of withdrawal before the ballots are printed, then his name will be removed," Kevin Barlow said Monday. If a "letter comes after the ballots are printed, then I suppose it could cause a little confusion. But I don't think so." Read more | |
| The Eyes of Outsiders Are Cast on a Polygamous Community | |
| After the group's leader expels 21 members, authorities fearing violence step up patrols | |
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By David Kelly The Los Angeles Times Originally published January 27, 2004 | |
| Colorado City, Ariz. -- Nestled beneath red rock cliffs and soaring mountains, this remote desert community is a land of secrets, a fiercely closed society where outsiders are shunned and the local faith calls for multiple wives and total obedience to the will of the "prophet." Along the dusty streets, drivers grind to a halt to gawk at strangers. Women dressed in long skirts and smocks buttoned to their chins and children scatter when approached. The residents don't like the outside world knowing their business, but a peculiar turn of events has made that impossible now. Two weeks ago, the local religious leader, the prophet Warren Jeffs, claimed God had ordered him to expel the mayor and 20 others. He then gave their wives and children to other men. Jeffs canceled all church services, sacraments and new marriages and retreated behind the 8-foot-walls surrounding his compound. Those expelled have left the polygamous community, which straddles Arizona and Utah. But law enforcement officials fear they may return, looking for vengeance. Sheriff's deputies traditionally let the local police handle crime in the area. Now, they are patrolling the community. "We don't like to come out here, and we are not wanted here," said Sheriff's Deputy Laura Stokes of Washington County, Utah. "But we're here in case things get out of control." Read more | |
| Border towns in search of new leadership | |
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By Jane Zhang The Spectrum Originally published Wednesday, January 28, 2004 | |
| ST. GEORGE -- The man in a light blue shirt stood upright next to a half-open door, looking guardedly at two unexpected visitors. Behind him in the living room, a bowl of green apples sat on a brown, wooden coffee table. Above a couch hung three portraits, including one of Rulon Jeffs, a former prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. No, Joseph Barlow Sr. said, his brother Dan Barlow wasn't in. And he was sure the former mayor of Colorado City for 19 years didn't want to talk to the media. "But how are you?" a reporter asked Hildale's councilman of 41 years until two weeks ago. "No comment," he said. The St. George house covered with white siding has become home for two of Colorado City / Hildale's most prominent politicians since Jan. 10, when they were ousted from the FLDS church by the prophet, Warren Jeffs. Along with two of their brothers and 17 other men, Dan and Joseph Barlow were stripped of their priesthood, their wives and children and their right to live in the polygamist enclave on the Utah-Arizona border. Read more | |
| In Arizona town, polygamous Mormon sect tightens its borders | |
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By David Kelly The Los Angeles Times Originally published February 1, 2004 | |
| COLORADO CITY, Ariz. -- Beneath red rock cliffs and soaring mountains, this remote desert community is a land of secrets, a closed society where outsiders are shunned and where the faith calls for multiple wives and total obedience to the will of the "prophet." Along the dusty streets, drivers grind to a halt to gawk at strangers. Women, in long skirts and smocks buttoned to their chins, and children, scatter when approached. The residents don't like the outside world knowing their business, but a peculiar turn of events has made that impossible now. Last month, the "prophet," Warren Jeffs, said God had ordered him to expel the mayor and 20 others. He then gave their wives and children to other men. Jeffs canceled all church services, sacraments, and new marriages, and retreated behind the walls surrounding his compound. Read more | |
| Tempest looms for polygamous community | |
| In a place forgotten by time, a plural-marriage sect is facing the wrath of ousted members, allegations of child abuse and welfare fraud, and the legal sword of Utah's attorney general | |
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By Eric Gorski Denver Post Originally published February 8, 2004 | |
| COLORADO CITY, Ariz. - The prophet's grave lies in a private cemetery on the edge of town. The man interred below a mound of dirt and an ordinary gray tombstone is a former tax accountant named Rulon Jeffs, or "Uncle Rulon" to 8,000 people who regarded him as God's messenger. He was survived by an estimated 20 to 75 wives. Uncle Rulon was supposed to live forever. But his death in September 2002 at age 92 did nothing to shake the faith of the nation's largest polygamist community, clustered here below red sandstone cliffs on a remote, barren stretch of land called the Arizona Strip. The passing of Jeffs was a turning point for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a 69-year-old sect that believes polygamy is the key to the highest reaches of heaven. Under the hard-line leadership of the new prophet, Rulon Jeffs' 48-year-old son, Warren, the church has become locked in a convoluted power struggle and is facing unprecedented scrutiny from the government. The outside world appears to have caught up with the sect at the same time it is disintegrating from within. Read more | |
| More FLDS members ousted by Warren Jeffs | |
| Border towns set on edge by latest move | |
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By Jane Zhang The Spectrum Originally published Tuesday, February 10, 2004 | |
| ST. GEORGE -- In a fashion that surprised his critics and followers alike, Warren Jeffs, self-proclaimed prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, continued to expel members from the polygamist enclave on the Utah-Arizona border. In the past two weeks, at least five men -- including Dale White, William Knudson, Marce Jessop, Garth Jessop and Jerry Jessop Jr. -- were told to leave the church and their homes, often without all of their family members, The Spectrum learned from interviews with half a dozen sources. The house cleaning, coming after Jeffs publicly purged 21 prominent men -- including Colorado City's mayor of 19 years, Dan Barlow -- from the FLDS church on Jan.10, was done by individual house visits by Jeffs' delegates to avoid another media circus, said the sources, who insist their names not be used for fear of retaliation. The excommunication, though subtle, has set the tight-knit community on edge. Most of the 10,000 residents in Hildale and Colorado City belong to the FLDS church, and families frequently intermarry. Read more | |
| 'We fear another Waco' | |
| With the authorities in hot pursuit, a Mormon 'Prophet', Warren Jeffs, has gone to ground with his 70 wives - and enough ammo for Armageddon. | |
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Andrew Gumbel reports from a community in fear news.independent.co.uk Originally published February 19, 2004 | |
| Opinions differ about the precise moment when Warren Jeffs, self-appointed prophet of the last sizeable community of polygamous Mormons in the United States, started to go a little nuts. Some say it stems back to his adolescence when, as a gawky social misfit teased by his schoolmates, he was briefly thrown out of his father's house in Salt Lake City for an offence against his younger brothers alleged to be so grave it is mentioned by the faithful only in a low whisper. Others say he developed a fanatical obsession with power and obedience when, in his twenties, he became headmaster of a religious school and routinely delivered savage beatings with a belt or yardstick to children who fell foul of his authority. Others still say the real trouble started in 1998, when his father and predecessor as prophet, Rulon Jeffs, was incapacitated by a stroke and set Warren up as one of two candidates he deemed equally worthy of his succession. Warren, described by his critics as almost pathologically jealous, rapidly positioned himself as de facto regent and, after his father's death in 2002, proceeded to strip his rival, Winston Blackmore, of all authority. What is clear, however, is that Jeffs is now behaving like a dictator losing his grip, prompting fears that the community under his dominion, the remote twin towns of Hildale and Colorado City, on the Utah-Arizona border, is on the verge of imploding. Fanatical, demented, unstable - such are the words used to describe him by critics both inside and outside the community. Residents and law enforcement officials in both states are openly talking about the terrifying possibility of another Waco or Jonestown; in other words, a confrontation leading to mass bloodshed among the faithful. Read more | |
| Council will choose Colorado City mayor | |
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The Associated Press Originally published Thursday, March 11, 2004 | |
| The newly elected members of the Colorado City City Council will choose a new mayor to replace the man ousted from the Arizona border town by fundamental church leaders. All three candidates vying for three City Council seats in Tuesday's primary election received more than 93 percent of the vote, avoiding a general election. The council will choose a replacement for Dan Barlow, the town's only mayor in its 19-year incorporated history. Barlow and about 20 other men were excommunicated by Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints leader Warren Jeffs in January in an apparent attempt to solidify his control. They were told to leave town without their wives, children or belongings. Edson Jessop, who has been a council member since the town was incorporated in 1985, was re-elected Tuesday. Also elected to the council were Richard Allred, a private school teacher, and Donald Richter, a member of the town library board. | |
| Excommunicated member of prominent polygamist family dies | |
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The Associated Press Originally published May 25, 2004 | |
| St. George, Utah -- Louis Barlow, a central figure in the recent purported power struggles in the polygamist-church-run communities of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah, has died at the St. George home where he has lived since being excommunicated four months ago. Barlow, 80 or 81, died Sunday night. The cause was not disclosed and a manager at St. George's Spilsbury Mortuary, which will conduct the funeral services, said the family requested that no information, including the location of the services, be released. Before the excommunications of Barlow and 20 other men, he reportedly had seven or eight wives, more than 60 children and at least 400 grandchildren. "He was kind of the patriarch of the family," said town historian and former church member Benjamin Bistline. Since the excommunications, at least six of Barlow's wives reportedly have been reassigned to other men by Warren Jeffs, leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Barlow, the oldest son of the twin communities' founder, John Y. Barlow, had been thought by many to be in line to head the church when its former leader, Rulon Jeffs, died in 2002. Instead, Rulon Jeff's son, Warren Jeffs, took the reins and on Jan. 10 excommunicated the 21 men, among them Louis Barlow's brothers Joe, Dan and Nephi and his son Thomas. The men quietly moved to St. George, giving no signs of pursuing the rumored power struggle between their clan and Jeffs. | |
| Louis Barlow dies in St. George home | |
| Older brother of former Colorado City mayor Dan Barlow was excommunicated from FLDS church along with 20 others | |
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By Jane Zhang The Spectrum Originally published May 26, 2004 | |
| ST. GEORGE -- Louis Barlow, the eldest brother in Colorado City's power family, died Sunday night in St. George, where he had lived since the polygamist church founded by his father excommunicated him four months ago. The cause was not disclosed to the public on Monday. A manager at St. George's Spilsbury Mortuary, which will conduct Barlow's funeral services, said the family requested that no information, including the location of the services, be released Monday. Several people having ties to the Barlow clan, which has about 4,000 members in the border towns of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah, said in recent years Barlow had suffered a heart attack. Barlow, in his early 80s, reportedly had seven wives, more than 60 children and at least 400 grandchildren. "He was kind of the patriarch of the family," said Benjamin Bistline, a polygamy historian who lived most of his life in Colorado City. "His brothers are going to miss him." Barlow, three of his brothers -- Joe, Dan and Nephi -- and his son, Thomas, were among 21 men excommunicated on Jan. 10 by Warren Jeffs, the self-proclaimed prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the largest polygamist enclave in North America. A letter prophesying Barlow would be the new prophet soon emerged. But the men quietly moved away to St. George, giving no signs of pursuing the power struggle between Jeffs and the clan descended from Colorado City's founder, John Y. Barlow. Since then, at least six of Barlow's wives have been "reassigned" to other men. Read more | |
| Louis Jessop Barlow | |
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Obituaries The Spectrum Originally published Wednesday, May 26, 2004 | |
| HILDALE -- Loving husband, father, and grandfather, Louis Jessop Barlow, age 79, passed away Monday, May 24, 2004 in Washington, Utah. He was born August 9, 1924 in Salt Lake City, Utah, a son of John Y. and Martha Jessop Barlow. He married Lucy Johnson September 24, 1942 in Cedar City, Utah. Louis was born, reared, and educated in Salt Lake City. After graduation, he worked at Woolsey's Ranch near Cedar City, later moving to Short Creek. Shortly after his move, he joined the U.S. Navy, from which he received an honorable discharge. In 1949, he received a teaching certificate from the Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. He then returned to Short Creek where he taught school, teaching all classes, one through eight, later advancing to the position of Principal. Read more | |
| More polygamists ousted by FLDS Church | |
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The Associated Press The Arizona Republic Originally published July 28, 2004 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY - More members of the Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are apparently being banished from the southern Utah church, a resident claims. FLDS leader Warren Jeffs allegedly ordered out at least eight church members living in Hildale and neighboring Colorado City, Ariz., this month, ordering them to repent from afar, Richard Holm told The Salt Lake Tribune. Jeffs last year ousted Holm, a former Colorado City councilman. Jeffs similarly banished 21 other men in January, and told them to leave town without their wives and children. Truman Barlow was among those told to leave in the last few weeks, said Holm and Rodney Parker, a Salt Lake City attorney who represents the church. Barlow is the son of the late polygamous prophet John Y. Barlow and brother to other church members ousted in January, including longtime Colorado City Mayor Dan Barlow. Read more | |
| Troubles dogging polygamy prophet | |
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Joseph A. Reaves The Arizona Republic Originally published August 1, 2004 | |
HILDALE, Utah -The surveillance cameras around his walled compound are gone. But everywhere the prophet looks these days, he sees trouble. From southern Canada to northern Arizona and western Texas, authorities and activists are intensifying their investigations into the inner workings of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its self-proclaimed prophet, Warren Jeffs. In the past few days:
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| Former FLDS figure is missing | |
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By Patty Henetz The Associated Press Originally published Saturday, August 14, 2004 | |
| HURRICANE — Relatives of a once promising leader for a polygamous community filed a missing-person report Friday, saying the FLDS church elder hasn't been seen since December and could be dead. Authorities said they would act on the report. Fred Jessop, a former bishop of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, vanished after being excommunicated by the new leader of the faith, which believes polygamy assures a path to heaven and eternal life. Jessop, who is 94 or 95, was last seen around town Dec. 20, say several relatives. One of his nephews, Joseph Charles Jessop Jr., told sheriff's deputies on Friday that he fears his uncle is either dead or is being held captive by Warren Jeffs, who took control of the church after the 2002 death of his father, former prophet Rulon Jeffs. Many at the time thought Jessop, known as "Uncle Fred," or another church elder, Louis Barlow, would ascend to church president, but both instead were excommunicated. Fred Jessop, a widely admired and benevolent church figure who was one of the town's original residents, held considerable sway before his ouster amid a leadership struggle. Joseph Jessop Jr. said that he has read a letter purported to have been written by his uncle since he was last seen, but he is uncertain about its authenticity. The letter appeared to be written with two different pens and had a dubious signature. Washington County Sheriff's Deputy Jess Frazier said he would file a missing-person report immediately with the National Crime Information Center. Read more | |
| Authorities eye Social Security payments in Fred Jessop case | |
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The Eldorado Success Originally published September 16, 2004 | |
| Sheriff David Doran told the Success this week that he remains skeptical that the man he had a phone conversation with recently is "Uncle Fred" Jessop, the missing 94-year-old patriarch of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Authorities in the Beehive State also have their doubts that the man who refuses to meet with Doran, or any other law enforcement official, is Fred Jessop. So, officials in Utah and Texas have decided to try a fresh approach in the case, by looking into Social Security payments, made to Fred Jessop, as well as any Medicare claims, or other government documents that may have been filed on his behalf. "We know someone has been cashing the Social Security checks," Doran says. "Who that may be, is another matter." Doran said that the elder Jessop could clear everything up by meeting with him or with Washington County, Utah Sheriff Kirk Smith. "If he’s alive and well then there’s nothing to worry about," Doran said. "If not, then we have lots of questions." | |
| Searching for Polygamist Leader Warren Jeffs | |
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John Hollenhorst reporting KSL-TV Channel 5 Originally broadcast December 2, 2004 | |
| Sam Brower, Private Investigator: "His acts now prove to me that he's a coward, that he doesn't have the courage to come out and defend himself." Where is Warren Jeffs? A private investigator tracking the leader of the nation's largest polygamy cult, says he seems to have gone underground. A civil lawsuit accuses Warren Jeffs of child rape and sodomy, as well as racketeering. But as far as outsiders are concerned, the religious leader seems to have vanished from the center of his expanding empire. The secretive Utah-based polygamy group made national headlines a few months ago. That's when critics discovered a new compound under construction in Texas. Something big is going on there right now. But Warren Jeffs' group also secretly bought a large tract of forest land near Mancos, Colorado. Private Eye Sam Brower has been trying to find Warren Jeffs for months. Sometimes he sneaks around in the woods. Other times he's up front and in the open, driving to polygamist properties Read more | |
| How many doomsday predictions does one prophet get? | |
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By Randy Mankin The Eldorado Success Originally published February 3, 2005 | |
| Winston Blackmore, known by many in the FLDS church as the Bishop of Bountiful, British Columbia, at least until he was excommunicated in 2002 by Prophet Warren Jeffs, posed some interesting thoughts this week. In a newsletter he publishes on the Internet, Blackmore pointed out a number of predictions Jeffs has made, all of which have failed to come true. Writing directly to Jeffs, Blackmore says, "I was so impressed when you told us that your father would live 320 years into the future that I could have bet it would happen. I was so impressed when you told us that when the DOW hit 9000 that it would be the ultimate end of the economy that I traded off my investments and gave you the money. When you predicted the end of the world in 98, I bought a generator. When you changed the date twice in 99 I bought another generator. When you changed the date to 2000, I traded again on a new, bigger one. When you called for last minute donations, I sold my generators and donated my thousands." But wait, it gets better. Blackmore continues, "I knew that the Olympics would never happen because you said it wouldn’t. I traveled hundreds of miles around Salt Lake City, stayed away from California, sold my trucking company, and gave the money because I believed." "Why did Uncle Rulon not live 320 years into the future? Why is the economy prospering while the DOW is beyond 10,000? Why did the Olympics happen? Why did you ruin the Barlows? Why the sacking of the UEP?" But Blackmore did more than take Jeffs to task for his erroneous predictions, he challenged the prophet’s decision to claim his dead father’s wives as his own and chastised him for his treatment of the FLDS faithful. Read more | |
| Lawyer Petitions for Control of Financial Empire | |
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KSL-TV Channel 5 Originally broadcast February 17, 2005 | |
| (KSL News) -- A legal knot is tightening around the nation's most powerful polygamist leader. In an unprecedented move late Thursday a lawyer petitioned a judge to take charge of the financial empire controlled by Warren Jeffs. Jeffs is the secretive leader of the polygamy group based in Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona. Most of the community's homes, property and financial assets are held in a trust that Jeffs controls. It's reportedly worth tens of millions of dollars. Seven young men who were kicked out are suing Jeffs for racketeering and sexual abuse. Their lawyers have tentative backing from Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff. They want the court to appoint new managers for the financial assets. Roger Hoole, Attorney for Plaintiffs: "And so initially we want to make sure the trust is under good management and the trust is not being used as a tool to kick young men out of their homes." Jeffs has apparently moved his headquarters to a remote area of Texas where followers are building a large temple. | |
| Polygamy Leader Apparently Sitting Out of Court Fight | |
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John Hollenhorst Reporting KSL-News Channel 5 Originally broadcast February 28, 2005 | |
| A court showdown is looming in Salt Lake City over the financial empire of polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, and he's apparently decided to sit it out without a fight. Meanwhile, Arizona authorities are moving toward a take-over of his community's school system. A court deadline came and went Monday afternoon, and Warren Jeffs apparently did not file a response in a civil suit. That paves the way for Jeffs' rivals to take over a financial trust said to be worth tens of millions of dollars. That trust controls most of the land, houses and financial assets in Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona. Critics say Jeffs uses the trust as leverage to control members of his polygamist church. It's also the apparent source of funds in Texas, where Jeffs’ followers are building the first polygamist temple. Lawyers for ousted former members have asked a judge to appoint new trustees to take over the trust. Jeffs seems to be ignoring the court process. Critics say he told his followers God will defend his church and that the world will end on April 6th. Meanwhile, Arizona officials are trying to get control of the public school that Jeffs allegedly controls on the Utah-Arizona border. They say the Colorado City school is so badly mismanaged it's overspent by 1.2 million dollars in the last 20 months. The Arizona legislature is considering several bills that empower the state to take over and put the school in the hands of a temporary manager. | |
| Death of "Uncle" Fred Jessop confirmed | |
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The Eldorado Success myeldorado.net Originally published March 16, 2005 | |
| 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 16, 2005 -- Sheriff David Doran confirmed Wednesday, March 16, that Fred Jessop, known by members of the FLDS Church as "Uncle Fred," passed away at 2:10 p.m. Tuesday, March 15, 2005 at Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree, CO. The 94-year-old patriarch of the FLDS church was once seen as the heir apparent to former prophet Rulon Jeffs but was reportedly out-maneuvered by Jeffs’ son, Warren Jeffs when the elder prophet died in September of 2002. Shortly thereafter, Jessop was removed from his position of leadership in the church. He has been considered missing by authorities for several months. Word of Jessop’s death reached Eldorado Wednesday with some sources saying he died at the YFZ Ranch. Sheriff Doran told the Success that his sources indicate that while Jessop had indeed passed away, the death did not occur here in Texas. Jessop’s body is reportedly being transported to Spilsbury Funeral Home in Hurricane, UT. Funeral services are slated for Sunday, March 20, 2005, in Colorado City, AZ. The Success will publish more details as they become available. | |
| Polygamist insider dies at 94 | |
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By Joseph A. Reaves The Arizona Republic Originally published March 17, 2005 | |
| Fred Jessop, a longtime member of the inner circle of the nation's largest polygamous sect, has died in Colorado, 15 months after he mysteriously disappeared from his home in a remote community along the Arizona-Utah state line. Gary Engels, an investigator with the Mohave County Attorney's Office who has been closely monitoring the sect, confirmed Wednesday that Jessop died Tuesday afternoon in the Denver suburb of Lone Tree. Jessop, 94, was "second councilor" of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a reclusive sect of some 7,000 to 10,000 believers based in the twin, isolated communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz. The FLDS broke away from the mainstream Mormon religion in 1890 when the church renounced polygamy. FLDS leaders moved their main base to Colorado City-Hildale in the mid 1930s. Jessop died in the Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree, but officials there refused to disclose the cause of death. He would have turned 95 on April 20. The body was being transported to a funeral home in Hurricane, Utah, a small community 25 miles northwest of Colorado City where members of the sect often shop and where those who have been excommunicated from the FLDS often seek refuge. A funeral was planned Sunday in Colorado City. In the past year, Warren Jeffs, the self-proclaimed prophet of the sect, has excommunicated scores of followers, including several top aides. Jeffs himself hasn't been seen at his block-square Hildale compound since late last year and is believed to be living on a 1,691-acre ranch in West Texas where he is building a temple and several massive dormitory-style buildings. Just before the purge of sect members began in December 2003, Jessop, who was known as "Uncle Fred," disappeared. Read more | |
| 'Missing' FLDS leader reported dead | |
| Sheriff says he has been told Fred Jessop died Tuesday in Colorado | |
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By Rachel Olsen The Spectrum Originally published March 17, 2005 | |
| ST. GEORGE - Longtime bishop for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, "Uncle" Fred Jessop, reportedly died Tuesday in a Colorado medical center. Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran heard of Jessop's death from his contacts in the Schleicher County, Texas, FLDS community. He understood Jessop died around 2:10 p.m. and there are expectations that the funeral will occur Sunday in Colorado City, Doran said. On Wednesday, Doran was waiting for confirmation of Jessop's death from the south Denver medical center where Jessop apparently died. Jessop's body is reportedly being sent to Washington County, where Jessop was last seen sometime around December 2003. Concerned family members filed a missing person report on Jessop in August with the Washington County Sheriff's Office. The FLDS church, which largely controls the twin cities of Hildale and Colorado City, is led by Warren Jeffs, the self-proclaimed prophet of the church, and constitutes the largest polygamist group in North America. Read more | |
| Once Reported 'Missing,' Polygamous Leader Now Dead | |
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The Associated Press KSL-TV Channel 5 Originally broadcast March 17, 2005 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Fred Jessop, a longtime bishop for a polygamous community on the Arizona border who was stripped of his powers in a reported leadership struggle, has died of congestive heart failure. He was 94. The circumstances of Jessop's final years remained in dispute on Thursday -- mysteries that could go to his grave. Even his death on Tuesday was shrouded in secrecy because of a federal privacy law. Jessop was known as "Uncle Fred" to many who adored him in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which occupies the twin towns of Hildale and Colorado City astride the Utah-Arizona border. Jessop was exiled 15 months ago because he threatened the authority of Warren Jeffs, who had taken over as presiding bishop of the church, said Flora Jessop, a distant relative who renounced the church and is an anti-polygamy activist living in Phoenix. She suspects Fred Jessop had been held against his will in an undisclosed location since January 2004. "It does a disservice to him to say that he had been kicked out of the church. He was not. He simply wasn't the bishop any more," church attorney Rod Parker retorted Thursday. The position of bishop is subservient to presiding bishop and "responsible for the well being of the people in the community and for distribution of property pursuant to the United Effort Plan," the lawyer said. Parker disputed that Jessop ever was missing -- he couldn't say where he'd been -- or had been banished or ever was considered a threat to Warren Jeff's authority. Parker even disputed reports that Jessop had about 100 children from multiple wives, saying Jessop was biologically incapable of fathering children and "adopted" children instead. Parker didn't dispute reports that Jessop had 30 or more wives. Read more | |
| Fredrick Jessop | |
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Obituaries The Spectrum Originally published March 18, 2005 | |
| HILDALE - Fredrick Meade Jessop, 94, passed away March 15, 2005 at a medical center in a suburb south of Denver, Colorado, of causes incident to old age. He was born April 20, 1910 in Millville, Utah to Martha Yeates and Joseph Smith Jessop. He married Lydia Johnson August 4, 1935. Fred spent his youth very close to his father on the family farm in Millville. In 1935 he moved to Southern Utah. He was the acting bishop of the FLDS Church for many years and has been very instrumental in the community development and in the founding of many businesses. Through his administration farms were developed, a zoo was established and several parks were developed. He is very much loved and respected by all of his acquaintances. Funeral services will be held Sunday, March 20, 2005 at 2:00 p.m. at the LSJ Meetinghouse. Visitation will be Saturday evening from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. prior to services. Both visitations will be at the LSJ Meetinghouse. Interment will be in the Isaac Carling Memorial Park. Arrangements are made under the direction Spilsbury Mortuary, 110 S. Bluff St., St. George, Utah, (435) 673-2454. Friends and family are invited to offer their condolences at www.spilsburymortuary.com. Click on the dove. Obituaries are also available at our Web site. Click on the rose. | |
| MCSO ready for potential problems at Jessop funeral | |
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By Chris DeVore Kingman Daily Miner Originally published March 20, 2005 | |
| KINGMAN – Mohave County Sheriff Tom Sheahan said he would send extra deputies to Colorado City after a former bishop of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints died last week. Sheahan said he was in Colorado City late last week when the news of 94-year-old Fred Jessop’s death broke and was able to see events unfold in real time. "Jessop was known as ‘Uncle Fred’ to many who adored him in the FLDS, which occupies the twin towns of Hildale and Colorado City astride the Utah-Arizona border," an Associated Press report stated. The AP also reported Jessop was exiled 15 months ago because he threatened the authority of Warren Jeffs, the presiding bishop of the church. Sheahan said he and Sheriff Kirk Smith of Washington County, Utah, which sits just across the state line from Mohave County, worked on contingency plans to prepare for potential problems that could arise during funeral related events this weekend. Sheahan said Friday his understanding was that visitation would be on Saturday and the funeral would be today. He said the Sheriff’s Office is prepared to send between four and 12 deputies to Colorado City just in case something happens, and will send more if necessary. "We don’t really anticipate any problems," Sheahan said. "But you never know because the situation could become volatile at any time." Read more | |
| Faithful mourn Jessop | |
| 3,000 people honor FLDS bishop at burial procession in Colorado City | |
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By Rachel Olsen The Spectrum Originally published March 21, 2005 | |
| COLORADO CITY — A mass of pastels dotted the gray as more than 3,000 people thronged the street Sunday in a procession to bury Fred Jessop, longtime bishop and loved leader in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Jessop, 94, died Tuesday at approximately 2:10 p.m. in a medical facility south of Denver. The whereabouts of Jessop were reportedly unknown for the past 15 months, although FLDS faithful apparently maintained Jessop was on a mission for the church. The FLDS church, which largely controls the twin cities of Hildale and Colorado City, is led by Warren Jeffs, the self-proclaimed prophet of the church, and constitutes the largest polygamist group in North America. Jessop’s funeral lasted for more than three hours inside the LSJ Meetinghouse in Colorado City before the graveside services occurred. There a song with the refrain "perfect priesthood man" could be heard rising from the burial site of Jessop, even though the entire ceremony was closed to outsiders. Comments on Jessop being a great man and a great example of the priesthood could be heard in the eulogy. Read more | |
| Funeral for former polygamist leader draws 3,000 mourners | |
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The Associated Press The Arizona Republic Originally published March 21, 2005 | |
| ST. GEORGE, Utah - Funeral services for Fred Jessop, a former leader of the polygamist Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, drew more than 3,000 mourners, some from as far away at British Columbia. Jessop, 94, died Tuesday at a medical facility near Denver. The services were held Sunday at Colorado City, Ariz., which with its twin city Hildale, Utah, the border, are dominated by the FLDS church. The church also has an enclave at Bountiful, British Columbia, and is believed to have at least 6,000 members, making it one of the largest polygamist sects in the region. Jessop's whereabouts had been a mystery to some of his relatives for the last 15 months ago. Jessop had been a member of the church's First Presidency when Rulon Jeffs was president, and had thought to be one of two candidates to succeed to the presidency when Jeffs died in 2002. The other man - Jeffs' son Warren Jeffs, who also had been a member of the First Presidency, became president. Some believed Warren Jeffs exiled Jessop as part of efforts to consolidate power, which included ousting 21 men from the church and the community last year. The relatives reported Jessop missing, but church attorney Rod Parker denied he been kicked out of the church and denied Jessop was missing. He said Jessop did not want his whereabouts known. Read more | |
| Polygamous leader died of heart and kidney failure, coroner says | |
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The Associated Press Fort Worth Star-Telegram Originally published March 22, 2005 | |
| SALT LAKE CITY - Fred Jessop, a longtime bishop for a polygamous community on the Arizona border, died of heart and kidney failure, a coroner's report says. Jessop, 94, was buried Sunday at Colorado City, Ariz., which along with the twin border city of Hildale, Utah, is controlled by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. "This was a natural death," deputy Douglas County, Colo., coroner Robert M. Montgomery said in a report obtained by The Associated Press. A certified copy of the report said Jessop died March 15 of aortic stenosis, a narrowing of a crucial heart valve, congestive heart failure and a deterioration of the kidneys known as renal failure. He was admitted six days earlier to Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree, Colo., complaining of shortness of breath. "The subject had a documented history of congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, degenerative joint disease and chronic renal insufficiency," Montgomery wrote in his March 17 report. "An autopsy was not performed." Read more | |
| Warren Jeffs and the FLDS | |
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By Wade Goodwyn, Howard Berkes and Amy Walters National Public Radio Originally published May 3, 2005 | |
| Upon the death of his father, 49-year-old Warren Jeffs took over as prophet of the FLDS, or Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in September of 2002. Jeff's father, Rulon T. Jeffs, had been the group's prophet for the previous 15 years. He died at the age of 92, leaving an estimated 75 widows and 65 children to mourn him. The nearly two-decade tenure of father and son has split the polygamist community on the Utah-Arizona border. After taking power in 1986, Rulon Jeffs slowly abolished the seven-member Priesthood Council that had previously governed the sect. Rulon Jeffs eventually claimed a "One Man Rule" and as a result, part of the group split away and founded their own polygamist settlement nearby. According to former followers, the prophet is considered to be God's mouthpiece on earth. It is believed that God speaks directly to Warren Jeffs to reveal His will. And through the prophet, God directs which male members are worthy of entry into heaven (females are invited into heaven by satisfied husbands). Jeffs is also the only person who can perform marriages, and it is through him that wives are assigned to their husbands. Pleasing the prophet can result in loyal members being rewarded with one or more wives. Wives are considered to "belong" to their husbands for eternity. Read more | |
| Utah A.G. Asks to Freeze FLDS Assets | |
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KSL-TV Channel 5 Originally broadcast May 27, 2005 | |
| The Utah Attorney General's office was is court today -- seeking to freeze the assets of the trust fund of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. John Daley was there. He joins us now live from the newsroom. Keith -- it was an unusual day in court this morning ... with lawyers there from the AG's office ... and lawyers representing some members of the FLDS church ... but no one at the defense table representing leaders of the FLDS ... because this is an emergency action. Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is asking leaders of this trust ... including FLDS prophet Warren Jeffs -- be replaced by an independent third party. The AGs office says there's evidence trustees are not acting in the best interests of church members. The trust, which controls FLDS church property and assets, has been estimated to be worth as much as 100 million dollars. The judge did not rule this morning ... he is taking the issue under advisement. We're not sure what the leaders of the FLDS church or Warren Jeffs make of this matter ... as they were not represented in the court. We'll have more on this story tonight at 5 and 6. | |
| Court seizes $100 mil in polygamist sect's funds | |
| Jeffs accused of using trust to silence critics | |
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By Robert Anglen The Arizona Republic Originally published May 28, 2005 | |
| Land, housing and assets belonging to the nation's largest polygamous community and estimated to be worth more than $100 million were temporarily frozen Friday by a Utah court. The ruling effectively wrests financial power of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from self-proclaimed prophet Warren Jeffs, who for years has controlled the school district, municipal government and most of the property in the isolated towns of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah. Judge Robert Adkins temporarily froze a trust fund for the church and suspended Jeffs and five other trustees, saying he found sufficient evidence that they committed a breach of faith by selling property to church insiders for less than market value. The FLDS is a breakaway sect of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The trust, called the United Effort Plan, encompasses almost all the sect's assets and was supposed to be shared among 6,000 members, which, unlike the mainstream Mormon religion, practices polygamy. But authorities in Utah and Arizona say that Jeffs has been using his control of the trust to silence critics. He has excommunicated dozens of the sect's highest-ranking officials, ordering them out of their trust-owned homes, kicking them out of the community and reassigning their multiple wives to other men. Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard and Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff praised the court's decision Friday. "This ruling is a major step toward reducing the arbitrary power of Warren Jeffs and protecting the trust from his manipulation, liquidation and misuse," Goddard said Friday. Read more | |
| Temporary Restraining Order Issued | |
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e-Press Tri-State News Network Originally published May 30, 2005 | |
| COLORADO CITY, Ariz. – Another step towards Colorado City’s recovery from one man’s domination. According to Andrea Esquer of the Arizona Attorney Generals office, a temporary restraining order was issued Friday suspending trustees and freezing the assets of the polygamist sect in Colorado City, Ariz. and Hildale, Utah. Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who has been working closely with Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard on the case, filed the order added Esquer. Goddard stated that the decision was not directly connected to the Colorado City document seizure earlier this week. However, Goddard stated that both of these actions put Warren Jeffs and other leaders under the public eye. A hearing will be held on June 6th to review the case. | |
| FLDS Buildings Disappear in Arizona and Utah | |
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By Ben Winslow KSL NewsRadio 1160 Originally broadcast June 2, 2005 | |
| KINGMAN, Ariz. (KSL/AP) -- The special investigator assigned to Colorado City by Mohave County said two buildings disappeared over the weekend. One was in Colorado City and the other in neighboring Hildale, Utah. Investigator Gary Engels said the buildings were dismantled and hauled away after a Utah judge last Friday ordered a freezing of a polygamous sect's trust that controls most of the property and assets in the border communities. Engels suspects the dismantling flies in the face of the court order. He said some of the activity is captured on videotape and he has relayed the information to the Arizona and Utah attorneys general. Attorney General Mark Shurtleff says he is trying to protect the FLDS members. "The judge has ruled that there is some evidence that their interests are not be protected by Warren Jeffs and the other current trustees. We are not taking their money, we are not taking over their church, we are not trying to control anything other to make sure that their property is protected." Shurtleff says an independent auditor is finding some possible fraud in the books and says they’ve managed to serve papers to a high-ranking FLDS church leader. Rodney Parker of Salt Lake City, attorney for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, said Wednesday night that he had not heard of the buildings being destroyed and could not comment. | |
| Polygamists accused of dismantling buildings | |
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By 3TV and azfamily.com staff Fox 11 - Tucson Originally broadcast June 2, 2005 | |
| Followers of prophet Warren Jeffs are allegedly taking apartment buildings in Colorado City, Ariz., the home of several thousand polygamists. Photos were taken this weekend as buildings were allegedly being dismantled. In an unprecedented move last week, a Utah court temporarily removed Jeffs' ability to control a multimillion-dollar trust. Investigators in the area think this is a violation of the court order. Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard has been working with Utah authorities to take control of the trust away from Jeffs. Today, a Goddard spokeswoman told 3TV they're "very concerned" about this apparent theft of trust property. Th | |