| Jeffs shaped FLDS church | |||||
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By Patrice St. Germain patrices@thespectrum.com | |||||
CANE BEDS, Ariz. - Throughout the years, the area once known as Short Creek - now Hildale and Colorado City, Ariz. - has had its share of problems, but longtime resident Benjamin Bistline said the trouble really didn't start until the Jeffs, specifically Warren Jeffs, came into power. Bistline grew up in the area but left the beliefs of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and allegiance to the leadership in the early 1980s and moved down the road to Cane Beds in 2003. During the years, Bistline said he saw numerous changes in the church, the community and the people. He then documented the information and wrote a book "The Polygamists: A History of Colorado City, Arizona." Unlike today, when FLDS followers give money to self-proclaimed prophet Warren Steed Jeffs and little is celebrated, Bistline said growing up, there were celebrations and dances in the community. "We celebrated the 24th (July 24 - Pioneer Day). That was the big one. There was a fall festival and a fair and dances and that started clear back in the '40s and '50s," Bistline said. Church services were held and money was collected for projects for the good of the community. From 1954 to 1986, Leroy Johnson ran the church and Bistline said he was a good leader until the late 1970s. Rulon T. Jeffs, Warren's father, was the next one in command and ran the church until his death until 2002. Neither father nor son lived permanently in the community until 2000 and for the last few years of Rulon's life, Warren Jeffs, was more or less running the church. Following the 1953 raid, Johnson didn't allow the marriage of underage girls and insisted all the first marriages be legal, but Warren Jeffs routinely married off young girls to older men and wanted marriages consummated immediately, Bistline said. During much of the early years, the money collected for projects went for the good of building up the community, Bistline said. Over the years, there have been some evictions of members that fell from favor, but when Rulon Jeffs took over, there were more and under Warren Jeffs, many, many more, Bistline said. "I bet there are at least 50 men with families that were told to leave," Bistline said. "Some had four and five wives." The wives of the men kicked out of the community were assigned to other men. One of the men driven from the community was Richard Holm, who was born and raised in the community and kicked out three years ago. Holm moved back four months ago after he was able to secure his home back with the help of the United Effort Plan trust special fiduciary, Bruce Wisan. The UEP, the financial arm of the FLDS Church, now is in the hands of Wisan and a board of trustees has been good for the community, Holm said. Up until several years ago, Holm was a supporter of the trust and the regime and said he did all he could to be helpful. Like Bistline, Holm said Leroy Johnson was fairly good at running the community and began to turn and turned more with Rulon and more with Warren. Holm said for him under Warren's reign, it has been extremely traumatic. Back before he was told to leave the community, Holm said he heard from a Barlow that "Richard Holm doesn't hold priesthood." His two wives (sisters) were told if they stayed with him, they would be destroyed with the wicked. Now, Holm doesn't think the tenet of polygamy is necessary and no longer believes there has to be a plural marriage to have exaltation. But at the same time, he said his father had many wives whom he has great respect for and he is the product of plural marriage. "I am the second son of my father and his third wife and that heritage is sacred to me in that sense," Holm said. Returning to Colorado City after being kicked out by Warren, Holm said his reception by many in the community is ice cold, which is fine by him. "I'm only back there because of my relationship with my children," Holm said. "But I do hope to get the deed to my home and be part of the business community. I'd like to see the area thrive and prosper and be part of the American free enterprise system." As for Warren Steed Jeffs, Holm wants nothing to do with him or the FLDS Church but thinks Jeffs will try to maintain his hold on the community and his followers from jail. "It's twisted and perverted with what Warren has been doing and the extreme pressure he has put on the people and corrupted that way of life," Holm said. | |||||
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TheSpectrum.com Originally published September 3, 2006 | |||||
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