By The Way

By Alice Gilroy Floyd County Hesperian-Beacon - Floydada, Texas

Mr. Fischer called me on Monday morning. Obviously he perceived things differently than I did concerning the FLDS column. The first thing we clarified between each other was the phone number I had for Fischer. The number I have been calling was an old number and had been disconnected. Mr. Fischer wanted me to understand that he would have talked to me if I had gotten him on the phone. We talked at great length. I stand by what I printed last week, but I will add Mr. Fischer's comments. Mr. Fischer said that he will be hiring people from the community. He said the number of people hired will depend on how well the business does. He said the cabinet shop will be a "modular line" so he can train people on specific jobs. He said he only inquired about the labor camp because it is always good to have housing for your employees. Fischer said he is coming with his family at first and he doesn't know how many more from the FLDS community will come, but according to Fischer the majority of people he will hire will be local people. Mr. Fischer was defensive about Warren Jeffs and referred to him as "Uncle Warren". According to Fischer the charges of Accomplice to Rape brought against Warren Jeffs are not true. He believed all the information I had in my column to be information from people who were "unhappy" with the FLDS church, so you couldn't believe what they said. He told me I needed to listen to Warren Jeffs and hear him for myself. I replied that is hard to do when it is a secret society and no one knows what goes on in their church. I told Mr. Fischer that I had heard Mr. Jeff's teachings on tapes through the Eldorado internet site. Mr. Fischer said that was still second hand and implied that the tapes could have been altered. Mr. Fischer said he had 23 children. He had 13 of his own and adopted 11. I asked Mr. Fischer if he practiced polygamy and he said he didn't "practice it" he "lived it". He said he had "two ladies" and had adopted some children and their mother. Mr. Fischer denied that his church had arranged child marriages. He said the arranged marriages were with women from the ages of 17-30. He referred to the stories of Abraham and Solomon, etc., as the basis for God's approval of polygamy. When questioned about scripture in the Bible vs. the teaching of the "prophet". Mr. Fischer stated that according to the Mormon Article of Faith, "The Bible is the Word of God as far as it is translated correctly." According to his religion, Mr. Fischer said "We all can ask God to speak to us, and if we are open to God He will tell us what we need to know." If that Word from God is different from the Bible then the Mormon, said Mr. Fischer, must listen to the words from God. Mr. Fischer stated he was not on welfare and never had been. He said he wanted to benefit the community. Mr. Fischer believes his religion and Warren Jeffs' have gotten a bum rap in the press. He said, "I've known Uncle Warren since I was 15 years old. I know him to be a good man and an honest man. All the bad publicity from the press and the media does not change that fact. This is not hearsay. I can say this from first hand knowledge." Mr. Fischer says he wants a chance to explain what he wants to do at the Tye Company and to "help people understand each other". Because of this he has taken the steps to reserve the Lockney Community Center, for Friday, May 11, at 6:30 p.m. He said he will take questions from the audience. He hopes this will allow people to get to know him better. He told me that he hopes people will confine themselves to only asking questions about his business plans and not about the Warren Jeffs' controversy. I encourage those interested to attend. Bring a chair. There probably won't be enough chairs.

HesperianBeacon.com Originally published May 10, 2007

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