Stolen Innocence--A Review

This trial has not been about religion or a vendetta.  It was simply about child abuse and preventing further abuse.

I hope that all FLDS girls and women will understand that no matter what anyone may say, you are created equal.  You do not have to surrender your rights or your spiritual sovereignty.  I know how hard it is, but please stand up and fight for your voice and power of choice.  I will continue to fight for you.--Elissa's statement after Jeff's 2007 trial (p. 422)

Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall is my sixth book in my study of the FLDS.  I have read about some amazing women, my next step will be delving into what the "lost boys" have gone through.  I am stunned at what can be done to men and women when they are in a cult.  Yet, we are all susceptible to being indoctrinated and brainwashed.

I have been immensely inspired by the women who have managed to escape the clutches of the FLDS, and even though it wasn't easy, fought to build a life for themselves and their children.

Elissa's story is especially impressive, because she started fighting back at the tender age of 14.  She was forced into marriage with a cousin she hated and was raped repeatedly.  This marriage was orchestrated by her "prophet", Warren Jeffs.  Elissa's father had already been exiled from her family by Jeffs, and her mother and sisters felt powerless to protect her.

She didn't have a way to escape then, and she thought her eternal salvation was at stake, so she stayed, but she didn't stay silent.

In the FLDS, girls and women are told to "keep sweet", which means, no matter how unhappy you are, no matter how badly you are treated, you are to pretend to be happy and be obedient to your "priesthood head".

Yet, Elissa didn't keep sweet all the time, and she actually had the nerve to speak out.  She was fortunate that she had older sisters and brothers who had escaped before her, and eventually she was able to be set free.  It wasn't easy, she had to leave behind her mother and two younger sisters.

It took years, but she even ended up being a star witness along with her sister, Rebecca Musser at Warren Jeffs' first trial in 2007.

Below are some significant quotes from her book:

Our religion left no room for logical reasoning and honest questioning.--p. 44

Without my nurturing older sister around, I had no one to make me feel safe in the unrest that had taken over our home and irrevocably changed out lives.--p. 49

I was making the choice that my mother had been unable to make for me and my siblings.  I was choosing to give my child the power of choice.--p.321

Elissa says it best in the last paragraph of her book:

...there are still so many young girls and women who don't yet realize that they, too, have the right to cry out against injustice.  I hope this book reaches the many young girls and women around the world whose faces I'll never see and whose names I'll never know, and that perhaps in some way my words will help them to use their strength to reclaim what is rightfully theirs--the power of choice.

Previous FLDS Posts:
The Treatment of Women
Carolyn Jessop--A Portrait of Courage
Triumph
Church of Lies
Studying the FLDS
When Men Become Gods
The Witness Wore Red

The Witness Wore Red--A Review

It started with one book, Escape, and my odyssey into studying the FLDS began. It has been therapeutic for me in dealing with my own issues with how those in the church, and other religious organizations treat women.

I was listening to, The Witness Wore Red on Cd while I was reading four of the other books on the FLDS.  It was fascinating as I listened to the different accounts of some of the key players.

I think I was able to relate, on a personal level, to Rebecca's account the most.  For some reason, I was surprised at how difficult things were for Rebecca and her sister Elissa after they escaped.  I think because they escaped before they had children, I thought things would be easier than they were for people like Carolyn, who already had 8 children.

Yet, it makes sense that things would be so hard.  They had been brainwashed and indoctrinated in a certain way for their entire lives.  Also, something that Warren Jeffs and some of the other priesthood men knew, was that even without their own children, they had scores of loved ones in the FLDS that they wouldn't want to leave.  And when you leave the FLDS, you can't just come back and visit relatives, because you are now an apostate and shunned by most of the community.

I was able to relate to Rebecca in her struggles to realize that what she was being taught about the roles of women was wrong.  And also to her trying to survive financially on the outside world.  She then had to deal with a husband who wasn't in the FLDS, but who still had some sexist views.

As I listened to the end of Rebecca's book, it gave me a lot of strength that I could face some of the things in my own life.  She escaped oppression, yet in doing that, she was severely judged by many and told she was going to hell.  We are by nature people pleasers, but sometimes doing what is right for us, will be judged by others, and that is okay.

Previous FLDS Posts:
The Treatment of Women
Carolyn Jessop--A Portrait of Courage
Triumph
Church of Lies
Studying the FLDS
When Men Become Gods

When Men Become Gods--A Review

--When Men Become Gods is my 5th book in my study of the FLDS.  I've read Carolyn Jessop and Flora Jessop's accounts, and I'm listening to Rebecca Musser's on Cd.

--The women's accounts were their own personal stories.  In contrast, Singular gives a history and an overview of the FLDS movement.  He share the history of the Mormons, starting with Joseph Smith.

--He then details how things went wrong with some of the modern leaders of the FLDS.  And he shares about the women who started escaping and fighting back, and about the brave few who helped them.  The women and those who helped them were listed by Singular as the "Resistance".

--A list of just some who made up the "Resistance":

1) Flora Jessop--One of the many women who escaped and fought back
2) Sam Brower--A private investigator
3) Elaine Tyler--She assisted women who were trying to escape the FLDS, and she founded the Hope Organization.
4) Gary Engels--An investigator hired by Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith
5) Ross Chatwin--A loyal FLDS member who was kicked out by Warren Jeffs.  He was one of the few men who chose to fight back.  Most of the time Jeffs took away these men's homes and wives and children.  But Chatwin refused to leave his home, and his wife and kids stayed by his side instead of obeying Jeffs.
6) The Lost Boys--Teenage boys who were kicked out of the FLDS, so that the older men have more women to choose from.

--As I've studied all that has gone into the FLDS being exposed, I have been upset that Flora Jessop hasn't been given more credit for her role.  Below is Singular's description of her, and I think it's a good one:

Every revolution produced somebody like Flora Jessop: a flamethrower who jolted others into action.  She had a knack for inspiring victimized women to come forward--and for turning off strong FLDS opponents and embarrassing the police or other authorities.  In the absence of any organized effort to enforce the law along the border for the past several decades, Flora, like Laura Chapman before her, had stepped forward and done what others wouldn't.  Nobody else had wanted to take the risks to help the men, women, boys, girls, and childhood victims of polygamy--least of all the Latter-day Saints church up in Salt Lake City.--p. 121

--As the government authorities and members of the resistance tried to figure out how to bring the members of the FLDS to justice, they had some concerns.  They feared a Waco or Jonestown catastrophe.  The governments of Arizona, Utah and the Federal government were afraid to tackle the many crimes that were being committed in the FLDS community.  Yet, finally something needed to be done. The FLDS wasn't above the law and questions started to be raised by many, below are some:

What about the rising costs of welfare and of treating fumarase deficiency?  What if citizens across the nation with no connection to Mormon fundamentalists had to pick up the tab for other people's very expensive marital and sexual practices?  What if a religious sect on the Utah-Arizona border were being run like a criminal enterprise, similar to the mafia?  Or like a terrorist outfit, answerable only to its Prophet?--p. 115

--Singular shares how the authorities finally go after Jeffs, eventually putting him on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List.  And about the 3 sisters who testified against him, Elissa Wall, Theresa Wall and Rebecca Musser.

--Elissa Wall was forced into marriage when she was barely 14 and was raped by her husband.  Not only was this Jeffs' idea, but he refused to listen to her many cries for help and told her to "keep sweet" and submit to her husband.

--When Jeffs was declared guilty by a jury of his peers, several of the heroic women who stood up against him had this to say:

This wasn't just lawyering in the courtroom, this was justice.--Elaine Tyler

Opinion is a fleeting thing, but truth outlasts the sun.--Elissa Wall quoting Emily Dickinson

--Laura Chapman (one of the first women who fought back) was happy with the verdict, but warned people that the fight against the FLDS was far from over:

So much is still lacking in terms of accountability...Elissa Wall's parents not only failed to protect her but prepared a child in a wedding dress for her abuser.  They are culpable by law and should be charged.  If Warren Jeffs has 80 wives, and birth certificates of his 264 children prove this, he should be charged with 79 counts of bigamy...He was not charged for violating the Mann Act (taking a minor across state lines for sexual purposes).  Elissa was taken to Nevada to be married.  Jeffs should be held accountable for the human trafficking of women and children to Canada...

An apology should be issued to the thousands of people, over 160 years, who have lived in extreme conditions of poverty, emotional and spiritual abuse, sexual coercion and assault because of this doctrine that places men as superior over women.  Since the LDS church is one of the wealthiest religious organizations in the world, they should fund non-profit organizations to provide resources for refugees of polygamy.  They should no longer allow a man to be sealed for time and all eternity to more than one woman.

Studying the FLDS (Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) Cult

The above photo is Flora Jessop with her sister Ruby Jessop.  Flora had worked for many years to help Ruby escape, and they were finally successful.

--Since, I watch a lot of true crime shows, I started seeing shows about the horrific abuses in the polygamous FLDS cult years ago.  Every time I would see a show, I would write down the books and authors that were mentioned on the show.

--Recently, I started reading one of the books and I was hooked and wanted to learn more.  So far, I have read the following books and done posts on them:

1) Escape--Carolyn Jessop
2) Triumph--Carolyn Jessop
3) Church of Lies--Flora Jessop

--I am in the middle of reading:

4) The Witness Wore Red--Rebecca Musser
5) When Men Become Gods--Stephen Singular

--On my list to read:

6) Stolen Innocence--Elissa Wall
7) Lost Boy--Brent W. Jeffs
8) The Polygamists: A History of Colorado City, Arizona--Benjamin Bistline

 
--As I've learned more, especially after reading Flora Jessop's book, I wanted to see some of the people I was reading about.  So, I found some good documentaries online.

--When I'm finished with all of the books, and when I'm done researching, I will do a comprehensive post on the FLDS. 

 
--It is important to educate people about what is going on.  As I was talking about this at work, a friend just assumed I was talking about a group in a third world country.  I said, no, this is going on right here in the U.S.

Resources:
-Rebecca Musser: Choose to be Free
-Child Protection Project
-The Hope Organization