That’s the one, thanks.
I’m wondering who made those tapes, and why.
My theory:
The FLDS, like the mainstream LDS, are pretty meticulous about keeping records. I don’t know what it is about Joseph Smith’s legacy, but mormons (fundie or mainstream) are really big on writing stuff down.
I think Jeffs’ excuse for making the tapes was that he was just keeping a record of all the ordinances that occur in the temple. This would be pretty readily accepted by mainstream mormons, who do the same thing in their temples. They know who goes through and for what purpose.
I think his actual reason was the same reason a serial killer takes souvenirs off its victim: so Warren Jeffs the sicko pedo will have a mechanism for re-living his sick twistedness. Like carrying your own homemade porn around on your laptop. (Nobody really does that, right?)
Because Jeffs is the prophet, he doesn’t do menial tasks like hit the record button on a voice or tape recorder. I’m sure he delegated recording duties to one of the wives. I would love for the prosecution in this case to have asked why that tape was made, but Jeffs didn’t take the stand (it would have been fun to watch him cross examine himself).
There’s probably a lot more pictures and recordings that the general public doesn’t know about. There are many more litigations to come as Texas sifts through all the goodies they snagged during the YFZ raid. Wouldn’t do much good to release any of that before people have their days in court.
No, he was just stupid enough to get caught doing it in Texas.
I think the best outcome he can hope for is a husband who doesn’t pimp him out to the sisters in the laundry room.
Excellent book! And soon to be a movie.
Nitpick: the Lafferty brothers were not FLDS. They were their own peculiar brand of Mormon crazy, with doctrines similar to those of Brigham Young, Joseph Smith, and Warren Jeffs. But the book discusses several branches of Mormonism, including LDS and FLDS.
To be fair, a mormon co-worker of mine who was mainstream enough to drink coffee on a night shift said that that book was way out in left field compared to how her family practices.
I got it. And I giggled.
And I suspect there’s plenty there which it would be an even better idea to never release.
Yeah, that made me laugh.
Actually, you won’t find that in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon condemns polygamy at one point, albeit with a disclaimer. The Doctrine and Covenants, plus other teachings from Joseph Smith like the King Follett discourse and the temple ceremonies, are where the beliefs you discuss above come from.
OK, as I said earlier, this made me laugh, but while I was telling it to my wife, I became curious about the 37,015,056 figure. It took me a moment to figure out that you were assigning each of Jeffs’s 78 wives, not seven sacks with seven cats in each sack, and each cat having seven kittens each, but 78 sacks with 78 cats, each of which had 78 kittens. Ouch. That’s a lot of cats and kittens to be stuffed into one sack.
Plus, the article said Jeffs had 78 illegal marriages. So he may have actually had seventy-nine wives, which would make 38,950,081 kittens. Ouch!
Warren Jeffs continues to manipulate followers even while behind bars. Seems he’s now decided that no one gets to have sex with their multiple (often underage) wives if he can’t. I can’t decide if I’m more disgusted with him or the sheep who will undoubtedly follow his ‘word’.
And, paradoxically, I am rather happy about the idea that there may be fewer children born to be exploited. So… Yea Warren Jeffs?
I like that he’s writing threats from God if they don’t let him go, as though an actual extant god couldn’t just make him a key or something.
WTF kind of name is “Jeffs”?
If you live in Colorado City, AZ, or in Hildale, UT, or El Dorado, Texas, or parts of Salt Lake City, a very common one. (Warren is one of more than 60 children of his father Rulon and is the father of at least that many, and since many of his uncles, cousins, brothers, etc., are polygamists as well there are probably thousands more with that surname.)
He let Peter walk right out of prison and in so doing made converts of the guards (Acts 12). You’d think he’d do at least as much for Warren.
Assuming that these people really are brainwashed into thinking God chats with their leaders, even the Bible has false prophets and false priests all the way through it. Aaron, founder of the priesthood, had two sons who were killed by God in the tabernacle; you’d think they’d buy a vowel and solve the
W_RREN JEFFS IS _ F_LSE PROPHET
puzzle.
Though perhaps driving his followers into penury AND telling them “no sex with plural wives for you!” may finally be what makes some of them see it. Some men will put up with a lot in the name of their faith, but having to take care of 32 kids who are (understandably) crying because you just sold their trampoline and dirt bikes, and you can’t even get a little nooky from one of the 8 wives you’re expected to buy 4 gallons of hair spray per week for is probably their "Warren may have used to be the Prophet, but now I’m thinking it’s this dude over here who’s saying ‘God just said keep you guys doing what you’re doing with the sleeping with your wives and buying Hummers with the state and federal aid you get for having dozens of kids’ is the New and Improved Voice of God’.
Studmuffin Winston Blackmore (pic- he’s the husband of dozens of wives and the father of at least 125 children) has already been getting defectors to his Canadian sect. Perhaps he’ll come down and do a "y’all come with me- bring your bank accounts’, or one of Jeffs many brothers or sons or Merrill Jessop or one of his many sons will stage a coup.
I always thought the show Big Love was going to end with Bill becoming Prophet and leading a modernization movement of the compound. (Failing that he could marry a sassy black woman.) I still think it would have been a better ending than the last couple of seasons. Now I wonder as a matter of curiosity if it could be done- could anybody make them more mainstream.
The article sez that up to 10 people a day are leaving that cult. I guess if Jeffs isn’t there to charm them, the attraction dims.
If your family tree doesn’t fork, you’re probably a Jeffs?
They really do have that freaky shit where your stepdaughter is also your stepmother and your half-sisters on one side are married to your half-brother on the other and your son’s wife is your former mother-in-law and your nephew who is 40 years older than you is also your step-grandfather and two of your daughters are married to one of your brothers-in-law whose other wife is the mother of two of your daughters-in-law, etc.. What those people can do with a family tree would boggle the most talented topiary sculptor who ever lived.