The rape charges are for statutory rape, not violent rape. The young women involved insist that they wanted to be part of it, as it is part of their religion. It all has to do with their religious beliefs.
Again. I don't agree with him, or them. However, most, if not all, the accusations against Warren Jeffs were (and are) made against Joseph Smith, Jr. The Attorneys General of Utah and Arizona finally succumbed to the pressure put on them by "Tapestry Against Polygamy" and other anti-Mormon, anti-Polygamy groups, and found a way to bring charges against a religious leader.
I agree that putting 12 and 13 year old girls into marriages is not right, in today's culture. However, in many ways, their culture is much more like early to mid-1800's, where it was common for a 13 year old girl to be married. But that is what he is charged with - facilitating marriages of young women. That is why the rape charges, the facilitating rape, etc.
I don't know of any actual accusations of violent behavior. There may be some, but I don't know of them.
By the way, "Tapestry Against Polygamy" accuses the modern LDS church of not doing enough to "separate" ourselves from the horrific abuses of polygamy that supposedly occurred in the 1800s. They make these exact same charges against Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and all the other leaders of the Church who practiced or preached plural marriage. Including the "rape" and "conspiracy" charges.
I am very careful in what I accuse these men of.
I truly doubt that Warren Jeffs will ever face trial. I expect that he will be murdered by some "anti-polygamy" zealot, due to the massive, biased media campaign against him and his religion. I hope that I am wrong, but it would sure save the two states a lot of embarrassment when they are shown to be persecuting him primarily for his beliefs.
Here are some things I picked up from Larry King live (others I will talk about in the Hidden Boards):
_ It seems that most think that Warren's father ruled in a better way and made the community nice to live in, but since Warren's take over it has become brutal.
_ People only listen to Warren because he inherited all from his father before death
_ They home school their children
I am not sure about your first statement. Rulon Jeffs is actually the one who started the "one man rule" and there were already at that time, allegations of young teenagers marrying old men. It's interesting to mention that Rulon married the daughter of LDS Apostle Hugh B. Brown. Our Church wants to separate from the FLDS by saying there is no connection but there is, historically. *shrugs*
I would like to know how homeschooled are these kids, I mean some of them are reported saying that Warren Jeffs is the US President. Go figure.
I was also thinking, with all this propaganda that the FLDS is getting, don't you think some sickos would want to join the group to have access to young girls?
Edited: LDS_forever on 4th Sep, 2006 - 1:32pm
PLURAL LIVES: THE DIVERSITY OF FUNDAMENTALISM
The recent capture of polygamous leader Warren Jeffs - now off the FBI's most-wanted list and waiting his fate in the aptly named Purgatory Jail - once again puts plural marriage and Utah under international scrutiny.
Ref. https://deseretnews.com/dn/view/1%2C1249%2C...99994%2C00.html
'SACRED' PAPERS OF JEFFS SOUGHT
Papers seized inside the SUV in which polygamist leader Warren Jeffs was riding when captured in Nevada should be returned to the Fundamentalist LDS Church leader because they are protected by his right to freedom of religion, his attorney says.
Ref. https://deseretnews.com/dn/view/1%2C3949%2C%2C00.html
I just read the first article and this statement done by a Pro-Polygamy woman who claims made a survey on Polygamists, caught my attention when she described the "independents" polygamists (those who do not follow any particular group or leader)
QUOTE |
Some independents, Wilde says, are still active LDS Church members "who remain quiet about their fundamentalist beliefs." Her numbers and description jibe with information provided by the Utah Attorney General's Office, which tracks polygamous groups. |
Well, it seems like they are moving to Texas and the people living there are not very happy about it.
QUOTE |
LOCKNEY, Texas (AP) -- Samuel Fischer would appear to be just what this withering Texas Panhandle town needs. A successful cabinet maker with a thriving business in Utah, he hopes to move the operation here, bringing with it as many as 100 jobs and perhaps eventually an influx of residents. Many here, however, say Fischer is no godsend, and the economic boost he could provide their town of about 2,000 is not worth the cost. Fischer is a polygamist, a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a renegade offshoot of the Mormon Church. The sect's leader, Warren Jeffs, is awaiting trial on charges he arranged marriages between men and underage girls. In Lockney, people like shopkeeper Ginger Mathis worry that Fischer, his two wives and their 24 children will soon be joined by thousands of other sect members now living Utah and Arizona. Fischer has closed on one house in Plainview and has contracts on three others there; he is also checking out property near Lockney. "He wouldn't be looking at houses if he didn't have some others coming," Mathis said. Others want to give Fischer the benefit of the doubt. "I just feel like he's one of God's creatures and if he wants to come to town, that's his business," said Kay Martin, who owns an insurance agency in Lockney and is a member of the town's economic development board. "It doesn't scare me or bother me." Ranching and farming are the mainstays in the Lockney area, about 75 miles from Amarillo. Farmers produce cotton, wheat, pumpkins and corn. The town's population has dropped by about 200 from the 2000 census because there is no other work for young people not interested in farming or ranching. Fischer took his case for moving to Lockney to his future neighbors at a town meeting. He requested the meeting in a letter to the local paper after it published a column about him and his association with Jeffs. About 100 people attended. When pressed, Fischer told them that Jeffs was his spiritual leader but that the FLDS doesn't have a stake in his business. About 150 of Jeffs' followers are already in Texas, living outside the small town of Eldorado, about 230 miles from Lockney. Among the buildings erected by the sect is an 80-foot-tall, gleaming white temple. Those who attended the meeting in Lockney say Fischer, 53, promised he would not build a compound. He also said he didn't know who would be living in the houses he will soon own. Fischer declined to be interviewed. "We dealt with the people that have the need to know," he said. "And that's all I'm worried and concerned about. Those are the people who we'll be living and working with. People in New York don't need to know... |