Word: flds
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Warren Jeffs, head of the breakaway polygamist Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), has been convicted in a St. George, Utah, court, of being an accomplice to rape, for forcing a 14-year-old girl to marry her first cousin. He faces other charges in Arizona and federal court. While this first case focused on the marriage of a young girl, many young boys' lives have been severely affected by the FLDS, and the Utah trial opened a window into their sad stories...
...punctuating each letter with a swallow. He had left school at eight years old to join his father's construction crew, he said, and works as a framer in booming southeastern Utah, building townhouses for retirees and outlet malls for tourists. Like most FLDS members, he was not accustomed to conversation with strangers...
...FLDS was born more than a century ago when the Mormon church divided over the issue of plural marriage. Church founder Joseph Smith offered polygamy as one of the "eternal principles" of Mormonism, teaching that men would be exalted in heaven by marrying multiple wives on earth. In 1890, after years of penalties, persecution and seizure of church property, a new divine revelation inspired church leaders to reject the practice--which, among other things, paved the way for Utah's statehood. But traditionalist Mormons thought the church was selling out and established their own fundamentalist sects, which continued the practice...
...they can listen to Jeffs' sermons. "Sister wives" share household chores and raise multitudes of children as their husbands rotate among bedrooms. It's virtually impossible for child-welfare officials to track levels of sexual abuse. When girls are ready to marry, they "turn themselves in" for the FLDS prophet to arrange a "celestial marriage." The husband may already have other wives, but because these are religious rather than legal unions, they do not violate laws against bigamy...
Whatever the outcome in this case, Jeffs faces multiple indictments in Arizona and possible federal charges for unlawful flight. But he has been planning for the next stage of his ministry for some time now. Already FLDS true believers have been relocating to other retreats, including a huge tract in Eldorado, Texas, where they have erected a large temple, far from any outside interference...