Polygamy and Utah: Hypocrisy Abounds
April 27th, 2008Must read:
Texas officials are protecting FLDS children from abuse - Salt Lake Tribune
The final paragraphs are indicative of a major problem within the FLDS ranks: institutionalized destruction of families and family units while simultaneously creating a culture of abuse. Who is supposed to step in in these cases?
Utah and Arizona have tread lightly in decades past, hoping to avoid the PR problems that face Texas now.
On Friday, Heather and I listened to an NPR reporter interviewing one of the women from the YFZ “ranch”. You’d have thought that for all the 19th century facade the polygamists adopt, she’d be flustered and ill-spoken. She dealt with the media like a GOP/Rove/Bush/Cheney pro; sticking to talking points and not answering the tough questions all while playing, rather expertly, the victim.
One of the weird things about religious subcultures is how opinions are formed and then wielded. I haven’t seen any poll data from Utah vs. the rest of the world about the actions of Texas Child Protective Services, but I would be willing to bet that most Mormons view the raid and subsequent placing of FLDS children in protective custody/foster care as an “atrocity” as does Mr. Firmage in the above commentary. While the raid and subsequent actions are difficult to imagine, somebody has to take a stand for the children. At some point, the reality of the situation has to trump our no longer valid high-minded notions of religious freedoms.
I agree with Ms. Chapman when she states:
Fathers indoctrinate their small children that their abuse or abusing is spiritual, while mothers prepare their female children for rape in a wedding dress. The reason children can’t tell officials who their parents are is that they are confused about their own identity and that of their parents.
A few years ago, I recommended Jon Krakauer’s “Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith” for its look at fundamentalism in the microcosm of Utah and how it destroys the fabric of society and the laws that form it. As this story in Texas of religion at its worst goes on, I can’t recommend this work highly enough as an intro into fundamentalist Mormonism.
The nagging question for me is that I wonder if certain parts of the YFZ culture don’t resemble the Mormon church itself circa 1840-1890. I didn’t say all of it, just certain parts.
How far should “religious freedom” go? When children are being treated like pawns in a power play, I think the religion has ceased being a religion and turned into something uglier and more horrifying. That we as a larger society have ignored it for so long only makes it more uncomfortable and more polarizing to discuss.
But discuss we must. o
Tags: FLDS, fubar, fundamentalism, polygamy, religion, religious nutburgers, YFZ Ranch
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April 28th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
I think this is an important conversation that is definitely being skirted in this whole issue.
I am not Mormon, but I am often shocked at how much my conservative Evangelical, homeschooled upbringing mirrors cult behavior. And I don’t mean to say that I was sexually abused, but the general unwillingness to trust the government, to believe that anything about modern medicine and justice, if it is not bathed in the blood of Jesus is no good. It is no longer about what is right and wrong, but what the cult/religion/family wants you to believe and if you don’t believe it, you get thrown out.
Groups like this function in the way a dysfunctional family doesn’t. They create communities where detractors have everything to lose. So they are forced to stay in or get out and lose everything, from their children to their salvation.
We shouldn’t be so foolish to believe that, for lack of a better word, sin doesn’t effect these communities. Statistics show that children are abused at the same rate no matter what the professed religion of the abusers or the victims. And abuse is allowed to happen when people refuse to stand up for what is right. It is the same with the Catholic church. Instead of standing up for what is right, leaders staged a cover-up and let abuse become institutionalized. We think this is so horrible, but how often does it happen on an individual family level? If one in five girls are abused (and that is just reported cases) in this country and 98% of the time it is by a FAMILY MEMBER, then how many of us are covering up the sickness in our own families? I’d venture to say a lot more than have the guts to realize. A lot more than have the guts to stand up and say something. I think if we were all honest with ourselves, we would recognize that this story strikes a nerve because it hit so close to our own homes and our own lives.
I don’t mean to say, “he who has no sin, cast the first stone”–I mean to say we should all be casting a lot more stones. We should all have the courage of the Texas gov’t and women like Alyssa Walls and stand up for the truth and stand against abuse no matter what the price, because the ultimate reward is truth.
And that was a tangent, I am sorry. It’s just there is no other place for this kind of important discussion. And I think I know the reason. It’s too hard.
April 28th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
sorry, my cursor made my name “Lyzcult be” it should be just “Lyz”
April 28th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
You know, I thought you had hit a nerve before, but wow, what a response.
Reading through some of these posts, twelve monkeys comes to mind.
April 28th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Well, here in NE Ohio, we’re completely grossed out by the whole thing. Incest is one thing- and that’s bad enough, but to live in a “culture” where it’s the norm is just beyond revolting.
I am so sick of hearing about these nuts rant about their lost religious freedom. It’s not about banning a different way of life- we have a large Amish community here and with the exception of a few jerks, the consensus is live and let live. And while the Amish do keep to themselves, they’re not shut off completely from our world. Sometimes, they need modern medical help, and they’re completely welcomed, and they’re very respectful. I actually find them very intriguing. But- any of their members are free to leave at any time, and in fact- when kids reach an age of maturity, they’re encouraged to try out the outside world to some extent to make sure that this faith is right for them- unlike the FLDS, they condone free will- you know…..like God (hmmmm)
I wonder if the real Mormon church truly realizes how badly this kind of activity tarnishes their reputation. There are a lot of people in my state that get the two churches confused. Because the Mormons defend the FLDS, they assume they’re one and the same. Considering how adamant Mormons are about ascertaining that polygamy was banned many years ago, you would think they would condemn the crap going on at the YFZ dungeon- oops I mean “ranch”.
April 28th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
Oh- by the way, I read all the comments for that article and they were downright terrifying. Well not all of them- but whoever that pligkid person is—– frightening!
April 28th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
new information has emerged.
According to the Globe and Mail, More than half of teen girls taken from polygamist sect are pregnant or had baby.
“A total of 53 girls between the ages of 14 and 17 are in state custody after a raid 31/2 weeks ago at the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado. Of those girls, 31 either have children or are pregnant, said Child Protective Services spokesman Darrell Azar. Two of those are pregnant now, he said; it was unclear whether either of those two already have children.
“It shows you a pretty distinct pattern, that it was pretty pervasive,” he said.”
April 28th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
Oh yeah, and on a related note, this horrific story came out of Austria early today. I mean…whoa. This father apparently had a history of abuse and sex offender status but wasn’t investigated or a suspect when his daughter suddenly disappeared. He kept her imprisoned as a sex slave in the basement of the family home for 24 years from the age of 18. The abuse started when she was 11. She bore 7 of his children in the basement with no medical assistance. One of her inbred children died at birth and he threw the child into an incinerator in the family home. His wife is pleading ignorance…I’m not sure, given the evidence that she can be innocent. Anyway, yet another horrendous crime perpetrated by a really messed up control freak who had the means to get away with it.
April 29th, 2008 at 2:39 am
EVIDENCE that I read every single comment that goes onto this post/have too much time to whittle away–
@Sally Fulton:
“She had the time and space to go to college, have a career AND have children, because there were sister wives to take care of her children. When asked about jealousy, she said take this out of the bedroom and into the kitchen and living room where most of your life happens and jealousy becomes less of an issue. To her, the pros far outweighed the cons.”
So, when placed within the boundaries of my questions, I suppose this labels “consensual” polygamy as nothing more than pecuniary arrangements? It’s wonderful for this plural wife to have time to learn and work and establish herself outside of the home, but because she purports jealousy as an extended branch of her relationships with her husband and sister wives, I can’t see why this band of brides can’t draw up a financial adviser or their attorney(s) and plan out an economic network that won’t bind them all in a convoluted legal nightmare (economists, help me out?). If it is permissible to apply this particular wife’s characteristics to the rest, each seems perfectly capable of standing as her own individual–but rather than applying herself as an independent woman, it seems to me that she (and this might be too pretentious to say, but–) chooses to milk her sister wives into handling the little things that she can’t juggle into her regular schedule. What if every one of those wives wanted to have her own time and space to go to college, have a career, and leave the additional childrearing to the other legs of her marital relationship? There isn’t a formula to calculate how many wives a man might need to take in order to balance each other’s differences and desires to avoid potential conflicts between all members.
Although marriage (at least, legal or civil unions–wait, scratch that; “religious” matrimony has often been intertwined with state sanctions), at its very core, is a contract that attends to the provision of economic, political, or social stability (see: Europe and beyond) between two hopefully consenting parties, love and sex have entered, without much argument, as primary reasons or critical components of keeping a relationship alive (from the first Industrial Revolution in Great Britain and onward). If each of these wives has consented to a plural marriage because she truly adores the prospective husband or even desires social stability, then jealousy becomes of increasing importance over its influence on the home; who decides what actions need to be taken when one of the wives or the husband falls ill or dies, etc.? Who has priority and who has superiority? In addition–how does this arrangement affect the mentality and developing mindset of the children? Who should they listen to? Their birth mother or their “aunts/other mothers”? To say that polygamous marriages bring promises of perpetual harmony regardless of the involvement of multiple persons bespeaks of a discomforting presence of “cult of personality” or simple, brainless acquiescence. When a man has to decide which one of his wives he wants to bed one night or another, who says that feelings won’t be hurt or insecurity won’t arise? His devotion is split in numerous directions, so what does he gain from such a bargain? Pure, carnal pleasure? A flourish of pride and flush of male domination from his ability to choose? Ignoring the fact that your husband diligently sleeps with various women you are obligated to deal with every day (or meet on occasion, depending on the array) calls for a compare and contrast on the emotional and mental equality between a husband and one or all of his wives.
Eliminating the notion and diminishing the importance of “love” and “affection” within marriage further devalues the institution to its primitive, political form: a written pact of fiscal and communal agreements meant solely for the bearing and rearing of limitless amounts of children for the sake of society and one’s own bloodline. Equilibrium in tenderness and passion becomes optional and often unachievable when the focus switches to tangible benefits. If society wants to dodge and evade the archaic proposals of mistresses and concubines being placed on equivalent or higher pedestals than one’s wives because marital partners have no obligation to respect nor support one another on a par, than the bedroom plays a vital role in keeping things together. Marriage and friendship and legal liaisons do not equivocate.
But what do I know? Maybe love on multiple planes is within reach and can or will provide a safe, free-thinking, accepting, nonjudgmental environment for all participants. Perhaps religion will not be a factor in making such a decision (though it depends on what people will do to appease the god of Abraham, including following all 600+ biblical decrees to reach salvation and approving plurality of wives).
@Suzanne M
“That, in each of its individual cases, is one priest in a given parish sexually abusing usually a series of children; the solution is to take him away.”
And yet, some archbishops will purposely ignore a priest’s sexual deviancy and reappoint them to another diocese. The Vatican is extremely hesitant on openly acknowledging the extent of not only the sexual exploitation of children as young as four years old (raped, nonetheless), but also the nonconsensual liaisons between priests/missionaries and nuns across as many as 23 different countries—done mostly in fear of contracting venereal diseases from prostitutes. Some offenders even coerce said nuns into having abortions to cover their tracks. And for the devastated families and desolate victims of sexual manipulation? A monetary compensation for them to shut the hell up; I’ve read that the Catholic church has spent something around $2 billion to cover all the lawsuits that have been slapped upon them. Thank the invisible gods for that. The prayers promised on said victims’ behalf by our latest Pope are insufficient compared to the suffering bestowed upon them for fifty abusive years; the Vatican should be shamed and condemned for its aversive response (or no response) to such heinous crimes, and for playing down the severity behind a call to “love your priests.”
@MP (#31)
For the most part: amen.
@Birdy
“…my take on the religion that I believe in is one of choice–above all you are given free agency and YOU must choose right from wrong not be forced to believe and adhere to God’s laws.”
Then should there be organized religion at all? All children are born as atheists and, depending on the household and region in which they are born, they are indoctrinated at an early age—from Sunday school, Bible studies, whatever—of the infallibility or truth behind their “one true faith.” I’ve never heard of a church valiantly preaching and promoting to its members about the many different faiths, like Islam and Judaism (all interlinked with Christianity anyway), or even no faith (atheists), and that they should go out and explore on their own to find one of the many paths to salvation. I’m not trying to pick a fight with malignant intentions, but where in the Bible does it approve the worshipping of “strange” gods? Some worshippers eventually convert to something else or deconvert altogether, but all in all, too many of them become entrenched in the religion they’ve been taught from their youth. Did _they_ decide that they wanted to be Christian/Muslim/Jewish/etc.? Or was that decided for them before they knew enough to understand the differences or even realize the existence of other faiths and non-faiths? What do you think? (Not sarcastic.) Am I misinterpreting?
@Pixielyn
“My hope now is that Texas does the right thing and brings in the best psychotherapists to reprogram and rehabilitate these children in a non threatening manner so that they have a chance at a normal life. Being yanked away from their lives is going to have a huge impact on their future dealings with life.”
One word: YES.
Same to Danny (#36). Also, @bookratt—well said! I didn’t know the depth of financial corruption brewing in the pits of the FLDS community (though I was made aware of the blatant misuse of FLDS tithing funds collected by self-appointed prophets and the illegal seizure and sale of private lands of its members) —I didn’t really think about it from an economic standpoint until now. Thank you so much for enlightening me and adding significant information to the table
@Ngaire
Just curious—to the point of fault many times :)—but what are your experiences with organized religion? I’m just surprised that an Aussie (awesome) would be paying attention to the legal chaos and pointing fingers storming about the US of A.
@Lyz
“I don’t mean to say, “he who has no sin, cast the first stone”–I mean to say we should all be casting a lot more stones. We should all have the courage of the Texas gov’t and women like Alyssa Walls and stand up for the truth and stand against abuse no matter what the price, because the ultimate reward is truth.”
Some might argue that the argument of “ends justify means” is Machiavellian/REALPOLITIK, but—thank you. Religious toleration and freedom of religion often blinds us or makes us falter in investigating and exposing the uglier side of faith (in this YFZ case, the legal and religious issues are inherently bound to one another, regardless if anyone is brave or stupid enough to admit it).“Justice,” whatever you think it might be, should never be subject to appeasing an ignorant populace.
@Lesley (#57)
That story made me sick to my stomach (and I was eating dinner at the time). Further input from NPR said that only 3 of the children were allowed to live with the “family” upstairs, while the daughter and the rest were forced to survive in a cellar deep enough to mute any cries for help. Those unfortunates have never, until now, seen the light of day. The mother says that she believed “Elis/zabeth” had written a note indicating her leaving the household for good, so she had no reason to suspect any fowl play. Although the daughter and her children seem to be in acceptable condition…
Even animals try to avoid incest—inbreeding can be a mark against a species in turns of survival of the fittest. What kind of hellish bastard is this 73-year-old vampire to leech sexual exploits from his only daughter?! Knowing of the incinerator sickens me exponentially (even if my writing seems relatively calm).
April 29th, 2008 at 4:58 am
The Texan group represents a major opportunity for assorted politicians who get involved, but it’s a danger as much as a potential PR bonanza. My worry is that everyone handling this case will have politics on their minds far more than the actual well-being of the kids.
April 29th, 2008 at 11:19 am
If a crime has been committed (which it looks like it has), the parents should be held responsible. If that means removing the kids from their custody and sending the parents to prison, so be it.
Emily and Mark, the FLDS group hasn’t been associated with the Mormons for over 100 years.
April 30th, 2008 at 12:56 am
I don’t know what kind of “Mormon” would consider the removing of these children from an abusive situation an “atrocity” as you suggest, but I can certainly attest that the Mormons in my own circle of association or completely relieved that the Texas authorities have acted as they did. In fact, I have read more from the mainstream media about other groups that are outraged at the situation than I have heard from any LDS group or individual. I’m living overseas currently, but the feeling I’m getting from most people in the States is that “ONLY” the adolescent girls are suspected of being abused so why remove ALL the children! Seriously! That makes me want to vomit. ANY children in an abusive family, whether they are directly involved or not, should be removed immediately. I’m glad to read here that most comments are condemning the abuse by the FLDS and encouraging Texas in its course of action.
Also, just an afterthought, but the research I’ve done on the practice of polygamy in the LDS church (albeit somewhat limited) indicates it was a relatively small number of families involved, there was mutual agreement between husband & wife about the arrangement or else it wouldn’t happen, and there wasn’t all this “marrying a teenager” stuff going on. Like I said, my reading is somewhat limited, but I certainly never saw even the slightest suggestion of abuse in any form.
April 30th, 2008 at 9:29 am
I, too, have read “Under The Banner Of Heaven” by Jon Krakauer. It was an excellent examination of not only FDLS but for a person who knew next to nothing about Mormonism and the beliefs of the LDS church it was a must-read. Just like with any religion, un-biased looks at the belief systems of Mormonism can ONLY be written by an outsider. I am a Christian Youth Pastor, and I can see much value in submitting to scrutiny - only then will the truth emerge and see the light of day. Only religious systems with any kind of integrity will continue to eternity - and it’s sadly a rare church/pastor/denomination that can survive scrutiny.
The abuse of women and children, and the systematic brainwashing of the men in this group is appalling. Considering the ages of these teenage mothers and their certain fates prior to the compound raid, how could we as a country have allowed this to continue? No one sees anything wrong with removing any other adult from society after they’ve abused a teenager - in fact, we demand it! This has ZERO to do with “religious expression.” It has only to do with these men being raised to be predators.
April 30th, 2008 at 9:48 am
Just wanted to add that Bookratt sums up the situation extremely well. Religious belief does not exempt anyone from legal responsibility.
This community has committed a number of crimes, and whether they were done in the name of Yahweh, Kali or the prophet’s own personal penis is irrelevant. The law is the same for everyone, and these kids should be protected from abuse. A pregnant 14-year-old qualifies as abuse, at least on this soil and in this century.
April 30th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
I agree with almost all of the comments and feel that the authorities should have stepped in and removed the children form this abuse.
However, I do feel sorry for the mothers. Most of these women were BORN into the FLDS society and religion. They don’t know any different. They didn’t know they were perpetuating the abuse of their children. I’m sure most of the men don’t realize it either. This is what a cult does - brainwashes. The FLDS has had YEARS to cultivate these activities and thought processes.
I feel sad for those women and their children to be separated. Does a 4-year old understand why its mother is not there to comfort? I can’t imagine the fear these children are going through, and the agony of separation the mothers are feeling. Not knowing that a wrong was being committed must surely cause a lot of agony in their minds.
But no matter what - I think the Texas authorities made the correct decision.
May 1st, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Great post and lots of insightful comments.
I think most of the evil done in the world is done by people who claim they are religious. They interpret the laws of their God to commit rape, murder, theft, torture and cruelty.
Texas authorities did the right thing, and those mothers complaining on the Today Show are getting no sympathy from me.
I think people who claim to be religious fundamentalists are actually really stupid. Just as fables are told to children to help explain things they can’t understand, so do adults of limited intelligence need parables to explain the world that they are too dumb to understand. Sadly, stupid people are usually also vicious and cruel.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:19 pm
There were 4 buses of children that came where I am with these children- very young- this past friday? saturday? Anyway, at a new conference, the director of the facility (which isn’t a “facility” so much as many homes on property in the middle of the city that houses children that for whatever reason are unable to live at home)- said they are working tirelessly to make this as bearable for the kids as possible. They’ve allowed the older girls, as they are used to, to take leadership roles with the younger children- for example. The children, it has been said, were very distrustful of the staff, as they had been raised to distrust anyone and everyone.
I wonder what will happen when these kids see that it’s not so bad “out there”. What will happen if down the line the courts order them back home, for example, and they don’t want to go?