‘Plural Marriage’ Required for Salvation in Jeffs’ FLDS Church

By Anastacia Mott Austin

On September 25th, FDLS church leader Warren Jeffs, 51, was convicted of being an accessory to two counts of rape, for forcing a 14-year-old girl to marry and have intercourse with her cousin.

Jeffs had been captured by law enforcement officials after 18 months on the run as a fugitive.

The FDLS, or the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is a derivative of the Mormon Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, though the two are now distinct, separate organizations. The LDS is quick to point out that they are not in any way affiliated with the FDLS. The primary reason for the split between the two groups is that the LDS outlawed polygamy, a practice still very much in effect in the FDLS, beginning in 1904, and excommunicated those still practicing it in 1935. In fact, a representative of the LDS told reporters, "The church has long been concerned about the continued illegal practice of polygamy, and in particular about reports of child and wife abuse emanating from polygamous communities today."

The arrest and conviction of Jeffs has brought attention to the FDLS, and what some see as their cult-like obsession with their leaders, and continued practices of polygamy and oppressive control of women and girls.

The succession of male leaders of the FDLS are seen by their followers as having been chosen by God, and even call themselves anointed prophets of God. Only by having three or more wives can a man attain salvation, according to the church’s beliefs. Because of this, the males in the group face the challenge of being able to find marriageable partners – with equal numbers of male and female members, not all of the men may have multiple wives. They deal with this in a number of ways. Young women and girls of increasingly younger ages (as young as 13 in some cases) are being married to men two and three times their age. In addition, young men in the community are often excommunicated for exceedingly minor offenses, such as listening to music or coming home late for a curfew. The young men are then put out into the outside world with little education and few social skills, earning them the name of "the lost boys."

In addition, the church follows a practice called "placing," by which young women and girls are said to be chosen by God (through the prophet leader) as wives for the various men in the sect. If the leader becomes unhappy with one of the men in the group, he may choose to take one or more of his wives away and "give" them to other men, as punishment.

Women in the sect are taught to believe that they are to be subservient to men, and that by disobeying their husbands they will "burn in hell for eternity."

The idea of owning women and giving them as possessions to other men is one of the problems the outside world has with the church. It also gets them into trouble legally, as according to U.S. law, women are human beings, not chattel. Ironically, according to church doctrine, members are not allowed to own property – it is seen as belonging to the church.

Members of the group have been able to avoid prosecution for polygamy charges because their subsequent marriages (after the first) are sanctified by a hand-holding ceremony and thus are not legally binding. In the eyes of the law, they are not married. Adultery is not a crime.

However, intercourse with an underage child is a crime, as is incest, which allegedly also occurs in the group.

Two days after Jeffs was convicted, the 19-year-old "husband," Alan Steed, of the 14-year-old girl was charged with one count of rape, a felony that carries up to five years in prison.

Steed claims that the sexual relations he had with his 14-year-old wife were consensual.

Though named Jane Doe throughout the trial, the victim in the case decided to identify herself to share her message. Now 21 years old, Elissa Wall told reporters that the trial had not been easy for her, but that she felt compelled to tell the truth about Jeffs and the FDLS so that the plight of women and girls would be known. "When I was young my mother taught me that evil flourishes when good men do nothing. This has not been easy for us. The easy thing would have been to do nothing," said Wall at a press conference following the verdict. "But I have followed my heart and I have spoken the truth."

Wall added, as a personal message to her mother and her sisters, "You do not have to surrender your rights or spiritual sovereignty. I know how hard it is but please stand up and fight—fight for your voice and power of choice. I will continue to fight for you. There’s a saying by Emily Dickinson that says, ‘Opinion is a fleeting thing, but truth outlasts the sun.’"