The polygamist sect is RIGHT NEXT DOOR
By RedFeather
@RedFeather (427)
United States
May 25, 2008 9:05am CST
i just found out that there is a faction of the Texas Latter Day Saints very near me in southern Colorado.
http://www.wetmountaintribune.com/home.asp?i=432&p=4
it says that members have been buying property in Custer County, and that Warren Jeffs was hiding out there last year. he was recently convicted of being an accomplice to rape and is serving a 10 year sentence in Utah.
the cult's ties to Custer County are also in an article in the Rocky Mountain News and on the "hatewatch" website.
according to the article, they have already purhased a sizeable amount of property, and have been in the process of buying more.
would this worry you?
where do they get money for such large amounts of land, if they are cloistered and self-supporting?
i am pretty much open to a wide range of life-styles...but i worry about the young children...why do they feel the need to get the kids started on reproducing so young?
do they believe that they get more "points" by bringing more people to the word and eventually into heaven?
1 person likes this
3 responses
@WhatsHerName (2716)
• United States
25 May 08
It wouldn't worry me but I sure would be keeping an eye on the children for signs of abuse.
I believe they get the large sums of money from new members who join and give them everything. But most of it comes from welfare.
Aren't you glad to know your hard earned taxes have to toward helping them build a cult?
1 person likes this
@RedFeather (427)
• United States
25 May 08
that makes sense - i'd heard that in other stories from way back. and i had just heard that a lot of the people in Texas were also on "welfare". i know from experience that getting help from one of these programs is sometimes harder than keeping some types of jobs. i don't know much at all about the whole situation, except the extreme horror stories, which is one reason that i started this discussion. i actually get most of my news from mylot - don't know how i survived before that!!
1 person likes this
@foxyfire33 (10005)
• United States
25 May 08
No it wouldn't worry me. The are not a cult, they are a religious lifestyle. They get their money in the same ways other churches do and it's really nobody's business. Ok, fine Warren Jeffs is a bad guy...as if there have never been bad religious leaders in other organizations. A bad leader doesn't make a community and lifestyle a "cult"...if it did the majority of us would belong to a cult of one kind or another.
@foxyfire33 (10005)
• United States
25 May 08
I totally left out the other half I wanted to say...
About the teenage girls getting pregnant...I'm quite sure that there are many more non FLDS teenage girls getting pregnant in this country. The difference is the FLDS girls are married, have a support system, and the babies are wanted...can't say the same for many of the non FLDS girls.
@foxyfire33 (10005)
• United States
26 May 08
"3: a religon regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also: its body of adherents"
I'd be curious how they (who ever they are) determine what is orthodox and what is unorthodox? I mean I do realize the obvious answer but...I was about to launch into a long explanation of my beliefs that would most likely have turned this discussion ugly if certain people saw it. That wouldn't be fair to you.
Your welcome for bringing in the other side of the issue! I don't come here to argue theology or lifestyles but I will be honest about my opinions. 
@RedFeather (427)
• United States
26 May 08
thanx, foxyfire33 - i'm glad you brought the other side in so soon.
actually, Webster's says it IS a cult -
1: formal religious veneration
2: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also: its body of adherents
3: a religon regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also: its body of adherents
and you're right, a lot of us may belong to one or more
it's just that some words have become skewed over time because of the actions of a few.
you're also right about teen pregnancy - that problem is everywhere...
1 person likes this
@pergammano (7682)
• Canada
25 May 08
RedFeather....what an interesting topic? I, for one, am terribly confused about the issue! We have a large community of FLDS in "Bountiful", British Columbia. My minor understanding is that the FLDS is more a "cult" of Warren Jeffs...and not, the true Mormon Sect! Our British Columbia Sect is a product of Warren Jeffs, too! And if he is serving 10 years ( I thot it was longer) he was involved in criminal activity. (The young lady that turned him in was on Oprah, about 3 weeks ago.) She had horror stories, to tell! All that I have read/seen about Warren Jeffs, he is a modified Charles Manson! (Phew, strong opinion--but he scares me!)
You asked "where do they get the money?" On the TV special on "Bountiful"---the young men worked outside of the community, in logging, lumber mills, trades, and orchards! 90% of their pay is taken by the Leader...(trickled down to Jeffs)for him to spend on luxuries & land!
The young lady, interviewed on Oprah...did not Know life, outside their cloistered community...and her adaptation to the general populace has been difficult! As all are home-schooled, the young men did NOT have an education beyond Grade 6....Many young men in the BC Sect were kicked out of the community, as they lacked in "good gene pool" qualities.
Once again, great topic. Cheers!
@RedFeather (427)
• United States
26 May 08
yes, i think it is, too - and as i know so little except the small excerpts i've heard here and there, i brought it to mylot.
i think in the article it said Warren Jeffs was doing 10 OR MORE years.
so if there are some who work outside, and most is "owned by the group as a whole", then it sounds a lot like a commune...i guess those were somewhat controversial, too.
if they were kicking people out for "inferior gene qualities" is repopulation and replacement the main goal here? sure, everyone wants their children to be intelligent, but if there is no one there to educate beyond the 6th grade, how do the curious ones satisfy their curiosity - strange...
and thanx for the "kudos", pergammano
