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I remember reading that Carolyn Jessop's oldest daughter went back after she turned 18, thinking she'd be an FLDS princess and her father's favorite again (and was promised that), and was put to work cooking for construction crews and wasn't, at that point, in contact with anyone from her family.

Poor kid.

I think Betty went back expecting to be married to a high status man (so, so many of her half sisters, including Merriane (12 year old "bride" and Naomi (Warren's favourite) were married to the Prophet), but she got back just as the shit hit the fan at YFZ. Plus, in my opinion the FLDS were scared to marry her into a plural marriage because of the potential publicity and the hell that Caroline could raise. Plus she's tainted by the secular world and now both her mother and father are high profile apostates (not by choice in her father's case). I see a sad life ahead for her if she remains devout FLDS.

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amandaaries, you're welcome. I hope you enjoy the craziness as much as I did. I believe that Ruby Jessop has 6 children all together, and she got out with all 6 (thank goodness).

Betty Jessop really did go back at the worst possible time. She thought that her father Merril would always be secure in his position as a bishop in the FLDS church. But she got back in right when Warren was excommunicating his brethren from the church at an alarming rate. How much Betty actually knew about the situation before she returned is something we may never know. Last I heard, Betty was being worked hard and deprived of sleep...one method that those in charge are now using to keep their members compliant is to get them up at 4 in the morning after about 4-5 hours sleep.

At one point, any FLDS woman who was unmarried and childless could simply walk away, but the way they've tightened things up in the last 15 years, it wouldn't surprise me if Betty is being held prisoner somewhere as a fundie untouchable.

It's a steep price to pay for a decision that she made, in part, to spite her mother when Betty was younger and more foolish.

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Thinking of marriage- possible triggers so put it under spoiler

did anyone hear the older lady explain that the wives now are just to impregnated by about a dozen men- not their own husband? And the husband must watch? The lady called it rape, so apparently these dozen men can try and impregnated the other wives at anytime they want.

Plus 12 men impregnate all the women...these family trees are already so intertwined it's scary, if only 12 are the dad's, the will be intertwined and almost straight up.

Here is a link to the episode: http://abc.go.com/shows/2020/listing/20 ... se-divided

Someone up thread talked about the girl in the trailer- from what her apostate parents say, she is not married but was put there because her father is an apostate.

I remember reading about Carolyn's daughter going back and all the issues, it's so sad.

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That mis just horrifying, quiversR4hunting. :shock: I had heard about the latest rules handed down by Warren from prison, the ones about only eating beans, and how only certain righteous men were allowed to have sex and impregnate their wives, but I hadn't heard about how these same men were the only ones allowed to impregnate ALL the wives in the cult. :pink-shock:

I know this is America, and prisoners are supposed to be allowed to have certain freedoms, such as making phone calls, but Warren Jeffs is one of the few prisoners for whom I wish prison officials would revoke this privilege. I absolutely hate that he is still being allowed to wreak havoc on the remaining members of the FLDS.

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That mis just horrifying, quiversR4hunting. :shock: I had heard about the latest rules handed down by Warren from prison, the ones about only eating beans, and how only certain righteous men were allowed to have sex and impregnate their wives, but I hadn't heard about how these same men were the only ones allowed to impregnate ALL the wives in the cult. :pink-shock:

I know this is America, and prisoners are supposed to be allowed to have certain freedoms, such as making phone calls, but Warren Jeffs is one of the few prisoners for whom I wish prison officials would revoke this privilege. I absolutely hate that he is still being allowed to wreak havoc on the remaining members of the FLDS.

I'm pretty sure Warren's phone privileges were severely curtailed after he was sentenced and moved to a stricter facility. Lyle Jeffs seems to be running things in all but name.

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I feel a lot of sympathy for Betty Jessop. She decided to do something based on what she thought she'd get from it (a high-profile marriage) and as a "take that" to her mother, and is living the life Carolyn tried to save her from.

At least Betty has a high school education. If she can get out of there, she has a chance. She'll need serious therapy, but she'll have a chance. (Especially if she goes back to her mother or someone else who knows what the FLDS does to people.)

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I think Betty went back expecting to be married to a high status man (so, so many of her half sisters, including Merriane (12 year old "bride" and Naomi (Warren's favourite) were married to the Prophet), but she got back just as the shit hit the fan at YFZ. Plus, in my opinion the FLDS were scared to marry her into a plural marriage because of the potential publicity and the hell that Caroline could raise. Plus she's tainted by the secular world and now both her mother and father are high profile apostates (not by choice in her father's case). I see a sad life ahead for her if she remains devout FLDS.

I think about her every now and then, hoping to read somewhere that she changed her mind again and left. Carolyn's book Escape was my first dip into the crazy FLDS pool and I then read everything I could get my hands on (thankfully my library has a wealth of them, including the various LeBaron books). Going to have to see if they have the newer one suggested upthread!

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So, I posted this reading list shortly after I became a member on Free Jinger a couple of years ago. Since the subject has come up again, I thought I'd put it here in case anyone wanted to find a missing account to round out their polygamy collection.

Irene Spencer - Cult Insanity (talks specifically about how crazy Ervil was, compared to Shattered Dreams being more specifically about Iren's own life)

Brent W. Jeffs - Lost Boy (Brent covers his life in the FLDS, his abuse at the hands of his uncle, Warren Jeffs, and how he later pulled his life together after he got out)

Flora Jessop - Church of Lies (Flora was also FLDS, was abused by her father and held captive for three years by a different family, and eventually got out of the community and is an activist for other escapees of the cult)

Susan Ray Schmidt - Favorite Wife: Escape from Polygamy (Susan became the sixth wife of Verlan LeBaron, who was also married to second wife Irene Spencer. She offers her perspective as Verlan's wife in their cult)

Carolyn Jessop - Escape (Carolyn gets out of the FLDS with all 8 of her children after years of living in a cult situation that begins to deteriorate further when Warren Jeffs assumes power)

Carolyn Jessop - Triumph (Carolyn's second book, she talks about her life outside the cult, and how Texas, along with Child Protective Services, mishandled the raid on the Yearning for Zion ranch in 2008)

Jon Krakauer - Under the Banner of Heaven (This book is a sort of blanket piece that covers a little bit of everything regarding American polygamy - its history, people who've escaped cult situations, current news items, Warren Jeffs, etc.)

Sam Brower - Prophet's Prey: My Seven-Year Investigation into Warren Jeffs and the Church of Latter-Day Saints (Brower's book is much like Krakauer's, they have worked together for years to bring down the FLDS. The difference here is that events are a bit more current, and for those who follow members of the FLDS, the book brings closure, offering epilogues to many people who got out or got away from Warren's madness)

Answer Them Nothing: Bringing Down the Polygamous Empire of Warren Jeffs - Debra Weyerman (fascinating because it details much of the legal wranglings involving the people of the FLDS versus Warren Jeffs, regarding the seizing of homes and propert, dismantling the UEP trust so that excommunicated church members could keep their homes, etc. it's very well-researched and has lots of references - this book will appeal to any Free Jingerite who's had any legal training :) )

Predators, Prey, and Other Kinfolk: Growing Up in Polygamy - Dorothy Allred Solomon (Solomon is the daughter of Naturopathic doctor and polygamous leader Rulon Allred, who was killed by Rena Chynoweth - she talks about growing up in what is now the United Apostolic Brethren, and how her father's death affected the course of her life)

The Four o' Clock Murders - Scott Anderson (Ervil LeBaron ordered the deaths of 4 people at 4 p.m. in June of 1988 at three different locations in Texas, one of the marks (Duane Chynoweth) being a former hitman for LeBaron himself. Duane's daughter, Jenny, who was 8, also died in the attack. The book talks a lot about Ervil's insanity, and how he continued to kill, even after he was arrested for killing his brother Joel, who was the prophet of the Church of the Firstborn of the Fullness of Times in Mexico)

Prophet of Blood:The Untold Story of Ervil LeBaron and the Lambs of God - Ben Bradlee (more about the life of Ervil LeBaron, fascinating read)

Daughters of Zion: A Family's Conversion to Polygamy - Kim Taylor (she is only marginally involved with the Ervil LeBaron madness after her family joins his brother Joel's church, but she does have a relationship with one of Ervil's henchman, Mark Chenowyth, who was a killer for Ervil and was later himself killed on Ervil's orders - pretty well-written book, overall)

The Blood Covenant - Rena Chynoweth (saving the best for last - not because it's the most well-written, but because of its "WTF?" factor. Rena killed Rulon Allred on the orders of Ervil LeBaron. Rena was arrested and put on trial, and got off for the murder. She wrote this account at the age of thirty, but her prose reads like something a self-absorbed 13-year-old would write. Rena's account of her life growing up in the LeBaron cult is shallow, vacuous and insipid. There is no sense of clarity, and she makes no apology for killing Allred even as she admits that she did it. Everything is about "Ooh, I'm so pretty, boys love me, I'm such a talented writer, don't you think I'm wonderful/feel sorry for me?" Arrested development, indeed. She reminds me of Miss Raquel)

This book is out of print, and is sometimes hard to find.

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WOW. R&M, you are AWESOME. Thank you so much for that! *Runs to Amazon*

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That mis just horrifying, quiversR4hunting. :shock: I had heard about the latest rules handed down by Warren from prison, the ones about only eating beans, and how only certain righteous men were allowed to have sex and impregnate their wives, but I hadn't heard about how these same men were the only ones allowed to impregnate ALL the wives in the cult. :pink-shock:

I know this is America, and prisoners are supposed to be allowed to have certain freedoms, such as making phone calls, but Warren Jeffs is one of the few prisoners for whom I wish prison officials would revoke this privilege. I absolutely hate that he is still being allowed to wreak havoc on the remaining members of the FLDS.

All things except food, shelter, healthcare etc are strictly privileges. They can block letters, phone calls, deny visitation etc. if he is using them to continue crimes in the outside world or even if he is violating facility rules.

I would hope the warden is aware of him "running" his cult from the inside and would lock that down.

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All things except food, shelter, healthcare etc are strictly privileges. They can block letters, phone calls, deny visitation etc. if he is using them to continue crimes in the outside world or even if he is violating facility rules.

I would hope the warden is aware of him "running" his cult from the inside and would lock that down.

I would hope the warden would shut it down too. There have been pictures with about a dozen women visiting Warren and him sending back recordings, etc. I don't know if that is still taking place. I really wish they could find a way to stop his access to the people. One of the bad things about it, IIRC, is that his attorney is one of them too. I guess slightly good news, by not educating his flock and kicking out a lot of boys (not being sexist, women are only worth the babies they birth, not their brains), there won't be any new lawyers to defend his sorry a$$ in the future.

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So, I posted this reading list shortly after I became a member on Free Jinger a couple of years ago. Since the subject has come up again, I thought I'd put it here in case anyone wanted to find a missing account to round out their polygamy collection.

Irene Spencer - Cult Insanity (talks specifically about how crazy Ervil was, compared to Shattered Dreams being more specifically about Iren's own life)

Brent W. Jeffs - Lost Boy (Brent covers his life in the FLDS, his abuse at the hands of his uncle, Warren Jeffs, and how he later pulled his life together after he got out)

Flora Jessop - Church of Lies (Flora was also FLDS, was abused by her father and held captive for three years by a different family, and eventually got out of the community and is an activist for other escapees of the cult)

Susan Ray Schmidt - Favorite Wife: Escape from Polygamy (Susan became the sixth wife of Verlan LeBaron, who was also married to second wife Irene Spencer. She offers her perspective as Verlan's wife in their cult)

Carolyn Jessop - Escape (Carolyn gets out of the FLDS with all 8 of her children after years of living in a cult situation that begins to deteriorate further when Warren Jeffs assumes power)

Carolyn Jessop - Triumph (Carolyn's second book, she talks about her life outside the cult, and how Texas, along with Child Protective Services, mishandled the raid on the Yearning for Zion ranch in 2008)

Jon Krakauer - Under the Banner of Heaven (This book is a sort of blanket piece that covers a little bit of everything regarding American polygamy - its history, people who've escaped cult situations, current news items, Warren Jeffs, etc.)

Sam Brower - Prophet's Prey: My Seven-Year Investigation into Warren Jeffs and the Church of Latter-Day Saints (Brower's book is much like Krakauer's, they have worked together for years to bring down the FLDS. The difference here is that events are a bit more current, and for those who follow members of the FLDS, the book brings closure, offering epilogues to many people who got out or got away from Warren's madness)

Answer Them Nothing: Bringing Down the Polygamous Empire of Warren Jeffs - Debra Weyerman (fascinating because it details much of the legal wranglings involving the people of the FLDS versus Warren Jeffs, regarding the seizing of homes and propert, dismantling the UEP trust so that excommunicated church members could keep their homes, etc. it's very well-researched and has lots of references - this book will appeal to any Free Jingerite who's had any legal training :) )

Predators, Prey, and Other Kinfolk: Growing Up in Polygamy - Dorothy Allred Solomon (Solomon is the daughter of Naturopathic doctor and polygamous leader Rulon Allred, who was killed by Rena Chynoweth - she talks about growing up in what is now the United Apostolic Brethren, and how her father's death affected the course of her life)

The Four o' Clock Murders - Scott Anderson (Ervil LeBaron ordered the deaths of 4 people at 4 p.m. in June of 1988 at three different locations in Texas, one of the marks (Duane Chynoweth) being a former hitman for LeBaron himself. Duane's daughter, Jenny, who was 8, also died in the attack. The book talks a lot about Ervil's insanity, and how he continued to kill, even after he was arrested for killing his brother Joel, who was the prophet of the Church of the Firstborn of the Fullness of Times in Mexico)

Prophet of Blood:The Untold Story of Ervil LeBaron and the Lambs of God - Ben Bradlee (more about the life of Ervil LeBaron, fascinating read)

Daughters of Zion: A Family's Conversion to Polygamy - Kim Taylor (she is only marginally involved with the Ervil LeBaron madness after her family joins his brother Joel's church, but she does have a relationship with one of Ervil's henchman, Mark Chenowyth, who was a killer for Ervil and was later himself killed on Ervil's orders - pretty well-written book, overall)

The Blood Covenant - Rena Chynoweth (saving the best for last - not because it's the most well-written, but because of its "WTF?" factor. Rena killed Rulon Allred on the orders of Ervil LeBaron. Rena was arrested and put on trial, and got off for the murder. She wrote this account at the age of thirty, but her prose reads like something a self-absorbed 13-year-old would write. Rena's account of her life growing up in the LeBaron cult is shallow, vacuous and insipid. There is no sense of clarity, and she makes no apology for killing Allred even as she admits that she did it. Everything is about "Ooh, I'm so pretty, boys love me, I'm such a talented writer, don't you think I'm wonderful/feel sorry for me?" Arrested development, indeed. She reminds me of Miss Raquel)

This book is out of print, and is sometimes hard to find.

Can I add a few? I've got a few on my bookshelf which weren't mentioned above (although you have a few I'm missing! And summer's coming!).

Illegitimate - Brian Mackert with Susan Martins Miller - Brian was born into polygamy and describes his upbringing. He's now a Baptist minister, so some of the book is a bit challenging to read (at times boring, other times, preachy). But it is always interesting to get a male perspective on this lifestyle, since it's supposed to be so privileged but often is not...at least for young boys.

God's Brothel - by Andrea Moore-Emmett - a short book, which covers polygamous LDS culture at the beginning, then has brief stories from 18 women who broke away. Covers a variety of different sects, so you get to see some differences. A quick read and interesting, but not as in-depth as other books.

The Sins of Brother Curtis - by Lisa Davis - not about polygamous LDS culture, but instead deals with sexual molestation and cover ups within the larger, mainstream LDS church. Looks really interesting but I've not read it. My mom (who sent me the book) says it reminds her of the Catholic cover-ups.

And just another plug for my favorite competitor of Amazon in the book trade, abebooks.com . You can get lots of used books for about $1 each there, and then pay a little more for shipping. Costs are usually equivalent to or less than Amazon (so yeah, more expensive for new ones, as always), and you get to support small businesses. This site really helped support my reading addiction in grad school (though maybe grad school took so long because I was too busy reading non-coursework-related books...hmm).

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Thank you for the reading list! I read The 4 O'Clock Murders after finding the book at the laundromat as a teenager. I remember my mind being just completely blown and reading the book all the way through twice.

I think that reading about things others had done in the name of religion really helped me to realize how whacky my parents' beliefs were.

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