The Raid on YFZ Ranch, Ten Years Later - Texas Monthly Johnson spoke graphically about how the FDLS women received almost no education and some begin bearing children as young teenagers. 0000000016 00000 n ", "The fact that Willie is here is telling me that they're organizing," private detective Brower said. No other leader has publicly surfaced since then. Thursday April 17, 2014 FLDS, RNB's Religion News Blog. Fredrick Merril Jessop is sentenced to 10 years in prison for conducting a marriage ceremony between a 12-year-old girl and then-50-year-old Warren Jeffs. When you see your momma get drug off, it's got to affect you. It was a political stand for (then-Attorney General) Mr. Abbott. A former FLDS member outs the ranch as a new FLDS compound. They say they were forced to leave nearly five years ago. In addition to the imposing white temple, which ABC News was not allowed to enter, there is just about everything that a community needs to be self-sufficient. The FLDS split off from the wider Mormon church in 1930 to continue practicing polygamy, but under Jeffs, the organization became even more sinister. (Proverbs 29:2). Then it would start over, he said. Sign up for notifications from Insider! 9 P^:$Km`YetHcY0HF #b~pPaAU,rn\~\#[.rYMo`i>1=WL\_3hH ]L When they move in, they can certainly ruin a community," he said. He used inmate labor to maintain the property and structures, once valued at $34 million on county tax rolls. Two leaders of a fundamentalist Mormon sect based in a mountain town were arrested on Wednesday and charged with practicing polygamy. "They are not a danger to your children. By Katy Vine April 6, 2018 1 AP. He separated wives from their husbands and all kinds of things," Doyle said. But just a few miles north of town, the abandoned Yearning for Zion Ranch looks much like it did when hundreds of followers of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints called it home. For example, FLDS followers were taught to believe that people of color were bad, but Jeffson had met nonwhite people who treated him kindly. See also Brian C. Hales, Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism: The Generations after the Manifesto, Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2006. Its unclear if the FLDS still exists today. The title of the series itself refers to how the girls were told to keep sweet smile all the time even in the face of horrific abuse. And for most residents of this one-stoplight farming town three hours west of San Antonio, the whole traumatic story that began 15 years ago is fading into history. On a recent flyover, James Doyle, 82, a pilot and former Schleicher County justice of the peace, noted important landmarks. At that time, women inside denied that young girls had sex forced upon them. endstream Most everyone is spending their days in court. Yearning for Zion Ranch in Texas empty 10 years after raid Comment by Andrew November 25, 2017 @ 11:24 am. On Wednesday officials with the Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the . It was a political stand for (then-Attorney General) Mr. Abbott. As the SPLC concluded, It is entirely possible that the group will emerge from this current struggle strengthened and more insular than ever., The Jewel Thiefs Gerald Blanchard Faced 160 Years In Prison For His Heists, Yazmin From 'Too Hot To Handle' Says Shes A Full-Time Drama Queen, Louis From 'Too Hot To Handle' Says He Makes Women Fall In Love At First Sight, The Last Call Killer Richard W. Rogers Jr. Is Still In Prison, Get Even More From Bustle Sign Up For The Newsletter. Yearning for Zion Ranch in Texas empty 10 years after raid Jeffson and his sister were separated from their mother for six weeks but eventually returned. <<>> It was emotional, and it was very manipulative. ", He said that the women and children are trapped, and lonely. "It's not right, but he was marrying 12-year-olds, and I was told that they were my mom, and they weren't even that much older than me.". The stairway and dcor were lavish considering the outside desolation. A member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints buys land northeast of Eldorado, saying it will be a hunting retreat, and dubs it the Yearning for Zion Ranch. "He is terrible, horrible. Son of cult leader Warren Jeffs describes life on a Texas ranch - Yahoo Jeffson, his mother, Vicki Thompson, and his sister Sarah are among the former cult members who participated in the show. Meanwhile, Jeffs 44-room mansion in Short Creek which straddled the line between Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona was abandoned and later purchased by one of Jeffs former wives, Brielle Decker. Yearning for Zion Ranch Map - Church - Texas, United States - Mapcarta 201 0 obj These 1,700 acres in West Texas are all part of a vision of a shining future capital city of polygamy. All rights reserved. He caused a lot of heartache for a lot of kids and other people. "It needs to be done. Already, most of the compound's residents have left, following a series of arrests involving the group's men. Comment by Kevin Barney November 25, 2017 @ 4:46 pm. The Third Court of Appeals finds that DFPS did not meet the burden of proof required for the emergency removal of the children. More than 400 children were taken into temporary custody by the state. Ron DeShrinking blames struggling campaign on pity for the Don, Long-run debasement of the U.S. dollar likely to get much worse, Secret Service makes me nervous: Rules for Democrats appear to be different. Four large rooms comprised the bulk of the second floor. An Arizona judge dismisses all charges against Warren Jeffs because victims no longer wanted to testify. After years of legal entanglements, the property soon will belong to ETG Properties LLC. Yearning for Zion Ranch Raid: Lowering the Standard of Proof for the "That big house down there is where Warren Jeffs lived. Allan Eugene Keate is sentenced to 33 years in prison for first-degree sexual assault of a child. "There are guard towers perimeter guards set up everywhere. "We're just glad that they are gone. 0000003286 00000 n "I definitely don't want people to look at me as someone who is victimizing myself. In April 2014, the last polygamists left peacefully and Texas authorities took possession. He also didn't understand why he had to wear long sleeves and couldn't play with toys. "You can see it in their eyes," he said. Abram Harker Jeffs is sentenced to 17 years in prison for first-degree sexual assault of a child. "Me personally, I barely knew what polygamy was. 206 0 obj More than 400 children were taken into temporary custody by the state. In November 2012, the Texas Attorney General's Office began legal proceedings to seize the ranch. After the group left in 2014, Doran and his wife Lenette moved into a two-bedroom apartment on the ranch as caretakers. Already Border Patrol and Department of Defense personnel have come for training, and neighbors are getting used to the sounds of helicopters and other aircraft moving after dark. Some people left because they were afraid a group would come and take over, he said. Repeated attempts to reach the principals of ETG Properties and related companies were unsuccessful. It was/ is sacred to them. Authorities say Colorado resident Rozita Swinton might have placed a hoax call that sparked the ranch raid. Son of polygamous cult leader Warren Jeffs speaks out in doc: 'We were Among the instructions Jeffs provided, was The bed will be a size big enough for me to lay on. Yearning for Zion ranch - News Stories About Yearning for Zion ranch CPS begins removing children from the ranch. 0000019562 00000 n There were several large dormitory-style homes and other buildings under construction, two fields for agriculture, and a granary. ". 0000006471 00000 n 200 0 obj 199 0 obj While having the utmost respect toward FLDS beliefs in religious space, but in the interest of documenting a fuller history of the FLDS involvement at the Yearning for Zion ranch, a few photos of the temple interior are shown below. I thought I was going to be in trouble. "I was very young. The third class were approximately 1200 other sincere men, women, youth, and children who accomplished amazing things in a short time and under difficult conditions as they followed Warren Jeffs. <>/Border[0 0 0]/Rect[81.0 646.991 238.626 665.009]/Subtype/Link/Type/Annot>> Former FLDS church member starts support group to ease transition, YFZ Ranch remains in limbo 10 years after raid near Eldorado, Children of FLDS leader Warren Jeffs speak of experiences 10 years after the YFZ Ranch raid, Fort Concho, officials rose to challenge of housing FLDS members after YFZ Ranch raid. "It was the child abuse and the brainwashing that goes on in that cult. For more information regarding Rulon and Warren Jeffs, the FLDS and the beginnings of Mormon Fundamentalism, see Newell G. Bringhurst and Craig L. Foster, eds., The Persistence of Polygamy: Fundamentalist Mormon Polygamy from 1890 to the Present (Independence, Missouri: John Whitmer Books, 2015). Like the Salt Lake LDS temple, the clasping hands motif is engraved on the exterior above the primary entrance. He had 15 to 20 wives there," he remarked, pointing out an elongated structure that resembles a small motel. From hair trends to relationship advice, our daily newsletter has everything you need to sound like a person whos on TikTok, even if you arent. Why doesnt UDOT release a count of positive and negative gondola comments? In August 2011, Jeffs was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child and sexual assault of a child. Brent left the church years ago and now he has come to Texas to testify against the sect. "Me personally, I barely knew what polygamy was. Manage Newsletters, The Unregulated Podcast with Mike McKenna and Tom Pyle, NEW EPISODE: A look at this years divided rulings, LATEST: Americas faith-filled foundation. He also learned that it's a crime to take a child bride and what that meant. Brower said it's a huge city. They are a danger to their own children," said Jessop, who said she had 28 brothers and sisters. <>stream Comment by Kris November 25, 2017 @ 5:46 pm, Ardis E. Parshall on MHA Award Winners 2023: I'm so proud of the two winners of the public history award! He also pointed out a huge concrete amphitheater from which Jeffs reportedly planned to address the leaders of the free world after his prison walls crumbled. 205 0 obj I felt like a voyeur reading this. As Eldorados improbable polygamist ordeal is now finally ending, opinions about the place among community leaders differ. ELDORADO, Texas (AP) - A group of polygamists, with their blond child brides and 19th century doctrine of plural marriage being the pathway to heaven, were forced out their compound here in 2014, and scattered to the west. Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran is the most eager for the story to end. The basement contains a baptismal font that was intended for sacred ordinances for both the dead and living, but may have also been used by Warren Jeffs for less than sacred purposes.[1]. Carol Lynch Williamss teenage heroine ponders escape from a polygamous sect; Naomi Richs faces a similar struggle, but in an alternate time and place -- an Olde England of sorts.