Warning Signs

Last night in Pinesdale, Joseph Lyman Jessop the fourth and his wife Donia, who both grew up in Short Creek, shared their story of how they were able to extricate themselves from the FLDS or Short Creek group.  Their story is fascinating, heart breaking, and a liberating one that took place in the sinister shadow and manipulating hands of Warren Jeffs.  Their storied romance became entangled in a whirlwind of doctrinal brainwashing, control, financial deceit, and sexual cover up.  Listening to their experience, you can’t help but wonder how in the world two seemingly well-functioning adults not only got caught up in that mess but also became willing participants.

The answer is actually quite simple…sinking in quick sand does not happen instantly.  Warning signs, if left unheeded, will eventually trap you.  In hindsight, the Jessops’ religious warning signs were certainly visible but they were disguised in the robes of priesthood power which allowed them to naively believe only the prophet held the keys to their salvation.

Joe and Donia spoke of a terrifying “Night of Judgement” in 2011 when the whole community of Short Creek was dragged before the judgement bar of Warren Jeffs and his brother Lyle.  Individual family members were pulled in and either found “Worthy” or “Wanting” based on questions of sexual purity and loyalty to the priesthood.  The judgments ripped families apart as the Worthy ones were asked to move to Texas to build a temple and the Wanting ones were either left behind or exiled.  Children were taken from their mothers, wives were reassigned, and guilt was laid heavily on each individual for not being “sweet enough”.  The effects were devastating.  

The scene they described is eerily similar to what became known as the Night of the Long Knives in 1934 where the new leader of Germany, Adolf Hitler, had political opponents jailed or assassinated in order to gain complete control of the government.  Much like Nazi Germany, the population of Short Creek was turned inside out as neighbors and family members were asked to spy on each other.  No one could be trusted and no one was safe from the longs arms of Warren Jeffs.   The community that was once built on charity and loving your neighbor could no longer even shake hands with their own spouse for more than two seconds or it was considered adultery.  The only person that could be trusted was the prophet to whom they were required to pray for on an hourly basis.  Mothers were required to be up and going about their family duties by four AM or they could be turned in by their children and neighbors.  Fathers were stripped of their role in the home and were only allowed to function as representatives of the prophet in the home by reading required sermons from the prophet nightly to their children. “Loyalty to the Priesthood is Life” became the literal banner and pledge that each child, women, man, household, and business operated under.  I know, it sounds crazy!  How could this happen to good people right here in America?

Again, the answer is simple if you travel back up the road and read the warning signs.  The FLDS hellish practices did not begin in 2011 on the Night of Judgement with an immediate purge to separate the Worthy from the Wanting.  They started years before with small things that were seemingly insignificant and harmless.  The slippery slope began with teaching children that the only way to gain salvation was by the doctrine of introduction through the “Lord’s prophet”.  The slip was furthered by something as innocent as a policy of not allowing dogs in the home because of their uncleanliness. This policy eventually turned into a test of ones commitment to the priesthood authority.  The slip continued by asking for financial contributions to the priesthood as a sign of worthiness.  Ultimately, the slip became a slide as the church authorities began dictating the terms of intimacy between husband and wife.  Finally, the slide was completed as total control was rested from the individual and held by one man.  All of this was done by men holding the alleged power and authority of the priesthood while at the same time covering up their own sexual misdeeds and abuses. 

The Jessops’ description of the dangerous path of power, authority, scandal, sexual molestation, and cover up in which Warren Jeffs led his group is a frightening foreshadowing and warning of what lays ahead for the AUB.  Furthermore, it stands as a caution to those who would like to start their own “new group.” Backing up the car and simply switching drivers will not somehow magically repair the road.  The bridge is still out.  Joe and Donia escaped their religious nightmare not because they started a new group but because they finally began to recognize the warning signs and decided to no longer participate in their own demise.  They found their place of refuge and salvation not in the “infallible” hands of an alleged prophet but instead in the bloodied and scarred hands of Jesus Christ.