Ep.16 Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:24):
Welcome to Hidden Cults, the podcast that shines a light
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(00:47):
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(01:10):
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let's begin the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter

(01:30):
day Saints, Part One Roots in the Desert. The story
of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints does not begin with Warren Jeff's It does not
even begin with the name FLDS. To understand how one
of the most controversial religious movements in modern America took shape,
you have to wind the clock back more than a
century to the wide, sun bleached valleys of the American West,

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where faith and survival were often intertwined. This is a
story rooted in the dust, in the belief that the
desert could be a promised land, and in the determination
of people who believed they were chosen to live apart
from the world. The origins of the FLDS lie in
the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
day Saints, better known as the Mormon Church, founded in

(02:16):
the early nineteenth century by Joseph Smith. Central to Smith's
teachings was the principle of plural marriage or polygamy, which
he declared a divine commandment. In the eyes of early
Mormon believers, taking multiple wives was not a matter of preference,
but of eternal significance. A requirement for exaltation in the
highest Heaven. This teaching set the fledgling church apart from

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mainstream Christianity and drew both fascination and hostility from the
outside world. By the late eighteen hundreds, the United States
government was determined to eradicate polygamy. Laws like the Edmunds
Act of eighteen eighty two and the Edmunds Tucker Act
of eighteen eighty seven made plural marriage illegal and strip
polygamists of basic rights. Raids and prosecutions followed, and leaders

(03:02):
of the LDS Church found themselves in an impossible position.
Faced with mounting legal pressure, church president Wilfrid Woodruff issued
the eighteen ninety Manifesto, officially ending the practice of polygamy
within the LDS Church. On paper, the commandment was gone.
In reality, for many devout believers, it could never be abandoned.

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To those who saw plural marriage as a cornerstone of
their faith, Woodruff's Manifesto was not a revelation from God,
but a capitulation to the laws of men. They believed
that the LDS leadership had strayed from the original teachings
of Joseph Smith, choosing compliance over divine truth. These dissenters
began to separate themselves from the mainstream church, gathering in small,

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secretive communities where the principle of plural marriage was still
lived and defended. It was from these dissenters that Mormon
fundamentalism was born. The early fundamentalist movement was not a
single unified body, but a patchwork of groups and families
scattered across the West. They moved to remote areas where

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law enforcement was thin and outsiders rarely ventured. One such
refuge was the twin towns of Short Creek, straddling the
Utah Arizona border. The settlement began attracting plural families in
the early twentieth century, drawn by its isolation and the
hope that here, far from the reach of government agents,
they could build a community where the principle, as they

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called polygamy, would never die. Life in Short Creek was harsh,
The red desert soil yielded little, and the summers were
punishingly hot. Families lived in modest homes, often built by hand,
and worked side by side to survive. But for the
people who came here, the sacrifices were part of their
spiritual duty. They believed they were not just building a town,

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but safeguarding a covenant with God that mainstream Mormonism had abandoned.
In their minds, they were the keepers of the true faith,
stood with carrying the torch until the rest of the
world returned to God's law. Tensions between the fundamentalists and
the outside world never went away. In the nineteen thirties
and nineteen forties, leaders in Short Creek began to formalize

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their community, establishing what they called the United Effort Plan,
a trust that would hold all property in common. This
was both practical and symbolic. No family owned their land outright,
reinforcing the idea that the community belonged to God, not
to individuals. It also meant that those who left or
were expelled would lose their homes, a policy that would

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become a powerful tool of control in the decades ahead.
By the nineteen fifties, the settlement had grown into a
full fledged Fundamentalist enclave. The community's leaders, often referred to
simply as the Priesthood, operated with quiet authority, choosing which
men would be allowed to take new wives and guiding
the spiritual life of the town. Outsiders saw as a

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strange insular place where girls married young and families grew
to staggering sizes. State and federal authorities saw it as
a challenge to the law. In nineteen fifty three, that
challenge came to a head. Acting on reports of underage
marriages and welfare fraud, the state of Arizona staged a
massive raid on Short Creek. National Guard troops rolled into

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the town, arresting men, separating families, and placing more than
two hundred children in state custody. Photographs from the raid,
showing women in prairie dresses clutching their children, were splashed
across newspapers nationwide. The raid was meant to dismantle the
community once and for all. Instead, it backfired spectacularly. Public

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opinion turned against the authorities, who were seen as having overreached.
Within a few years, many of the children were returned,
and Short Creek resumed life much as before. The raids
cemented a siege mentality among the fundamentalists. They became even
more distrustful of outside, even more committed to preserving their
way of life at all costs. The community that would

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one day call itself the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter day Saints was taking shape, its identity forged
in conflict, and its leadership emboldened by survival. Over time,
Short Creek would grow into the headquarters of one of
the most rigid and secretive religious organizations in North America.
Its leaders would claim prophetic authority, its members would submit

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to strict rules governing every aspect of their lives, and
the desert would remain both their sanctuary and their prison.
The roots of the FLDS are tangled in the same
soil that sustained the earliest Mormon pioneers. But unlike the
mainstream Church, whose settlements grew into bustling cities and whose
faith adapted the pressures of modern life, the people of

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Short Creek turned inward. They dug in their heels, held
tight to a commandment the rest of their religion had abandoned,
and began the long process of building a kingdom apart
from the world. That kingdom would one day produce a
leader whose name would become synonymous with control, abuse, and scandal.
But before Warren Jeff's rose to power, the desert had

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already done its work, shaping a people who believed they
were chosen, persecuted, and bound to one another by an
unbreakable covenant Part two, the Prophet's Word. By the latter
half of the twentieth century, Short Creek had settled into
its role as a spiritual stronghold for those committed to
living what they believed was the fullness of God's law.

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Yet in a community built on a single, unwavering principle,
leadership was everything. The men who guided the priesthood were
not merely administrators or preachers. They were considered God's appointed
servants on Earth, entrusted with the authority to speak his
will directly to the people, and for the faithful, obedience
to that voice was obedience to God himself. The FLDS

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traces its formal lineage of leaders back to the nineteen thirties,
when the fundamentalist movement began organizing into a more structured body,
But in the years after the nineteen fifty three Short creakrade,
this leadership grew more insular and more absolute. Men like
Leroy S. Johnson, known to the community simply as Uncle Roy,
presided over the group with a calm but immovable authority.

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Johnson was not a man of loud proclamations or fiery sermons, Instead,
he spoke with a kind of quiet certainty that, for
the faithful made his word feel like the steady hand
of God guiding them through an uncertain world. Under Johnson,
the doctrine of the one man rule became entrenched. This
teaching held that there was only one man on earth

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authorized by God to lead his people. That man held
the keys to the priesthood and was the sole mouthpiece
of divine will. In practice, it meant that all decisions,
from the assignment of marriages to the interpretation of scripture
flowed through a single leader. This structure left no room
for debate, dissent, or personal interpretation. If the prophet spoke,

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the matter was settled. For the FLDS, it was not
just spiritual guidance, it was the literal word of God.
Johnson's leadership style was steady and paternal, but the theology
he reinforced carried seeds of absolute control. Members were taught
that their salvation depended on their obedience to the prophet.
To question him was to question God. And while the

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outside world often painted Short Creek as a relic of
the past, to the faithful, it was the center of
the truest religion on earth. Preserved from the corruption that
had overtaken the mainstream church. Through the nineteen sixties and
nineteen seventies, life in Short Creek was relatively quiet. The
outside world rarely intruded, and the community carried on with
its work, its worship, and its growing population. The United

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Effort Plan Trust continued to hold all property in common,
ensuring that the community's resources remained under the leadership's control.
Families grew to ten, fifteen or even more children, each
one raised with the belief that they were part of
a chosen people set apart for God's purposes. As the
years passed, Johnson aged and his physical health began to decline,

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Yet his authority did not waver. Even in his final years,
when his voice grew weaker, the people leaned in to
catch his every word. When he died in nineteen eighty
six at the age of ninety eight, his passing marked
the end of an era. For decades, Uncle Roy had
been the voice of God in Short Creek. Now that
mantle would pass to a man who would take the

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prophet's authority into new and far more uncompromising territory. Rulon
Jeff's was a man with a very different style from
his predecessor. Born in nineteen o nine, he had been
a teacher within the community before rising through the ranks
of the priesthood. Unlike Johnson, who often spoke in measured tones,
Rulin could be blunt, direct, and unyielding, but he also

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carried himself with a kind of grandfatherly presence that made
his directive seem like the wise count of an elder,
even when they demanded great sacrifice. Under Rulon Jeff's the
doctrine of absolute obedience intensified. His sermons, often recorded and
played back for members, reinforced the idea that the prophet's
will was God's will. Marriage assignments became more tightly controlled,

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with the prophet personally approving or directing unions. In the
FLDS worldview, marriage was not about romance or personal choice.
It was a sacred arrangement designed to build eternal families
and strengthen the community's collective salvation. If the prophet told
a young woman she was to marry a certain man,
it was not a suggestion, it was a commandment from God.

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The scope of the prophet's influence extended beyond marriage. He
dictated where members could live, what work they should do,
and even how they should interact with outsiders. Education was
shaped to fit the community's religious beliefs, with an emphasis
on scripture, obedience, and the teachings of past and present.
Prophet Rulan's word was woven into every part of daily life,

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creating a reality in which members could not easily distinguish
between their faith and their leader's personal directives. During the
nineteen nineties, Rulon Jeffs began moving the FLDS beyond Short Creek.
One of his most significant expansions was into the remote
town of El Dorado, Texas, where the group purchased a
sprawling ranch that would later become infamous under the name

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Yearning for Zion or YFZ Ranch. At the time, it
was a bold move, part of a broader strategy to
secure more land and create new centers of FLDS life.
These new settlements were not just practical expansions, they were
also meant to be places where the prophet's vision could
be implemented without interference from older voices in Short Creek

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who might resist change. As Rulan aged, his health began
to fail and his public appearances became less frequent. Yet
his sermons continued to echo through the community in a
ma augh, often delivered by trusted members of his inner circle.
Among them was his son Warren. Soft spoken and serious,
Warren Jeffs had spent years by his father's side, managing

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church schools and slowly positioning himself as an indispensable aid
to the prophet. In the eyes of many, Warren was
simply a dutiful son serving his father's mission. In reality,
he was preparing to inherit not only the title of prophet,
but the absolute authority that came with it. When Roulan
Jeffs died in two thousand and two, Warren stepped into

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the role with little ceremony but with immediate command. The
doctrine of the one man rule did not allow for
any hesitation or debate. The faithful look to Warren as
the new mouthpiece of God, and he wasted no time
making that authority felt. Where his father and uncle Roy
had been steady and at times lenient, Warren was rigid, uncompromising,

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and quick to remove anyone he deemed disloyal. In his
first years as prophet, Warren began reshaping the FLDS into
some thing far more controlled and secretive. Setting the stage
for the conflicts and scandals that would eventually make the
church infamous far beyond the desert towns where it began.
The transition from Johnson to Rulan Jeffs, and finally to
Warren Jeff's was more than a passing of titles. It

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was the evolution of a leadership style, from steady guidance
to absolute dominion. With each shift, the prophet's word became
more binding, more intrusive, and more central to the lives
of the faithful, and for the members of the FLDS,
there was no higher truth, no greater authority, and no
alternative path to salvation than to follow that word wherever
it led. Part three, Building the Kingdom. When Warren Jeffs

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assumed the mantle of profit in two thousand and two,
the FLDS was already a deeply insular and disciplined community,
but it was still recognizable as the continuation of a
faith that had quietly endured in the desert for decades.
In those first months of his leadership, there was little
indication to the outside world of how dramatically things would change,

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but inside the community the shift was immediate and unmistakable.
Warren did not see himself as a caretaker of tradition
in the mold of his father or uncle Roy. He
saw himself as the chosen leader for a new era,
a man whose mission was to purify the church, tighten
its boundaries, and expand its influence far beyond Short Creek.

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The foundation for his vision had been laid years earlier.
During his time working under his father, Warren had overseen
church schools and had become adept at shaping young minds
to fit the doctrines of obedience and separation from the world.
He was methodical, careful, and unyielding. Where his father might
have allowed certain compromises in the name of keeping peace,

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Warren saw compromise as a form of spiritual weakness. To him,
the FLDS was not merely a faith. It was God's
kingdom on earth, and kingdoms required order, discipline, and absolute loyalty.
One of Warren's first priorities was consolidating power. While the
FLDS leaders had always revolved around the profit, previous leaders

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had tolerated a measure of influence from senior church elders.
Warren dismantled this balance quickly. Men who questioned his decisions
even subtly found themselves removed from positions of authority or
cut off from the community entirely. Some were reassigned to
distant outposts in Utah, Arizona, or Texas, while others were

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stripped of their families altogether. In the FLDS system, where
marriage was assigned by the prophet, this was the most
devastating punishment short of outright expulsion. As Warren tightened his grip,
he also began directing a massive expansion of the church's
physical presence. The most significant project was the continued development
of the Yearning for Zion Ranch in El Dorado, Texas.

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Under his leadership, the property transformed from a sparsely developed
tract of land into a sprawling, high walled compound. Tall
gates and watch towers marked its perimeter, while massive houses,
meeting halls, and communal kitchens rose within. For Warren, the
YFC Ranch was more than a place to live. It
was the embodiment of his vision a self sufficient city

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of God where the faithful could live completely apart from
the corruption of the outside world. Construction at YFZ was relentless.
Crews of FLDS men worked long hours in the Texas
heat building structures that were both imposing and meticulously planned.
The temple, with its stark white walls and guarded entrants,
became the centerpiece of the compound. To outsiders, it was

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a striking and mysterious symbol, visible from miles away, yet
completely closed to the public. For the FLDS, it was
the holiest place on Earth, a site reserved for the
most sacred ordinances and accessible only to those deemed worthy
by the prophet. While YFC grew in Texas, Warren continued
to strengthen the church's hold on Short Creek. Housing was

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reassigned to ensure that only the most loyal families remained
in key locations, and new struction projects reinforced the community's
physical unity. Businesses owned by FLDS members flourished under church patronage,
providing both income and employment for the faithful. At the
same time, Warren began to implement increasingly strict rules governing dress, speech,

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and daily behavior. Women were required to wear pastel colored
prairie dresses and keep their hair in long, elaborate braids
or buns. Men wore long sleeved shirts and conservative trousers
even in the desert heat. These outward signs of separation
served as constant reminders that the FLDS was not just
another community. It was a holy people, distinct from the

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rest of the world in every way. Education was another
cornerstone of Warren's kingdom building strategy. FLDS run schools focused
heavily on scripture, the words of past profits, and the
teachings of Warren himself. Secular subjects were taught only insofar
as they were necessary for practical life within the community.

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Higher education outside of FLDS can was discouraged, if not
outright forbidden, as it was seen as a pathway to
worldly corruption. By controlling what the children learned, Warren ensured
that the next generation would grow up steeped in the
doctrines of obedience, separation, and loyalty to the prophet above
all else. This era also saw an intensification of the

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church's marriage practices. Warren began marrying younger and younger brides
to older men, often reassigning wives and children from those
he considered unworthy to those in his inner circle. These
marriages were framed as divine assignments essential for the building
of God's kingdom. For those chosen, it was an honor

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For those passed over, it was a sign of spiritual failure,
and for the young women involved, there was no room
to refuse. The prophet's word was final. Outside the community,
whispers about Warren's increasingly authoritarian rule began to grow louder.
Former members who had been expelled or had left voluntarily
spoke to reporters and law enforcement about the strict control,

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the reassignment of wives and children, and the isolation from
the outside world. But for the faithful still inside, these
accounts were dismissed as lies from apostates and enemies of God.
In Warren's sermons, he warned that persecution was a sign
of their righteousness, that the world would always hate the
Chosen people. This narrative bound the community even more tightly

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to him, creating an us versus them mentality that made
outside interventions seem not only unwelcome, but dangerous to their
spiritual survival. By the mid two thousands, Warren's kingdoms stretched
across multiple states, from the twin towns of Hilldale, Utah,
and Colorado City, Arizona, to the compound in Eldorado, Texas,

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and smaller enclaves in South Dakota and Canada. Each location
was tightly connected through a network of loyal leaders and
regular visits from the prophet himself. When Warren arrived in
a community, it was a major event. Streets would be cleared,
homes prepared, and families would line up to greet him.
His presence was both a blessing and a moment of
intense scrutiny, as he used these visits to assess loyalty

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and enforce his directives. Warren's expansion was not only geographic,
but also spiritual. His sermons grew more apocalyptic, warning of
impending destruction and the need for the faithful to separate
themselves entirely from the world. He spoke of cleansing the
church of unworthy members and preparing for the coming of
Christ's kingdom. In this vision, the FLDS was not merely

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a church, but the remnant of God's chosen people, entrusted
with the task of building the foundations for a new world.
Every home built, every marriage arranged, every rule enforced was,
in his eyes, a step toward that divine destiny. By
the time law enforcement and journalists began to focus more
closely on the FLDS, Warren had already transformed it into

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something far more centralized, far more controlled, and far more
isolated than it had ever been. The prophet was no
longer just a spiritual leader. He was the architect of
an entire way of life, one that demanded complete surrender
from its followers. The kingdom he was building was not
made only of wood and stone. It was constructed in
the hearts and minds of his people, brick by brick,

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until there was no separation between their faith and his rule.
Part four. Life behind the Walls inside the FLDS compounds
life unfolded according to a rhythm that was almost entirely
disconnected from the outside world. For those born into the church,
the walls were not a prison, but the boundaries of
the only reality they had ever known. Days began early,

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often before sunrise, with family prayers and scripture study. In
homes where multiple wives lived together, the morning routine was
a carefully choreographed process. Children dressed in neatly pressed clothing,
breakfasts prepared in large quantities, chores assigned and carried out
with quiet efficiency. The atmosphere was one of order. Every action,

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from the way clothing was chosen to the way hair
was braided reflected the belief that the FLDS was a
holy people set apart. Women's dresses sown within the community
were long, sleeved in floor length pastel or muted in color,
with high collars and no adornment beyond simple buttons or ribbons.
Men's clothing was similarly conservative, and boys dressed to mirror

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their fathers. The idea was not only modesty, but uniformity,
the removal of individual expression in favor of a collective
identity rooted in obedience and faith. For children, education was
strictly controlled. Schools inside the community taught basic reading, writing,
and arithmetic, but their main focus was religious instruction. The
words of past profits, the teachings of Warren Jeffs, and

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interpretations of scripture were the primary curriculum. History and science
were often framed through the lens of FLDS doctrine, and
any knowledge that might encourage questioning or curiosity about the
outside world was minimized. Were expected to join the church's
work crews by their mid teens, learning trades such as construction, carpentry,

(25:06):
or farming. Girls were prepared for marriage, domestic duties, and
raising children in the faith. Work occupied much of the
adult's time. Men labored on construction projects, farms, and church
owned businesses, often without formal pay. Their efforts considered offerings
to God's kingdom. Women managed the household, which in a
polygamous marriage could mean caring for dozens of children spread

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across several mothers. Cooperation among sister wives varied from family
to family, but public displays of disagreement were rare. Harmony
was expected, and grievances were addressed quietly, often through prayer
or by seeking the prophet's guidance. Religious life was central,
and constant sermons from Warren Jeff's were played over loud
speakers in public spaces, in homes, and during church gatherings.

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His voice became a daily presence, reinforcing the rules, delivering
moral instruction, and reminding the faithful of their duty to
rus remained separate from the world. These sermons often included
warnings about outsiders, government agents, journalists, former members who were
portrayed as enemies seeking to destroy God's chosen people. Special occasions,

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such as temple ceremonies, were rare and highly controlled. Only
the most faithful and obedient members were permitted inside the temple,
and the specifics of what occurred there were not discussed
openly even among church members. The temple stood as a
constant reminder of the holiness and exclusivity of the FLDS
way of life, a physical symbol of the separation between

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the worthy and the unworthy. Food, clothing, and supplies were
largely produced or purchased within the community. At the Yearning
for Zion Ranch in Texas, large communal kitchens prepared meals
for dozens or even hundreds of people in short Creek.
Cooperative food storage facilities ensured that families had access to staples,
especially in times when outside resources were scarce. This self

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reliance was both practical and ideological. By minimizing dependence on
the outside world, the FLDS reduced the risk of outside influence.
The sense of isolation was reinforced by strict limits on
technology and media. Television, movies, and internet access were forbidden
for most members. Radios were used sparingly, and telephones were

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primarily for necessary communication within the church network. News from
outside came filtered through the profit's sermons or approved church sources.
This control over information meant that most members had little
awareness of broader social or political events. For them. The
narrative presented by Warren Jeffs was the only reality that mattered.

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Family life within the walls was both close knit and complex.
In polygamous households, children often saw their father only briefly
each day, as his time was divided among multiple wives
and their children. Mothers carried the primary responsibility for raising
the children, supported by other siblings. Large families were common,

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with ten or more children in a single household not unusual.
Children were taught from a young age to obey their
elders without question and to prepare for the roles assigned
to them by the church. The walls were not just physical,
they were psychological. From an early age, members were taught
that leaving the community meant eternal damnation, the loss of family,

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and betrayal of God. Those who had been expelled or
had chosen to leave were often spoken of in hushed tones,
their names omitted from conversation. They were considered apostates, lost souls,
or even agents of the devil. This fear of the
outside world created a powerful incentive to stay, even for
those who harboured doubts. For many, life behind the walls

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felt safe and certain. There was no need to make
decisions about careers, education, or relationships. Those choices were made
by the prophet, who was believed to speak directly for God.
Marriage assignments, for example, were received as revelations. A young
woman might be told on a Friday that she would
be married on Sunday to a man she barely knew,

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and she would accept it as God's will. A man
might be given a new wife or have one reassigned,
also without question. The idea that these decisions could be
challenged simply did not exist within the accepted framework of FLDS.
Life discipline was strict. Those who disobeyed the rules could
be placed under repentance, a form of probation in which

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privileges were removed, marriages delayed, or, in some cases, families separated.
In the most severe cases, men were expelled from the
community entirely, their wives and children reassigned to other men.
These expulsions served as both punishment and warning, reinforcing the
absolute authority of the prophet. Despite the rigidity, there were

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moments of joy and community. Weddings, though arranged, were often
celebrated with music and feasts. Children played together in open field,
rode bicycles along dirt roads, and swam in irrigation ponds.
Families gathered for evening prayers, sharing stories from Scripture. These
moments reminded members why they believed they were part of

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something sacred, something worth protecting from the outside world. But
beneath the calm surface, there was an unspoken awareness of
the consequences for those who faltered in their faith. The
constant surveillance, whether through the eyes of neighbors, family members,
or church appointed overseers, meant that privacy was rare. A

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careless word or a sign of discontent could quickly reach
the Prophet's ears, and the results could be life changing.
Life behind the walls was not simply about physical separation
from the world. It was about immersion in a system
where every detail of existence was shaped by the belief
that God's kingdom was already here and the prophet was
its sole ruler. For those inside, it was the only

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truth they knew. For those outside, it was a world
almost impossible to pens trade, guarded not only by gates
and walls, but by the loyalty and fear of those
who lived within Part five cracks in the foundation. For years,

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the life inside FLDS communities had been one of control
and order. The prophet's word was absolute, and members lived
in a carefully maintained bubble, shielded from outside influence. Yet
no system built on secrecy and unquestioned authority can remain
unchallenged forever. Slowly, small signs of instability began to appear.

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They were not dramatic at first, a whisper here, a
rumor there, but they would grow into fractures that threatened
the very structure Warren Jeff's had worked to strengthen. One
of the earliest cracks came from within. Former members, often
called apostates by those still inside, began speaking publicly about
life in the church. For decades, ex members had left,

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quietly fading into the outside world. Now some were willing
to talk. They described strict obedience to the profit, arranged
marriages for girls barely in their teens, and punishments that
included family separations and exile for men deemed unworthy. These
stories made their way into newspapers, radio interviews, and eventually

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television broadcasts. While FLDS members were discouraged from consuming outside media,
the leadership knew that such reports carried a danger. They
could attract the attention of government authorities. The legal pressures
began to build slowly. In the early two thousands, law
enforcement agencies in Utah and Arizona had investigated allegations of

(32:39):
underage marriage and welfare fraud, but these inquiries rarely made
significant progress. Many victims and witnesses were reluctant to testify,
fearing retaliation or believing it was a sin to speak
against the prophet. Still, officials began gathering evidence, quietly, building
files on FLDS practices. Inside the community, some members noticed

(33:01):
changes in Warren Jeff's behavior. His sermons grew harsher, his
warnings about the outside world more urgent. He began demanding
even stricter obedience, introducing new rules that further limited contact
with outsiders. Marriage assignments became more abrupt, and the age
of brides appeared to be dropping in some cases. For
loyal followers, these changes were seen as God's way of

(33:23):
purifying the church. For those with doubts, they were troubling
signs that the prophet's vision was shifting towards something more extreme.
The most visible signs of tension came from the men
who were suddenly cast out, known as the Lost Boys.
These were teenage and young adult males expelled from the
community for minor or fabricated infractions. In truth, many were

(33:45):
removed because their presence created competition for older men seeking
multiple wives. Some of these boys found themselves on the
streets of nearby towns, with no money, no education beyond
the FLDS schools, and little understanding of the world beyond
the walls. Their sudden displacement drew attention from journalists and
social workers, bringing yet more scrutiny to the church. By

(34:08):
two thousand and five, law enforcement agencies had started to
close in. Investigators were particularly interested in the Yearning for
Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas, a sprawling property the church
had purchased and developed as a new stronghold. Its high fences, watchtowers,
and communal buildings drew suspicion from locals. Rumors circulated that

(34:28):
underage girls were being forced into marriage there. The Texas
Department of Family and Protective Services began monitoring the situation,
although they faced significant legal and logistical hurdles in penetrating
the ranch's defenses. Meanwhile, within the FLDS hierarchy, Warren Jeffs's
leadership style was creating quiet discontent. His control over marriages, property,

(34:52):
and daily life was so complete that some members privately
questioned whether he was acting out of divine guidance or
personal desire. The expulsion of long standing loyal men shocked
many who had once been unwavering in their devotion. Some
families were torn apart when husbands were banished and their
wives reassigned to other men, often with no explanation beyond

(35:13):
the profit's command. Financial strain also played a role in
weakening the foundation. The church's communal property trust, the United
Effort Plan UEP, owned much of the land and housing
in Short Creek and other FLDS communities. Legal battles over
the UEP began when state authorities in Utah moved to
take control of the trust, citing mismanagement and failure to

(35:34):
protect the interests of all its beneficiaries. For the FLDS,
this was not just a legal fight, but an existential threat.
Losing the UEP meant losing the physical heart of their community.
The outside world was also changing in ways that made
secrecy harder to maintain. The rise of the Internet, even
in its early two thousands form, meant that leaked photographs,

(35:57):
court documents, and personal testimonies could read far beyond local news.
Anti polygamy activists used online forums to share information and
coordinate efforts to pressure law enforcement. National media began to
cover the story with growing interest, often framing Warren Jeff's
as a dangerous and elusive cult leader. In two thousand

(36:18):
and five, the pressure reached a new level when Jeffs
was charged in Utah with multiple counts of rape as
an accomplice related to the underage marriages he had arranged
around the same time, Arizona authorities issued similar charges. Rather
than face trial, Jeff's disappeared. His sudden absence created confusion
inside the church. Officially, he remained the profit leading from

(36:41):
an undisclosed location. In practice, his disappearance forced other leaders
to take on more day to day responsibilities. Members were
told to remain steadfast that the prophet's absence was part
of God's plan. As months passed, Jeffs's in fugitive status
only increased law enforcement efforts. The FBI placed him on
its ten most Wanted Fugitive's list in two thousand and six,

(37:02):
an unprecedented move for a religious leader. His photograph, the
Clean Shaven Man with the Calm, unreadable expression was now
on posters and television screens across the country. For outsiders,
he became a symbol of authoritarian control and abuse. For
his followers, he was a man under siege for righteousness sake.

(37:22):
While Jeff's was on the run. Internal tensions deepened. Some
members struggled to maintain the belief that their profit could
lead from hiding. Others feared that the increasing legal attention
would bring the government directly into their communities, as had
happened in earlier polygamist raids decades before. Yet, speaking these
fears aloud was dangerous, Dissent was still punished, and loyalty

(37:47):
to the prophet was tested repeatedly through public declarations and
acts of obedience. In April two thousand and eight, the
fragile balance collapsed when Texas authorities, acting on a report
of abuse, rated the yearning for Zion Ranch. Hundreds of
law enforcement officers and child welfare workers descended on the property.
The images that followed women in prairie dresses, children being

(38:10):
led away from the ranch, rows of pastel clad mothers
in courtrooms were broadcast nationwide. More than four hundred children
were taken into state custody in one of the largest
child protection operations in American history. The raid was a
turning point. Although many of the children were later returned
to their families, the event shattered the flds's ability to

(38:32):
maintain complete isolation. The public now had a clear visible
image of the community, and the allegations of underage marriage
and abuse could no longer be contained within the church.
For some members, the raid was proof of the outside
world's hostility. For others, it was a moment of reckoning,
a sign that the profits leadership had led them into crisis.

(38:55):
When Warren Jeff's was finally captured in August two thousand
and six, before the Texas Rags, the cracks in the
foundation had already become deep fractures. His arrest on the
highway in Nevada in a Cadillac escalade with multiple cell phones,
whigs and cash was a public humiliation for a man
who had preached against the corruptions of the outside world.
For law enforcement, it was a victory for the FLDS.

(39:19):
It marked the beginning of a period of intense uncertainty,
where the profit was both physically absent and under the
control of the very authorities he had warned against. For years.
The years that followed would see the church under constant
legal and public scrutiny, its leader in and out of courtrooms,
and its members grappling with a reality they could no
longer keep at bay. The cracks in the foundation were

(39:41):
no longer hidden. They were visible to anyone willing to look,
and they would only widen as the story moved toward
the inevitable collapse of the Prophet's rain Part six, Fall
of the Prophet. When Warren Jeff's was pulled from the
Cadillac Escalade on the Nevada Highway in August two thousand
and six, the arrest was more than the capture of

(40:01):
a fugitive. It was the moment when the man who
had spent years building himself into a prophetic figure was
forced to face the same legal system he had long
described as the enemy. The image of Jeff's quiet and
composed in custody stood in stark contrast to the fiery
sermons he had delivered from the pulpit to the outside world.
It seemed like the end of his reign. But for

(40:24):
the FLDS, the prophet's physical imprisonment did not immediately strip
him of spiritual authority. In the months that followed, Jeff's
court appearances became a public spectacle. The charges against him,
including rape as an accomplice for arranging the marriages of
underage girls, brought intense media attention. Prosecutors presented evidence that

(40:45):
included marriage records, witness testimony, and the prophet's own words.
His defense argued that the case was an attack on
religious freedom. Outside the courtroom, loyal followers gathered to show
their support, women in pastel prairie dresses standing in silent rows,
a visual reminder of the world Jeffs had shaped. In

(41:05):
two thousand and seven, Jeffs was convicted in Utah on
two counts of rape as an accomplice and sentenced to
ten years to life in prison, but the conviction would
not hold. In twenty ten, the Utah Supreme Court overturned
the verdict, citing faulty jury instructions. The decision did not
free Jeff's outright. By then, he was already facing new
charges in Texas, where the yearning for Zion Ranch had

(41:28):
drawn the attention of investigators. Texas prosecutors prepared a case
unlike anything the FLDS had ever faced. Evidence sees during
the two thousand and eight Raid on the Ranch included
audio recordings of Jeff's instructing underage girls on sexual training,
marriage records documenting unions between adult men and teenage girls,

(41:48):
and detailed journals kept by the prophet himself. The tapes
were especially damning. In one, jeff voices heard calmly explaining
that sexual relations with young girls were part of a
divine mandate. These recordings dripped away an e veneer of
spiritual mystique, revealing the abuse behind the theology. In twenty eleven,
Jeffs was tried in San Angelo, Texas on charges of

(42:09):
aggravated sexual assault of a child. The prosecution's case was
blunt and devastating. They presented DNA evidence linking Jeffs to
a child born to one of his underage wives. They
played the audio recordings for the jury. They displayed photographs
of girls in wedding dresses standing beside the prophet. It
was a trial that left little room for ambiguity. The

(42:31):
jury took less than thirty minutes to reach its decision.
Warren Jeffs was found guilty on both counts. The judge
sentenced him to life in prison plus twenty years, ensuring
he would never walk free again. He was also fined
ten thousand dollars for each charge. For the outside world,
it was the definitive end of Jeffs's power. For the FLDS,

(42:53):
the meaning was more complicated. Even from his prison cell,
Jeffs continued to issue edicts. Using smuggled self and carefully
coordinated communication networks. He sent messages to his followers declaring
that he was still the rightful prophet. In some cases,
he claimed to be receiving revelations from God while behind bars.
At one point, he even declared that the world would

(43:15):
end if certain demands were not met. These pronouncements were
sent out in written form and read aloud during church meetings,
keeping his voice present in the lives of his followers.
The effect was polarizing. Some members clung to Jeff's leadership
more fiercely than ever, believing that his imprisonment was the
fulfillment of prophecy, that he was suffering for righteousness sake.

(43:38):
Others began to drift away, unable to reconcile the mounting
evidence of abuse with the man they had once believed
was God's mouthpiece. Families split apart as some stayed in
the faith, while others walked away entirely. The FLDS leadership
structure struggled to adapt without Jeff's physically present, decision making
often stalled, and disputes over property and resources intensified. The

(44:02):
State of Utah's control over the United Effort Plan Trust
continued to disrupt the community's stability, leading to evictions and
the loss of homes for members who refused to cooperate
with court appointed managers. The once insular world of Short
Creek was now fractured, both legally and spiritually. Jeff's health
became another point of speculation. Reports emerged that he had

(44:24):
gone on hunger strikes and suffered medical problems in prison.
Whether these were acts of protest, demonstrations of spiritual devotion,
or simply the effects of incarceration, they added to the
mythology surrounding him among his most loyal followers. Yet, even
for those still faithful, the day to day realities of
life under constant legal oversight and public scrutiny were difficult

(44:46):
to endure. By the mid twenty tens, the FLDS had
shrunk significantly. Membership declined as younger generations found ways to leave,
often aided by former members and advocacy groups. The community's
economic base weakened as businesses closed and property was lost.
The once rigid social structure showed visible signs of collapse,

(45:08):
and still from his cell, Warren Jeffs continued to dictate
the terms of faith for those who remained. His letters
and recorded messages would sometimes ban members from marrying, command
them to move to new locations, or demand strict adherents
to fasting and prayer schedules. At times, he would name
new enemies, warning that God's wrath would fall upon those

(45:28):
who questioned him. The fall of Warren Jeff's was not
a single moment, but a long, grinding erosion of power.
His capture, trials and convictions were milestones, but the true
collapse came in the slow unraveling of the world he
had built. By removing him from physical control while allowing
him to maintain spiritual influence, the legal system had created

(45:49):
a strange half life for his leadership, not entirely ended
but no longer absolute. For the survivors of the FLDS,
life after Jeff's was a complex reality found freedom and
healing outside the church, building new lives in the broader world.
Others carried the scars of their upbringing, struggling to reconcile
their past with their present, and a few remained loyal,

(46:12):
holding on to the belief that their profit would one
day return vindicated in the eyes of God. The story
of Warren Jeff's is one of power built on faith,
control and force through fear, and a fall that came
not from within the walls of his community, but from
the relentless reach of the law. It is also a
reminder that even when a leader is removed, the structures

(46:34):
and beliefs they create can endure, shaping lives long after
their personal reign has ended. Next Time, we turned to
another figure whose reach extended far beyond the boundaries of
his own community, a man who built a movement that
spanned continence, drew in world leaders, and promised nothing less
than the unification of all humanity. Join us as we

(46:56):
explore the rise and influence of the Unification Church, better
known to many as the movies That's Next Time,

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Ep.16 Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal