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57-627: The United Effort Plan also known as the UEP Trust is a charitable organization that was originally formed in 1942 as a subsidiary organization of the FLDS church . The organization is based in the Short Creek Community , comprising Hilldale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona , which was primarily the base of the FLDS church until church leader Warren Jeffs was arrested in 2007. In 2005

114-531: A curse of bondage . Men and women are forbidden to have any tattoos or body piercings. In general, women do not cut their hair short or wear makeup, trousers , or any skirt above the knees. Men wear plain clothing , usually long-sleeved collared shirt and full-length trousers. Women and girls usually wear pastel-colored homemade long-sleeved prairie dresses , with hems between ankle and mid-calf, along with long stockings or trousers underneath, usually keeping their hair coiffed. John Y. Barlow Barlow

171-647: A missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , Barlow defended his polygamous views and was dishonorably released. Later, LDS Church apostle Melvin J. Ballard , the president of the Northwest States Mission during Barlow's service there, served as witness in the disciplinary council that resulted in Barlow's excommunication. As a member of the Council of Friends , Barlow

228-478: A statement published in 1912 by Lorin C. Woolley , of a purported 1886 divine revelation to then-LDS Church President John Taylor , took precedence over the 1890 Manifesto , which had prohibited new plural marriages by LDS members. The community believed that in issuing the 1890 Manifesto, Wilford Woodruff sold his right to the Priesthood , thereby making Lorin's father, John W. Woolley , his successor by

285-492: A $ 10,000 fine. On April 6, 2010, Arizona officials executed search warrants at governmental offices of the towns of Colorado City, Arizona and Hildale, Utah. According to one report, the warrants involved the misuse of funds and caused the Hildale Public Safety Department to be shut down. According to another report, city personnel and volunteers were ordered out of the buildings while the search

342-666: A 60-acre (240,000 m ) parcel of land near Mancos, Colorado, (midway between Cortez and Durango ) about the same time he bought the Schleicher County property. Allred told authorities the parcel was to be used as a hunting retreat. In July 2005, eight men of the church were indicted for sexual contact with minors. All of them turned themselves in to police in Kingman, Arizona , within days. On July 29, 2005, Brent W. Jeffs filed suit accusing three of his uncles, including Warren Jeffs, of sexually assaulting him when he

399-442: A Schleicher County, Texas jury found Raymond Jessop, 38, guilty of sexual assault of a child. According to evidence admitted at trial, Jessop sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl to whom he had been "spiritually married" when the girl was 15 years old. The same jury sentenced Jessop to 10 years in prison and assessed a fine of $ 8,000. On December 18, 2009, a Schleicher County, Texas jury found Allan Keate guilty of sexual assault of

456-482: A child. Keate fathered a child with a 15-year-old girl. According to documents admitted at trial, Keate had also given three of his own daughters away in "spiritual" or "celestial" marriage, two of them at 15 and one at 14, to older men. The youngest of the three went to Warren Jeffs. Keate was sentenced to 33 years in prison. His conviction and sentence were later upheld on appeal. On January 22, 2010, Michael George Emack pleaded no contest to sexual assault charges and

513-674: A figure of authority within the church by this time. The revelations in 2022 were to be distributed by Helaman Jeffs, and he was also given the authority to perform polygamous marriages. Helaman is using a P.O box in Ruso, North Dakota , close to a reported FLDS compound. As senior member of the Priesthood Council in Short Creek: As president of the FLDS Church: Warren Jeffs became head of

570-457: A group of 2,000 male FLDS members voted unanimously to "uphold and sustain" Jeffs's authority. By that time Willie Jessop had publicly broken with Jeffs, putting himself forward as a challenger for the leadership, but he was subsequently declared an apostate and left the church. A 2012 CNN documentary confirmed that Jeffs still led the church from prison. In April 2008, acting on a call from an alleged teen victim of physical and sexual abuse at

627-591: A hunting retreat". The property would be known within the sect as Yearning For Zion Ranch , or YFZ Ranch . Allred sent 30 to 40 construction workers from Colorado City–Hildale to work on the property, which soon included three 3-story houses, each 8,000 to 10,000 square feet (930 m ), a concrete plant, and a plowed field. After seeing FLDS Church critic Flora Jessop on the ABC television program Primetime Live on March 4, 2004, concerned Eldorado residents contacted Jessop. Jessop investigated, and on March 25, 2004, held

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684-527: A means of living the traditional Latter Day Saint doctrine of the " Law of Consecration ". In 2005, the UEP was seized by the state of Utah following a lawsuit by the Attorney General . The UEP was worth $ 100 million at this time. State control of the UEP ended in 2019, with the trust reformed into a "religiously neutral" entity benefiting the original donors and their heirs, including those who had left

741-617: A member of the church, was convicted of unlawful sexual conduct with a 16- or 17-year-old and one count of bigamy for his marriage to and impregnation of plural wife Ruth Stubbs. The conviction was the first legal action against a member of the FLDS Church since the Short Creek raid. In November 2003, church member David Allred purchased for YFZ Land LLC the 1,371-acre (555-hectare) Isaacs Ranch four miles (six kilometers) northeast of Eldorado, Texas, on Schleicher County Road 300 "as

798-522: A nephew of Warren Jeffs, was sentenced to three years' probation on a charge of custodial interference after abetting the disappearance of the daughter of a former member of the church in 2022 in accordance with the revelations of that year. By 2023, investigators stated that the members of the FLDS Church had spread out to avoid the attention of authorities, some moving north into North Dakota , and were communicating regularly with Warren Jeffs over Zoom . Warren Jeffs's son Helaman Jeffs had also emerged as

855-514: A press conference in Eldorado confirming that the new neighbors were FLDS Church adherents. On May 18, 2004, Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran and his Chief Deputy visited Colorado City, and the FLDS Church officially acknowledged that the Schleicher County property would be a new base for the church. It was reported in the news media that the church had built a temple at the YFZ Ranch; this

912-548: A split within the community in Bountiful, British Columbia, with an estimated 700 FLDS members leaving the church to follow Blackmore. Polygamy is illegal in all 50 states of the United States as well as Canada and Mexico. Attempts to overturn the illegality based on right of religious freedom have been unsuccessful. In 2003, the church received increased attention from the state of Utah when police officer Rodney Holm,

969-430: Is a Mormon fundamentalist group whose members practice polygamy . It is variously defined as a cult , a sect or a new religious movement . The FLDS Church has been involved in various illegal activities, including child marriages , child abandonment , sexual assault and human trafficking including child sexual abuse . The sect is not connected to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church),

1026-543: Is also called the law of placing or placement marriage . The land and houses formerly occupied by the FLDS Church on the Utah/Arizona border are owned by the United Effort Plan (UEP), established in 1942 as a subsidiary organization of the church. The UEP also owns most of the property of the businesses that were controlled by FLDS Church members in that area. The church viewed this " United Order " as

1083-572: Is recognized as prophet of the FLDS Church by some 50 followers as of 2023 . As of 2018 : In direct contrast to the structure of the Short Creek Community , the FLDS Church teaches that God only works through one man who has all Priesthood keys . In operation the President cannot be a member of the Priesthood Council . Rulon Jeffs denied succession , making his son Warren Jeffs his father renewed . The FLDS Church teaches

1140-464: Is supported by evidence including aerial photographs of a large stone structure (approximately 88 feet (27 m) wide) in a state of relative completion. A local newspaper, the Eldorado Success , reported that the temple foundation was dedicated by Warren Jeffs on January 1, 2005. On January 10, 2004, Dan Barlow (the mayor of Colorado City) and about 20 other men were excommunicated from

1197-569: The Apostolic United Brethren (AUB) and Kingston group through Joseph White Musser . In the morning of July 26, 1953, 102 Arizona state police officers and National Guard soldiers raided the fundamentalist Mormon community of Short Creek, Arizona. They arrested the entire populace, including 236 children. Of those 236 children, 150 were not allowed to return to their parents for more than two years. Other parents never regained custody of their children. The Short Creek raid

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1254-465: The FBI named Warren Jeffs to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on charges of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. He was captured on Interstate 15 on August 28, 2006, just north of Las Vegas , after a routine traffic stop. The mayor of Colorado City, Terrill C. Johnson, was arrested on May 26, 2006, for eight fraudulent vehicle registration charges for registering his vehicles in a state in which he

1311-681: The One Man doctrine . After being excommunicated by the LDS Church, some of the locally prominent men in Short Creek, including Lorin Woolley and John Y. Barlow , created the organization known as the Council of Friends . The Council, consisting of seven high priests that were said to be the governing priesthood body on Earth, was the governing ecclesiastical body over the Short Creek Community until being incorporated as

1368-515: The Colorado City Fire Department under the open records laws. Chief Barlow indicated that there were no personal charges, therefore there were no records to disclose. Records obtained by subpoena from the banks involved showed a series of purchases made by Chief Barlow and Darger that are questionable, including diapers, child's clothing, and food, although the firefighters are not fed by the department. In November 2012,

1425-658: The Colorado City, Arizona/Hildale, Utah Marshal's Office and the appointment of a federal monitor over municipal functions and services." As the basis for the legal proceeding, the Arizona Attorney General stated that "[t]he disbandment of the Colorado City/Hildale Marshal's Office is necessary and appropriate because this police department has operated for decades, and continues to operate, as the de facto law enforcement arm of

1482-416: The FLDS Church in 2002. In the years immediately following Jeffs's imprisonment in 2007, the leadership of the church was unclear. Other claimed leaders in this period include: In 2011, Warren Jeffs retook legal control of the church and purged 45 of its members. Another FLDS member, Samuel R. Bateman, broke from Jeffs and declared himself prophet in 2019. Arrested in 2022 and charged with sexual abuse, he

1539-515: The FLDS Church under Rulon Jeffs . In 1935, the LDS Church excommunicated the Mormon residents of Short Creek who refused to sign an oath renouncing polygamy. Following this, Barlow led those in Short Creek who were dedicated to preserving the practice of plural marriage. Consequently, Mormon fundamentalists that didn't follow Barlow separated, leading to the creation of multiple fundamentalist organizations outside Short Creek by 1954. These included

1596-646: The FLDS Church. As an extension of the Adam-God teaching , it is taught that likewise there are literal children of Satan as there are literal children of God. Children of Satan were to be born with the Mark Of Cain as pay for his slaying of Abel in creation, and therefore justifying the Priesthood Ban . The seed of Cain survived the Flood through Ham's wife so that Satan would be represented, but with

1653-428: The FLDS Church." Documents presented to the media and state prosecutors in 2022–23 indicate that Warren Jeffs issued a series of revelations from prison in 2022 reasserting his authority over the church and calling its members together. In one document from June 2022, Jeffs instructed that fathers seeking "restoral" should reunite with their wives and children, while warning that God "cannot allow sin living to dwell" in

1710-467: The FLDS compound in Schleicher County, Texas, Texas Child Protective Services and Department of Public Safety officers entered the compound to serve search and arrest warrants and carry out court orders designed to protect children. Over the course of several days, from April 3 through April 10, Texas CPS removed 439 children under age 18 from the church's YFZ Ranch, while law enforcement, including Texas Rangers , executed their search and arrest warrants on

1767-606: The Saints. This land will produce in abundance sufficient wheat to feed the people." In 1904, the LDS Church issued the Second Manifesto renouncing polygamy , and eventually excommunicated Mormons who continued to solemnize or enter into new plural marriages. Short Creek, located in what was then the Arizona Territory , soon became a gathering place for these Mormons. Members of the community believed

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1824-558: The Texas Attorney General's Office instituted legal proceedings to seize the FLDS ranch property in Eldorado, Texas. The basis for the forfeiture and seizure proceeding was cited as the use of FLDS property as "...a rural location where the systemic sexual assault of children would be tolerated without interference from law enforcement authorities", therefore, the property is contraband and subject to seizure. On April 17, 2014, Texas officials took physical possession of

1881-610: The Texas Supreme Court, in a written opinion issued May 29, 2008, declined to overturn the ruling of the 3rd Court of Appeals. The abuse hotline calls that prompted the raid are now believed to have been made by Rozita Swinton , a non-FLDS woman with no known connection to the FLDS community in Texas. Nevertheless, a court determined that the search warrants executed at the YFZ compound were legally issued and executed, and that

1938-502: The UEP was seized by the state of Utah following a lawsuit by the Attorney General . At the time, the UEP was worth $ 100 million. State control of the UEP ended in 2019, with the trust reformed into a "religiously neutral" entity benefiting the original donors and their heirs, including those who had left the FLDS Church. Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (abbreviated to FLDS Church or FLDS )

1995-471: The Utah–Arizona border to reduce competition for wives, filed suit against the FLDS Church. "The [boys] have been excommunicated pursuant to that policy and practice and have been cut off from family, friends, benefits, business and employment relationships, and purportedly condemned to eternal damnation", their suit read. "They have become 'lost boys' in the world outside the FLDS community." On May 7, 2006,

2052-713: The church and stripped of their wives and children (who would be reassigned to other men), and expelled from town. The same day two teenage girls reportedly fled the town with the aid of Flora Jessop, who advocates for plural wives' escape from polygamy. The two girls, Fawn Broadbent and Fawn Holm, soon found themselves in a highly publicized dispute over their freedom and custody. After the allegations against their parents were proven false, Jessop helped them flee state custody together on February 15, and they ended up in Salt Lake City at Holm's brother Carl's house. In October 2004, Flora Jessop reported that David Allred purchased

2109-534: The church any longer; another, distributed in August, required that children be gathered back to the church over the next five years in preparation for the imminent end of the world. A group of mothers who had left the church stated in April 2023 that a number of children cared for by former members had gone missing since the August 2022 revelation, and were likely to have rejoined the church. In June 2023, Heber Jeffs,

2166-488: The church's spokesman, refused to name the incumbent prophet "out of fear there'd be retaliation by the government". On January 28, 2011, Jeffs reasserted his leadership of the denomination, and Nielsen was removed as the church's legal president. According to affidavits submitted by FLDS church leaders, Jeffs was acclaimed as leader at mass meetings of 4,000 church members in February and April 2011, and on April 10, 2011,

2223-419: The church, but merely addressed his resignation from his fiduciary post as president of the corporation belonging to the FLDS Church. According to a Salt Lake Tribune telephone transcript, there is evidence that, when incarcerated, Warren Jeffs named William E. Jessop , a former first counselor, as his successor or, alternatively, that Jeffs had told Jessop on January 24, 2007, that he (Jeffs) had never been

2280-504: The company and found that Fischer was not fired from his job, but quit instead. The district court ruling was overturned in part on the basis that Fischer was discriminated against on the basis of religion when he reapplied for his position and was denied employment because he had left the FLDS church. The parties eventually settled the case for an agreed payment of damages to Shem Fischer. In July 2005, six teenaged and young adult " Lost Boys " who claimed they were cast out of their homes on

2337-542: The doctrine ( One Man Rule ) strengthened. Rulon Jeffs succeeded Leroy, incorporating Short Creek as the FLDS in 1984 to reorganize to an Episcopal polity reflecting the One Man authority. With no clear succession, Warren Jeffs assumed leadership. Winston Blackmore , who had been serving in Canada as the Bishop of Bountiful for the FLDS Church, was excommunicated by Jeffs in an apparent power struggle. This led to

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2394-433: The doctrine of plural marriage , which states that God commands in order for a man to receive the highest form of salvation to have a minimum of three wives. Connected with this doctrine is the patriarchal doctrine , the belief that wives are required to be subordinate to their husbands and placement marriage . The prophet elects to take wives from men as well as give wives to men according to their worthiness. This practice

2451-420: The evidence seized could not be excluded on the grounds that the initial call may have been a hoax. In November 2008, 12 FLDS men were charged with offenses related to alleged underage marriages conducted during the years since the sect built the YFZ Ranch. As of June 2010, six FLDS members had been convicted of felonies and received sentences ranging from seven to 75 years' imprisonment. On November 5, 2009,

2508-468: The largest Latter-day Saint denomination. The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS Church) traces its claim to spiritual authority to when Brigham Young , then-president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), once visited the Short Creek Community and said, "This will someday be the head and not the tail of the church. This will be the granaries of

2565-461: The premises. The April 2008 events at the YFZ Ranch generated intense press coverage in the U.S., especially in the Southwest , and also garnered international attention. On April 18, 2008, following a two-day hearing, Judge Barbara Walther of the 51st Judicial District Court ordered all of the FLDS children to remain in the temporary custody of Child Protective Services. Judge Walther's ruling

2622-545: The property. In 2012, Warren Jeffs published a volume titled Jesus Christ Message to All Nations containing various revelations, including one proclaiming his innocence and others serving as warnings to specific countries around the world. In June 2014, the Arizona Office of the Attorney General filed a motion in U.S. District Court seeking to dissolve the local police forces and "the disbandment of

2679-569: The rightful leader of the FLDS. Many press accounts suggested that Merril Jessop , who had been leading the Eldorado compound, was the de facto leader of the church. Additionally, on January 9, 2010, documents filed with the Utah Department of Commerce named Wendell L. Nielsen as the president of the sect. The FLDS incorporation charter does not require the church president to be the church's prophet, but previous president Rulon Jeffs had also been prophet. In 2010, Willie Jessop ,

2736-526: The trust was seized after the Attorney General of Utah filed a lawsuit against the church. The United Effort Plan was founded in 1942 under the leadership of FLDS church founder John Y. Barlow . The church viewed this " United Order " as a means of living the traditional Latter Day Saint doctrine of the " Law of Consecration ". This involved donating land, homes and businesses into a single trust with church leaders controlling and being able to distribute and seize properties to and from church members. In 2005,

2793-562: Was a child. The suit also named the FLDS Church as a defendant. On August 10, former FLDS Church member Shem Fischer, Dan Fischer's brother, added the church and Warren Jeffs as defendants to a 2002 lawsuit claiming he was illegally fired because he no longer adhered to the faith. Fischer, who was a salesman for a wooden cabinetry business in Hildale, claimed church officials interfered with his relationship with his employer and blacklisted him. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of

2850-568: Was being conducted, prompting protests from Colorado City Fire Chief Jake Barlow. Despite these protests, public safety did not appear to be affected, as the county law enforcement agencies involved routed calls for emergency service through the county offices. A search warrant was also executed at Jake Barlow's residence. The search warrant affidavit states that the Mohave County District Attorney sought records relating to personal charges on an agency credit card from

2907-523: Was born in Panaca , Lincoln County , Nevada , to Israel Barlow and his English-born wife Hannah Yeates. His grandfather was Israel Barlow . He grew up on his father's farm in Davis County, Utah . Barlow married for the first time in 1897. He took his first plural wife in 1902, the second in 1918, and the third in 1923 making a total of four wives (including his first legal wife). While serving as

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2964-619: Was involved in the succession conflict following J. Leslie Broadbent 's death. Elden Kingston claimed that Broadbent had ordained him as Second Elder of the Council of Friends. Kingston, along with his father, Charles W. Kingston , would separate from the main Short Creek Community and create the Davis County Cooperative Society and the Latter Day Church of Christ . Due to Barlow's seniority in

3021-508: Was not resident, which is a felony . He was booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility in Hurricane, Utah , and was released after paying the $ 5,000 bail in cash. On September 25, 2007, after trial by a jury in St. George, Utah , Jeffs was found guilty of two counts of being an accomplice to rape and was sentenced to ten years to life in prison. This conviction was later overturned, but he

3078-550: Was sentenced to seven years in prison. He married a 16-year-old girl at YFZ Ranch on August 5, 2004. She gave birth to a son less than a year later. On March 17, 2010, a Tom Green County, Texas jury found Merril Leroy Jessop guilty of sexual assault of a child after deliberating for one hour. The court found that Jessop, 35, sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl while living at the FLDS Ranch in Schleicher County, Texas. The jury sentenced Jessop to 75 years in prison and assessed

3135-478: Was subsequently reversed by the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin, Texas in a ruling that Texas CPS was not justified in removing every child from the ranch. The 3rd Court of Appeals granted mandamus relief and ordered the trial court to vacate the portion of its order giving CPS temporary custody of the FLDS children. CPS petitioned the Texas Supreme Court requesting that the 3rd Court of Appeals' ruling be overturned, but

3192-505: Was subsequently sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years and fined $ 10,000 after being convicted on charges of aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault. From 2007 to 2011, the leadership of the FLDS Church was unclear. On November 20, 2007, following Warren Jeffs's conviction, attorneys for Jeffs released the following statement: "Mr. Jeffs resigned as President of The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Inc." The statement did not address his position as prophet of

3249-752: Was the largest mass arrest of polygamists in American history, and it received a great deal of press coverage. After the raid, polygamists continued to live there, and later the town was renamed Colorado City. Under John Y. Barlow , he claimed to be both head of temporal affairs and the Priesthood through his United Effort Plan . By 1984, a schism emerged in Short Creek who took issue with his One Man authority. These followers moved south of Colorado City to Centennial Park, Arizona and called themselves "The Work of Jesus Christ", or "Second Ward." Leroy S. Johnson succeeded John Y. Barlow , and stress on

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