Temple Used for Sex with Minors, Affidavit Alleges, by Lisa Sandberg and Gary Scharrer, Houston Chronicle, April 9, 2008

ABOUT THE SECT

About the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints sect:

• Since the early 20th century, the home base of the church has been the twin border towns of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah. It also has enclaves in Colorado, South Dakota, Texas and British Columbia.

• Members believe plural marriage brings exaltation in heaven. The doctrine is tied to the early teachings of Joseph Smith, who founded the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1830 and began teaching polygamy in 1843. He reportedly married more than 30 women.

• The Mormon church abandoned polygamy as a condition of Utah statehood in 1890.

• There are an estimated 40,000 fundamentalists practicing polygamy across the Intermountain West in organized churches and independently. FLDS, the largest-known polygamous sect, has membership estimated at 6,000 based on the census and incorporated as a church in the 1940s.

• Members are discouraged from contact with outsiders and appear caught between two centuries. Women wear prairie-style clothing and men are covered from ankle to wrist, but families have minivans and cell phones.

• The FLDS marriages are arranged by the church president, who is also described as a prophet.

BishopAccountability.org

	Temple Used for Sex with Minors, Affidavit Alleges By Lisa Sandberg and Gary Scharrer Houston Chronicle April 9, 2008 http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/5688913.html SAN ANGELO — Authorities suspect that adult men belonging to a West Texas polygamist sect used beds inside their temple to have sex with underage girls, court records released Wednesday indicate. Investigators who conducted an initial raid last week of the desert compound known as the Yearning for Zion Ranch outside Eldorado found beds inside the temple. On one unmade bed, they discovered a long strand of hair they believe belonged to a female, the records stated. The allegations were released in an affidavit that detailed the suspected sexual abuse of underage girls at the compound belonging to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. ABOUT THE SECT About the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints sect: • Since the early 20th century, the home base of the church has been the twin border towns of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah. It also has enclaves in Colorado, South Dakota, Texas and British Columbia. • Members believe plural marriage brings exaltation in heaven. The doctrine is tied to the early teachings of Joseph Smith, who founded the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1830 and began teaching polygamy in 1843. He reportedly married more than 30 women. • The Mormon church abandoned polygamy as a condition of Utah statehood in 1890. • There are an estimated 40,000 fundamentalists practicing polygamy across the Intermountain West in organized churches and independently. FLDS, the largest-known polygamous sect, has membership estimated at 6,000 based on the census and incorporated as a church in the 1940s. • Members are discouraged from contact with outsiders and appear caught between two centuries. Women wear prairie-style clothing and men are covered from ankle to wrist, but families have minivans and cell phones. • The FLDS marriages are arranged by the church president, who is also described as a prophet. The affidavit contained more allegations that underage girls were "spiritually married" to older men and forced to have sex. One young mother told investigators that she was 15 when she gave birth to her first child. A girl who authorities said looked to be 16 said she did not know when she was born but she said she had a 2-year-old child and is pregnant again. The retreat is now under state control. A 16-year-old girl whose urgent cry for help triggered the raid remains unaccounted for. The affidavit released publicly on Wednesday came the same afternoon that attorneys for the polygamist sect asked a judge to require investigators conducting the raid to do so in the least intrusive manner possible, taking care not to denigrate the group's religious property or practices. San Antonio attorney Gerald Goldstein acknowledged that the state had a compelling interest to conduct the search, given the serious allegations that have surfaced since last week, but he said searching the temple was not unlike searching the Vatican, and should be done with utmost sensitivity. District Judge Barbara Walther emphasized that "any allegation involving abuse and neglect is not protected." But she urged both sides to work out a compromise.

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