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	Fall of a 'Prophet': Memories of Warren Jeffs Are More like Ugly Dreams By Rick Smith San Angelo Standard-Times August 20, 2011 http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2011/aug/20/memories-of-warren-jeffs-are-more-like-ugly/ SAN ANGELO, Texas — I remember the Warren Jeffs trial like a series of faded snapshots from a bad dream: Outside, big, armed lawmen stationed like soldiers around the courthouse. Long lines of people waiting, winding their way into the courthouse's security check area. Inside, unsmiling attorneys. An ornate courtroom packed with restless, silent spectators, officials and others. All eyes focused on center stage, where a tall, thin, middle-aged man stood alone, alternating from stubborn silence to bursts of endless words. To a few, he may have seemed a martyr, a holy man defending his beliefs. To others, he was the devil come to Earth in Tom Green County. If there was any doubt about the trial's outcome, the introduction of a photo of Jeffs cradling and kissing his underage bride and explicit sexual audiotapes of Jeffs with minors from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints sealed the deal for many of us. The sounds from the tape and image on the photo will forever be the burned-into-brain opinion some of us will carry of the FLDS members at the Yearning for Zion Ranch near Eldorado. But other photos show another story. A story of women and children — and men — following a lawbreaking leader and his archaic creed. Does that make the ranch residents innocent? Maybe not. Does it make them devils? No. It simply means they're human. Sometimes, in the telling of stories, the human element is left out. News stories tell us, often as not, the hard facts and figures about people and events. Who did what? When and where? How many years will they spend in prison for abusing children or breaking other laws? Photos, however, show us something else. Something words can't always convey. I'm thinking of Standard-Times photographer Patrick Dove's photo taken the night of the state's April 2008 raid of the ranch. That night, FLDS women and children from the YFZ were transported by law officers to an Eldorado church, where they spent the night on cots. Patrick's photo shows three females in long, flowing dresses. Two appear to be young, teenagers or younger. The third's face is hidden by shadows. A khaki-clad lawman, hands on hips, stands guard as they pass, his back to the camera. One of the young girls seems to be smiling. Another's face is partially hidden, unreadable, and the third woman turns her face away from the camera, into the darkness. They walk from bus to building. Into the "Outside" — as they call the world beyond the ranch. Into the mostly unknown. Who are they? What were they thinking? How did they feel? We don't know. But the photo forges a connection, a link. We don't know the three personally, but we can imagine what they are going through. The fear. Uncertainty. Confusion. Patrick and photographers from around the world shot many more photos after that night. Pictures of FLDS women smiling, laughing, sleeping, eating, cuddling their babies, embracing older children, praying, visiting with one another. Photographers will shoot many scenes more before this long, sad, saga ends. The photo of Jeffs and his child "bride" reminds us of the evil men can do. Photos of the FLDS women and children show us people who look different from how we do and act differently, but share love for friends, for families, for God. Words may mislead or misspeak, but photos show us as we are: fearless and frightened, weak and strong, good and bad. Human. Contact: rsmith@gosanangelo.com
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