I am about 75% through the audio book by Brent Jeffs on his childhood being raised in a polygamist family in the FLDS.

This is a very good and insightful book on the life, the good and the bad. Being expelled from the FLDS, Jeffs maintains a level of objectivity while at the same time cannot conceal his resentment.

An overview of the household history:

Jeffs dad was assigned his first wife after having returned as a combat veteran from Vietnam. A few years and kids later he was assigned his second wife who so happened to be the younger sibling of his first wife. Fourteen years after the first marriage the third wife is assigned. At this point there are already 14 kids in the house all under 14 years of age, The new wife is only 16 years old, the first two mothers have outside jobs, so guess who gets to stay home and babysit ?

Now the father has the pressure to feed and raise some 20 kids and keep 3 wives happy. If there are problems within the household that "get out" the leadership of the FLDS can reassign wives of his to another man, if that happens he can never again communicate with that wife or the children he had with her.

The kids go to school on the compound learning from books that have been censored by scissoring.

The wives are constantly bickering and competing in the household. Things can get petty. Children can become the natural allies of the natural parent. Wives work in shifts, older children are recruited babysitters. Children are always comparing one another's mother and there is envy and protectionism.

The second wife is the one who gets on food stamps and receives the welfare. Think she is going to share ? Think again, she hordes the money and spends it on gifts for her own kids and lavishes herself with it.

One day the family goes out on a daytrip but the youngest wife and her 3 kids stay home. When they get back they find she has packed up and left. But here is the twist, she went to the elders and was re-assigned to a new husband who has wives. She had no problem with the relationship but was bitter because her husband was trying to keep her from having more kids.

Eventually the authors father is expelled from FLDS. The FLDS tries to re-assign the two wives but both the sisters refuse to leave him. The whole family is out. The father was expelled for supporting and associating with sons who were kicked out of FLDS.

One of the side effects of the FLDS is that believe that a man can only obtain the highest level of paradise is if he has 3 wives. Do the math, boys by necessity or going to get expelled for one reason or another while daughters are going to be held onto. The boys that are kicked out are called "Lost Boys."

Good read. 5 Stars.

Having researched Mormon fundamentalism back in the day, another book on this topic that I highly recommend is "God's Brothel". This book tells the story of of Mormon polygamy from the perspective of several wives who managed to flee, but not after years of reported hardship, neglect and abuse.

Quote from: Pete Vere

Having researched Mormon fundamentalism back in the day, another book on this topic that I highly recommend is "God's Brothel". This book tells the story of of Mormon polygamy from the perspective of several wives who managed to flee, but not after years of reported hardship, neglect and abuse.

That is interesting, I myself do not believe that polygamy automatically means the women are the victims and men are the perpetrators.

Depends upon the culture. In this case, it definitely is. Not sure if you read the transcripts from FLDS "Prophet" Warren Jeff's criminal trial, but it included audio transcripts he had made of him "consuming" his celestial "marriages" to audibly traumatized and crying twelve-year-old "brides". It is one of the most sickening things I ever listened to, while covering the trial for a number of pro-life publications.

Here crossbro. Suggest you read this after your little ones are in bed. It is even more heartbreaking when one interviews personally women who have been through this as former teenaged brides married off as the 20th or 30th bride to men eligible for senior's discount at the local pharmacy (although I have never interviewed one who was as young as 12 when it happened). This is why I try and pray for these victims daily.

Not only was this poor little girl raped; her rapist blasphemously invoked the name of Our Lord in destroying her innocence.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2022139/Warren-Jeffs-trial-Heavy-breathing-sex-tape-3-wives-including-bride-12.html

Quote from: crossbro

In a more general sense, not all the women in FLDS can be labeled as victims. In fact, there are women in FLDS who are just as guilty as jeffs and even more so guilty then the men they are married too.

Those women appear to be few and far between, as far as I can tell from my research. But yes, there are some. Usually a favored wife of the prophet or inner circle, which means dozens of other wives who are not favored; or if the community follows the Sarah doctrine, then it is likely to be the first wife.
 

I disagree with you. At some point these women need to be respected and held accountable too.

FLDS WOMEN DEFEND LIFESTYLE