Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) is a religious group. It broke from the Church of the Latter Day Saints (more commonly known as the Mormons) in the 19th or early 20th century. The new church was formed because the Mormon church said that marriages under polygamy would stop. Polygamy means a man could marry several women at a time. After the change, Mormons could marry only one.
Members of the new church thought polygamy was an essential part of their religion. They teach that a man needs more than one wife to be able to get to heaven. People believe there are currently between 5000 and 10000 followers of this church.
[change] In the news
The church has been in the news because its leader, Warren Steed Jeffs was arrested in southern Nevada in August 2006. Jeffs was arrested because he was accused of rape and molestation. At the time, Jeffs was on the FBI's Ten Most-Wanted list.[1]
There has been another incident in 2008. Beginning April 4, 2008, over a four day period, troopers and child welfare officials searched the church's ranch. They took 416 children into the temporary custody of the State of Texas. [2] Originally officials from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services took 18 girls into temporary custody of the state. They acted because of a phone call from the ranch- it looks like a 16 year old girl called the police to report she had been raped. She also said she had been married at age 15 to a 49-year-old man, Dale Evans Barlow.[3] On the following day, Judge Barbara Walther of the 51st District Court issued an order authorizing officials to remove all children, including boys, 17 years old and under out of the compound.[4] The children were being held by the Child Protective Services 45 miles away, north of the ranch. 133 women also voluntarily left the ranch with the children.[5] The 16-year-old girl who alerted the authorities could not be located at the time of the raid.[6] It looks like the call was made by a woman in her thirties, who gave a false identity. This woman is known by local police, as she has done similar things before.[7] The woman was arrested for making the call (that triggered the raid) in April.[8]
[change] References
- ↑ Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Wikipedia. Last accessed November 16 2006.
- ↑ West, Brian West. Affidavit: FLDS raid spurred by girl's reports of physical, sexual abuse, Deseret Morning News, 8 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
- ↑ "52 children taken during raid", The Eldorado Success, 4 April 2008. Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
- ↑ "Update: Judge orders all children out of FLDS compound", The Salt Lake Tribune, 5 April 2008. Retrieved on 2008-04-05.
- ↑ Affidavit: Teen bride's cry for help led to raid, CNN, 2008-04-08. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
- ↑ Children removed from sect in Texas tell of girls forced into sex with older men, The Guardian, 2008-04-10. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
- ↑ Woman linked to phone number in Texas abuse report. USA Today.
- ↑ Springs woman eyed in Texas raid. Daily Camera.
