Posted on 12/26/2011 4:04:21 PM PST by Colofornian
Imprisoned polygamist leader Warren Jeffs has reportedly issued an edict to his followers with a deadline -- renew allegiances to the Fundamentalist LDS Church or be excommunicated.
With a Dec. 31 deadline looming, non-profit groups who help those leaving Utah's polygamous communities say an ongoing exodus from the FLDS Church is turning into a "humanitarian crisis," with people walking away with no place to go.
"You've got new control where you have to give everything," James Barlow told FOX 13. "And I mean everything."
Barlow left the FLDS Church last month after refusing to give his allegiance to Jeffs. Barlow, 19, described being called before Jeffs' brother, Lyle, and asked to confess his sins and be re-baptized into the FLDS Church. Tired of the increasing restrictions on people's lives within the church, Barlow left with the clothes on his back.
"I said 'no' and walked out the door," he said. "To come out here and just fall on my head, just not have anything. Nothing... nobody to give me anything, a roof over my head."
He wound up at a home in the Salt Lake City area where his sister, Ruth, has been staying. She left the FLDS Church in September after deciding she no longer believed in the faith under Jeffs.
"I've really enjoyed the family," Ruth Barlow said in an interview with FOX 13. "They've been really good and really fun to be around. It's different than being with my own family, but it's still the same."
The siblings are being "fostered" by the group Holding Out Help, which works with those in Utah's polygamous communities. Since Jeffs went to prison, the group said it has seen a steady stream of people leaving the FLDS Church.
"They leave with absolutely nothing," said Holding Out Help's Tonia Tewell. "The first thing we try to hit is the basic needs: food, clothing and shelter."
Warren Jeffs is serving a life sentence in a Texas prison for child sex assault related to underage marriages. Since he's been imprisoned, he's released a steady stream of "revelations" he claims are from God to lawmakers across the country. They include demands that he be released or the wrath of the Almighty will destroy the earth. The most recent revelations sent to Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff claimed they were a "final warning."
Amongst his followers, Jeffs has reportedly made even more demands. Ex-FLDS members tell FOX 13 he has demanded that children give up toys, and adults sell things like ATVs.
"The demands range from coming up with $5,000 at the end of the month to handing over all the food stamps. I've heard they're no longer allowed to have sexual relations with their wives except to have children," Tewell said.
Tewell said she has heard of as many as 50 people a month leaving the polygamous border towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz. Some are going to a rival polygamous leader. Others, mostly young adults, are trying to find their way in the world. Holding Out Help and Utah's Safety Net Committee (a coalition of government agencies, social service agencies and polygamists) are trying to find shelter for everyone.
"We need the entire community here in the Salt Lake Valley to step up," said Tewell. "We cannot do this alone any longer."
The Safety Net Committee and Holding Out Help are setting up sort-of "foster homes" across the state. The Safety Net Committee has been holding open houses in St. George, asking people to be willing to open up their homes for children, teenagers, adults or entire families.
"Would I encourage other people to do it? Absolutely. It's been, I think, a blessing to our family," said Kristi Gower, who is hosting the Barlow siblings.
The Safety Net Committee said it would conduct background checks and has a few terms for families willing to foster those from the polygamous communities. More information can be found at holdingouthelp.org or by contacting the Safety Net Committee through Utah's Family Support Center (www.familysupportcenter.org).
James Barlow said with a New Year's Eve deadline coming, more people will likely be leaving.
"Family means everything to most of us from there," he said. "I know, to everybody I know, it means everything. That's why a lot of people haven't left. But you have to the end of the year and you're excommunicated."
Well; it ain't BRAINS!
Actually, they only count you as a member if you don’t go through the name removal process. I went through it and confirmed my name was removed through my lawyer. If they DO still count me as a member and I find out about it they are in for a very long legal battle.
I was not ex’d, I went through the whole name removal process which they allowed after they lost a lawsuit. No excommunication required anymore.
Oh. I didn’t know about the name removal thing. But I find I don’t really care. They can have it.
I’m not really defending mormons here. Just my mom. Born raised and retired in a secluded area of Idaho. She’s ok, R. For her to give it up would leave her friendless, shunned, and alone. And she does enjoy those quilting sessions.
She has a quilt her great grandmother made. An interesting piece of, dare I say, art.
She does genealogy too. She found this great recipe for making ink on a record from 1882. The author said the recipe is from “circa 1619”. Deciphering it was fun. Might have to cook up a batch.
LOL. I do understand about the friendless. I lost everything when I left. LOL on the quilting too. When I was at BYU, if you didn’t have a date on Saturday night, you had quilting circle.
Interestingly the year I left was only the 3 or 4th year they allowed name removal and according to a friend who worked in Church records at SLC only about 1500 people had their name removed. The last year he worked there (around 2005) he told me they processed over 250,000 name removal requests that year. I suspect the rise of the internet has something to do with it.
The internet. That thing still around?
As long as Igor (Algore) lives, so will his ‘invention’. LOL.
Well, if the good die young, the internet is here to stay.
It means we are stuck with twitter also. *Shudder*
Love from one of those daily prick kickers, LOL!
Love from one of those daily prick kickers, LOL!
Yeah, I know. I don’t get out much. I joined FR to find help for my nephew. I stuck around for the comedy. You remember my nephew?
Not sure, what was your neph’s handle?
That rocked, T! Miss your face around here.
He is in Leavenworth Federal Prison.
When you have time, please read this article from Esquire.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2030744/posts
Direct link to the article.
http://www.esquire.com/features/michael-hensley-0708
It is a long article.
And you can search FR for more articles with the keyword “Vela”.
I need to go lie down. I overdid it at work in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Taking me a while to recover.
Yeah, now I remember. Enjoy your rest.
Save it for your wife. She probably could use the kibble since she's only been get'n the bits.
I’ve missed all of you, but you most of all R!
You have been really missed around here, even though I know you have been busy IRL. We shall get together soon, I hope!
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