All valid questions that i have no sure answers for. Only Lori has the answers to this as we know little of the inner-workings of her personal relationships. As a fierce libertarian, i'm sure she wants nothing to do with the police and she doesn't want her children taken out of hiding with the coming of the "end of days"? Perhaps those mentioned are not part of the 144,000 (in Lori's mind). And i am not sure Tylee would be cooperating with this effort fully. She may wish to see her brother Colby. It's hard to say anything for sure because Lori's beliefs resemble some sort of psychosis and may very well co-exist with mental illness. As a result, her behaviors may not make sense; however, psychosis, mental illness, and strange behaviors do not equal child murder automatically. There is no evidence that the children have been murdered as of yet and it is our hope that they are found. The children could have been "kidnapped" by their mother and forced into hiding, they could have gone willingly into hiding, and one or more could be deceased/trafficked, etc. So, of course the religious angle is not the only angle; however, the oft-repeated views about Lori being a money-chasing, botox injected child murderer is currently only based upon hearsay and conjecture. There is more circumstantial evidence that she might be involved in the killing of several husbands but we simply don't have a solid motive on why she would kill her kids. We do have a pretty good narrative involving the religious angle and, as a result, a little guidance on why we should be looking for the children. If they are alive, they need us to not give up hope; they probably want out of whatever circumstance they are in. We must continue to develop theories in which the kids are alive. Perhaps these narratives and an understanding of their beliefs will help lead us to their location, i.e. Rocky Mountains.
Personally, I am about 51% to 49% on the kids being in hiding vs. the alternative. Without some sort of further evidence, it is difficult to say anything for sure about this case. So many lies and "prophecies" and deaths, it makes the head spin.