Warren Jeffs FLDS compound in Texas — LINKS ONLY. No discussion.

[mollymalone]

http://www1.epinions.com/content_407516253828

Carolyn Jessop's life with Merril was never very pleasant. He was an unkind, abusive man who demanded strict obedience from his wives. Merril also had an abusive wife named Barbara who was apparently his favorite. Barbara had special privileges that the other wives did not have. She dominated the women and their children, often pitting them against each other. Merril allowed it because, as Jessop explains it, Barbara was the only wife Merril actually loved. Consequently, he always took her side and she got away with murder.

 

[mollymalone]

http://www.rickross.com/reference/polygamy/polygamy765.html

She wasn't long married before Merril let it slip that there had been a mix-up. He had asked the head of the church to arrange a marriage for him and, against the rules, he had suggested a specific wife. He had picked Carolyn's sister, who had long blonde hair but he had got the names mixed up.

It wasn't long before Carolyn learnt that part of Merril's plan of marrying into her family was so that her father would drop a law suit he had against him. As soon as Merril made Carolyn his wife, her father did indeed drop the case. There were rules in the FLDS, but Merril was a law unto himself.

 

[mollymalone]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman/real_life/article713323.ece
PHOTO of Merrill Jessop and 5 wives, Carolyn Jessop on the right.
They all have their hands to their chest and are flanking him.

Merrill's six wives had given him 54 children.

 

[mollymalone]

http://www.childbrides.org/texas_YFZ_after_the_storm.html
I'm my own Grandpa
The Success learned this week that Merrill Jessop, the man who is reportedly overseeing work at the YFZ Ranch, has very close ties to FLDS Prophet Warren Jeffs. According to sources in Colorado City, Arizona, Jessop is Jeffs father-in-law and son-in-law. The two men reportedly married each others daughter in a double-ring ceremony held in Caliente, Nevada in 2002 or 2003.

 

[mollymalone]

http://www.myeldorado.net/YFZ Pages/YFZ081904a.html
PHOTO of Merrill Jessop being served a summons

"It took nearly an hour, but Merrill Jessop and Paul Allred finally came to the gate to meet with Doran and Brower." "Brower then gave the summons to Jessop in his capacity as a church official." "But Jessop denied that the YFZ Ranch is associated with the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, saying that instead the property is owned by private businessment.

 

[mollymalone]

http://texaspolygamy.blogspot.com/2006/04/merril-jessop-abandons-wife.html

Aunt Nita Jessop was sent away from her family and grandchildren through the regime of Warren Jeffs. She has been with Merrill Jessop since she was young, and now that she is old and ill health, she is sent off with no one to care for her except for a compassionate teen-age grandson. "Julia Thomas 80+years old, kicked out. She believes in Winston (Blackmore) not Warren

 

[LinasK]

[SIZE=-1]10:56 PM CDT on Thursday, May 8, 2008

[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]By EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News
eramshaw@dallasnews.com[/SIZE] YEARNING FOR ZION RANCH, Texas – Emptiness echoes off of this polygamist community's once-lush lawns, now parched and brown.
Earthmovers and excavators sleep silently over vacant quarries and construction sites. And the schoolhouse sits frozen in time, its half-finished spelling tests and chalky blackboard lessons a reminder of the religious sect's absent children.

Five weeks since state authorities swept this West Texas ranch and moved more than 400 children into foster care, the prospect of life returning to this community looks bleak. Mothers have scattered across the state, moving into motels to be close to their children's foster homes. Fathers have returned to the Utah-Arizona border where their Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is based, jittery that their other families will be targeted.
Just a few dozen elderly women and young men – plus a handful of sect leaders sent from Utah to manage the legal crisis – remain at the ranch, a fraction of the estimated 700 people living there before the raid. more at link:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...t/stories/050908dntexpolygamists.3893104.html

 

[mollymalone]

http://209.85.215.104/search?q=cach...DS+children&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us&ie=UTF-8
**See Post by Jay Beswick
"Jennifer Dobner with associated Press caught Rodney Parker the FLDS attorney coaching the YFZ women before the media came in."


http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700224522,00.html
Warren Jeffs seeks dismissal of incest charges in AZ.

http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/263240/
Critics charge that the women were coached into saying only what church leaders allowed. Parker said the women were told to speak only if they wanted, and to keep their focus on the plight of the children.

It's unclear how much openness church leaders will continue to allow. Parker said that he encourages it, but that Texas lawyers now working with the church may advise otherwise.

 

[mollymalone]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/09/us/09cnd-polygamy.html?hp
Utah’s attorney general, Mark L. Shurtleff, sat before a room of perhaps 400 people, most of them fundamentalist polygamists, at a town hall meeting here on Thursday night. He asked for a show of hands. How many people, he wanted to know, were related to the children who were seized last month in a raid in Texas in an investigation of possible marriage and abuse of child brides? Scores of hands shot up. Then Mr. Shurtleff asked his follow-up: How many of you would be willing to take those children into your homes? Without a moment’s hesitation, the same hands rose.

"We think it would be wonderful if that were to happen, and we’re going to continue to try to encourage that,” Mr. Shurtleff said, as the room exploded with applause.

Last I heard, Texas was in charge of making those decisions, not him.

 

[mollymalone]

http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700224379,00.html
A legal advocacy group has filed a brief in the FLDS case, warning the Texas 3rd Court of Appeals against making "hasty judgments" that could violate parental rights and trample religious freedoms. The friend of the court brief was filed by the Liberty Legal Institute, which describes itself as an organization committed to the defense of religious freedoms and First Amendment rights in Texas.

But the brief argues that should Texas provide proof that sexual abuse of minors occurred at the YFZ Ranch, that legally trumps religious freedoms protections and parental rights

 

[mollymalone]

Polygamy's Rape of Rachael Strong: Protected Environment for Predators
John R. Llewellyn
http://books.google.com/books?id=3G...g=Fm-GiV0KZIitakgHR6g_W8z9Iks&hl=en#PPA120,M1

God Vs. the Gavel: Religion and the Rule of Law By Marci Hamilton
BRENT JEFFS
http://books.google.com/books?id=Ox...eZWKHwW&sig=rMOZLMpw2zomAwo8ZWTLta2htyM&hl=en

A Teenager's Tears: When Parents Convert to Polygamy By John R. Llewellyn
MANN ACT
http://books.google.com/books?id=wq...d1gB9K8&sig=_7REa14sx69UFMRkaVkFmRdROzc&hl=en

 

[mollymalone]

http://www.childrenshealthcare.org/polygamous.htm
Jessop also believes many FLDS girls are im­pro­perly committed to mental institutions to keep them from acting on independent ideas. Jessop says she was threatened with commitment to a mental institution if she refused to marry the man chosen for her.
In Utah and Arizona, children can be commit­ted to mental institutions on school counselors’ sig­natures, Jessop says.

She knows of 15 FLDS wo­men committed to the Guidance Center, a state-accredited psychiatric hospital in Flagstaff, Arizona. A hospital record for one wo­man sta­ted she was being discharged from her fourth commitment because she “atoned” for her bad behavior toward her husband, Jessop says.

 

[faw720]

http://www.gosanangelo.com is the web site for the San Angelo Standard Times newspaper. Today they have an article on some of the children who have been placed in Corpus Christi. After you read the entire story, there is a section for people to make comments. I was totally astounded that lots of postings were against the state & for the FLDS. Obviously the FLDS have started a letter writing campaign & I thought they didn't believe in computers. Anyway some of you might want to check out the site to keep tabs of what is being said locally.

 

[SewingDeb]

Raid on Sect in Texas Rattles Other Polygamists

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/08/us/08raid.html


Texas: FLDS mothers in a 'conspiracy of silence,' cannot challenge children's removal

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_9207759

Texas will immunize FLDS children

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_9209950

 

[mollymalone]

FLDS Beliefs 101
http://flds101.blogspot.com/2008/05/flds-beliefs-101-gentiles-or-outsiders.html

 

[mollymalone]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...o/stories/050808dnmexicomormons.dc0e95bf.html
Polygamists from Texas unwelcome in Mexico Mormon community

"The community has worked hard for generations to gain acceptance here.
Though polygamy is outlawed in Mexico just as in the U.S. about 15 percent of the community still maintains polygamous relationships, with men getting around the law by taking on what they term spiritual wives. Even so, their message to those wanting to seek legal refuge in Mexico is clear: Don't even think about moving here.

The last thing we need here are a bunch of outlaws, said Lillian Tucker, 40, a mother of 18 who practices polygamy, but is against forcing minors into marriage. I don't recommend anyone that's committing a crime or that's using religion to become a pedophile to come down here, because they're not going to be welcome.

 

[mollymalone]

http://www.swtexaslive.com/node/6857
Richard Holm


http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700225075,00.html
Dan Fischer - Asked by FLDS to assist in finding alternative arrangements for children.

 

[Pepper]

http://www.examiner.com/a-1387835~Second_sect_baby_born_in_state_custody.html

Second baby born in custody.

 

[mollymalone]

(Comments section of the Texas Polygamy Blog http://texaspolygamy.blogspot.com/2008/04/people-search.html from a previous archived entry - you'll have to scroll down to find this post)

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=11081631&postID=112119478449611248&isPopup=true

"What is hard to fathom for outsiders is the fact that insiders are taught that the children they bring into this world do not actually belong to them. They belong to the priesthood."

"Your" child is baptized at the age of eight and from that point on the child has "freely chosen" the laws of the priesthood, to live a Celestial Law, and to honor and obey God through His Prieshood (the prophet) on earth. That child no longer has any choices regarding what direction his life will take ever after that; they are completely given away at the age of eight."

Namaste
7/13/2005 8:19 PM

 

[mollymalone]

http://origin.sltrib.com/ci_9271334

AUSTIN, Texas - "Texas Gov. Rick Perry voiced strong support for Child Protective Services officials..."

"John Kight, chairman of Hill Country Community MHMR board, said he has been rebuffed in his attempts to talk with Perry but he is still trying to arrange a meeting. He said MHMR caregivers reported "appalling behavior" that included flashlights being shined in eyes of mothers at night and CPS caseworkers repeatedly telling lies to the women. The governor's spokeswoman said the complaints were released to the news media before state officials were notified. "Considering that DFPS (the Texas Department of Family Protective Services) had to ask for those reports after reading about them in the newspaper might suggest that he (Kight) might have his own agenda," Piferrer said."