Rogue Mormon 'Prophet' convicted!

[Che Guava]

Just to make it clear form the get-go, I know (as should you!) that this man doesn't really represent the Church of Latter Day Saints or real Mormons at all....

US polygamist leader found guilty

The leader of a US polygamist sect has been convicted of being an accomplice to rape for arranging the marriage of a 14-year-old girl to her older cousin.

A court in Utah found Warren Jeffs, a self-proclaimed Mormon prophet, guilty of two counts of encouraging the young girl to have sex against her will.

The head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) could face life in prison.

The sect split from the Mormon Church after the latter renounced polygamy.

Mr Jeffs has been in custody since August 2006, when he was arrested in Nevada after nearly two years on the run. At the time, he was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.

He went into hiding after being charged in Arizona with being an accomplice to incest and sexual misconduct for allegedly arranging marriages between minors and older men.

'Despair'

After deliberating for 16 hours, the jury in St George found Mr Jeffs had orchestrated the marriage of the girl to her 19-year-old cousin and encouraged her to have sex by telling her she would go to hell if she did not.

Earlier, the victim testified that she had cried in despair when she was told to marry Allen Steed in 2001 and encouraged to kiss him.

The victim, now aged 21, said the couple were married for at least a month before they had sex. Afterwards, she swallowed two bottles of pain relieving medicine and curled up on the floor, she said.

"The only thing I wanted to do was die," she told the court.

Mr Steed, who has not been charged with any offence, testified that his wife had initiated their first sexual encounter.

Under Utah law a 14-year-old can consent to sex, but not if they are enticed by someone at least three years older.

Lawyers for Mr Jeffs argued that he could not have known any rape would be committed and that the victim had been too vague when she told the sect leader about her relationship problems.

Church under pressure

Mr Jeffs, who is reputed to have 70 wives, took over the leadership of the FLDS church after his father, Rulon, died in 2002.

An estimated 40,000 people in the US still believe in polygamy

The 10,000-strong sect dominates the towns of Colorado City, in Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, less than a mile away. A compound in Eldorado, Texas, is also home to a growing community.

Members believe a man must marry at least three wives in order to ascend to heaven. Women are taught that their path to heaven depends on being subservient to their husband.

Polygamy is illegal in the US, but the authorities have reportedly been reluctant to confront the FLDS for fear of sparking a tragedy similar to the 1993 siege of the Branch Davidian sect in Waco, Texas, which led to the deaths of about 80 members.

However, observers say the church is coming under increasing pressure from authorities in Utah and Arizona.

link

Saw a short doc on this fellow a few years ago before he was caught. Glad to see him heading for some jail time....

 

[Babbler]

That's great news, although t it hasn't made it to CBC Newsworld yet.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Obligatory nitpick: We are the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And they of course are a separate organization, I think most people get that. They broke off in 1890.

 

[Ecofarm]

It's not fair to call the guy "Mormon". Mormons outlawed polygamy a long time ago. You might as well call the guy Catholic.

If the OP wants to be clear about this, the title of the thread should be changed to "sect prophet".

This guy has 70 wives?! It looks like he has beaten the Muslims at their own game and received heaven on earth. Who needs to be a martyr when you can get the chicks without dying! We should export this guy to the middle east - he could single-handedly put an end to martyrdom!

 

[downtown]

If there is a hell, Warren Jeffs will be there.

 

[skadistic]

If there is a hell, Warren Jeffs will be there.

Right next to David Koresh, Fred Phelps and Jim Jones.

 

[warpus]

The interesting thing is that this new sect of Mormonism (or whatever you want to call it) is a sect of a sect of a sect of a sect. (Judaism -> Christianity -> Mormonism -> Whateverism)

 

[Japanrocks12]

Right next to David Koresh, Fred Phelps and Jim Jones.

Don't forget Reverend Moon

 

[AL_DA_GREAT]

THe entire clergy of all these sects should be sent to prison.

 

[Swedishguy]

Like that priest said in South Park: Why are they doing this?

 

[Jawz II]

I've hated that guy for some time now. He gives mormons a bad name.

 

[Traitorfish]

I've hated that guy for some time now. He gives mormons a bad name.

Yeah, it does seem that guys like him just play into the common stereotype of Mormons. I mean, whatever you think of Mormonism, you can't fairly equate this guy to the vast majority of Mormons any more than you can equate Osama bin Laden to the majority of Muslims.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Even less than ObL, as there is no single organized Muslim church, with strict guidleines on what can get you excommunicated, as there is here.

On the other hand, he is technically "Mormon" - but not LDS - if the word "Mormon" refers to his religious beliefs, which are in many cases either close to the mainstream LDS Church or historically related. In terms of ecclesiatical affiliation, of course, he is not a member of the LDS Church and no one in his organization has been, I assume, since plural marriage was made an excommunicable offense in 1904.

And of course, no matter how you slice it, he's a creep. Actual plural marriage in and of itself has its drawbacks, of course, but what they do in his church is far worse.

 

[Che Guava]

Obligatory nitpick: We are the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And they of course are a separate organization, I think most people get that. They broke off in 1890.

Sorry for that little error! And I was pretty sure that most people would know that this isn't the mainstream mormon church, I just wanted to spell it out...

It's not fair to call the guy "Mormon". Mormons outlawed polygamy a long time ago. You might as well call the guy Catholic.

Well, he calls himself a mormon, and since the technical definition of a mormon is one that follows the teachings of latter-day saints (Joseph Smith), I think the disignation isn't really incorret.

EDIT: Dang, cross posted with the one who really knows! I gotta get my typing skills up!

EDIT#2: ..and my memory skills, because there was something else I wanted to bring up! While the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS obviously no longer permits polygamy, and the case mentioned is actually about rape and forcing minors into marriages, do you think that there is anything inherently immoral about polygamy?

 

[holy king]

where would humanity be without strict religious moral codes?

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

where would humanity be without strict religious moral codes?

We'd have strict codes based on other things, no doubt.

 

[holy king]

and maybe even based on things that wouldnt make the above possible...

 

[EdwardTking]

a man must marry at least three wives in order to ascend to heaven.

Well Hello Satan, here I come!

 

[IglooDame]

I've hated that guy for some time now. He gives mormons a bad name.

And polygamists, for that matter.

 

[classical_hero]

And polygamists, for that matter.

I never realised that polygamists ever had a good name.