The Utah Experience

The hubs and I met for coffee with a mentor of ours this past week. He shared about a friend in Utah who was planting a church in a city well known for polygamy. For those of you who are reading and are unfamiliar with the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) you can read about them here. As we were talking, he was sharing how the elders of the church are marrying off young girls to men, performing the marriage ceremony in the girl's absence and later letting the girl's father know that she was married the night before. The girl then has no choice and is given over to her "husband" and is rarely seen from again by her family.She is a slave. He also shared how the leader of the group has forbidden sexual relationships between a husband and wife unless it is for procreation purposes. The only way they would be able to enforce such a ridiculous law they would, of course,have to witness any sexual intercourse that would take place. The elders watch. 

My stomach tightened as I heard him share about what was going on. These women (and by women, I mean girls who are in the age group, of say, Justin Beiber's fan club) are slaves. The young boys are being dropped off at the Arizona/Utah border in the middle of the night because there aren't enough girls to go around. Husbands and wives have to perform for an audience in the name "doing the will of the Prophet". This isn't happening in a third world country with ancient customs. This is happening in our back yard. 

My heart has been heavy since hearing these things. It's not the first time I heard stories like this. It isn't uncommon to see a polygamist family every now and then here. There are shows that try to downplay the rape, incest, and slavery that takes place within the walls of many of these homes. Some people try to protest laws that outlaw polygamy because it's messing with their rights. To that I say protest on behalf of the women and children who are trapped and stop making this a political debate. Sometimes it feels like I live in a bubble because before I moved to Utah, I didn't think much about the news reports when the raid happened at their compound. I didn't hear much about it to be honest but that all changed when we heard the stories here. If this is the first time you are reading about this, I ask that you inform yourself about what is going on. I also ask that you pray. Pray for those that are trapped. Pray for those that are brave enough to escape. Pray for those on the front lines who are putting themselves in danger by helping the escapees rebuild their lives. Pray that this might end. 

Overlooking the city at Ensign Peak last year