The Information Is Overwhelming

So, I am reading "Under the Banner of Heaven". It is really a great book. There is so much information about the Mormon Fundamentalist sect. These people vary from the "regular" Mormons by being more extreme in their beliefs and practices...I think the biggest difference is that they practice polygamy.

I can't go into detail because I haven't quite grasped all the information myself and even the stuff I have grasped is so complicated, I have it in my head but would barely be able to discuss it. There are many Mormon sects but the biggest branch (beside the regular Mormon establishment) is the FLDS (Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints). They deny the government and it's laws and abide by only what God says to them ("the chosen ones") directly. These people cheat the government out of money (mostly welfare) out of billions of dollars. They justify this by saying that manipulating the system is how God would want it for the chosen ones. You know, most people thought we have to worry about illegal immigrants but this sect in particular are the same in number if not more and reproducing much faster (3-40 "wives" and sometimes over a hundred children per family). Most of them are not contributing to social security and most FLDS families are drawing six figure checks annually from the government through state and federal assistance.

Remember the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping from a few years ago? The Smarts were a faithful "regular" Mormon family. They hired a "will work for food" kind of guy one day to help with roof repairs and whatnot. This guy had been ousted by the Mormon church for extremist beliefs. He was an Independent FLDS (yet another sect) who had received a commandment from God to start taking on more wives. While working at the Smart's home he noticed Elizabeth. He then knew that she was to be his second wife. She was only 14 years old. He kidnapped her one night out of her bedroom. Over the next several months he had taken her as his "wife" in a spiritual ceremony only involving Elizabeth, himself, and his original wife. They hid out in homemade camps in the brush of the mountains. He brainwashed Elizabeth the whole time. She even went out in public (with a burka like veil and wig) and would be left alone sometimes for a couple hours. She never told a soul and never attempted to run away. When she was finally found by police, she denied that she was actually Elizabeth Smart, they grilled her for hours and she finally admitted it. Stockholm Syndrome at it's best, she was concerned about the future of her captures and she cried the whole time because she didn't want to leave.

here's a good Elizabeth Smart link:

http://www.agreka.com/about_elizabeth_smart_on_polygamy.htm


Polygamy is a fucked up belief system (IMHO) because it is a totally subservient lifestyle. The men don't just tell the women to clean, they tell them how to clean (ie: how to clean the inside of a milk carton). They are not allowed to have sex unless it will result in pregnancy, in essence, sex with their husband is only allowed during ovulation. If intercourse happens outside of that, God will punish them. Women are meant to keep house, reproduce and raise their children to be faithful to the church. They are beaten, raped and most are married off by the age of 13 or 14 years old. There is a lot of rape and incest going on within the families because sex is so repressed in their culture. Young girls are forced to marry older men in the society. Sometimes those men are their Uncles or Stepfathers, which sometimes can result in being one's own stepgrandmother at 15 years of age (figure that one out!).

I am so fascinated by all of this. This is all going on and so many people are unaware (including myself). The regular Mormon church looks innocent in all of this but the founder of the regular Church of Latter Day Saints, Joseph Smith, was an extreme polygamist and then the guy who took over the church, Brigham Young, was an extreme polygamist as well. The LDS eventually outlawed the practice of polygamy because the US government was so against it and outlawed it. I am a little skeptical of the Mormon church in general now. I am so curious about all the inside workings of the church that the outside world (we are known as Gentiles (even the Jews)) is not aware of.

Anyway, this post is a lot longer than I anticipated. Sorry for the book report like lesson here. I just find it all so fascinating! (Thanks for reading if you did.)

--oh and one last note--
The boyscout, Brennan Hawkins, who was just found after missing for four days in the woods...he is Mormon. You know, he could have just been missing (hey, I got lost in the mountains once too) but now I am just wondering ever so slighly if something else happened. I know he is a boy but, man, you just never know. Is something being hidden, covered up? Are we being misinformed in some way?

I really sound like one of those people that are into uncovering conspiracy theories. I think I am just paranoid about things that happen that I don't know everything about.