Yesterday, we drove past the federal courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City when we were going to work. We saw a grundle of (about 1500) Fundamental LDS folks “silently protesting” outside the courthouse. They had come from all over the country to protest the sale of their former land to pay back members of their church and to pay off the church’s debts such as legal fees stemming from evil Warren Jeff’s trial.
From Wikipedia:
The land and houses occupied by the FLDS Church on the Utah/Arizona border are owned by the United Effort Plan (UEP), which was once a subsidiary organization of the church. The UEP also owns most of the property of the businesses that are controlled by FLDS Church members in that area. The church views this “United Order” as a means of living the traditional Latter Day Saint doctrine of the “Law of Consecration.” The Attorney General of Utah filed a lawsuit and seized the holdings of the UEP for the current residents of Colorado City and Hildale. The Attorney General is seeking to distribute the assets of the UEP to the FLDS Church members and ex-members who contributed to the UEP. In 2005, a court order froze the UEP pending a resolution of the lawsuit. At the time of the court order, the UEP was worth $100 million.
The judge postponed the decision on the land sale.
The reason I mention this event is because I was once again appalled by the very young age of many of the “sister wives” and how some had babies of their own. My oldest child is a 17-year-old girl and she is NOT ready to be a wife and mother. She needs to enjoy her youth and get a good education. I am grateful she is seeing her own needs right now. I am proud of her.
The following are some photos taken by the Salt Lake Tribune.
Note that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) which is a very different church from the Fundamental Latter-Day Saint church (FLDS). There is NO way I would tolerate the way FLDS men treat women and girls in their communities. My Dad has written a book about some of the things that have gone on in the FLDS communities and its effect on women. You may be able to tell I have strong opinions and emotions about that group.
