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Colorado City is a town in Mohave County, Arizona, United States, and is located in a region known as the Arizona Strip. The population was 2,478 at the 2020 census. At least three Mormon fundamentalist sects are said to have been based there. A majority of residents and many local officials belong to the most prominent of these sects, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, whose corporation also owned much of the land within and around the town until state intervention in the 2000s.
Hildale is a city in Washington County, Utah, United States. The population was 1,127 at the 2020 census.
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a Mormon fundamentalist group whose members practice polygamy. It is variously defined as a cult, a sect or a new religious movement. The FLDS Church has been involved in various illegal activities, including child marriages, child abandonment, sexual assault and human trafficking including child sexual abuse. The sect is not connected to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest Latter-day Saint denomination.
Mormon fundamentalism is a belief in the validity of selected fundamental aspects of Mormonism as taught and practiced in the nineteenth century, particularly during the administrations of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and John Taylor, the first three presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mormon fundamentalists seek to uphold tenets and practices no longer held by mainstream Mormons. The principle most often associated with Mormon fundamentalism is plural marriage, a form of polygyny first taught in the Latter Day Saint movement by the movement's founder, Smith. A second and closely associated principle is that of the United Order, a form of egalitarian communalism. Mormon fundamentalists believe that these and other principles were wrongly abandoned or changed by the LDS Church in its efforts to become reconciled with mainstream American society. Today, the LDS Church excommunicates any of its members who practice plural marriage or who otherwise closely associate themselves with Mormon fundamentalist practices.
Warren Steed Jeffs is an American cult leader who is serving a life sentence in Texas for child sexual assault following two convictions in 2011. He is the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a polygamous cult based in Arizona. The FLDS Church was founded in the early-20th century when its founders deemed the renunciation of polygamy by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be apostate. The LDS Church disavows any relation between it and the FLDS Church, although there are significant historical ties.
Rulon Timpson Jeffs, known to followers as Uncle Rulon, was an American polygamist and religious leader who founded and was recognized as the 5th president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a Mormon fundamentalist organization based in Colorado City, Arizona, United States, from 1986 until his death in 2002. He was the father of later FLDS Church leader and convicted felon Warren Jeffs.
"Lost boys" is a term used for young men who have been excommunicated or pressured to leave polygamous Mormon fundamentalist groups, such as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). Although sometimes officially accused of apostasy or disobedience, it is thought that they are mainly pressured to leave by older adult men to reduce competition for wives within such sects, usually when they are between the ages of 13 and 21.
The Yearning for Zion Ranch, or the YFZ Ranch, was a 1,700-acre (690-hectare) Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) community of as many as 700 people, located near Eldorado in Schleicher County, Texas, United States. In April 2014, the State of Texas took physical and legal possession of the property. As of 2019, the property was in the process of being sold to the Dallas-based firm ETG Properties LLC, who were already leasing it for use as a military and law enforcement training facility.
Colorado City Unified School District No. 14 is a school district headquartered in Colorado City, Arizona, serving students in the towns of Colorado City, Centennial Park and part of Cane Beds in rural Mohave County, and in Hildale, Utah. It operates Cottonwood Preschool, Cottonwood Elementary School, and El Capitan High School.
Leroy Sunderland Johnson, known as Uncle Roy, was a leader of the Mormon fundamentalist group in Short Creek, which later evolved into the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, from the mid-1950s until his death.
Merril Jessop was a high-ranking bishop in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, commonly referred to as the FLDS Church. He was briefly the de facto leader of the FLDS. Jessop was also in charge of the YFZ Ranch during the 2008 raid.
Sons of Perdition is a 2010 documentary film featuring a behind-the-scenes look into the lives of teenagers exiled from their families and community by Warren Jeffs, self-proclaimed prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Sons of Perdition premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on April 24, 2010, having sold out at the box office within one hour from the time tickets went on sale.
Lyle Jeffs is the brother of Warren Jeffs and a bishop in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, commonly referred to as the FLDS Church. He has been referred to as his brother's "special counselor" in some church documents.
Ruby Jessop is an American former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) and child bride known for her family connections, her 2013 escape from an FLDS-controlled polygamous community, and the criminal probe prompted by her escape.
Seth Jeffs is an American high-ranking official in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He is known for harboring his brother Warren Jeffs during the federal manhunt to arrest him.
The United Effort Plan also known as the UEP Trust is a charitable organization that was originally formed in 1942 as a subsidiary organization of the FLDS church. The organization is based in the Short Creek Community, comprising Hilldale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona, which was primarily the base of the FLDS church until church leader Warren Jeffs was arrested in 2007. In 2005 the trust was seized after the Attorney General of Utah filed a lawsuit against the church.
The Leroy S. Johnson Meetinghouse was the meetinghouse of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) located in Colorado City, Arizona, serving the Short Creek Community which includes Hilldale, Utah.
Preaching Evil: A wife on the Run with Warren Jeffs is an American documentary television miniseries on Peacock about the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, an offshoot of mainstream Mormonism, and its leader Warren S. Jeffs. The series was released on April 26, 2022, on Peacock. It is directed by Douglas Elford Argent. The series focuses on Jeff's polygamous wife, and personal scribe Naomie Jessop, originally a wife of his father Rulon Jeffs.
Prisoner of the Prophet is an American documentary miniseries on Discovery+, surrounding the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, an offshoot of mainstream Mormonism, and its current leader Warren S. Jeffs. The series was released on January 30, 2023. It is directed by Pat McGee. The series focuses on Jeff's 65th polygamous wife, Briell Decker, and her time both during and following Jeff's incarceration, and the transformation of the community of Short Creek, notably Decker transforming Jeff's former compound into a place of refuge for those leaving the religion.
The Isaac W. Carling Memorial Park is a cemetery in Colorado City, Arizona, United States. Throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries, it was the main burial site for members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The Cemetery is named after Isaac Warren Carling (1894–1938).
References
- ↑ "Police Department". Town of Colorado City. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
- ↑ "Colorado City says police ties to polygamous group are past". AP News. 2021-08-22. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
- ↑ Shortell, David (2017-04-19). "FLDS community is ordered to reform police department". CNN. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
- ↑ Hendley, Matthew. "Bill to Get Rid of FLDS-Lovin' Cops in Colorado City Gets Neutered, Passes House". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
- ↑ "The turncoat: 'Thug Willie' spills secrets of FLDS and its 'prophet'". fox61.com. February 27, 2016. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
- ↑ "Colorado City says police ties to polygamous group are past". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
- ↑ "Once under Justice Department scrutiny, Hildale's police force is now being honored for reforms". FOX 13 News Utah (KSTU). 2023-04-27. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
- ↑ "From shadows into the light, Colorado City's policing transition into award-winning department" . Retrieved 2023-12-13.
- ↑ Woods, Alden Woods and Alden. "Outsiders, FLDS battle for control of towns Warren Jeffs left behind". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2023-12-13.