Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey

Last updated
Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey
Keep Sweet Pray and Obey (poster).jpg
Genre Documentary
True crime
Directed byRachel Dretzin
Grace McNally
Opening theme"Feel More" by Michelle Gurevich
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes4
Production
CinematographyJustin Zweifach
Running time45–53 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network Netflix
ReleaseJune 8, 2022 (2022-06-08)

Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey is an American documentary miniseries on Netflix, surrounding the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, an offshoot of mainstream Mormonism, and its current leader Warren S. Jeffs. [1] The series was released on June 8, 2022, on Netflix. It is directed by Rachel Dretzin, and Grace McNally, who began interviewing survivors after visiting Short Creek, Utah, the headquarters of the FLDS Church. [2]

Contents

Between June 5, 2022, and June 19, 2022, the docuseries was watched for 58.78 million hours on Netflix globally. [3]

Etymology

The title of the series is derived from the motto "Keep Sweet, Pray, and Obey," coined by the preceding president Rulon Jeffs, and used to convey how women should behave in relation to their husband. [4] According to a woman going by the name "Charlene", who was interviewed in the series, the mantra was frequently sung aloud, and meant "to be in control of your emotions and you didn't display things like anger or resentment or frustration." [5] The latter part of the motto, "Pray and Obey" is shown to adorn the chimney of a house belonging to Warren Jeffs.

Premise

Several former FLDS members, or survivors, are interviewed by Dretzin on both their experiences inside the church, as well providing testimony to Jeffs' systematic coercion and exercises of power toward the members of the congregation. [2] Rebecca Musser, a former wife of Rulon, appears in each of the episodes, as does her sister Elissa Wall. [6] [5] People outside of the church, either related to the events transpiring following the church's move from Salt Lake City to Short Creek, the move of headquarters from Short Creek to the Yearning for Zion Ranch, or for their previous work covering the FLDS, were also interviewed. These people include both the investigative journalist Mike Watkiss, [7] who had previously done several reports on the church, private investigator Sam Brower, who has investigated the church for several years, and attorney Roger Hoole. [4]

Episodes

No.Title
1"Part 1"
Rulon Jeffs' family members and ex-wives discuss life in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the role of polygamy.
2"Part 2"
Warren Jeffs tightens his grip on all aspects of FLDS life in Short Creek, Arizona. A private investigator and a TV journalist raise concerns.
3"Part 3"
The church expels prominent men, expands surveillance and constructs a massive temple on a Texas ranch. Witness testimony helps the investigation.
4"Part 4"
Despite the arrest, Warren maintains control over the church. Child Protective Services removes children from the ranch, causing a media frenzy.

Production

According to Dretzin herself, the focus "[is] not only the experience of being in that cult", but instead "It's on the people, particularly the women who managed to defy it and escape it, which—if you know anything about the FLDS—is a pretty miraculous and incredible thing to do.” [8] The series also featured background film with actors portraying both Jeffs and relatives of interviewees in all of the episodes.

Dretzin has also expressed interest in making a second season, albeit stating that the decision is ultimately up to Netflix. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints</span> Latter-Day Saints denomination

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mormon fundamentalism</span> Advocates of some early Mormon doctrines

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warren Jeffs</span> American sex offender and cult leader (born 1955)

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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">YFZ Ranch</span> Former Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints community in Texas

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.

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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.

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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.

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Nephi Jeffs is an American Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints leader. He is the bishop of the Short Creek Stake, and is his brother Warren Jeffs's personal secretary.

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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.

References

  1. ↑ "What has the Mormon Church said about "Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey"?". Newsweek. June 8, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Kreps, Daniel (May 26, 2022). "New Netflix Docuseries Digs Into Warren Jeffs' Infamous Polygamist Cult". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  3. ↑ Moore, Kasey (2022-07-14). "Most Popular New Documentaries on Netflix in 2022 (So Far)". What's on Netflix. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  4. 1 2 Lowry, Brian (June 8, 2022). "'Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey' revisits Warren Jeffs' FLDS sect through survivor stories". CNN. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  5. 1 2 Ridley, Jane (June 9, 2022). "An 85-year-old cult leader forced teens to have sex with him. Now the women are telling their stories". Business Insider. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  6. ↑ Bruney, Gabrielle (June 6, 2022). "'Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey' Examines a Polygamist Cult Through the Eyes of Women Who Escaped". Jezebel. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  7. ↑ AZFamily Digital News Staff (June 14, 2022). "Former 3TV reporter Mike Watkiss featured in new Netflix documentary on Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs". Arizona's Family. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  8. ↑ Richards, Amanda (June 11, 2022). "Documenting Mormonism's Darkest Hour". Netflix Tudum. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  9. ↑ Sippell, Margeaux (June 9, 2022). "Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey Director Wants to Make a Second Season About Life After FLDS". MovieMaker. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
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