Preaching Evil: A Wife on the Run with Warren Jeffs | |
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Genre | Documentary True crime |
Directed by | Douglas Elford-Argent |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 4 |
Production | |
Cinematography | Kevin Burke |
Running time | 45–53 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | Peacock |
Release | April 26, 2022 |
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. [1] The series was released on April 26, 2022, on Peacock. [2] [3] 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. [4] [5]
Naomie Jessop Jeffs, daughter of Merril Jessop, and former wife of Rulon Jeffs details her early life, marriage to the then elderly Rulon, and her eventual marriage to his son Warren Jeffs upon him appointing himself prophet. [6] As Jeffs becomes wanted by law enforcement Naomi's own journals from her work as Warren's personal scribe are used to detail her life both in the community of Short Creek (Hilldale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona), as well as her time on the run with Jeffs being placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List. [7]
The series also documents the construction and eventual raid of the YFZ Ranch in Eldorado, Texas. [8]
No. | Title | |
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1 | "A False Prophet Rises" | |
Warren Jeffs brings wife and personal scribe Naomie on a mission to avoid interest from the law. | ||
2 | "Heavenly Sessions" | |
Jeffs lands on the FBI's Most Wanted list after abusing his members. | ||
3 | "The Take Down" | |
Jeffs is incarcerated, controls the church from prison as his the YFZ ranch is raided. | ||
4 | "Justice Served" | |
Following Jeffs' life sentence, former members contemplate life after the FLDS |
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a religious sect of the fundamentalist Mormon denominations whose members practice polygamy. It is variously defined as a cult, a sect, or a new religious movement. The organization has been involved in various illegal activities, including child marriages, child abandonment, sexual assault, and human trafficking including child sexual abuse. The church has been disavowed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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; there is no affiliation between the FLDS Church and the LDS Church.
Flora Jessop is an American social activist, author, and advocate for abused children.
Rulon Timpson Jeffs, known to followers as Uncle Rulon, was an American polygamist and religious leader who served as the 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.
Carolyn Jessop is an American author and former Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints member who wrote Escape, an autobiographical account of her upbringing in the polygamist sect and later flight from that community. She is the cousin, by marriage, of Flora Jessop, another former FLDS member and advocate for abused children. Carolyn Jessop now lives in the Salt Lake City area with her children.
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.
Winston Blackmore is the leader of a polygamous Fundamentalist Latter Day Saint religious group in Bountiful, British Columbia, Canada. He is described as "Canada's best-known avowed polygamist". He has 150 children with his 27 "spiritual" wives, some of whom he has admitted were underage.
William Edson Jessop is a leader in the Mormon fundamentalist movement.
William Roy Jessop is a former leader and spokesman for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Jessop should not be confused with William E. Jessop, the person Warren Jeffs designated as his successor to the presidency of the FLDS Church.
Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs is an autobiography by American author Elissa Wall detailing her childhood in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) and subsequent later life outside of the church. It was first published by William Morrow and Company in 2008.
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.
Rebecca Musser is an American author and activist. She was a wife of the late Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints prophet Rulon Jeffs and escaped the compound before bringing legal proceedings against the church. In the film Outlaw Prophet: Warren Jeffs, Musser is portrayed by actress Sabina Gadecki.
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.
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.
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. 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.
Rachel Jeffs Blackmore is an American author and former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She is the daughter of the church's prophet, convicted pedophile Warren 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).