Brent W. Jeffs | |
---|---|
Nationality | American |
Occupation(s) | Author, advocate |
Known for | Leaving FLDS; memoir |
Works | Lost Boy |
Children | 1 |
Relatives | Rulon Jeffs (grandfather) Warren Jeffs (uncle) Nephi Jeffs (uncle) Lyle Jeffs (uncle) Seth Jeffs (uncle) |
Brent W. Jeffs is an American author, advocate, and former member of the influential Jeffs family in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS Church).
Brent wrote the memoir Lost Boy with author Maia Szalavitz, which was released on May 19, 2009. [1] The book is a depiction of life within the FLDS Church and his ostracism from the organization at a young age. The title of the book comes from the term "the lost boys", which refers to the many young men expelled from the FLDS Church. Jeffs is a grandson of FLDS prophet Rulon Jeffs, nephew to imprisoned FLDS prophet Warren Jeffs and leader Lyle Jeffs, and his mother is the daughter of another non-FLDS prophet as well. [2]
Brent was born to Ward Jeffs, son of Rulon. Ward had three wives, two of whom were sisters. Between these marriages, Brent had nineteen siblings. Ward eventually left the church, leaving Brent in the FLDS community per Brent's request. Eventually, Brent left the compound and moved into a small apartment with four of his older brothers, where they experimented with alcohol, drug use, and partying. [3]
In 2004, Brent named Warren as the perpetrator in a civil lawsuit seeking damages for sexual abuse he had suffered as a boy. [4] [2] Lost Boy depicts much of the sexual abuse that was inflicted upon him beginning at ages five or six. The memoir also includes abuse from Warren's brothers and other family members. [1]
Brent has appeared on the NPR radio show Fresh Air , hosted by interviewer Teri Gross, [2] the television show Polygamy: What Love Is This?, [5] Hannity, [6] and Dr. Phil , [7] with each appearance having to do with the FLDS and polygamy. In each appearance, Brent discussed the dangers of the FLDS lifestyle and abuse from Warren and other influential FLDS Church leaders.
Since releasing his memoir, Brent has married and had a daughter. They live in Salt Lake City, Utah. [8]
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 estimated that 6,000 to 10,000 members reside within the congregate sister cities of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona (raided); Eldorado, Texas (raided); Westcliffe, Colorado; Mancos, Colorado; Creston and Bountiful, British Columbia (sold); and Pringle, South Dakota (sold).
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 religious leader who has been convicted of several sex crimes and two assisted sex crimes involving children. He is the prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a polygamous movement which has no affiliation with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 2011, he was convicted of two felony counts of child sexual assault, for which he is serving a life sentence.
The Apostolic United Brethren (AUB) is a Mormon fundamentalist group that practices polygamy. The AUB has had a temple in Mexico, since at least the 1990s, an endowment house in Utah since the early 1980s and several other locations of worship to accommodate their members in Wyoming, Arizona, and Montana.
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.
"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.
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.
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.
The term placement marriage refers to arranged marriages between members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Placement marriage is believed and practiced by members of the FLDS Church to show their commitment and obedience in order to obtain salvation for themselves and their parents; it might be considered “the most visible outward symbol of members’ devotion."
William Edson Jessop is a leader in the Mormon fundamentalist movement.
Wendell Loy Nielsen was the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, replacing Warren Jeffs, at that time imprisoned on charges related to sexual assaults against minors.
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.
The Council of Friends was one of the original expressions of Mormon fundamentalism, having its origins in the teachings of Lorin C. Woolley, a courier and bodyguard for polygamous leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who was excommunicated in 1924.
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.
Leroy "Roy" Barlow Jeffs was a former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He was one of the prophet Warren Jeffs' fifty four children.