A Really Interesting Read- Stolen Innocence- A Book Review

Really the first of 2 reviews. Why? You'll see below. Also this post is LONG, because it contains so much detail from the book. If you do not want to spend 2-5 minutes, then click to the next site.

OK, Brave Survivors! Get comfortable and let's Get Going!

In the endless daily grind of being the Oldest House Frau on the Web, I listen to a lot of talk radio. (Is there any other kind?).

At the end of May 2008, on the Jerry Agar show on WLS AM radio, he interviewed the author of "Stolen Innocence", Elissa Wall. It is her story of growing up in the Fundamentalist Church of the Latter Days Saints (FLDS). This is a polygamous sect, where she became a teenage bride finally and broke free of the sect and it's leader- Warren Jeffs.

You may remember that Warren Jeffs and his zombie brain washed followers were again in the news in April 2008. His Zion ranch/compound/hideout in Texas was raided. Officers were responding to a call from a minor with allegations of physical and sexual abuse.

From what I catch of Elissa's interview, the book sounded very interesting, to say the least.

Elissa was a very good speaker- rational and thought provoking giving her story of growing up within a sect.

What impressed me was how she was still able to give loving depictions of her FLDS family and friends. Here was a woman who had done a lot healing from her experiences and displayed a maturity well beyond her years. She is in her early 20's.

That day, I went on-line (nope, I'm always signed on-LOL) and requested the book from my local library. And of course, I was th 50th person of 78 on the waiting list.! (Jerry has a really good show you know, and people where ordering the book also.)

Now, on to the book review!

I tell you, this book was worth the wait when I picked it up last week. But why 2 reviews?

Because, when I was returning the 1st book - Stolen Innocence, I saw on the hot pick shelf a book related to this one -"When Men Become Gods" Morman Polygamist- Warren Jeffs, His cult of Fear, and the Women who fought back, by Stephen Singula. So I took that book home and that became the 2nd read.

Part 1 (Because of the length of this post, I have separated the reviews in to 2 parts aka the Fundamentalist Dynamic Duo! Part 2 - the sequel? No, no, no, the other book review will be posted within a few days. Even I, must break away for important things, like visiting other people's sites and besides, my butt hurts from sitting in this chair so long.)

First Review ( Read this book first)

The Book: Stolen Innocence - published in 2008 by Ellissa Wall.

What's It About?

From the inside flap of the book: In September 2007, a packed courtroom in St. George UT, sat hushed as Elissa Wall , the star witness against polygamous sect leader-Warren Jeffs, gave captivating testimony of how Jeff's forced her to marry her 1st cousin at age 14. This harrowing and vivid account proved to be the most compelling evidence against Jeffs, showing the harsh realities of this closed community and the lengths to which Jeffs went to order in order to control the sect's women... She left the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints (FLDS )at age 18 and she currently reside with her 2 children and husband Lamont. -end flap insert

The Review: I like it! I give it 5 out of 5 Fundamentalist Saints Halos! The highest rating for a book about Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints religious brain washed wackos living in the USA.

Really, after the 1st few pages, I was hooked because it was so interestingly and well written, without preaching about women's rights, radical religious views, or bashing or praising the religion. The story is told simply and the pace of the story moves along quietly but dynamically.

Points :

This book gives a detailed description of what it is like to live in The Fundamentalist Church of the Latter Day Saints (FLDS) as told by a female insider.

First, here's some important things you learn about FLDS. Most of the below is verbatim from the book ( ) contain my profound and evil comments:

FLDS is a group that broke away from the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints or popularly known as the LDS or Mormon Church.

The most prominent difference between the FLDS and the Morman Church is that FLDS still practice plural marriage or polygamy. So this stuff is NOT about the church we know as MORMANs! Mormans abandoned the practice of polygamous marriage in last century.

FLDS believe that they are following the true Morman religion as it was first envisioned by Joseph Smith, the founder of the LDS religion.

The prophet is the head of the FLDS church. As the most important figure in the FLDS, he is viewed as an extension of God.

Before the mid-1980's, authority in the FLDS had been divided between the prophet and a priesthood council, but a disagreement over who had the authority to arrange marriages had put an end to this shared hierarchy. All the power in the church went to the prophet, who has the sole responsibility, among other things, of arranging marriages.

When it comes to marriage, members practice something called the "Law of Placement", in which all marriages are decided by the prophet and based on a revelation that he receives from God. Everything the prophet proclaims is said to be the word of God, and thus if he directs a union, it is akin to God commanding the union.

Marriages can be "sealed" for "time and all eternity" which means even after die,you are stilled married, when you reach the Celestial Kingdom. (Yes,even after you die, you are still married-ouch!)" Sealed only for "time", means a woman has lost a husband to death and needs a caretaker here on earth until she can join her husband in the Celestial Kingdom.

The "Priesthood or to hold Priesthood", is to hold the power and authority of God, delegated to men. To hold priesthood, a man must prove his worthiness by showing his absolute devotion to the work of God, through strict obedience to the key holder of the priesthood, the prophet. The prophet is the president of the priesthood.( I bet he holds more than one term-LOL)

In the FLDS, it is believed that God (or the priesthood) is funneled through the prophet to the elders of the church.

Lines of priesthood authority are patriarchal and strictly observed. In this system, all women and children basically belong to the priesthood-not just to their husband or father. In reality, they are possessions of the priesthood and the prophet and revelations from God determine their ultimate fate.

When a prophet decides to award a wife to a priesthood man, it is viewed as a transfer of a possession to the man. (If I were awarded, boy would that husband get a wonderful surprise package!)

It is common practice to expel men and in extreme cases women, whom the priesthood considered a threat and could weaken the faith of other members. All that's required is for the prophet or someone acting at his directive to say "You have lost your priesthood".

This is an enormous lost for believers, as it creates a culture of fear. If a husband loses his priesthood, his family is literally no longer his. In addition, he has to leave his land and home because his home is owned by the FLDS Church's Trust -United Effort Plan and controlled by the priesthood.

Faithful wives and children will accept this decision and wait to be "reassigned" to another man. In the meantime, the father is told that his only chance to win back his family is to leave and repent at a distance.

The FLDS consider anyone who has voluntary left the FLDS as an "Apostate" They are considered the worst kind of EVIL. ( I consider them brave and intelligent) The FLDS teaching demand that all church members abandon people who choose to apostatize, even members of your own family.

Non FLDS are called Gentiles.

FLDS members believe that they are God's chosen people and when Judgement Day comes, they will be the only ones allowed into heaven.

Judgement Day is known as the day the destruction of the Lord will sweep across the earth, bringing fire, storms and death in its wake. The wicked would all be destroyed and when it seems like none would survive, the Lord would lift the worthiest people (guess who?)- the FLDS off the earth while the devastation passed beneath them. Then He would set the FLDS back down and they would build Zion, a place without sadness or pain, enjoying 1000's of years of peace.

The FLDS have large congregations living in Hildale, UT; Colorado City, Az.; and Bountiful, British Columbia, in Canada. Estimates of the church membership are as high as 30,000.

FLDS believe the credo that a man must have at least three wives to enter the highest of the 3 levels of the "Celestial Kingdom" or heaven. Women cannot gain entrance to the highest of the 3 levels of heaven on their own, they must be married to a man who holds the priesthood and he has to have at least 3 wives, or they will go to a lower level or to hell. (this is kinda of a catch 22, or control 22 isn't it?)

Woman are taught (controlled conditioning) that they have already chosen their destiny before birth, at which point they chose to willingly place their lives in the hands of the prophet and priesthood, having everything dictated for them.

Patriarchs and presiding leaders the Elders, are addressed with the title "Uncle" and it conveys endearment and respect.

A woman's purpose is to be married and reproduce and help herself and her husband reach the Celestial Kingdom. She must "Keep Sweet" in the face of adversity and always obey her husband.

"Keep Sweet" the mantra of FLDS -It means: be obedient and accept things.( There are no sugar substitutes allowed-LOL)

The priesthood families could be and were dissolved at anytime, based on the actions of the wives or husbands or by the will of the prophet.

In Elissa's story, her mother goes to the prophet and complains about the chaos between her and the other 2 wives. I wrote more about this, in her life section below.

Warren Jeffs planned for years to succeed the current prophet, his father - Rulon Jeffs . When Rulon died, he did just that.

He then stopped respecting other Elders of FLDS and became a one man dictator. His orders were never questioned (no matter how extreme or contrary to the Churches teaching or any teaching even!) because FLDS members believed that they were from the voice of God.

For much of Rulon's life, Warren been preaching that Rulon would be the last prophet on earth. They taught that he would never die, rather he would be renewed, once again he would be a man in his 20's who would continue on as the prophet living with his 60 plus wives. In his renewed state, Rulon would lead the FLDS to Zion after the destruction and live for 300 years. He died in September 8,2002. He was not renewed. (Oops!)

Now let's take a look into what it was like living in this closed society and Elissa's childhood. Material for the book are in "" and italics.

• Elissa had 3 mothers. Her birth mom, Sharon was the 2nd wife. The 1st wife was Mother Audrey and the 3rd wife was Mother Laura. Elissa's father, Douglas married Laura when Elissa was 9.
• Living with 3 moms and their children,was very stressful as the 3 wives often fought each other, defending their kids and their place in the family. "It was an atmosphere of insecurity and jealousy."
• Only Sharon was raised in a FLDS polygamous family. Sharon's 5 mothers were able to live in harmony with each other without much fighting. Her family was a model of what a happy FLDS polygamous family was able to achieve.
• At the time of her wedding Sharon was 18, while Audrey was 33. Audrey had been Douglas's only mate for 15 years. So Audrey struggled with strong feelings of resentment and deep jealousy for Sharon, the young beautiful and talented 2nd wife. The 2 never got along, arguing how to raise their children or share their husband's affection. "Each mother felt that the others children were being treated better than the her own. Church rules forbade us (the family members) from outwardly showing displeasure, so the bitterness remained just below the surface. We were taught to Keep Sweet ,an admonition to be compliant and pleasant no matter what the circumstance."
• "Over time the bickering between Mother Audrey and my mother took its toll on my father and endangered his standing with the church. Dad as patriarch of the family was to control his wives and children in strict accordance with the teaching of the church and the directives from the priesthood. "
• Elissa's dad Douglas and Audrey were not raised in the FLDS church, they came to the faith by chance. Audrey's parents converted to FLDS from the LDS church and then converted Douglas and Audrey to it.
• Douglas married Sharon (his 2nd wife), a few years after his conversion. He was visiting Hildale UT, when he heard a voice telling him, "Sharon Steed belongs to you as your next wife".Men of the FLDS are taught they hold power to receive some direct revelation from God and Douglas believed this was God's message to him."
• The marriage of Elissa's dad to his 3rd wife, Laura was also difficult because Laura, grew up in a monogamous family. She did not know how to live in plural marriage. But Laura helped Douglas achieve his and the other 2 wives entrance into the Celestial Kingdom, so it was considered a joyous occasion, no matter how much stress it created within the family.
• Elissa's family was large,with 24 kids! All had to live a secret life as they practiced their faith.
• " (I) knew we were different from the people living around us in our Salt Lake City suburb. For one thing , we weren't supposed to play with other kids in the neighborhood, as we usually kept the curtains in the house drawn to protect our privacy and the secret life we led... We went to a special school-Alta Academy. .. We dressed differently from everyone else, wearing long church undergarments that covered our entire body and stretched from the neck to the ankles.. (the sacred underwear, no, I am not kidding- that is what it is called). On top of these, the girls and women wore frilly long pioneer-style dresses year round, which made it hard to play in the back yard and even harder to stay comfortable in the summer heat. Students were not supposed to wear red clothes, the color of the devil.(The church mandated clothing rules were both for males and females- males had to were long sleeves over their sacred underwear and be clean shaven)
• A young Elissa was exposed to the outside non-FLDS world. But this changed later as the religion became more oppressive and restrictive, and they moved from the Salt Lake City area.
• With 24 kids the family made a big deal out of birthdays, with a special dinner, a gift and beautiful hand decorated cake. In the months with more than one birthday-they'd have one big party with a cake an presents for each birthday kid. Elissa retells many of the happy events about the time that she lived in Salt Lake City.
• Elissa's family did not have medical coverage, because her dad did not believe in living off the government, No Medicaid or food stamps like other FLDS members used. Her mother suspicious of conventional medicine treated the kids with natural remedies before turning to modern medicine, as the last resort. Only in life threatening emergencies, were family members permitted to seek the help of outsiders.
• Through out the year, the family attended events that required the entire community of the FLDS members to gather in Short Creek Ut. June 12 was the birthday of the former prophet Leroy Johnson. In July there was Independence Day and Pioneer Day on the 24th. In the fall was the Harvest Fest and in April Priesthood conferences. These were joyous events and Elissa was comfortable because everyone there believed in the same things and no one had to feel ashamed or hide from outsiders like in Salt Lake.
• When Elissa was 6 she started attending the Alta Academy, which was a :school, church, and birthing center for FLDS members living in Salt Lake City. There Warren Jeffs was the principle, who eventually replaced conventional studies with only approved FLDS view books and his sermons. Before this academy opened, Elissa brothers and sisters attended public school under fictitious names to hide their status as children of plural wives.
• "Uncle Warren began each school day saying"I am only her to doing the prophet's will". His way of saying that everything he did in the school was authorized by his father, Rulon the prophet."
• During the year, Elissa's sister, Rachel, a 22 year old was selected to marry Rulon who was 81 years old. This was a great honor for her family. "As the wife of the prophet, Rachel was elevated in status, viewed as a worthy angel on earth. She was well provided for and had access to credit cards and cash. Even with this elevated status, Rachel was still considered the property of her husband (as all wives were) They were expected to Keep Sweet and be submissively obedient."
• Warren Jeffs taught the girls that they were never to touch boys and to treat them like "snakes". Even thinking about a boy as a innocent friend was unclean.
• In 2nd grade -Elissa was officially baptized into the priesthood in the sacred baptismal vault in the basement of the Alta Academy. Every part of the body had to be completely submerged.Now viewed as an adult, "from then on, all her wrong choices or sins, could result in a permanent black mark on her soul's slate. "
• Soon after her baptism, another of Elissa's sister's, Kassandra, at age 19 also married the prophet Rulon (I've lost count of how many wives the prophet had before he died. Hope he doesn't feel too crowded in the Celestial Kingdom).
• Many of Elissa's brothers were forced out of their home when they began to question the FLDS teachings. Some of the brothers, were as young as 15 and lived on the streets or with other "Lost Boys" who were banished from their families at the request of the father or the prophet. "Her mother could not object, and even if she did, her opinion did not matter. The mother had to follow the orders of her father, because it was the command of the church. She obeyed it no matter how much it hurt her and her children. "
• When Elissa's brother, Travis started to question the faith, he was sent to "reform", a type of retreat,(punishment) by the church. This was church's manual labor camp, hidden in a remote area for boys and girls. "They were isolated and totally immersed in church teaching in hopes of bringing them back into the faith." When they returned home they were supposed to behave and think properly.(What do you think happened? Yeah, most did not reform and ended up being banished when they returned home) Travis was expelled as an Apostate when he would not reform. He was the 2nd of Elissa's 4 brothers, to leave the FLDS in this way.
• Since the age of 8 or 9, Elissa took home economics courses that would prepare her for the ultimate goal in life-becoming a perfect priesthood wife! (I am NOT sending this post to my DH - Nope not even a byte)
• In 2nd grade, her father's marriage to her mother was temporarily dissolved. Sharon made a bold move and complained about the disastrous condition of the marriages to Warren, who was then acting for the prophet, . (Remember 2 of Sharon's daughters, Rachel and Kassandra, were one of the prophet's many wives, so she had a little more access to him or Warren and also she knew, from her own family experience, how polygamous families could live in harmony.)
• Elissa with her siblings and mother were sent by the prophet to live at a her mother's brother- Uncle Steed's ranch near Widstoe UT. Her father was to have control of his 2 other wives and but lost his priesthood because he could not control the chaos of his 3 marriages.
• At the ranch, Elissa was tormented by her an older 1st cousin- Allen. She came to loathe him. Tensions were high, as the big extended families began to fight and argue.
• Finally, "the prophet decided that Elissa's father had acknowledged his shortcomings and repented so that his priesthood could be fully restored."
• Elissa and her family returned to live with her father and the just 1 of the other 2 wives. The 1st wife "Audrey, was to remain married but live separately from Elissa's father and their family." The pregnant Mother Laura was to stay placed with Douglas. But nothing changed much with all this change.The 2 wives continued to disagree and argue.
• In the 6th grade at the school, Warren Jeffs had removed all traditional studies and replaced it with his own written agenda. And in 1998, Jeffs decided to close the school and move to another town in southern Ut, because the year 2000 was rapidly approaching. In 2000, Zion was to be redeemed! The prophet asked the Salt Lake Members to move with him, "so that our people would be united and lifted up to heaven when the end of the world came."
• At this time Warren had completely taken over the responsibilities of the prophet his father, because Rulon was disabled due to a massive stroke. Warren kept Rulon's condition hidden from the church and now had complete control of the FLDS.
• In the Fall of 1998, Audrey, the 1st wife moved back in with the family. And now all the old chaos returned. Finally in 1999, Elissa (now aged 13), her 5 siblings, along with her mother, left her father forever, as ordered by the prophet.
• Elissa and her family went to live with a 90 year old church elder, Uncle Fred Jessop in Hildale. There,her family was "placed" with Jessop who married her mother. Elissa lost her father forever, "because when a woman and her children were passed from one man to another, regardless of the reason, they were forced to forsake the legacy of the father, as though he never existed. Warren Jeffs preached that when a family remarried to another man, God changed their blood DNA to match that of the priesthood man they now belongs to. Her mother felt that she was doing the right thing for her family."
• After the marriage, the FLDS community had only 3 months to prepare for the Great Destruction and the redeeming of Zion!! (It did not happen, there was not even too many computer glitches) But what came in the year 2000 was destruction of Elissa's innocence and a total change to her life.
• At the age of 14, Elissa proved herself in Jessop's family by enthusiastically preparing a designated family meal and other house keeping skills. It was at this point, her new father Uncle Fred, noticed her and he decided to place Elissa in marriage, so he went to Warren Jeffs for permission.
• Elissa, at age 14, was forced (after several protests and meetings with Uncle Warren Jeffs to ask him not to place her) into marrying, her 1st cousin Allen Steed, -very man ( and the only man) who she despised. But she had no resources to leave the FLDS. If she did, her mother and the remaining children would suffer from her decision.
• From Elissa "I had been in the FLDS Church from the moment I was born. It was all I knew, and the only way I could imagine living. From my teaching, I knew that the prophet's job was to dictate what was best for us and that the words he spoke came straight from God. I believed that my impeding marriage was the will of God and therefore, nothing could be done to stop it. But still I had to try"
• From Elissa " I also knew that I was different from other girls in my community. I wanted an education, and maybe even to become a nurse or teacher someday. Sure, I knew that I wanted to be a mother of good priesthood children, but not at 14. I wanted children and a future, and I dared to think that both were possible. I couldn't digest that the prophet wanted me to marry, and it didn't feel right."
• "So this is what death is like" Elissa whispered to herself on her wedding day.
• As Elissa was driven to the secret marriage site in Caliente,NV, she never questioned her faith. "It should have dawned on me that many aspects of the religion were based on revoking the rights of women. If a girl speaks her mind, she gets married. Once she's married, get her pregnant. Once she has children, she's in for life-it's almost impossible for any FLDS woman to take her children if she leaves, and no mother wants to leave her children behind. At the time I was too young to see the pattern. ..for most FLDS women, there is an unspoken yet enormous sense of entrapment. I was furious with myself for not being able to enjoy this occasion (marriage) . Carrying out the prophet's will was supposed to fill my heart with the love of God"
• Young girls were driven over 140 miles from Hildale Utah, to Caliente Nevada to evade the law. "In Nevada, the laws were not so strict. There was no proof of the ceremony, no unnecessary witnesses, and absolutely no photos or paperwork. "
• Elissa couldn't tolerate her husband and begged not to have sexual relations with him,saying that she was too young and wanted to wait to have children. (Also, remember Allen as a male, was a "snake" beside being the one person whom she despised)
• Allen waited for a few weeks and then forced relations with Elissa, thinking that she must obey him and that eventually she would come to love him.
• Elissa went to Warren at least 2 times with complaints about the marriage. She asked Warren to dissolve the marriage, saying that she could not accept contact with Allen and that he won't respect her age and stop having relations with her.
• Warren just told her to go back and obey her husband and "Keep Sweet" and that she was a sinner for not obeying the prophet. Jeffs taught "The prophet doesn't make mistakes as far as marriages are concerned. If a marriage fails, it is not the prophet's fault. It's the people who lived wrong. "
• During the 1st year of marriage, the young couple lived in a room in the Jessop household. Often, at night Elissa went to her mother's room, in tears as she escaped Allen after sexual relations.
• In the winter of 2002, the couple was given a 2 bedroom trailer home on church land in Colorado City. Elissa now had an excuse to go outside of the home, to work and help support the family.
• Elissa lived there with Allen for 2 years. Each year growing more distant from him.
• During the years there were miscarriages and increasing sorrow and pain as Elissa tried to endure her marriage.
• But with her job Elissa began to secretly save some money. She spent more and more time away from Allen to avoid having intercourse with him. After saving some money, she bought a truck and began living in it, for at least 4 days of each week, refusing to go home to Allen.
• During one time at night, Elissa escaped in her truck but had a flat tire from driving off the road. A young man pulled up to offer her help. She recognized him from some of the FLDS functions. His name was Lamont and he was expelled from the priesthood.
• Lamont came to Elissa aid and started to see her at the restaurant where she worked. They feel in love and decided to free Elissa from her marriage.
• A photo of Lamont and Elissa was taken in an hotel and that photo was sent to Warren. In his rage at the adulteress-Elissa he dissolved the marriage. Elissa was banished from the FLDS community.
• When Elissa turned 18, she married Lamont, and both of them struggled learning to live in the "Outside" without the FLDS and any of their family. There lives had improved as they were free from the oppressive, controlling FLDS teachings.
• But Elissa could not escape her past. In 2006, she was approached by an representative from the state of UT regarding charges against Warren Jeffs.
• After months of soul wrenching consideration, Elissa bravely decided to testify about her forced marriage.
• Warren Jeffs was convicted of 2 accounts of accessory to rape in 2007. And there are still other charges for Jeffs of sexual abuse and tax evasion etc. Many trials are still pending and He will be the subject of the Part 2!! (Can't you wait?!!! Don't answer that back there, I won't be able to hear you anyway)
• Bolstered by Elissa's win in court, others abused from the FLDS system and Warren Jeffs may feel empowered to press charges.

Wow! What a life! As I was reading this book, these thoughts went through my mind:

• FLDS type Christian Faiths are home grown religious terrorism.
• I couldn't help comparing the control of FLDS women by the FLDS men, to how radical Islamic men controls their women, Think here - Saudi Arabia's totalitarian control of all women. Their multiple marriages are easily dissolved in both religions and the women bring value only if they are righteous. Women are often treated as possessions and child bearers.
• Here's comparison's of how men are treated in the FLDS to those in Islam. In both, the men are also controlled by a powerful religious leader: in FLDS it is the prophet:in Islam it is the Mullahs. Males follow their orders and decisions mindlessly. Islam means Obedience (Ok, servant- you are so picky!) and Obedience is the cornerstone of both religions.
• FLDS males have all the power but in a way they are powerless to women and the prophets. Maybe that is why one of the reasons that the church teaches that women to reach the highest level of heaven must be married to a good priesthood man who has at least 3 wives. Think about it, if the women didn't have this teaching ,they would be in total control of their husband's salvation. Pretty manipulative of both men and women, don't you think?
• Young FLDS men are almost forced into mindless submission, because they are in direct competition for wives with the rest of the male community. Every male must have 3 to reach the highest level of heaven and there simply aren't enough women to go around, so behave or someone else will get your wife or wives.
• This group uses the 1st Amendment to hide their crimes. When any group, religious or not, has such extreme paranoia from the outside world, then you know that they are hiding illegal activities. You'll learn more about the extent of Jeff's alleged crimes in Part 2.

The most important item, that I learned from the book is :Absolute power results in absolute corruption.

I end this post with Elissa's speech that she read to the press after the end of Warren Jeffs trial. It was addressed to her mother, and her other relatives who remained inside the FLDS:

"When I was young, my mother taught me that evil flourishes when good men do nothing . This has not been easy. The easy thing would have been to do nothing, but I have followed my heart and spoken the truth. Lamont and I want to convey our love to our families. Mother, I love you any my sisters unconditionally, and will go to the ends of the earth for you. I understand and respect your convictions, but I will never give up on you. When you are ready, I am here.

I have very tender feelings for FLDS people. There is so much good in them. I pray they will find the strength to step back, re-examine what they have been told to believe and follow their hearts. This trial has not been about religion or vendetta. It was simply about child abuse and preventing further abuse. I hope that all FLDS girls and women will understand that, no matter what anyone may say, we are created equal.

You do not have to surrender your rights or your spiritual sovereignty I know how hard it is, but please stand up and fight for your voice and power of choice. I will continue to fight for you. To those who have been there to support and keep Lamont and myself encouraged, words cannot begin to express our gratitude. I hope the FLDS people will feel the same kindness as they make a difficult journey. "