The insular Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) is building a "fortress-type" wall around its meeting house in Colorado City, Arizona.

UEP employee tells #2News this wall could be in response to 4th of July celebration planned Saturday. @KUTV2News pic.twitter.com/3o3ifeT8BH

— D.J. Bolerjack (@DJBolerjack) July 2, 2015

Private investigator Sam Brower, who has observed the cult for many years, says he has no doubt that the wall is being erected on the express orders of FLDS leader Warren Jeffs.

Jeffs, whom followers believe to be a prophet who speaks for God, is serving a sentence of life plus 20 years in a Texas prison after he was found guilty of taking underage girls as his wives in what were claimed to be 'spiritual marriages.'

While his brother, Lyle, and other leaders in the cult take care of day to day business, Warren Jeffs continues to rule his followers with an iron fist.

Theologically, the FLDS is considered to be a cult of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS, commonly known as the Mormon Church) -- which itself is, also theologically, a cult of Christianity.

It is the best known among many such groups, most of which separated from the church over the issue of polygamy.

Interestingly, for the most part, the doctrines and practices of Mormon Fundamentalists are closer to those of the original Mormon Church than are the doctrines and practices of today's Mormon Church.

Sociologically the FLDS is also consider a cult. The movement has been in the news for ousting young boys, for reassigning the wives and children of excommunicated men to men who are for the time being still in good standing, for forcing girls into underage marriages, for other forms of child abuse, and a range of other issues.

Full story: Polygamous FLDS cult erects wall around meetinghouse

… Less than a year after the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) lost its Yearning For Zion ranch to the State of Texas, there are sign that the church, one of many polygamous cults and sects of the Mormon Church,[ref]Theologically, the Mormon Church (LDS) is a cult of Christianity. Groups and movements of Fundamentalist Mormons are, theologically, cults of Mormonism. It should be noted that, for the most part, the doctrines and practices of Mormon Fundamentalists are closer to those of the original Mormon Church than are the doctrines and practices of today's Mormon Church. Note, too, that most of these fundamentalist Mormon groups do not engage in the cult-like practices that the FLDS is known for -- practices that mark the FLDS as a cult in the sociological sense of the term as well. Be aware of the difference between theological and sociological definitions of the term 'cult.' See also: Fundamentalist Mormons to Mormon Church: We are Mormons, too[/ref] is expanding its presence in South Dakota.

Seth Jeffs, a brother of imprisoned cult leader Warren Jeffs,[ref]In 2006, Seth Jeffs was convicted of harboring Warren Jeffs, who was then on the run from law enforcement.[/ref] is seeking a permit from the state's Department of Environment and Natural Resources to triple the amount of water the compound may draw by well from local aquifer.
[caption id="attachment_36183" align="aligncenter" width="602"][/caption]
The Pringle, South Dakota FLDS compound, established in 2006, is thought to currently house between 100 and 300 followers.

An estimated 6,000 more live in the sister communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., and some 1,000 more in other enclaves in Colorado and British Columbia, Canada.

A few years ago the group was still estimated to have around 10,000 followers.

Legal Pressure in Utah

But in Utah, the cult's followers are coming under increasing legal pressure.

In 2005 Utah courts seized control of the FLDS' property trust amid allegations by state attorneys that Warren Jeffs and fellow cult leaders had mismanaged its assets.

The United Effort Plan trust holds most of the property in the twin towns. Ever since the state took control of the trust, Warren Jeffs has forbidden his followers from paying their property taxes -- to-date depriving the trust of more than $4 million.

Meanwhile, the trust if bleeding money, mostly in attorney fees.

Hence state officials have recently started to threaten to evict those who do not pay their property taxes.

Imprisoned cult leader still exerts control

Though there is a growing number of people who are no longer loyal to the imprisoned FLDS leader, thousands are still under Jeff's control.

Observers think he may be planning to order many of them to move to the Pringle, South Dakota compound.

At its peak, the group's El Dorado, Texas ranch housed 700 people. William Hansen, chief of the Water Rights Branch of the National Park Service, says that if the group's request for more water is approved, the compound would have enough water to serve 4,372 residents.

The National Park Service is one of several organizations and individuals who oppose the additional water permit, but reportedly analysts with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources have recommended the request to be approved.

Locals fear 'another Waco'

As was the case in 2006, when FLDS members filed into the then new compound in El Dorado, Texas, neighbors of the Pringle compound also fear a 'Waco-like scenario.'

While it probably may not come to that, locals are familiar with the fact that Jeffs is serving a life sentence for marrying multiple underage brides as young as 12.

"As locals, we know what is going on in there and we don't want to see it expand," one neighboring landowner wrote in opposing the water rights expansion. "We value our 12 year old girls in South Dakota. Help us!"

Research resources on the FLDS
Aerial view of the South Dakota FLDS compound
Read the Rapid City Journal series of articles on the FLDS compound

Full story: Is the FLDS cult expanding its presence in South Dakota?

Authorities in Texas have today taken physical possession of the 1,700-acre Yearning For Zion Ranch that until recently belonged to the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS).

On Wednesday officials with the Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the local Sheriff's Office met with the remaining residents of the property and provided them with copies of the court orders regarding the forfeiture of the property, a DPS press release says.

[caption id="attachment_27597" align="alignleft" width="602"] Collection of photos of the YFZ Ranch, by local pilot JD Doyle[/caption]

According to the DPS press release

Law enforcement personnel are working with the occupants of the ranch to take all reasonable actions to assist with their departure of the property, to preserve the property, and to successfully execute the court order.

Continuing activities on the property will include obtaining a court-ordered inventory of real property and protecting the remaining assets.

Property used in the commission of crimes

Under Texas law, law enforcement can try to seize property that was used to commit or facilitate certain criminal conduct. [See: FLDS cult's ranch to be seized]

In April, 2008, Texas authorities raided the ranch and took 400 children into protective custody after a phone call to a domestic abuse hotline — later determined to have been a hoax — in which the caller claimed she was abused.

Evidence seized during the raid was used to indict and convict 12 men -- including the cult's leader, Warren Jeffs -- for crimes including child sexual assault, bigamy and performing an illegal marriage.

Much of the evidence used to convict the men came from materials seized during a search of the cult's sacred temple — which is located on the property.

In August, 2011 a Texas jury convicted Warren Jeffs of child sexual assault for taken two underage girls as brides in what his church calls "celestial marriages." He was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years.

In legal documents — including a 91-page affidavit, along with a search and seizure warrant — submitted when the State first moved to seize control of the ranch, a law enforcement officer describes how proceeds from illegal activities were used to purchase the ranch.

The State of Texas spent more than $4.5 million on the prosecutions of the FLDS cult members.

Local tax records reveal that the total value of the ranch's land, which the sect bought for about $1.1 million in 2003, is appraised at more than $33 million.

Full story: Texas takes possession of FLDS cult’s ranch

The state of Texas is one step closer to seizing the Yearning For Zion Ranch -- a 1,691 acres property owned by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Under Texas law, law enforcement can try to seize property that was used to commit or facilitate certain criminal conduct.

The church -- theologically a sect of the Mormon Church, and sociologically a high-control cult -- is headed by Warren Jeffs.

In August 2011 Jeffs was sentenced to life in prison after he was convicted of sexually assaulting two underage followers he took as brides in what his church considered to be "spiritual marriages."

A number of Jeffs' followers have also been prosecuted for crimes committed at the sect's ranch.

Ranch raided

On April 3, 2008, Texas authorities raided the ranch and took 400 children in protective custody after receiving a phone call -- later determined to have been a hoax -- in which the caller claimed she was forced to have sex and was beaten regularly.

Texas courts later rejected arguments that the group's belief system is itself a dangerous form of abuse and later ordered the children to be returned to their parents.

Dozen men, including cult leader, convicted

However, 12 men — including the cult's leader, Warren Jeffs — were indicted for crimes including child sexual assault, bigamy and performing an illegal marriage.

Much of the evidence used to convict the men came from materials seized during a search of the cult's sacred temple — which is located on the property.

Once all those indicted were prosecuted, the Texas Attorney General's Office moved to seize the ranch. [Note that the State spent more than $4.5 million on the prosecutions]

Legal documents

In legal documents -- including a 91-page affidavit, along with a search and seizure warrant -- submitted when the State first moved to seize control of the ranch, a law enforcement officer describes how proceeds from illegal activities were used to purchase the ranch.

The State also says that FLDS leaders bought the ranch in a failed attempt to establish a remote outpost where they could insulate themselves from criminal prosecution for sexually assaulting children.

Last Monday, Texas District Judge Barbara Walther issued a default judgment in favor of the State, because no one representing Warren Jeffs showed up in court.

Leaders of the FLDS Church and the United Order of Texas Trust now have 30 days to appeal the judgment before it becomes final.

Full story: FLDS cult’s ranch to be seized

A judge in Utah is preparing to select five to seven people for a board that will oversee the redistribution of homes and other property within the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS).

Most of the property in the twin towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona belong to the United Effort Plan (UEP) -- a property trust created in 1942.

FLDS members consider communal living — a principle known as the Law of Consecration and the United Order — an integral part of their religion. The property trust, currently worth an estimated $118 million -- was set up to allow followers to followers to share in its assets.

Utah courts seized control of the trust in 2005 amid allegations by state attorneys that FLDS leader Warren Jeffs and other church leaders had mismanaged its assets.

The state also feared the property trust was put at risk when Jeffs failed to respond to a lawsuit filed in 2004 by six boys who had been kicked out of the church.

Theologically the FLDS is a cult of the Mormon Church -- one of dozens of fundamentalist Mormon offshoots. Sociologically it is cult as well.

Warren Jeffs rules his followers, who consider him to be a prophet sent by God, with an iron fist, even while he is behind bars -- sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting two underage followers he took as brides in what his church refers to as "spiritual marriages."

Ex-FLDS members say Jeffs abused the United Effort Plan by using it as one way to control his followers:

Ever since it was seized the UEP has remained the subject of ongoing legal battles, but the state's intention has always been to return control of the trust to the community's members.

The creation a board that will oversee the property trust is an important step.

The Associated Press says, "Third District Court Judge Denise Lindberg will review the applications in search of people who can make decisions independently of any outside influence."

Board members do not have to be FLDS followers -- and in fact Jeffs has forbidden his followers to apply for the position.

There is no set date by which the judge has to make here decision. If she can not find at least five qualified people among the 24 candidates, the application process will start over again.

If and when a board has been formed, its members will have their work cut out for them.

While many of the 7,500 people living in Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona, still follow Warren Jeffs, hundreds of others have either been kicked out of the FLDS -- or have left on their own accord.

Both current and former members feel they have a rightful claim to their homes even while the properties are still part of the trust.

Further complicating the issues is the fact that whenever Jeffs excommunicated married members from his polygamous cult, their wives, children and properties were assigned to other FLDS men.

Full story: 24 candidates for board to oversee polygamous sect’s property trust

The Utah Supreme Court says that 3rd District Judge Denise Lindberg made an error when she secularized a polygamous church's property trust.

The United Effort Plan (UEP) property trust was created by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) in 1942 on the concept of a "united order," allowing followers to share in its assets.

FLDS members consider communal living — a principle known as the 'Law of Consecration and the United Order' — an integral part of their religion.

But in 2005, a Utah court seized control of the trust amid allegations by state attorneys that FLDS prophet Warren Jeffs and other sect leaders had mismanaged its assets.

Former FLDS members also said Jeff's used his control over virtually all property of his followers to rule the church with an iron fist.

In addition the State of Utah believed that the fund was at risk when Jeffs' did not respond to a lawsuit filed by six boys who had been kicked out of the sect.

In October 2006, Judge Lindberg reformed the FLDS trust. At the time, lawyers said religion had been "carved out."

The Salt Lake Tribune says the Utah Supreme Court ruling issued on Tuesday

explains that the trust had two purposes: advancing the goals of the FLDS religion and providing for the "just wants and needs" of church members.

Lindberg's approach focused only on the second purpose and reformed the trust according to what the ruling called "secular principles."

The ruling says the state can't fundamentally alter the purpose of a trust the way Lindberg did. The ruling describes the purposes of the post-reform trust and the original UEP as "vastly different."

However, that portion of the ruling may be moot for the FLDS who want to regain control of the trust. FLDS leadership initially ignored the state's involvement and didn't raise any legal challenges until, according to the Utah Supreme Court, it was too late.

The FLDS will not benefit from the ruling because it missed the deadline to challenge Judge Lindberg's decision.

See the Salt Lake Tribune article for the impact of the ruling.

Last February it became clear that the State of Utah is actively seeking for ways to divest itself of the UEP, which had been the subject of ongoing legal battles ever since it was seized.

Full story: Judge made mistake on FLDS trust case, Utah Supreme Court says

The state of Utah is actively looking for ways to divest itself from a property trust fund it seized from the polygamous FLDS church eight years ago.

We'll show you

• what the United Effort Plan (UEP) property trust is
• why Utah seized control of the trust
• why the UEP has been the subject of ongoing legal battles, and
• why Utah is looking for exit strategies

United Effort Plan

The United Effort Plan (UEP) property trust was created by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1942 on the concept of a "united order," allowing followers to share in its assets.

In 2005 Utah seized control of the UEP -- at the time valued at more than $100 million -- amid allegations by state attorneys that FLDS leader Warren Jeffs and other leaders of the polygamous church mismanaged the fund.

In addition the state feared the property trust was put at risk when FLDS leader Warren Jeffs failed to respond to a lawsuit filed in 2004 by six boys who had been kicked out of the cult.

Cult leader Warren Jeffs used fund to manipulate followers

Former members of the church also have stated that Jeffs used the fund to manipulate and control his followers into obeying his edicts.

Most of the property and homes in the twin FLDS communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona belong to the UEP, which was managed by Jeffs.

Jeffs succeeded his father Rulon as president and prophet of the FLDS in 2002.

Unlike his father, Jeffs soon started to rule his followers with an iron fist, issuing increasingly bizarre edicts -- which included forbidding members to talk to anyone outside the religion, even their family members

Those who did not obey were branded as 'sinners' and were cast out from the FLDS community -- a process made easier by the fact that Jeffs controlled the property trust fund their houses belonged to.

Those sent away were told to leave their homes, wives and children behind. Wives who stayed behind were assigned new husbands by Jeffs.

UEP subject of ongoing legal battles

Ever since the state of Utah took control of the United Effort Plan, the trust has been the subject of ongoing legal battles.

Among other things, FLDS followers maintain the court-ordered reorganization of the property trust violated their constitutional rights to religious freedom, and they have sued to reverse the changes or regain control of the trust.

Last November a federal appeals court ruled that control over the UEP remains with the state of Utah.

During all the legal wranglings state-appointed accountant Bruce Wisan and his employees were not paid because the trust's assets remained tied up while the legal case was winding its way through the courts.

In addition, many FLDS members refused to pay taxes on their properties -- in obedience to Warren Jeffs, who had told his followers to "answer them nothing" regarding the investigation into the trust's operation.

On top of that there have been disagreements between Wisan and former Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff about how or whether to distribute property and dissolve the trust.

In August 2011 a judge ordered the state of Utah to pay off $4.6 million in debt incurred by Wissan.

The Attorney General appealed that decision, arguing that Utah tax payers should not end up footing the bill.

But last April the Utah Supreme Court refused to block the judge's order requiring the Attorney General's Office to pay the bill — which by then had grown to more than $5.5 million (currently $5.7 million).

Exit Strategies

Last friday there was a court hearing court hearing concerning the state's management of the United Effort Plan.

The Salt Lake Tribune's 'polygamy bloggers' say it looks like disputes remain:

The attached court brief from Wisan's attorneys say while there is discussion in the Legislature about paying the money, lawmakers are "not willing to pay the judgement unless the Fiduciary agrees to a number of additional provisions that the Fiduciary believes violate his fiduciary duties and create an untenable conflict by conditioning payment on termination of the probate proceedings."

According to FOX13

Lawyers for the accountant appointed by the courts to oversee the UEP Trust presented their proposal, which includes:

• Appointing trustees to oversee the UEP.
• The fiduciary will not seek any post-judgment interest from the court battles.
• The fiduciary will not seek any more money beyond the $5.6 million already owed.
• The state would get a lien on UEP assets to recoup money.

"The devil's in the details," Judge Denise Lindberg told attorneys about any proposed settlement. She threatened that if they could not reach an amicable settlement, she could ultimately dissolve the UEP Trust.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune the case "inched toward resolution Friday with all sides appearing to favor returning control of the trust to the towns' residents." But "no commitments had been made and other options were on the table."

A new hearing is scheduled for March 5. The Tribune says "at that time attorneys will present a new proposal. Lindberg will have the option of accepting, rejecting or modifying the proposal, after which it will be taken to the Utah Legislature."

Willie Jessop, a former spokesman for Warren Jeffs who is no longer in the sect, praised Linberg after the hearing for trying to find a "delicate balance" that meets the needs of everyone involved in the case. Jessop said he favors giving control of the trust to community members but that any future trustees shouldn't be loyal to Jeffs because they won't put the interests of the community first. He also said he hopes Lindberg abandons any efforts to appoint board members.

"It's got to either have people who are there to protect the people or there to protect Warren Jeffs," Jessop said. "The judge has got to recognize that she can't have it both ways."

According to Jessop, there are community members who would look out for the interests of people both in and out of the church.

In August 2012, a jury in Texas sentenced FLDS leader Warren Jeffs to life in prison for sexually assaulting two underage followers he took as brides in what his church deemed "spiritual marriages."

Despite being imprisoned, Jeffs still rules his followers with an iron fist -- aided by the fact that they continue to believe he is a prophet sent by God.

Research resources on the FLDS

The UEP thumbnail that accompanies this article is from a photo by Katorina

Full story: Utah wants to get rid of cult’s trust fund

A polygamous cult of Mormonism, whose prophet is serving life in prison, is coming under increased scrutiny by U.S. authorities.

• Arizona Attorney General announces criminal probe

  Authorities believe marshals in Colorado City, Arizona -- a town dominated by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints -- are preventing women from leaving the polygamous sect.

  "Women who wanted to escape have been forcibly held by the marshals against their will," Attorney General Tom Horne said during a news conference.

  In February 2012 authorities were so concerned about the behavior of police officers in Colorado City that the Arizona Legislator discussed a bill which would force the city to disband its police force.

  At the time the Arizona Republic wrote,

  Investigators and former church members complain that town officers ignore the law and instead carry out directives from spiritual leaders.

  According to Arizona's Peace Officer Standards and Training Board, Colorado City averages 10 officers at any one time. A half-dozen of them have been decertified in recent years, some for misconduct with minors and others after declaring their allegiance to the FLDS prophet above the law.

  That bill was rejected, as was a similar bill that targeted the police force in Colorado City's twin city of Hildale, Utah.

• Regarding the announced criminal probe the Associated Press says
  

  The church does not have a spokesman to speak on its behalf, and [Warren] Jeffs, who is said to still rule the sect, is imprisoned for life in Texas after convictions on child sex and bigamy charges.

  The criminal probe announced Tuesday mirrors the one that landed Jeffs in prison.

• At the news conference in which he announced the probe, Horne was joined by a young mother with six children who fled the cult.

  Ruby Jessop Barlow, sister of anti-polygamy activist Flora Jessop -- herself a former FLDS member who escaped the cult in 1986 -- told state authorities she was forced into a marriage at age 14 and held against her will for 12 years before escaping in December.

  According to the Arizona Republic Flora Jessop said Barlow's ordeal illustrates the cultish control exercised by self-proclaimed prophet Warren Jeffs, who continues to lead the church from behind bars.

• Meanwhile Salt Lake Tribune reporter Lindsay Whitehurst reports on her Polygamy Blog that a Utah-based group called the Sound Choices Coalition has organized a petition to oppose the decriminalization of polygamy.

  Called "Stand Against Legalizing the Subjugation of Women Through Polygamy," the petition is hosted by Change.org.

  The petition is in response to an attempt by the Kody Brown family -- stars of the pro-polygamy reality show Sister Wives -- to have polygamy decriminalized in Utah.

  The Sound Choices Coalition is led by Kristyn Decker, a former polygamist wife who is now a polygamy opponent.

  Earlier this month the Salt Lake Tribune reported that Decker is trying to buy a group home for other women and children trying to leave polygamy.

  The paper writes she hopes to orchestrate a fundraiser through the HOPE Organization, a southern Utah-based nonprofit dedicated to assisting survivors of abuse within polygamous relationships on their courageous journey to personal freedom.

The paper says the 'Sister Wives' arguments covered old polygamy ground, and Whitehurst provides more details of the hearing on her blog.

• In other FLDS-cult related news, Ron and Jinger Cooke -- citizens of Colorado City, but not members of the abusive church -- have filed civil rights lawsuits against the municipal governments and utilities in the twin border towns of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona.

  For the last four and a half years they have been trying to get a water hook-up to the Northern Arizona home they share with their three children, but the FLDS refuses to hook them up.

  Arizona TV station KTVK reports that

  The Cookes have also documented with their own cameras several incidents in which FLDS men and boys have come to their home to harass and intimidate them.
  During one such incident an FLDS man drove a backhoe on to their property and started digging up their front yard while FLDS cops stood by protecting the backhoe driver.

• By the way, FLDS attorneys now have until Jan. 28 to respond to the attempts by the State of Texas to seize their Yearning for Zion ranch.

About the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

With an estimated 10,000 followers, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) is the largest among dozens of Mormon splinter groups.

Most of these groups separated from the Mormon Church after it was forced to abandon polygamy in the mid-1800s.

Until then, polygamy had been one of founder Joseph Smith's most important doctrines -- so much so that it is canonized as Section 132 of The Doctrine and Convenants, one of Mormonism's primary scriptural texts.

In his book, Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith, Jon Krakauer writes

The revered prophet described plural marriage as part of "the most holy and important doctrine ever revealed to man on earth" and taught that a man needed at least three wives to attain the "fullness of exaltation" in the afterlife. He warned that God had explicitly commanded that "all those who have this law revealed unto them must obey the same ... and if ye abide not that covenenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory."

While Mormon doctrine has undergone significant changes throughout the church's history -- based on its belief that God provides ongoing revelations which may or may not contradict his earlier ones -- it is the abandonment of the doctrine of plural marriage that led to the formation of a number of splinter groups.

Members of these groups are known as Mormon fundamentalists. They believe that in keeping what they consider to be the fundamental doctrines of Mormonism, plural marriage included, they hold to a purer form of the faith than the mainstream Mormon Church. In all, there are an estimated 37,000 Mormon Fundamentalists.

Meanwhile, despite its officially name -- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) -- is itself considered to be theologically a cult of Christianity, because its core teachings and practices violate the essential doctrines of the Christian faith.

Most Mormon Fundamentalist splinter groups fly under the radar, but a few have had run-ins with the law. Of these, the FLDS has captured much attention for its practice of forced marriages, including marriages arranged between underage females and older followers.

Due to the extreme hold the leadership of the FLDS has over its followers, the group is not just theologically a cult of the Mormon Church (and by extension also a cult of Christianity), but can be considered a cult in the sociological sense of the term as well. [Understand the differences between theological and sociological definitions of the term 'cult']

In August 2012, a jury in Texas sentenced FLDS leader Warren Jeffs to life in prison for sexually assaulting two underage followers he took as brides in what his church deemed "spiritual marriages."

Despite being imprisoned, Jeffs still rules his followers with an iron fist -- aided by the fact that they believe him to be a prophet sent by God.

Full story: Increased scrutiny for polygamous FLDS cult

The State of Texas on Wednesday took steps to seize the 1,691 acres Yearning For Zion ranch where underage girls were involved in marriages to adult followers of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS).

Theologically the FLDS is a cult of Mormonism. Sociologically the group, believed to have some 10,000 members, is a cult as well.

In August, 2011, the cult's leader, Warren Jeffs, was sentenced to life plus 20 years in prison after his conviction for sexually assaulting two underage followers he took as brides in what his church deemed "spiritual marriages."

Evidence obtained during 2008 raid

On April 3, 2008, Texas authorities raided the ranch and took 400 children in protective custody.

The raid was sparked by what was later determined to have been a hoax phone call in which the caller claimed she was forced to have sex and was beaten regularly.

Texas courts rejected arguments that the group's belief system is itself a dangerous form of abuse and later ordered the children to be returned to their parents.

However, 12 men -- including the cult's leader, Warren Jeffs -- were indicted for crimes including child sexual assault, bigamy and performing an illegal marriage.

All have now been prosecuted, but it is believed that Canadian authorities are also investigating allegations that underaged girls have been trafficked between the sect's Canadian outpost and US bases for the purpose of 'spiritual marriages' to older FLDS men.

Much of the evidence used to convict the men came from materials seized during a search of the cult's sacred temple -- one of many buildings on the sect's property.

Under Texas law, law enforcement can try to seize property that was used to commit or facilitate certain criminal conduct.

Authorities say compound's temple used to commit crimes

A press release from the Attorney General's office says

In a 91-page affidavit that was submitted to the court along with the search and seizure warrant, a law enforcement officer with the Texas Attorney General's Office describes how proceeds from illegal activity were used to purchase the ranch, which FLDS leaders bought in a failed attempt to establish a remote outpost where they could insulate themselves from criminal prosecution for sexually assaulting children.

According to ABC News

Authorities say Jeffs used the compound's temple to commit his crimes, saying it "was constructed in a special manner so that Warren Steed Jeffs could perpetuate sexual assaults in the Temple building."

And they quote from Jeffs' own designs and the group's "Priesthood Records": "There is a table, but it will be made so it can be a table or it can be a bed. It should be made so the tabletop can come off. It will be on wheels€¦ This will be made so that it can be taken apart and stored in a closet where no one can see it. When I need it, I will pull it out and set it up€¦ It will be covered with a sheet, but it will have a plastic cover to protect the mattress from what will happen on it."

Authorities detail Jeffs in his own words to make their case that the compound's very existence was centered around protecting criminal activity.

The Associated Press says

Rod Parker, a Nevada attorney for the FLDS, did not immediately return a phone message Wednesday from The Associated Press. He told the Salt Lake Tribune that it seemed the state's purpose was to take the land and sell it to the highest bidder, which would result in sect members living at the ranch likely being evicted.

"They're punishing the victims. These aren't the people who committed the crimes," Parker told the newspaper.

When a court hearing is scheduled, "FLDS will be given an opportunity to oppose the seizure and submit evidence supporting its case," a news release from Abbott's office stated. The proceeding is a civil, not criminal, matter.

In a post on her Polygamy Blog at the Salt Lake Tribune, Lindsay Whitehurts has some questions about the proposed seizure, including:

• What does Texas have to prove to win ownership of the trust? Do they have to show that everyone who bought/worked on the ranch knew Jeffs and others were sexually assaulting underage girls?
• Over the last five months or so, just about everyone has cleared out of the ranch, apparently to smaller FLDS outposts and houses of hiding around the country. How does that change the dynamic? Does it make it more difficult to investigate potential ongoing problems? [...]
• What the heck is the state of Texas going to do with a 1,600-acre ranch, complete with an enormous limestone temple and open-air auditorium, in the middle of nowhere?

Observers say Warren Jeffs continues his iron-fisted rule over members of his cult from prison.

Read the Search And Seizure Warrant and Affidavit

Search and Seizure Warrant
Affidavit for Search and Seizure Warrant

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See Also

Texas spent $4.5M+ on FLDS prosecutions
Yearning For Zion: From Hunting Ground To Polygamist Ranch
Research resources on the FLDS

Full story: Texas authorities move to seize FLDS cult ranch

Update: Appeals Court rules FLDS trust should stay with state.

Last Friday Utah's Attorney General Mark Shurtleff had to explain in a state court why the accountant Utah courts put in charge of a polygamous sect's seized property trust hasn't yet been paid millions in past-due fees.

The property trust, known as the United Effort Plan (UEP), was created by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) in 1942.

The FLDS is one of many offshoots of the Mormon Church -- the so-called Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), itself theologically a cult of Christianity.

Mormon fundamentalists believe they are following the "true" Mormon faith as laid down by founder Joseph Smith, while the LDS Church is "out of order" because of its disavowal of plural marriage, the 'United Order' and other early doctrines.

The United Order established egalitarian communities designed to achieve income equality, eliminate poverty, and increase group self-sufficiency.

The FLDS' United Effort Plan property trust, valued at more than $114 million, was established on that concept.

Theoretically it would allow FLDS members to share in its assets.

But in 2005 Utah state courts seized control of the trust over allegations by state attorneys that FLDS prophet and leader Warren Jeffs and other sect leaders had mismanaged its assets.

Ever since, the UEP has been the subject of ongoing legal battles.

FLDS followers maintain the court-ordered reorganization of their property trust violated their constitutional rights to religious freedom, and they have sued to reverse the changes or regain control of the trust.

In August 2010 the Utah Supreme Court ruled the sect waited too long to object to the state takeover.

Then, in February 2011 a federal judge ruled that Utah's takeover of the sect's property trust was unconstitutional.

But in April that year an appeals court decided to keep control of the UEP with the state.

The last word hasn't been spoken yet in the case.

However, during all this legal wrangling Bruce Wisan, the state-appointed accountant, and his employees have not been paid because the trust's assets remain tied up while the legal case is ongoing.

The UEP holds no cash, but instead holds the land and homes of FLDS members in Hildale, Utah; Colorado City, Ariz.; and Bountiful, British Columbia.

Wisan has been blocked from selling trust property since the sect began fighting the takeover in court as legal bills mounted.

Therefore in August 2011 a judge ordered the state of Utah to pay off $4.6 million in debt incurred by Wissan.

The Attorney General appealed that decision, arguing that Utah tax payers should not end up footing the bill.

But last April the Utah Supreme Court refused to block the judge's order requiring the Attorney General's Office to pay the bill -- which has by now grown to more than $5.5 million.

And that's why Attorney General Mark Shurtleff ended up on the witness stand last Friday, where Third District Judge Denise Lindberg questioned Shurtleff on what he'd done to comply with a court order to pay the accountant.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Shurtleff told the judge he had done everything he could to get the bills paid after the Utah Supreme Court denied his appeal:

But his office doesn't have the money now, he said. The payment will have to be allocated by the Utah Legislature in January. The money wouldn't be available until the next fiscal year, in July 2013.

But that's too long for people like attorney Jeff Shields, who works for accountant Bruce Wisan, and said he hasn't had a paycheck in nine months.

"I don't want to get too personal, but I'm close to my limit," Shields said. And there are still several lawsuits pending in the fight over control of the trust.

In the end, Lindberg appeared satisfied with Shurtleff's approximately 30 minutes of testimony. She recommended that attorneys general in both Utah and Arizona take on some of the responsibilities for running the trust and fighting related litigation to reduce the burden and the bill. [...]

Meanwhile, the question remains as to whether the Legislature will approve the funding request in January.

"I think it's very unclear what the Legislature is going to do," said Rep. Brian King, D-Salt Lake City. "The big question is how much, if anything, will be allocated by the Legislature."

Update: The Associated Press later today reported:

A federal appeals court ruled Monday that a polygamist sect on the Utah-Arizona border waited too long to challenge a court-ordered takeover, clearing the way for state authorities to break up a church trust and sell assets including homes, businesses and farms in two small towns.

A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a federal judge in Salt Lake City, who ruled nearly two years ago that Utah's takeover violated the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints' constitutional rights. U.S. District Judge Dee Benson's decision froze the sale of church assets in Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., and put Utah's takeover in limbo. [...]

The appeals court panel didn't rule on the constitutionality issue. Instead, it determined the FLDS waited too long — nearly three years — to take legal action. [...]

The 10th Circuit panel said it was taking guidance from the Utah Supreme Court.

"We conclude that the FLDS Association is precluded from pursuing its claims in federal court," said the decision by judges Mary Briscoe, Bobby Baldock and Timothy Tymkovich.

Salt Lake Tribune reporter Lindsay Whitehurt says the decisions marks a major turning point in the long-running case:

"We're pleased. It allows us to get us to get busy, get the stay lifted, sell property to pay the debts," said Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, adding that he hopes to begin settlement talks with former and current members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. [...]

FLDS attorney Rod Parker called Monday's decision a setback for his side, but said he would also be interested in talking to the state. Thousands of sect members still live and work on property belonging to the communal trust, formally known as the United Effort Plan, which includes nearly all the land and homes in the twin towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz.

"We've got plenty of life left in us if we want to pursue it, that's for sure," Parker said, but "I don't see it ever being resolved by litigation. ... I think it needs to be resolved by settlement in some form."

Mediation plans are complicated, though: During the past two years, sect leaders along with hundreds of other men and women have been expelled from the sect by Jeffs from his Texas prison cell. Combined with the group's distrust of government, the splintering could complicate efforts to find trust beneficiaries and bring them to the table.

FLDS controversies

Of the various sects of the Mormon Church, the 10,000 member strong FLDS has been most visible in the news over the past few years, primarily for these reasons:

• the practice of forcing underage girls into arranged polygamous marriages, usually with (much) older men
• the excommunications of hundreds of boys (often referred to as 'Lost Boys') and men deemed to have sinned. The latter have their wives and children reassigned to someone else within the group
• the state's takeover of the sect's property trust
• the group's sudden move into Texas where they built a large compound
• the state of Texas' raid on the FLDS compound in response to allegations of child abuse, resulting in the temporary removal of hundreds of children, as well as the eventual prosecution of 12 FLDS members indicted on the basis of evidence found during the raid
• the prosecution, conviction and overturned conviction of FLDS leader Warren Jeffs on charges of rape-as-an-accomplice (Utah)
• the prosecution and eventual conviction of Warren Jeffs, who was one of the 12 men indicted (Texas)
• the ongoing investigation into allegations of child trafficking across the US-Canadian border.

In August last year, Warren Jeffs was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years for sexually assaulting two underage followers he took as brides in what the FLDS considers "spiritual marriages."

Jailed in Texas, the cult leader continues to rule his followers -- many of whom still believe him to be God's prophet -- with an iron fist.

Full story: Court rules Utah keeps control of religious cult’s property trust