Image from Passion of A Goddess via Mormon Erotica (thanks Evil Signtist).
On the Virgin America flight to NY I watched two great TED talks (here and here). And I was absolutely glued to the news as CNN rehashed the then-breaking news about the state of Texas keeping all the kids they yanked out of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (hyooge Mormon spinoff cult) ranch, Yearning For Zion (YFZ). Chaos reigned the headlines and the courtroom with 400+ kids taken into custody. It’s now the largest child custody case in American history, and the kids will begin genetic DNA testing monday — tomorrow — to determine everything form paternity to age of the mother at birth/insemination. As we learned, the initial call for help might now be a hoax, and the mainstream Mormons are now trying to get a fucking far away from these people as possible in the press, all while mainstream media is trying to wrap their brains around polygamy (and poly-anything). It’s a big mess, and if you’re like me and have read Jon Krakauer‘s white-knuckle book about Mormonism Under the Banner of Heaven — the surprise is not that this cult has bred generations of isolated teen (and underaged) brides — but rather that the men who run the cult may finally be held accountable. The AP just put up some fascinating background, describing how David S. Allred, president of YFZ Land, LLC bought the land as a “corporate hunting retreat” and instead used the land to build a religious enclave, adding:
In recent years, sect members and their prophet, Warren Jeffs, were being investigated by authorities in the sister cities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., for allegedly marrying off girls as young as 13 to much older men with multiple wives. Women and girls who fled the sect — and boys who’d been forced out or abandoned — told stories of forced marriages, incest and abuse; some who left called the FLDS a destructive cult. (…read the rest)
Why is this on Tiny Nibbles? Because I’ve read Under the Banner of Heaven three times, and I’m about to read it again. It even ties in with Bay Area newspaper history. I’ve been obsessed with the strangeness of Mormon cult-ure for years. And I’m worried that: a) these guys will get away with this shit as usual, b) the women won’t ever understand their circumstances, c) that the YFZ version of teen-girl-brainwashing and scary baby-breeding polygamy will be seen as the only expression of poly-anything in the mainstream consciousness, and d) that the bloody, violent (and racist) history of the Mormon faith will sidestep the religious foundation — the laboratory of belief — that created this monster.
Oh yeah, the Pope’s here in New York City with me. Well, not *with* me, or he would have fainted watching my erotic LoliGoth photo session with Paul Sarkis (Paulie and Pauline) this afternoon. Security around NY’s Pope zones has been hardcore, with lots of blockaded streets. Scott Beale has repeatedly requested an audience with El Papa on Twitter, to no avail. And has anyone noticed that the new Pope looks just like that guy from Raiders of the Lost Ark, the one who got his face melted off in the last scene where they open the Ark? Sorry, it’s been a long day… ;)
“c) that the YFZ version of teen-girl-brainwashing and scary baby-breeding polygamy will be seen as the only expression of poly-anything in the mainstream consciousness”
I’ve been struggling with this myself. When all this started to hit the airwaves my first reaction was that it would make explaining polyamory that much more difficult. As the moment people hear poly-… they’ll immediately have images of the kids, courthouse, and little house on the prairie dressed wives running through their heads.
To complicate matters my wife and I recently moved and have made several new friends that we’ve become close enough to that we feel comfortable opening up with…. I am sure that they’ll all hear it out fully and everything. It just throws one more wrench into the situation that didn’t need to be there.
this whole situation is disheartening. it’s hard enough to get people to accept polygamy/polyamourism without being labeled a freak just for mentioning it in a good light. then something like this comes along and sets the Right Wing Christian mindset back in place and we retreat 50 years. enough to make my ears smoke.
A book I recommend is by Andrea Moore-Emmett, “God’s Brothel: The Extortion of Sex for Salvation in Contemporary Mormon and Christian Fundamentalist Polygamy . . . .” It was published a few years ago; a friend working in the Utah Attorney General’s office recommended it to me.
If you found ‘Under the Banner of Heaven’ fascinating, might I recommend “No Man Knows My History” by Fawn M. Brodie, niece of David O. McKay, one of the past presidents of the LDS church. She was given unparalleled access to church documents and knits a lively history. It’s a captivating look at the founding of a modern religion. As a former Mormon, I couldn’t put it down.
I’m having trouble creating a pithy response to this post. It’s a loaded topic. I have to say first that I agree with you, there are a lot of problems with this case and Mormon history in general. I live in Las Vegas, which has a huge mainstream Mormon population, and I’ve seen first hand girls I’ve grown up with get married right out of high school, start having as many kids as possible and not strive to be anything beyond a wife and mother. All of this is fine, if that’s what you want. But that lifestyle is perpetuated as being the highest a woman can attain, and all she should want in the first place. It’s easy to look at the FLDS and point fingers (and trust me, there’s a lot to point at), but mainstream Mormonism has its own form of brainwashing of women. That said, my brother married a Mormon and converted, and he’s about as far from Warren Jeffs as you can get. He’s only one man, though. Like I said, I’m having trouble getting to the point. Thanks for posting on this topic.
Has anyone noticed that the new Pope sounds like Dr Strangelove, as played by Peter Sellers? Which leads us back to polygamy:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=VD7_7SXsHU8
“c) that the YFZ version of teen-girl-brainwashing and scary baby-breeding polygamy will be seen as the only expression of poly-anything in the mainstream consciousness”
As a polyamorist actually living in Utah, this is a pretty valid fear here. =1
It’s been probably about twenty five years or so since I’ve seen Raiders Of The Lost Ark (my cousin took me when I was maybe eight or so, probably younger) so I barely remember the movie. But I think I remember that guy (or at least one of them) being skinnier.