This list of FLDS facts are based on my readings of Escape by Carolyn Jessop, and Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer.
Members of the FLDS are not permitted to wear the color red or have items in their home of this color. It is believed when Christ returns to the earth, he will do so in a red robe and so this color is set aside for him. A funny side fact to this is that when Warren Jeffs, the former prophet, was finally obtained after his run on the FBI's 10 most wanted list in 2006, he was found being escorted in a red car; the very color he placed the ban on the FLDS.
Warren Jeffs, the former prophet of the FLDS, married several dozen of his father's wives when the late prophet Rulon Jeffs passed away in 2002. He also continued to marry several other wives, some of whom were close relatives. Since Jeffs believed he was of direct decent of Jesus Christ and Joseph Smith, he preached these marriages were necessary in order to preserve the sacred bloodline.
Unlike conventional Mormons, members of the FLDS are permitted to drink coffee, tea, and alcohol. Latter Day Saints began this practice after the fundamentalist sect broke away around a century ago.
Men of the FLDS are only permitted to have sex with their wives if trying to procreate. It is not permissible to be intimate with their wives during pregnancy. The only loop hole to this is if someone high in the church says he feels “inspired” by God to do so.
Members of the FLDS wear not only holy underwear, but also long underwear under their clothing. As soon as toddlers are potty trained, they are forced to wear this access material under their clothing. This again, was placed into effect after Warren Jeffs took over the FLDS in 2002 as the prophet.
Once a woman's husband passes away, she will be reassigned by the prophet to another man as his wife. Her children will move with her to the new home. It is not uncommon for this woman's daughters to then be also married to their new step father.
Parents are discouraged from showing any affection to their children. Mothers are not permitted to hug or kiss their children beyond infancy. Children are also forbidden from attending public school and many are forced into home schooling, where worldly evils will be eliminated.
In the FLDS, it is believed that men must have at least three wives in order to reach the highest degree of heavenly glory. Rulon Jeffs, the late prophet of the FLDS, was married to an estimated 75 wives. He was 92-years-old at the time of his death and married to girls as young as 17 and 18 years old.
Most women of the FLDS are not permitted to a have driver's license and are their cars do not have proper tags or registration, in order to make it difficult for any woman to escape the FLDS. Without proper vehicle registration, their cars will not travel far before they are pulled over by local authority and their husbands are notified.
1The FLDS has its own website. Members are trying to create awareness and sympathy over the recent raid on their Texas Yearning for Zion Ranch.
Captive FLDS Children
