Doris Hanson Director, A Shield and Refuge Ministry

A huge percentage of those who leave Mormonism reject God altogether; they reject all religion. They develop a severe mistrust of any teaching or belief in God. All they know about God is what their religion taught them.  Well...religion itself is not necessarily a good thing.   God doesn't want us to embrace religion; He wants us to embrace Jesus Christ!  And that's what true Christianity is--a loving relationship with the Savior of our souls.

When they leave the religious abuse of Mormonism, it's often because they've discovered that their leaders were lying to them.  So--they reason--if leaders lied about these things, then who's to say they weren't lying about God as well? Our desire for them is that they find the truth about God, rather than reject Him completely based on what they were taught about Him.

My own story includes a “wilderness journey” of 25 years rejecting God because, even after I ran away, I continued to believe what I had been taught about Him through polygamy doctrine. The God I learned about was violent, greedy, and a polygamist. He was called “father in heaven” but, in my own experience, there was nothing kind and fatherly about him.  He was selfish and vindictive and certainly I couldn’t and didn‘t trust this ‘god’. It took me 25 years to finally begin to discover the truth about God, then I grieved that it took me so long.

Jesus said: Trust in God.  Trust also in Me.  Then He spread out his arms and allowed the evil of man to nail those arms to the cross - He didn’t just say He loves us, He demonstrated His love for us.  No relationship will last if it isn't based on trust.  Jesus can be trusted - and we pray you will pray with us, that all who leave the Mormon faith, whether LDS or polygamists will turn to the Biblical Jesus who loves us unconditionally, who will never lie to us, and who not only purchased our eternal life, but also gives it to those who will trust Him.

We pray each ex-polygamist/LDS will investigate the truth about God rather than reject Him because of what they have falsely been told about Him.  The bottom line is 1 John 4:16: God is love.  Thank you for your support of this ministry!

SUGGESTED READING:

It is a completely different world for us who were born and raised in Mormon Fundamentalism.  We were brainwashed from the cradle to believe that those not in the group were our enemies, not to be trusted.  Sometimes we hear people say about the victims of polygamy, “Why don’t they just leave, just walk away?”  It isn’t that simple!  To help others understand the dilemma we faced in our attempts to leave, we have been suggesting reading material written by escapees who have successfully integrated into the world outside of Mormon polygamy groups.

This month our featured book is entitled, “KEEP SWEET”, by Debbie Palmer and Dave Perrin, published in 2004 by Dave’s Press, Inc.

As a young child, Debbie Palmer moved with her family to the polygamous community now known as Bountiful, which is an FLDS compound in Canada.

At fifteen she was assigned as sixth wife to the group's leader, who was fifty-five years old. After his death in 1974 she was assigned consecutively to two other men in the group.

She is the mother of eight children and the oldest of forty-seven brothers and sisters. She escaped in 1988—one of the first women to leave any of the polygamous groups with all her children.

During one of their meetings, her Grandpa, who had just married a young plural wife, got up and spoke to the group. From page 205:

“Grandpa got up and gave his humble talk. Earlier... he'd been married to Uncle Frederick's nineteen-year-old daughter, Noreen ... he stood In front of everyone and told us how humble he was to have been found worthy to be called to live the new and everlasting covenant of marriage. He thanked the prophet for his insight in selecting his new wife and Uncle Frederick for raising such a fine daughter... When I asked Daddy about it, he said age was irrelevant to Heavenly Father because one of his days was a thousand of ours. It just wasn't important if a husband was forty years older than a wife—or even older.”

Mormon polygamists all embrace the belief that the sacred principle of plural and celestial marriage was revealed to Joseph Smith in the early days of the Mormon church and was the only way to get to the highest degree of celestial glory to be kings and queens, gods and
goddesses.  Debbie’s family was fiercely loyal to the religion.

As a young girl, she grew up believing that her marriage would be determined by the 'prophet', therefore she wouldn't have to worry about whether or not she married the right person. One old man speaking at a meeting said, “When the Lord has assigned young wives to me, I take them into my bedroom, remove their clothing … pull the pins from their hair… and dress them in clothes I prepared for  them… These young wives know without a shadow of a doubt that they belong to me for all the eternities…”  Page 203.

KEEP SWEET is a drama-filled true story of the author’s life in the polygamy group and her escape to freedom. You can purchase KEEP SWEET at Amazon.com.

Recently we have been able to share our ministry and information about polygamy in Mormon Utah with groups from outside of our State.  We have included pictures of a recent fellowship during a Q & A time.   These pictures were taken after our interview with Joel Groat, Executive Director of Institute for Religious Research, www.irr.org.  The irr.org website is filled with information about Mormonism.

We are available to speak to your group about polygamy in Mormonism and how it affects tens of thousands of lives today.  They have ‘changed the Gospel’ of Jesus Christ.  They have made polygamy co-savior—a requirement of the Mormon god in order for them to go to heaven.  We exist to bring Biblical truths to polygamists, holding up Jesus Christ ALONE as Savior!

Joel Groat, myself to his left, Russ East to my left and a missions group from North Carolina. Discussing the shunning by family when someone chooses Biblical Christianity over Mormonism.

Russ East, Manager of AM  820 Christian Radio, myself, Joel Groat, Executive Director of Institute for Religious Research. What a great time of sharing the love and grace of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

MORMON POLYGAMY HISTORY

Copied from the exposé , Tell It All, by Mrs. T.B.H. Stenhouse published in 1874.

“Why, it wasn’t to please myself that I introduced the child to him, but simply because, if he must have another wife, it was certainly best for me to choose one whom I could manage. However, they were married not long after, and really I think I never was more disgusted in my life than I was on that occasion. I was not jealous, but I do think he might have paid her a little less attention. In fact I quite regretted, when it was too late, that I had ever brought them together.

“The Mormon men always do make themselves silly over their new wives, and I did not expect my husband to be an exception to the rule; but I was perfectly astonished at the change that took place in Alice. Instead of the quiet, modest girl she used to be, she put on all sorts of airs, and treated me as if I were of not the slightest consequence. I couldn’t stand that, and I resolved, if it were only to take the pride out of her, I would get my husband to marry another wife still. He wouldn’t object, I knew, for he takes life very easily and he has a great respect for my opinion. Besides which, he is quite well enough off to support three wives, and as a matter of duty, if nothing else, he ought to do so. That would soon bring Miss Alice to a proper state of mind, and she needed something of the sort, for, do you know, she had actually made that silly husband of mine think that she ought to be treated with the same consideration as myself.”

“Well but,” I said, “if the principle of Polygamy is of God, it is only just that all the wives should be treated alike. If my husband were to marry another woman, much as it would pain me, I should certainly treat her as an equal.”

“Then,” she replied, “if you do so you will find that the first wives will have nothing to do with you. You will find, when you come to be better acquainted with the people here, that the first wives do not waste much love over the polygamic wives; and, of course, as a rule, the polygamic wives detest the first wives. Then the plural wives get together and talk all manner of evil about the first wives, who do pretty much the same in respect to them. It is only natural that they should do so.”  (Pgs 375-376)

“Men and women had been forced to marry one another without any respect to affection or fitness, and the result was that hundreds of marriages were entered into which made those who contracted them miserable for life, but the consequences of which they could not avoid.” (page 390)

FROM OUR MAILBOX:

“My name is C  ...  I watched the April 3rd and 10th 2019 episodes on Nicole Henderson. Her story broke my heart.   I would enjoy if you would do more episodes with ex-black
Mormons. I am an ex-black Mormon and I feel deceived by this church.  There is so much information I found out about this church after I left. My Mormon friends from my ward are constantly asking me to come back. Everyone loved me at the ward since I was a happy person with a ready smile and hug for all.

God Bless you ... for doing this important work of helping these women and children escape polygamy and help ex-Mormons find their way to God and his Son Jesus Christ.  “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life. John 3:16.”

  May God and Jesus Christ continue to bless you in all your endeavors, Thank you.” CC

“Doris, appreciate your ministry and the heartfelt burden you have for the
ministry you’re involved in.  I have learned much through your interviews...
God Bless your service to Him.”  J.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Pray for all those involved with the tax fraud case against the Kingston polygamy group.  Pray the whole truth will come out, and full justice will take place.  Pray many will see that God doesn’t condone their fraud, that many will want to leave and that we will have opportunity to help them.
  
  
• Pray for a young lady, her sisters and mother who have left a polygamy group.  One rejects a life with God the others are leaning toward the Mormon false religion.  Pray God will give them ears to hear and touch each heart, and reveal Himself to each of them in a very special and personal way.
  
  
• We are talking with a couple who are in hiding from polygamous family trying to pressure them into taking another wife against their own will.  Pray for an outcome that will glorify God.

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