Doris Hanson Director, A Shield and Refuge Ministry

If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? ~ Psalm 11:3

The Christian moral foundation of this country is being destroyed at an alarming rate. Bit by bit the high road of morality and respect for human life that once painted our nation is being destroyed. The Psalmist asks, “what can the righteous do?”

Christians are the “righteous” only because we have been given the gift of righteousness in and through Jesus Christ. Since this question addresses the righteous, what are we to do in this battle?

As we work with the polygamous population within the Mormon corridor, we see an amazing dichotomy of moral standards embraced by this religion. They behave and teach that what is wrong for the human race is righteous for them. For instance, bearing false witness is wrong unless you’re lying to an ‘outsider’, then its okay. Stealing is wrong, unless you’re stealing from the government or from an outsider, then its okay. Polygamy groups tend to decry the pedophile behavior of other polygamy groups, but continue to practice childbride marriages in their own group. The foundation of our society is crumbling, but we have been called to minister to Mormon polygamists, and we answer the Psalmists question with the following verse:

The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD's throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.  ~ Psalm 11:4

God sees it all, He is STILL on His throne.  We continue to bring Biblical truths to the polygamists, and we 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 understand the dilemma we faced in our attempts to leave, we have been suggesting reading material written by escapees who have successfully entered the world outside of Mormon polygamy groups.

This month our featured book is entitled, The Polygamist’s Daughter written by Anna LeBaron, with Leslie Wilson.
From the back cover:

“This is the haunti­ng memoir of Anna LeBaron, daughter of the notorious polygamist and murderer Ervil LeBaron. Ervil’s criminal activity kept Anna and her siblings constantly on the run from the FBI. Often starving, the children lived in a perpetual state of fear-and despite their numbers, Anna always felt alone. Would she ever find a place she truly belonged? Would she ever be anything other than the polygamist’s daughter?”

Anna’s father had thirteen wives and more than fifty children. Her childhood was filled with terror; desperation, and confusion. She writes that the life they led made her stomach ache… but she never said a word.  As is true with most polygamists, they lived in abject poverty. To fill their needs they would go “gift boxing” which was a favorite after-work pastime, from page 111:

“Next to gardening, 'gift boxing' at a Goodwill collecti­on bin was our favorite after-work pas­time. Digging through bags of clothing was definitely less smelly and cleaner than rummaging in a dumpster. For efficiency, the strategy was to grab as many bags of clothing as we could transport home, where we would sort through the bags to see what fit. Odds were, we would all have 'news' clothes by the end of the night.”

Her father Ervil LeBaron murdered or ordered the murders of those he considered his enemies. From page 117:

“According to my father, lawbreaking and lawlessness were jus­tified because the US government and culture were both corrupt. The disciples who followed him were God’s chosen people, which meant we could go outside the normal bounds of rules and regulati­ons. The ends justi­fied the means.”

Anna’s story is spell-binding. It tells her story of getting away, of the long road to healing, of finally expressing her feelings to her mother and of finding the Truth in Jesus Christ. On the last page, she writes that although she was born a polygamists’ daughter…

“...that truth has been redeemed by a bigger Truth. I am a child of God who loves me unconditi­onally. He knows my name. He knows my story. He has set me free.”

MORMON POLYGAMY HISTORY

“Especially do the first wives seem to carry the signs of care and sorrow, a mark of Cain, as it were … It is perceptible to even the most transient Visitors, and those who tarry for any length of ,me can readily distinguish a Mormon woman from an outsider... We have heard the stories of hundreds of the women themselves, both good Mormons and apostates... It is only a woman of marked courage and strength of character that will acknowledge the real extent of a delusion under which she has been laboring, especially when that delusion has been accompanied by shame, and a despotism strong enough to intimidate and crush the bravest spirit. That despotism has, no doubt, deterred a great many from giving full expression to their feelings, but the testimony that has been given is strong, abundant, and conclusive... polygamy is a damnable doctrine for women; that the philosopher understood the system well when he declared it a miserable failure socially; that its cornerstone is degradation to women and infamy to children; that its annals are unequaled in shameless crimes ... Polygamy has never taken such a debasing form in any nation or among any people above the condition of savages, as in Utah."

“...it is a curse to children, and destructive to the sacred relations of the family, and that those who practice it in the name and under the cloak of religion are in reality those who have outlived every vestige of pure religious feeling with which their natures might once have been endowed.”

“By ... testimony of the women themselves ... [they] are coerced into permitting their husbands to take other wives ... it destroys all that is manly, honest, and chivalrous in man, degrading him to the level of a brute ... it completely ruins all that is lovable and lovely in woman, and renders her either a dull, senseless, sorrowful, heartbroken creature, who has no interest in life, and no hope beyond the grave, or else makes of her a common virago ... it fosters all the worst passions of both sexes, and makes them but a libel on God's image ... it corrupts childhood and youth ... polygamy, by its lack of family unity, is a foe to every household in Christendom, and subversive of all those principles of truth and honor which promote the good of a people... We shall show the deceit and treachery, the brutality, the complete demoralization...which renders motherhood a disgrace, and brands with shame the innocent foreheads of little children.”

Quoted from: Women of Mormonism or the Story of Polygamy, As Told by the Vic­tims Themselves, Jennie Anderson Froiseth

POLYGAMY in the NEWS

Updates on previous news items:
North Carolina upheld their refusal to sell Polygamy Porter Beer because polygamy is illegal in their State. Polygamy Porter brewers may take their decision to a higher court claiming denial of free speech as their challenge. Fox News reports: “Unfortunately, it looks like beer and polygamy won't be mixing in North Carolina anytime soon: The brewery's appeal has been denied by the North Carolina Alcohol Beverage Control Commission.”

James Oler, a former leader of the FLDS polygamous community in BC, Canada, was sentenced to one year in jail and eighteen months’ probation for transporting a 15 year old girl into the U.S.A. to be married. Oler was also convicted of practicing polygamy and sentenced to house arrest and probation in June of 2018. In sentencing, the judge said she considered the nature of the crime and the impact his actions had on others.

A judge has ordered Warren Jeffs to give the deposition his lawyers were trying to stop. FLDS leaders and Warren Jeffs are facing a ritualistic sex abuse lawsuit for carrying out a "calculated plan" to sexually abuse underage girls as part of religious rituals. Jeffs' lawyers claimed that he suffered a mental break-down, so wasn’t fit to give a deposition. But the prosecution argued that there is no evidence to support their claim. Sadly, however, as with previously required depositions, the only questions Jeffs would most likely answer will be his name and other basic public information.

A Utah State senator plans to file a bill for the 2020 legislature session to greatly reduce the penalty for polygamy while making it easier to pursue the worst polygamists. Just last year they reaffirmed the penalty, and now they’re taking the low road again to make it nothing more illegal than getting a traffic ticket. The senator is using the overused false reasoning that ‘more people will have the courage to leave polygamy if polygamy was legalized.’ Once again, polygamy in Utah is like being on a roller coaster.

FROM OUR MAILBOX:

“My husband planned to take a second wife and live polygamy like his family had done. My son was a toddler. I was so heartbroken scared and confused. I am a Christian. I prayed my husband would wake up to what he was doing like cold water poured over his head. Do you know he nearly drown on a camping trip? Then his girlfriend went to Mexico to a polygamist group to help her sister with childbirth. End of the story ....my husband started reading Romans over and over for a week. Then looked up and said, "We are not good enough." He is saved by Grace. My son is now a wonderful adult Christian boy. Thank you for helping me all those years ago. I watch your shows on you tube. Love and God’s blessings.” SR

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“Why didn’t God with all his wisdom and knowledge of the complexities of the universe and his abilities to create everything, didn't just create the Golden Plates in printed English so they wouldn't need to be translated? If they were so important that we all needed to read them, you wouldn't think they would be such a mystery unless they really didn't exist in the first place, which I believe to be the case. Thank You.” PL

PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Pray for our small group of former polygamy group members as we gather to discuss biblical application and compare polygamy group teachings with bible teachings. Pray for open hearts to see, understand and receive the grace of God and salvation through Jesus Christ.
  
  
• Pray for a young girl that has tried to escape her polygamy parents multiple times, but they continue to send her back to the abusive polygamous home. She will be 18 years old in a few months.

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