An Open Letter

Someone just sent me this.  Very interesting!

 This letter was signed by William E. Jessop and Willie R. Jessop

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Unraveling

The leadership configuration of the FLDS is currently unraveling.  As wretched behaviors have been uncovered, the questions are starting to arise.  Who participated with Jeffs in his lasciviousness?  Who had full knowledge of it (besides the FBI)?  Whom is law enforcement pursuing for further prosecutions, or are the cops just going to give all the other actors a free pass now that they have nabbed the kingpin?

To me it all seems very clear cut.  Certain people knew and participated (Willie named some of them on TV today), and the rest of the folks were as oblivious as I was. 

Time for decisions. Time to draw a line in the sand. Time to come down squarely on one side or the other.  Either you are with Warren and his pedophilia, or you are with true principle, righteousness and the welfare of your young'uns.  You have a little time still to work things through because, if you don't have the Internet, you aren't seeing the news or reading my cynical sermons yet.  I'm gonna trust that the Creekerville rumor-mill is more efficient than texting, that the critical mass of truth and reality is already cresting, and that Willie Jessop will soon be received as an Abinadi rather than a Judas.  Just don't kill him for having the courage to tell the truth.

On the topic of unraveling, I am reminded (by the media) that an alleged 300 families were dismantled by Warren for God-knows-what reason.  Many men were simply banished, never to be heard from again.  Their wives and children were taken in by other men.  This went on for years.  Presumably, by now, these transplanted wives have had additional children by their new husbands.  How do you unravel that?  If the ousted men were honorable, and were ejected merely because Warren wanted their wives or kids, can they now return and have their families restored?  Can all the re-configured, reassigned families be unraveled and put back to their correct arrangement?  Can the clock be turned back?  Can a community of sincere believers come to terms with the fact that it was swept up in a whirlwind of deceit and evil?  Can they reconcile the precious truths of the Gospel and the betrayal that sprang out of the idolatry and priestcraft that crept in unnoticed by most?

Who's To Blame?

Jeremiah 23:

21. “I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied.
22. But if they had stood in my council, then they would have proclaimed my words to my people,
and they would have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their deeds.

23. “Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away?  
24. Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.  

Over the last few years, I have wanted to explore the very topical question of accountability.  Who is accountable when a person in an authority position leads his subordinates astray?  The Mormon Church grappled with this question in the mid 1900's.  The message was, "When the Church leaders have spoken, the thinking has been done.  If a leader tells you to do something, and it is wrong, do it and you will be blessed for your obedience."  

It is such a cozy, comforting feeling to know that you have a prophet nearby.  If God doesn't speak to you, but He does speak to someone in your Church, you can feel very reassured.  You can relax and figure that when God wants you to know something, He will tell "The Prophet", and the Prophet will tell you.  Even more reassuring if you believe that you are in the only "true", "right" church, and that church is taking you straight to the Celestial Kingdom (while everyone else is going straight to hell).  This is just simple human nature.  We all want security and comfort (even sometimes at the expense of others).

So what happens when the Prophet-leader-dude mucks up?  What happens when the President of the Church violates what God has taught?  In 1889, God told President Wilford Woodruff to make no more concessions to the courts regarding plural marriage. A year later, Woodruff defied God and announced the (at least feigned) cessation of polygamous marriages.  Eventually it stuck, and now the two camps exchange public barbs at each other for devolving into false religion.  Who was to blame?  Was it Woodruff - or was it the people - the people who would relax, capitulate and go along with it?

What happens when the Church tells the people that God would not "lead the leader astray" and that "were he to lead them astray, God would take him out of his place"?  Is this a passport to divine infallibility?  Is this what happened in the "One-Man-Rule" hierarchy in FLDS-ville?  Did the church-members abdicate their own free agency in exchange for perks and the reassurance of a fast-track ride to heaven?  Who is to blame? - a lecherous leader who takes the people's money and daughters and commits depravity in secret? - or is it the people who (despite their naivete) willfully surrendered their self-determination and allowed others to govern their families' destinies?

This is the big philosophical question, and li'l ol' Renn has the answer.  EVERYONE is accountable!  Who was to blame for forcing the devout Fundamentalists into the "wilderness"?  Was it the Feds, the State, the Church, the Arizona and Utah citizens who supported the witch-hunt, and Detective Bishop Fred E. Curtis, who investigated criminal suspects during the week and excommunicated them on Sundays?  Who was to blame for re-structuring a community and stripping it of its basic Constitutional principles of common-consent and free-agency (Warren or Lintbag)?  The answer - EVERYONE.

It's time for everyone involved in this 100+-year mess to take a hard look at his and her own personal responsibility and choices - and then take accountability.  Then let's go back to loving and forgiving each other, and work together and prepare for the bigger challenge that awaits us right around the corner.

Who Would Have Thunk It?

I just read the news that Warren Jeffs was just ousted as president of the FLDS church.  William E. Jessop was apparently formally tapped by Jeffs years ago as the real heir to the leadership mantle, and now he, Jessop (not former church spokes-thug, Willie Jessop), has assumed control of the church by asserting his (rightful?) standing today at the office of Salt Lake's Division of Corporations.  Who would have thunk it?  I'm a bit confused because it was just weeks ago that Wendell Nielsen was the president ???????????

You can read Jennifer Dobner's amazing article below (in your face, Burnt Hensnacker !!!).  I don't think I completely understand this, other than that Jeffs is in jail awaiting trial on a handful of charges related to sex with minors.  I have always insisted that we shouldn't indict someone unless we have proof that he or she really did the alleged crime.  I guess it remains to be seen if the girls in question were molested in any way.  To date, Utah and Arizona have been unable to pin anything on Jeffs.  Maybe we'll get more information at the Texas trial, but that is still months away.  Heaven help anyone who has to be tried by Barbaric Warthog (she has eaten several innocent people for breakfast).

It seems to me that Judge Dee Benson is heaven-bent on giving the UEP trust back to its rightful owners.  Perhaps with someone other than Jeffs at the helm, the transition can proceed efficiently.  Maybe the A.G.s can put away the swords.  Maybe the hater-nasties will have lost the primary target of their venom.

I guess the big question Enquiring minds want to know is, "Will the new president un-excommunicate all the faithful church-members and leaders whom Jeffs recently disciplined?

My prayer is that the wonderful people who are faithful members of the FLDS community will -

1.  Get their state-confiscated property back.
2.  Get a clarification of the truth and facts so they will not be misled by anyone.
3.  Be as united as ever.
4.  Continue to be faithful to the restored Gospel.
5.  Warmly embrace their Fundamentalist Mormon brothers and sisters everywhere (who love them!).

Oh, yeah, and I pray for the Jeffs family - that they will be blessed and comforted during this horribly trying time.
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APNewsBreak: Church elder moves to replace Jeffs

By JENNIFER DOBNER  2011 The Associated Press

March 28, 2011, 6:21PM

SALT LAKE CITY  Jailed polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs may no longer have control of his southern Utah-based church after a senior leader on Monday moved to replace him.

William E. Jessop filed papers with the Utah Department of Commerce to take over as president of the corporation that is the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Jessop, who served as bishop of the twin FLDS border towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., said Monday his rise to the presidency is not an attempt to take over the church, but rather the fulfillment of an earlier directive from Jeffs.

"It is an attempt to preserve ... the church," Jessop, 41, said in an interview with The Associated Press.

An attempt to reach Jeffs at the Texas jail where is being held was unsuccessful Monday, and a telephone call to his criminal attorney was not immediately returned. A message left for Rod Parker, a Salt Lake City attorney who represents the church in civil matters, also wasn't returned.

Jeffs, 55, was convicted in Utah in 2007 on two felony counts of rape as an accomplice and was ordered to serve life sentences, but the convictions were later overturned.

Earlier that year, while jailed and awaiting trial, Jeffs tried to cede authority of the church both as president and spiritual leader to Jessop in a series of recorded telephone calls to followers and to Jessop, himself.

"I know of your ordination, that you are the key holder, and I have sent a note with my signature so that there is no question," Jeffs told Jessop in a Jan. 24, 2007, telephone call from a Utah jail.

The tapes and a DVD of the conversation were released by the court as part of Jeffs' trial.

Jessop did not respond to the offer at the time, and Jeffs publicly remained spiritual head and president of the church. Other church members speculated the calls from Jeffs were merely a test of their faith.

Four days later, Jeffs attempted suicide by trying to hang himself in the jail.

Then in December 2007, after his Utah conviction, Jeffs resigned as president of the church corporation, believing he could no longer run its day-to-day business from behind bars. But he remained the group's spiritual leader.

Jeffs was later moved to a jail in Texas, where he is awaiting trial on bigamy and aggravated sexual assault charges. Last month, he retook control of the church following the abrupt resignation of his replacement, who was forced out of the church.

Jessop said he is only stepping forward now because he believes he can help provide the church with the leadership it needs while Jeffs is incarcerated.

"We take things at Heavenly Father's pace," said Jessop, who has been living on a church ranch in Pringle, S.D., since 2004.

Jeffs would not have to formally resign as the church's president for Jessop to be installed, Commerce Department spokeswoman Jennifer Bolton said Monday. However, it remained unclear whether Jeffs would immediately lose all power in the church or share it with Jessop, at least for now.

Jessop's assertion of leadership is largely unprecedented, and it wasn't immediately clear whether the move would fracture or unite the 10,000-strong church with members in Arizona, British Columbia, Colorado, South Dakota, Texas and Utah.

Asked if he is now considered the church's prophet and spiritual leader, Jessop said that will be up to individual church members. In the past, the church president has also been considered its prophet.

Meanwhile, a trial for Jeffs is set for later this year in Texas, where prosecutors allege he had sex with two girls, one under age 14 and one under age 17. A court has entered not guilty pleas on Jeffs' behalf.

Canadian authorities also are investigating allegations that in 2005 Jeffs married two 12-year-old sect girls who were brought from a church enclave in British Columbia to the U.S. It's not clear whether those girls are the same victims whose relationships with Jeffs are the basis for the Texas charges.

Jeffs assumed the role as FLDS prophet and president in September 2002 following the death of his father, Rulon Jeffs, who suffered a series of strokes.

His rise to power has been questioned by former church members who say there was no succession plan in place when the elder Jeffs died because he had preached that the second coming of Jesus Christ was imminent, and therefore no one would need to lead the church in the future.

A Higher Standard

Every now and then, I get stuck in a comprehension rut. I find that certain cliches and weapon words (and expressions) befuddle my brain and temporarily stifle my ability to develop my counterpoint. I am - shall-we-say - decoyed by deceit.

I remember when Judge Walter Steed (at Tapestry's behest) was removed from his position as Judge.  The complaint was that he was a polygamist.  He had one legal spouse and two other mature lady partners who were not his legal spouses.  My guess is that he thought of them as "wives" and thus satisfied the standard of guilt under Utah's (joke of a) bigamy statute.

Around the time of his dismissal, the cry went up that he needed to be held to a "higher standard".  What does that mean?!  Was this just another "word-trick"?  Is a judge required to "obey more laws" than regular citizens?!!  In a post-Lawrence era, he was committing no crime.  I know of other judges who have had extra-marital dalliances - and they have not been removed.  Clearly, the offense was not his private unions with other partners, it was his RELIGIOUS involvement in the practice of RELIGIOUS polygamy.  The "higher standard" required of him was not that he eschew an involvement with multiple partners, but that he not engage in religious plural marriage as a fundamentalist Mormon (once the hater-nasties decided to target him [after his decades of exemplary service]).

Let's face it, folks, as fundamentalist Mormons and polygamists, we do hold OURSELVES to a significantly higher set of standards.  That is where we fall afoul of the enemy's scrutiny.  We embrace the "fullness of the Everlasting Gospel".  We aspire to the highest degree of glory in the Celestial Kingdom.  We seek to live - not by bread alone, but - by EVERY word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.  We strive to abide by higher law doctrines which the schoolmistress Church long ago jettisoned.  Though as imperfect as the other folks around us, we simply choose to strive for loftier attainments (like Lance Armstrong).  I think that is what gets us in trouble.

You see, the angry, bitter, shrill harpies who seek our eradication are gonna hold us to it, darn 'em.  In their tireless fault-finding crusade, they know we are trying hard to emulate the perfections of our Creator, and the best weapon they have against us is to trumpet our imperfections from the rooftops.

In last week's B.C. polygamy circus trial, the opposing lawyers (solicitors?) tried their darn'dest to find fault in the two sweet ladies who had prostrated themselves on a public altar in defense of true principle.  "Did you know Tom Green?"  "Did you write a defensive letter when you were young?" "Did you go on television?" (all capital offenses in an anti-polygamy universe . . . . ). Granted, those hostile lawyers were grasping for ANY possible wrinkle of imperfection in the two witnesses. No such luck.

So my conclusion is that there is simply a bizarre double-standard in this titanic contest.  We hold ourselves to a high standard of ethics and conduct, and the hater-nasties will make quite sure that they hold us to it, too.  Meanwhile, they hold themselves to no standard whatsoever.  Their vitriol, hyperbole and unbridled hysteria go unchecked - even prized and encouraged.  When they take the witness stand or deposition chair, they can prevaricate ad libitum.  They can curse like sailors and live lives of sordid promiscuity - all with impunity.  If we dare to criticize them for their delirious attacks on us, they accuse us of gross iniquity and injustice.  The playing field is just not level.  It reminds me somewhat of Obama, Reid, Pelosi and Weiner.  Perhaps their courage and swagger are reinforced by the fact that they know that we would never stoop so low as to start a campaign to eradicate them.

I am also reminded of Willie Jessop's experience of being ejected from many a courtroom simply because he wore dangerous facial expressions.  So, if you want to dodge the wrath of the anti-polygamy crowd, maintain the moral high ground, and keep sweet facial expressions, but don't count on it doing you any good.