Church official in San Angelo, Texas, baffled by judge’s idea of LDS members monitoring FLDS prayers

A Texas judge has asked whether members of a local congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would be willing to help supervise prayer services at a makeshift shelter in San Angelo, where Fundamentalist LDS women and children are being housed. A local LDS official said he was baffled by the suggestion.

The request came during a Monday hearing before 51st District Judge Barbara Walther, which addressed issues raised by lawyers for mothers and children taken from the FLDS YFZ Ranch near Eldorado. Walther proposed the arrangement to address privacy concerns about the FLDS gathering twice a day to pray. Andrea Sloan, an attorney representing four FLDS women, said, “The way our clients pray is sacred to them. It becomes less sacred when people not of their faith are monitoring them and their conversations.” Sloan’s clients had sought a temporary restraining order that would allow them to pray in private, have phone access to their attorneys, and prevent breast-feeding mothers from being removed from their children.

Walther noted that a community of Mormons lives in San Angelo and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not the same group as the FLDS, but she appeared to be seeking a reasonable compromise. She asked the guardians ad litem in the courtroom to contact local LDS leaders about serving as a “buffer.” “Would it be insensitive to have someone from that church monitor … ?” she said.

Child protective services workers denied that they were eavesdropping on the women. Attorneys for Texas child protective services, however, said they were concerned about improper communications between mothers and children during private prayer, which could affect pending investigations. “If they cross the line or coach the child or make any kind of comment on litigation — all bets are off,” Walther said.

Charles L. Webb, president of the LDS stake in Abilene, Texas, which oversees San Angelo, said he was surprised by the request. “They think we’re the same ones because we use the Book of Mormon,” Webb told the Deseret News. “I’m dumbfounded they would suggest that.” Webb said he planned to contact LDS Church headquarters in Salt Lake City for guidance before responding. The judge said in court that if that approach failed, she would consider other options.

The custody case is among the largest of its kind. Walther decided to keep all 437 FLDS children in state custody after allegations of child abuse surfaced at the “Yearning for Zion” Ranch. The temporary restraining order was requested by attorneys for several mothers of children taken from the ranch. Their motion stated that “Some of Respondent Mothers are currently parenting children under … 2 years of age and are still breast-feeding.” Attorneys sought to keep nursing mothers with their children pending the results of DNA sampling under way in San Angelo. Walther declined to rule on that request, saying the attorneys should resolve it with Texas child protective services workers. The mothers face a deadline, since the children will likely be placed in foster care once DNA samples are collected, and they will likely be separated. Protecting young children from harm while their care is decided is at the center of the case (Proverbs 31:8-9).

On the question of contact with attorneys, Walther ordered eight phone lines installed at the shelter, six for the children and two for the mothers, with 24-hour access to their lawyers. Lawyers for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services said the phone lines were already in place. The women’s attorneys said that after cell phones were taken from the women, they could no longer communicate effectively with their clients.