Land trust board sues to take control of FLDS meetinghouse in Arizona

The land trust that oversees much of the real estate in two polygamous communities along the Utah-Arizona border has initiated legal action to assume control of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ (FLDS) meetinghouse. The lawsuit, filed on March 9 in Mohave County Superior Court, claims the United Effort Plan (UEP) already owns the Leroy S. Johnson Meetinghouse, commonly referred to as the “LSJ” by residents, and the 7 acres it occupies. The FLDS holds a special-use deed to manage the property, but the UEP asserts that the church has deviated from its original purpose.

The LSJ, located in Colorado City, Arizona, has served as the spiritual and logistical center of the FLDS for nearly three decades. According to the lawsuit, the special-use deed issued in 1988 required the FLDS to operate the building in line with the church’s teachings at that time. The UEP argues that the FLDS has abandoned this arrangement, restricting access to the building to only its members. Jeff Barlow, the UEP’s executive director, stated that the LSJ was originally intended as a community resource, open to the public for events such as funerals and community programs. Under the leadership of Warren Jeffs, who became FLDS president in 2002, the building is now closed to non-members.

Warren Jeffs is currently serving a life sentence in Texas, plus an additional 20 years, for crimes involving the sexual abuse of two girls he married as plural wives. The FLDS has not issued a public statement regarding the lawsuit, and no legal representative has appeared on behalf of the church in the case. The UEP’s lawsuit does not specify the nature of the alleged misconduct at the LSJ, though former members have testified in other legal proceedings that the building housed a control room used to monitor cameras throughout Colorado City and Hildale, Utah. This system reportedly tracked individuals entering the town, their interactions, and provided warnings if law enforcement arrived.

Church leaders, including former FLDS Bishop Lyle Jeffs, maintained offices within the LSJ. In 2006, the FBI arrived at the meetinghouse to serve warrants against Lyle Jeffs and other men, according to testimony in another legal proceeding. The UEP’s lawsuit accuses the FLDS of using the LSJ to further “criminal activity and other disruptive, non-religious purposes,” though the specific allegations remain unspecified. The case underscores ongoing legal tensions between the FLDS and local authorities, reflecting broader conflicts over the group’s practices and their impact on surrounding communities.

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