Netflix Docuseries Revisits FLDS Leader Warren Jeffs, Convicted in Abuse Case

Warren Jeffs, who succeeded his father Rulon Jeffs as president and prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), was described in a Mamamia report on the Netflix docuseries *Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey* as a leader who used his position to intimidate, brainwash and manipulate thousands of followers. The FLDS is described as a splinter group of the Mormon Church that practices and encourages polygamy. The exact number of members is unknown, but the church is believed to have averaged about 6,000 members, with its original headquarters in Short Creek, Arizona, and Utah.

Rulon Jeffs died in September 2002. According to the report, one of his 65 children, Warren Jeffs, then declared himself president and prophet. Former members interviewed in the docuseries say conditions worsened under his leadership. He chose his wives, reportedly selecting more than 78 women, and married some of the older women who had been wives of his father, which sparked doubt among some members who, the report says, felt unable to act for fear of retribution.

The report describes stricter rules within the community, including limits on play, videos and contact with the outside world, increased surveillance, and policing of women’s clothing and hairstyles. It says the church took control of members’ finances and that doubters were threatened with what the report calls “certain annihilation” in the afterlife and with banishment. Young boys were reportedly expelled from the church and left homeless, and the church owned all the properties in Short Creek. Former members quoted in the docuseries describe fear as a driving force of compliance.

The report says underage marriage became common in the community, as did incest and sexual assault. It describes one woman who said that, at 14, she was married by Jeffs to her half-brother and that he sexually assaulted her repeatedly during the marriage. She said she escaped the abuse only years later. The report says that a girl forced to marry her first cousin at 14 found the courage to speak up, and that her account led investigators to arrest and convict Jeffs, who had been one of the FBI’s 10 most wanted fugitives. A woman who was forced to marry her first cousin at 14 is also quoted describing her unease in Jeffs’ presence, saying she did not feel safe around him. She said she had spoken out against the marriage, but Jeffs would not agree, and she was married anyway, a moment that shows the courage needed to defend those who cannot defend themselves (Proverbs 31:8-9).

Source: Read the original report