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today's post is courtesy of one of my very good friends. she's an excellent journalist and mother of two. a newspaper reporter in her past, she's missed writing real stuff and offered me the little tidbit below. i haven't altered it at all, it's been copied, pasted and reprinted with her permission.
if you haven't heard of warren jeffs, he's the leader of the fundamentalist church of latter day saints. basically, they have the same beliefs as latter day saints (aka mormons) with one tiny difference: they believe in polygamy. it's certainly a hot topic here in utah and one that's been followed with great scrutiny in the media over the years.
anyway. here it is. it's well-written and i couldn't have ever written it so eloquently myself. thanks, denise.
weighing in on warren jeffs
by denise albiston
So I must state my opinion about Warren Jeffs’ request to have his trial moved from Washington County to Salt Lake County in an effort to find an objective and diverse set of peers.
You see, as member of a predominant LDS community, I believe Jeffs will find more understanding and sympathy from a jury whose roots are strained by polygamy. Washington County likely houses the largest sect of polygamists this side of the Middle East. As a Mormon—fundamentalist or not—he will find more tolerance for his act as it is part of a historical belief that church members quietly shun but still remember as a significant practice and defend as such. In Salt Lake County, they will find a varied group with lack of historical relevance and many misconceptions about the act itself.
No, I’m not suggesting that marring 14-year-old girls into a life of subservience and intellectual suppression is tolerable; however, it is an act that we ‘Utahns’—yeah I used that word—have accepted as part of the fringe society we live among.
LDS members are often misunderstood, and leaders such as Jeffs help fuel the conceptions of Devil horns and multiple wives. He is the epitome of a Mormon throughout fable and urban legends stirring the darkened kettle of ignorance. If I was a gambler—which that I am not—I would hedge my ‘life’ on a group of peers derived from the same community I belonged to. I believe this would harness the only chance to gain understanding. I’m not suggesting that anybody condone this behavior, but as a member of Cache Valley where 90 percent of its inhabitants are LDS, I can understand his plight. We are much more likely to mingle among the Ostridge farmers from Samaria and look beyond their 25 children and 12 wives. It is a part of society such as chewing tobacco and 36 ounce Mountain Dews at 8 a.m. that we have come to expect—but not necessarily accept.
I still believe that what Jeffs preaches and practices is wrong on the most fundamental level, but I understand where the development came from and look at it as religious expression gone wrong. I still maintain he is guilty and should pay dearly for his acts, but I believe his punished acts will have greater reach and substance if he is held accountable by his own cow mucked, desert living, southern Utah rednecks that have the right to stand in front of this thorn and say his nuisance is no longer tolerable. Southern Utahns need to have the chance to stand before the ‘beloved’ FDLS leader and say your practices and beliefs will no longer be harbored in this red rocked environment.
if you haven't heard of warren jeffs, he's the leader of the fundamentalist church of latter day saints. basically, they have the same beliefs as latter day saints (aka mormons) with one tiny difference: they believe in polygamy. it's certainly a hot topic here in utah and one that's been followed with great scrutiny in the media over the years.
anyway. here it is. it's well-written and i couldn't have ever written it so eloquently myself. thanks, denise.
weighing in on warren jeffs
by denise albiston
So I must state my opinion about Warren Jeffs’ request to have his trial moved from Washington County to Salt Lake County in an effort to find an objective and diverse set of peers.
You see, as member of a predominant LDS community, I believe Jeffs will find more understanding and sympathy from a jury whose roots are strained by polygamy. Washington County likely houses the largest sect of polygamists this side of the Middle East. As a Mormon—fundamentalist or not—he will find more tolerance for his act as it is part of a historical belief that church members quietly shun but still remember as a significant practice and defend as such. In Salt Lake County, they will find a varied group with lack of historical relevance and many misconceptions about the act itself.
No, I’m not suggesting that marring 14-year-old girls into a life of subservience and intellectual suppression is tolerable; however, it is an act that we ‘Utahns’—yeah I used that word—have accepted as part of the fringe society we live among.
LDS members are often misunderstood, and leaders such as Jeffs help fuel the conceptions of Devil horns and multiple wives. He is the epitome of a Mormon throughout fable and urban legends stirring the darkened kettle of ignorance. If I was a gambler—which that I am not—I would hedge my ‘life’ on a group of peers derived from the same community I belonged to. I believe this would harness the only chance to gain understanding. I’m not suggesting that anybody condone this behavior, but as a member of Cache Valley where 90 percent of its inhabitants are LDS, I can understand his plight. We are much more likely to mingle among the Ostridge farmers from Samaria and look beyond their 25 children and 12 wives. It is a part of society such as chewing tobacco and 36 ounce Mountain Dews at 8 a.m. that we have come to expect—but not necessarily accept.
I still believe that what Jeffs preaches and practices is wrong on the most fundamental level, but I understand where the development came from and look at it as religious expression gone wrong. I still maintain he is guilty and should pay dearly for his acts, but I believe his punished acts will have greater reach and substance if he is held accountable by his own cow mucked, desert living, southern Utah rednecks that have the right to stand in front of this thorn and say his nuisance is no longer tolerable. Southern Utahns need to have the chance to stand before the ‘beloved’ FDLS leader and say your practices and beliefs will no longer be harbored in this red rocked environment.
eloquently composed by jess at 2:34 PM
3 Comments:
Denise was one of my favorites when she was at the Herald Journal. She should start her own blog, it would be great. We need more great local blogs.
I've also thought it strange that Jeffs lawyers wanted to be moved to Salt Lake. Media coverage is the argument given, but that is absolutely absurd given the intense coverage by the Tribune and the national coverage by CNN and others.
I have a lot of difficulty understanding the strategy behind this request because I would think that he would garner much less support in Northern vs. Southern Utah.
I agree with Denise that he should be tried down there. I think it is important for the community as well.
Polygamy is a very touchy issue.
Frankly? I don't know if I have "Sympathy" for it but there are aspects of it that I don't really get my knickers in a twist over, really.
IF ALL parties are consenting adults, the marrying bunches of people oddly doesn't throw me that much. In some ways I find it less repellent than a guy that is married and has four or five honey's on the side. I'm not saying I'm all for plural marraige, I'm just saying I don't really care much about what grown ups do with their relationships. (Yes, there is a BUT coming...)
What I DO care about???? Underage ANYTHING, manipulation of welfare that supports these families,having so many kids that you are a poor parent or marrying relatives (Grody). That I absolutely abhor, and polygamy usually entails all or most of the above.
In the end? It's just not really a good idea, people.
I'm going to mull this over a bit before commenting. For some reason I've spent a lot of time lately watching documentaries and researching the children that have fled this community and are trying to find shelter and build their lives elsewhere, which isn't an easy thing to do with little education, not to mention banishment from their families.
It all gives me a dark, dreadful feeling in the pit of my stomach. I don't know that I care where he's prosecuted -
wait, I was going to think first!
I seem to read so many blogs from Utah!! I've yet to come across one that supports Warren Jeffs, thank God.
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