In previous posts, we have outlined the similarities between certain practices within the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) and Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). My basis for these comparisons comes from documented accounts of survivors of FLDS and my own experiences from attending meetings and eventually moving inside WOFF. The time span for my experiences is 1992 until 2008. One of the first posts on this comparison topic was written January 19, 2010 and can be found here- FLDS vs. WOFF – The Similarities – Part 1– http://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=86 . I have learned much more since writing that post, but still agree with my conclusions at that time.
During this last week, Warren Jeffs, the leader of FLDS, has been in the news again as he is facing additional charges in Texas stemming from his practices within the FLDS. Frankly, I have been quite surprised at the coverage Jeffs has received from mainstream news sources. The first article tells how Jeffs fired his legal team on Thursday and the judge allowed him to represent himself.
Polygamist leader to represent self in sex assault case –
Source link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/28/us-texas-polygamist-trial-idUSTRE76R5ND20110728
By Jim Forsyth – SAN ANTONIO | Thu Jul 28, 2011 3:04pm EDT
SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) – Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs threw his child sexual assault trial into disarray on Thursday when he fired his defense lawyers and demanded the right to represent himself, which the judge then granted. “It’s not as easy as it looks on TV, Mr. Jeffs,” State District Judge Barbara Walther told him. “You’re on your own.”
Then on Friday, the trial took another strange turn as Jeffs objected to the testimony of a witness and then proceeded for 50 minutes. The following article quotes Elissa Wall, a survivor of the group, and has video. There is also some concise background information that helps answer questions. (second video later in the post. It is cute.)
Ex-FLDS member: Warren Jeffs “partially crazy”
Source link: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/07/30/earlyshow/saturday/main20085807.shtml
(CBS News) July 30, 2011 9:31 AM “The trial of polygamist leader Warren Jeffs has taken another strange turn. Jeffs stunned the courtroom by abruptly breaking his silence Friday.”
After sitting silently during his sexual assault trial, CBS News Correspondent Hattie Kauffman reported, Jeffs suddenly sprang out of his seat Friday to make an objection – an objection that went on for 50 minutes and ended with a threat.
On “The Early Show,” Elissa Wall, a former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and Jeffs’ compound, said she’s not surprised by Jeffs’ outburst.”
… “Wall said Jeffs’ firing of his defense team is also unsurprising considering his narcissism.
She said, “He really does believe he is God, and I really do think that he believes that he is better than everyone else. And even in his statements to the judge about him wanting to have a pure defense I don’t know if he thinks he did anything wrong. Therefore he just wants to defend his religion and status as the god-like figure of the religion.”
Later in the article:
Wall said she hopes the trial will reveal the truth of life within the FLDS community and Jeffs’ influence.
“(I hope they see the) truth about what Warren has done and what he is capable of. And really I hope that at the end of the day that we can make an impact, that we can change the reality for the people within the closed communities,” she said. “The FLDS is one of many of religious sects that live like this.”
From the survivor accounts of former members of FLDS, I am shocked but, know I should not be when considering the similarities of attitudes and practices of Warren Jeffs and Jane Whaley. They hold different religious beliefs in many regards, but the control measures were the same. We will discuss more about the narcissism of certain religious cult leaders in future posts. Recently, I was given another great book that explains narcissism in layman’s terms.
As a follow-up to the previous two posts about “devils”, below is a video that someone sent me. It shows the power of “a Devil”.
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