Carolyn Jessop with Laura Palmer wrote “Escape” (Copyright©2007 by Visionary Classics, LLC, published by Broadway Books, ISBN 978-0-7679-2756-7). We have reviewed this book previously in a guest post written by Lahna Morakis. Honestly, I have had a copy for a while, but had not picked it up until recently. From the back cover, “ESCAPE provides an astonishing look behind the tightly drawn curtains of the FLDS church (Fundamentalist Church of the Latter Day Saints), one of the most secretive religious groups in the United States. The story Carolyn Jessop tells is so weird and shocking that one hesitates to believe a sect like this, with 10,000 polygamous followers, could really exist in twenty-first-century America. But, Jessop’s courageous, heart-wrenching account is absolutely factual. This riveting book reminds us that truth can indeed be much, much stranger than fiction.”  –Jon Krakauer, author of Under the Banner of Heaven, Into Thin Air, and Into the Wild.

   This book follows my other reads on this religious cult. I have read books by Flora Jessop “Church of Lies”, Brent Jeffs, “Lost Boy” and Elisa Walls, “Stolen Innocence”. We have reviewed each of these books as well as made several comparisons to the practices of Warren Jeffs, leader of FLDS and Jane Whaley, leader of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF).

   In “Escape”, Carolyn Jessop begins with her childhood memories in Salt Lake City, Utah. She tells of the influence of her Grandma and how this relationship shaped her outlook. “Listening to my grandmother talk, I felt like I was being rocked in a cradle of specialness. Grandma made me feel unique, but not in a traditional way. She taught me that I had been blessed by God with an opportunity to come into a family where the generations of women had sacrificed their feelings and given up things of this world to preserve the work of God and prove worthy of the celestial kingdom of God.” (page 19) With this book, as with the others, I will compare the memories and observations of the writers about their life in FLDS with my experience in WOFF.

  Did Jane Whaley teach the children they were “special”? Who can deny that her grandson and certain other children of leadership in WOFF were told they were “special”? Who can deny that Jane treated certain children as “walking in a higher place in God” than others their age?  There is definitely an effort to condition the children (and the adults for that matter) that being in WOFF and submitting to Jane makes them “set apart for a work for the Lord”. For many, they will be required to sacrifice their feelings and give up things of this world to preserve the work of God. As with FLDS, so with WOFF, faithful followers give up their individuality to be molded into the image ordained and approved by the leader of the group.

   Jessop goes on concerning what she was told about her purpose. “Grandma taught me that my sole purpose on earth was to have as many children as possible. God would reveal the name of the man he wanted me to marry by sending a revelation to the prophet.” (page 19) I get asked this question frequently, does Jane arrange marriages? My answer is this, Jane approves of who the members have relationships with and if she does not “hear God” that you have picked the right person to marry, she will not perform the ceremony. At WOFF, if Jane does not perform the ceremony, people don’t get married. So, tell me, does she arrange marriages?  

       “The most dramatic story my grandmother ever told me was about the raid at Short Creek, Arizona, on July 26, 1953. The way she told it, the women of FLDS rallied to protect the work of God. The raid is a key focal point of FLDS history. Grandma told us the story over and over, and it always began the same way—with her dream.” (page 20) The details of the raid and much of the text I will not cover. You can read more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Creek_raid . A quick review of the events includes the Arizona National Guard coming in darkness to the Short Creek community and beginning to arrest men and women who practiced polygamy. “Grandma described the harrowing scene as the troops tried to take babies out of their mother’s arms. The children were wailing the mothers screaming and newspapers photos the next morning captured the terrible images that turned public opinion in favor of the polygamists… By the time the raid was over, 122 men and women had been arrested and 263 children had been identified to be seized from their polygamist families the next day… Ultimately, the state of Arizona relented. It feared the negative publicity, and it had also underestimated the number of children in the community. They did not have enough adults to care for that many children on the long bus ride to Phoenix… (page 21) The case ended when the Uncle Roy had his attorneys “find the law that said children could not be taken from their families without a parent’s consent.” (page 22)

   Jessop continues, “The Short Creek raid actually turned out to be a boon to the FLDS. It generated monumental sympathy for the cult. Once the court case was thrown out, everyone returned home and the practice of polygamy thrived… But the sect became more secretive…Marriage also changed.”       (page 22) As I read this I remembered the raid on the FLDS compound in Texas a few years ago. The images caught on cameras were similar to Short Creek. However, the raid in Texas revealed evidence that helped put Warren Jeffs in jail for crimes against the children in that group.

  Also, as I read this account, I remembered the times within WOFF when “persecution would come for the Word’s sake”. At least, that is what we were told. There were four major “attacks” on WOFF during my time there. Let me say that much of what I remember is from what we were told while inside. After I left in 2008, I began to learn that what we were told while inside was not always the complete “truth”.  The four major events I am referring to are the Inside Edition investigation in 1994/1995; the Rutherford County Department of Social Service investigations and the counter law suit filed by WOFF against DSS; and the Muse children custody fight between the Covingtons and the mother of the children, Shana Muse and Jane’s trial for simple assault from charges filed by Lacy Wein.

   As mentioned, I have a copy of the Inside Edition footage and have been reviewing that film in a series of posts. At this time, I do not plan to load the footage on this website. My reason is that so many folks in that documentary have left WOFF. A former member who viewed the footage for the first time commented how fearful Jane looked in certain clips. I agree. She looks unsure about the whole deal. Since I was not involved in the daily life of WOFF during this “attack”, I will reserve my comments for future posts from reviewing the footage.

   The Inside Edition documentary spawned an investigation. Just how long it was from the airing of the Inside Edition and the official investigation by the SBI and DSS, I am not sure. But, it was serious for the members of WOFF. Jane repeatedly tells of the incident where she was told to sign a paper promising never to pray loud around the children or DSS would take the children away from the church. When she refused to sign and DSS did not come take the children, thus started what I call the “Short Creek Effect”. For certain, as a member of WOFF, the practices of loud prayer, blasting and deliverance were by default strengthened and Jane’s power over the members increased greatly. After all, she had been faced with the giant and had “won”. She claimed direct revelation from God how to handle the attack and thus her perceived value increased.  

  Jessop writes, “After the Short Creek raid, everyone was even more willing to be obedient to the prophet in every area of their lives. People were very scared because they knew polygamy was against the law and that the state could come in at any time and arrest them again. Because it was believed that Uncle Roy had rescued them and save them from losing their children, there was not a scintilla of doubt about his being a true prophet. This was when the unquestionable authority of the prophet really took hold.” (page23)

   Notice, FLDS did not reject the practice of polygamy that had raised suspicions and caused the raid, they embraced it. The leader of the illegal practices grew in power and authority within the group. Likewise, when WOFF was investigated, the practice of loud prayer and deliverance drew questions, but the accusations of child abuse drew the investigations of DSS. When Jane stood up to DSS and “kept off the wolves” – her power increased. The odd practices did not get blamed of drawing the attention of authorities, the devil had attacked God’s children and been driven back. I have written before that in my opinion, what DSS was seeing was the fervent blind zeal that follows in a group which practices mind control over its members. They were untrained in the proper methods used to investigate within such environments. Also, looking back Jane hired a well-known cult apologist, Dick Anthony, to testify to the “soundness” of WOFF and its practices. His fees were high and I wonder if WOFF received help paying Mr. Anthony?

     Recently, I obtained a copy of the lawsuit filed by WOFF members against the local DSS. I will comment on that in a future post. Let it be sufficient to say Jane’s stock went up when DSS was ordered to pay part of the legal fees incurred by WOFF. That was interpreted as a victory. The Muse children are WOFF trophies that fully enjoy being “rich” as one of them put it during her testimony at her wedding. The ending of that story has not yet been written. As far as Jane’s trial on simple assault charges, again the practice of placing her hands on those “needing prayer” was not questioned, it was Jane’s reputation. So, laying hands on folks with force was not examined as possibly something that needed “modification”.  The details of all of these “attacks” on Jane and WOFF admittedly run together and overlap in my memory. But, in my opinion, the “Short Creek Effect” was/is certainly at work inside WOFF; well, at least for now. The final chapters of the story of WOFF have not been written. As of this writing, Jane is still free to practice her religious sham, what in reality has been labeled by experts as textbook mind control.    

   Thank you, for taking time to visit and read this blog. Please, consume the information on this site responsibly. The author is not a licensed mental health professional and encourages those that need professional help to seek it. The intent of the material is to inform and be a resource. Be sure to tell every member that you know at WOFF about this blog. There are readers at WOFF. Comments are invited from all readers, including present or former members. Polls are not scientific and no private information is gathered.

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       Please, take time to read the Terms of Use for this personal blog. As mentioned, for posts written by John Huddle, any information about WOFF is from his memories and recollections as perfect as that may be or not be.  Scripture references are Amplified Version unless otherwise noted. (Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation ) This is post number 358.