Flds prophets prey watch12/28/2023 When Jeffs' father, Rulon, died in 2002, his son greatly expanded his control over the congregation, which reportedly consists of as many as ten thousand members in several states and is said to be worth more than one hundred million dollars. Berg's focus is the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), a polygamous, unsanctioned offshoot of the Mormon Church run by the tyrannical, self-proclaimed prophet, Warren Jeffs. The documentary, which debuted at this year's Sundance Film Festival, is set against the deceptively bucolic scenery of the American heartland. There are also a hefty number of pictures of Jeffs and his various spouses, including girls clearly too young to be made anyone’s wife.Prophet's Prey, the new film from Oscar-nominated director Amy Berg ( Deliver Us from Evil) continues her trenchant investigation of patriarchal abuse couched under the protective guise of religion, and the systemic flaws in our criminal justice system. The film presents mountains of evidence against Jeffs, including an absolutely gut-wrenching audio tape that was played at his last trial which chronicles one of the child rapes he was ultimately convicted of (the 12-year-old victim was one of Jeffs’ many wives, and the audio depicts a public consummation of their marriage it is unquestionably revolting) and various personal accusations of sexual abuse of other children, including his own relatives. Krakauer and private investigator Sam Brower add outsider perspectives and rigorous investigative techniques to the proceedings, and the result is a full and introspective look at Jeffs and the FLDS. Aided by his excessively loyal brother Lyle, who is now ostensibly in charge of the Church, Jeffs continues to lead his people while permanently incarcerated.īerg has assembled an impressive number of talking heads for “Prophet’s Prey,” including some of Jeffs’ own siblings, a nephew, and a former FLDS security head. That Jeffs ends up in prison during the course of Berg’s film isn’t a surprise - the man was given a life sentence plus 20 years in 2011, after years and years of legal wrangling - but that he’s still able to wield control over his congregation while behind bars (for crimes related to the sexual assault of a child, of all horrible things) is a shock. Jeffs’ control over his congregation is directly tied into their loyalty, and “Prophet’s Prey” chronicles how, by increasing control over his people (forcing various financial demands on them, stripping them of basic freedoms), they feel compelled to stay still more loyal. It didn’t, of course, but that hasn’t stopped him from continually predicting the apocalypse. The Short Creek move was immediately indicative of Jeffs’ stranglehold on his members, as such a sudden upheaval was punctuated by his demands that his congregation suffer great financial hardship (abandoning homes and businesses, spending exorbitant amounts of money to relocate, and donating hefty cash to the church’s coffers), all in service to what he was convinced was the correct decision.Įven better, Jeffs thought the world was about to end. Although the Short Creek area has long housed splinter members of the LDS, Jeffs himself was responsible for a population explosion that took place in 2002, when thousands of the faithful picked up stakes and fled Salt Lake City for the small town (Jeffs predicted a nuclear attack at the Olympics). (Smith himself is reported to have called it “the most holy” of all the ideals he received from God.) Smith died in 1844, but despite his dedication to this particular cause, by 1890, the Church had outlawed polygamy, a decision that eventually led to the split that gave us the pro-polygamy FLDS outcropping.Ī large portion of the country’s FLDS population currently live in and around the so-called Short Creek Community, technically two towns (Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona) that purposely straddle state lines (clever, right?). The film opens with an animated history lesson that briefly lays out the origins of the LDS - Joseph Smith receiving revelation in the forest in the eighteenth century and such - with an emphasis on the doctrines that decreed that LDS men should take more than one wife for maximum holiness and success. ‘The Boys in the Boat’ Review: George Clooney’s Inspirational Crew Drama Is Too Hokey to Stay Afloat
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