It Practices What They Preach

Cast into the spotlight by fugitive polygamist Prophet Warren Jeffs, the mainstream Mormon Church's trying to distance itself from its infamous cousin

A A A Comments By John Dougherty Thursday, May 25 2006

...continued from page 2

The editors at the state's largest newspaper refused to allow Benson to talk to me, but Benson and his wife, Mary Ann, explained their reasons for leaving the LDS very clearly in a provocative May 22, 1994, column that appeared in the Republic.

Consider this excerpt:

FLDS Prophet Warren Jeffs makes the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.

More About

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Weekly Newsletter: Our weekly feature stories, movie reviews, calendar picks and more - minus the newsprint and sent directly to your inbox.

"After a lifetime of membership in the Mormon Church, we came to regard it as an institution beyond repair, its moral heart eaten out by the worms of deceit, intolerance and blind conformity.

"We see Mormonism in a state of significant spiritual and intellectual decay, corrupted by the systematic and unchecked abuse of ecclesiastical authority at the expense of individual liberty, honesty and truth, and led by men lacking in prophetic vision. It has become tyrannical in its control and authoritarian in its exercise of power; in short, it has become Red Square on Temple Square.

"From our own experience, we saw relentless attempts by Mormon Church authorities to compel us to 'pray, pay and obey' at the expense of honesty, integrity and individuality."

The Bensons' description of the mainstream church 12 years ago could be used verbatim to describe the current conditions of Warren Jeffs' FLDS.

The two religious groups are deeply intertwined. Their beliefs are based on the same scripture. They have the same founders. The key difference is that the FLDS practices what the LDS preaches.

Check out this week's featured ad for News