The Past as Prologue
The Past as Prologue
A Comparison of the Short Creek and Eldorado Polygamy Raids
This chapter compares the patterns and dynamics of the 2008 raid on the Yearning for Zion Ranch and the 1953 raid on Short Creek in Arizona. It first examines how members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) sought to interpret the meaning of the government raids through their religious beliefs and experiences. It then considers the FLDS's most recent endeavors to build a sacred landscape in Texas and assesses the influence of its prophet, Warren Jeffs. Both the Short Creek and Eldorado raids were driven in large part by allegations of child abuse, but this chapter argues that the principal motive for both raids had more to do with attacking plural marriage and discrediting the groups on a larger public stage. The chapter concludes by discussing lessons that have been learned from the Short Creek and Eldorado raids.
Keywords: government raids, Yearning for Zion Ranch, Short Creek, Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, religious beliefs, Texas, Warren Jeffs, child abuse, plural marriage, Arizona
NYU Press Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
