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FRINGE
Mormon polygamous wives, wearing antique clothing and hairdos from the
1800s, appear in news photos daily. Americans are puzzled by the
mysterious Yearning For Zion Ranch, a commune of the Fundamentalist
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, where Texas authorities
seized 437 children.
FRINGE
Mormon polygamous wives, wearing antique clothing and hairdos from the
1800s, appear in news photos daily. Americans are puzzled by the
mysterious Yearning For Zion Ranch, a commune of the Fundamentalist
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, where Texas authorities
seized 437 children.
The secretive sect's leader, Warren Jeffs, is serving 10 years in
prison for abetting rape of underage girls. But otherwise, the west
Texas compound has a tranquil record, compared to some other
half-hidden religious enclaves that have wrought havoc in America.
YFZ Ranch is about 200 miles west of Waco, site of the tragic 1993
clash between federal agents and armed Branch Davidian cultists. After
nearly two months of a gory siege, a federal push turned the sect's
wooden compound into an inferno. Leader David Koresh and 78 followers
died, including 18 children.
Through the years, various other horrors have engulfed offbeat U.S.
religious colonies. The most infamous was the People's Temple of the
Rev. Jim Jones. After the paranoid leader moved his California
followers to a Guyana tropical retreat, Jonestown, reports of warped
abuses spread. When a congressman flew officials and news reporters to
investigate in 1978, a murderous attack on the delegation killed five
and wounded 11. Then 914 cultists - including nearly 300 children -
drank cyanide in a mass suicide that stunned the world.
The Waco and Jonestown disasters are notorious examples of peril that
can arise from fringe sects isolated from society. But several lesser
American tragedies are mostly forgotten. Some examples:
The Church of the First Born of the Lamb of God was a Mormon
polygamous offshoot, somewhat like the YFZ Ranch - but horribly
violent. It was ruled by two brothers, Ervil and Joel LeBaron. When
they split, Ervil allegedly ordered his brother's murder. He was
convicted of the killing, but freed on a technicality. The surviving
brother had 13 wives and 54 children. He sent various wives to
assassinate rival polygamist patriarchs such as Dr. Rulon Allred,
leader of the Apostolic United Brethren, and polygamist Bob Simons, who
ministered to Native Americans, plus some dissidents within the cult.
Altogether, two dozen murders occurred. LeBaron and one wife were
sentenced to life in prison. He died in a cell in 1981. His son,
Richard LeBaron, and other relatives were sentenced in 1993 for more
cult murders.
The Temple of Love was a Florida sect claiming 10,000 African
American members. The leader, Yahweh ben Yahweh, trained top
lieutenants as "death angels" to kill church defectors and white slum
dwellers. In 1992, Yahweh and six aides were convicted of 14 murders.
The leader drew 18 years in prison, and his aides got from 15 to 16
years.
Heaven's Gate was a space-age cult in San Diego. Some male
members had themselves castrated to achieve purity. When the Hale-Bopp
Comet appeared in 1997, members became convinced that they must "shed
their containers" (commit suicide) so they could be transported to a
UFO hiding behind the comet. In their communal house, 39 believers took
their own lives with painkillers and plastic bags over their heads. Two
others later died in follow-up suicides.
Mormon minister Jeffrey Lundgren was defrocked by the
Reorganized Church of Latter-Day Saints, so he moved his followers to
Kirtland, Ohio, and formed a private commune. The leader decided that a
human sacrifice was needed - so he and aides systematically killed a
member family: father, mother and three children. Lundgren was
convicted of murder and executed in 2006.
At a Hare Krishna "Palace of Gold" near Moundsville, West
Virginia, Swami Bhaktipada ordered murders of dissident members. The
swami was released from prison in 2004 after serving eight years. His
top lieutenant remains in a cell. Some members of the commune confessed
to sexual abuse and merchandise fraud.
Guru Bhagwan Rajneesh led a 1980s Oregon commune, where he kept
a collection of Rolls-Royces. After conflict with area residents, the
guru's followers planted salmonella bacteria in restaurant salad bars
in a nearby town, sickening 750 people. Various criminal charges were
filed. Rajneesh left America, and died in 1990. Two of his women aides
went to prison.
Unlike these violent groups, YFZ Ranch has been peaceful. But it's easy
to see why authorities proceed cautiously in dealing with fringe
believers who isolate themselves in strange communes.
Copyright: The Charleston Gazette
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