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The FLDS temple under construction at the YFZ Ranch got a coat of primer paint this week even as work continued inside the structure. The two buildings shown in the foreground each exceed 28,000 sq. ft. in size, according to Tax Appraiser Scott Sutton, giving an indication of the size of the distant temple

Workers maintain feverish pace on New Zion temple

Prophet Warren Jeffs reportedly wants his new temple completed in time to hold the annual conference of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on April 6, and construction crews at the YFZ Ranch are working around the clock to meat the looming deadline.

Former FLDS members tell the Success that there is more to the April 6 date than just the church conference. The FLDS church, as well as many in the Mormon faith, believe that Jesus Christ was born on April 6 and that he was crucified thirty-three years later on the same date.

Joseph Smith founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on April 6, 1830. Sources in Colorado City, AZ tell the Success that they believe Warren Jeffs wants to have his new temple, the first-ever built by the FLDS, complete in time to celebrate the 175th anniversary of that event.

The building’s shell already soars 90 ft. above the ground and workmen were busy this week applying a coat of primer paint to the structure. Eight-foot tall sheets of plywood, apparent in aerial photos taken before the paint went on, make it possible to gauge the building’s height above the concrete basement walls.

On the temple’s west end, an earthen ramp has been constructed, allowing building material to be brought in through a set of double doors, some ten-feet above ground level. Lights streaming from windows and skylights indicate that work continues inside the temple throughout the night.

This large earth moving trucks is one of the trucks being used to stockpile rough cut limestone blocks near the rock quarry at the YFZ Ranch.

Private Investigator Sam Brower of Cedar City, UT, spent much of the week in Eldorado. He told the Success that at night the building resembles a Mississippi riverboat steaming around a bend in the river. In the daylight, however, the structure more closely resembles a medieval castle, with round towers adorning its four corners.

The purpose of the towers is unknown but some have speculated that they will likely enclose spiral staircases.

At this point it is unclear whether the building will be topped with a decorative bell tower or spires as are many temples belonging to the mainline Mormon Church. Neither can it be determined whether the smooth limestone blocks cut and stacked nearby will be used to cover the structure....or, if there is even enough stone prepared for such a task.

As has been the case since the YFZ Ranch story began here in March of last year, no one affiliated with the FLDS church or Prophet Warren Jeffs is willing to comment publicly about the group’s plans for the YFZ, or the temple that is now under construction there.

The group’s penchant for secrecy is well known, especially since Warren Jeffs succeeded his father as prophet in 2002. Sam Brower, in town this week to gather information about the YFZ, says his efforts are often frustrated by the closed nature of the FLDS.

A number of children run toward the meeting hall on the YFZ Ranch where they reportedly attend school. Other photos taken moments later reveal children scampering toward the meeting hall from several buildings on the ranch shortly after the noon hour.

Brower works for the lawyers who represent plaintiffs in three civil lawsuits brought against Jeffs. All of the plaintiffs are former followers of Jeffs’ father, Rulon Jeffs. The plaintiff in one of the lawsuits, Brent Jeffs of Salt Lake City, is accusing his uncle Warren Jeffs of sexually assaulting him when he was a young boy. Another case involves a group of young men known as the Lost Boys who allege that they were forced out of the FLDS church so that they would not compete with older men in the group, especially when it came to polygamous marriage with young girls. A third lawsuit is being brought against the church by a man named Shem Fischer who claims he was fired from his job at a FLDS controlled business when he stopped adhering to the church’s teachings.

Brower returned to Utah on Tuesday, but not before getting an aerial view of the YFZ Ranch. He said he was stunned by the amount of work the group has completed in the past year, but that he was most impressed with the size of the temple and the speed with which it has been built.

“It’s just awesome,” Brower stated. “It’s going to be even more impressive when they get the stone up.”

This track driven rock saw has been working night and day at the YFZ Ranch.

While there are a considerable number of smooth-cut stone already stacked nearby the temple, the gantry crane and rock saw where the stone was prepared seem to have been idle in recent weeks as workmen concentrated on erecting the temple walls. Meanwhile, less than a mile west of the structure, other workers at the YFZ rock quarry continue to rough cut and stockpile large quantities of native limestone.

At this time it is unclear how the multi-million dollar project at the YFZ Ranch is being funded. The FLDS church and its financial arm, the United Effort Plan Trust, control much of the property in the twin cities of Hildale, UT and Colorado City, AZ, where almost all of the church’s estimated 10,000 members reside. Just how much cash the church has on hand, is another question.

Tracking FLDS and UEP assets has kept Sam Brower busy in recent weeks. Especially now that much of those assets are making their way to Texas.

Brower said he considers the construction of a temple at the YFZ Ranch to be a significant development. “Warren is moving his headquarters to Texas,” Brower stated, “and he is milking the people of Short Creek for all they are worth.”

Most residents of C-City/Hildale refer to their community by its original name, Short Creek. In fact they often call themselves “Creekers” (pronounced crickers).

Their forebears settled on the banks of Short Creek in the early part of the 20th century, bent on preserving the practice of polygamy after it was renounced by the mainline Mormon Church.

Cut off from the rest of Arizona by the Grand Canyon, and shielded from Utah courts by the Arizona state line, the group flourished for decades in near isolation.

Arizona governor Howard Pyle took notice of the Creekers in 1953 and ordered the now infamous Short Creek Raid. The governor soon learned that arresting entire families and forcibly separating them was a public relations disaster, as he lost his office in the next election. The families were eventually released and returned to their homes in Short Creek.

Nearly a half century passed before the governments of Arizona and Utah would once again direct their attention toward Short Creek. Now, the two states are at it again, this time cooperating in their efforts to put an end to polygamy.

Sam Brower thinks that the intense legal pressure faced by the FLDS in Arizona and Utah has prompted their move to Texas. “Warren must have thought he could hide out here in Texas,” he said.

The private investigator then glanced down at a photo of the huge temple building towering above the YFZ Ranch and added, “I don’t think that’s going to be possible.”

Two track driven rock saws have been crisscrossing the rock quarry at the YFZ Ranch for weeks, cutting native limestone in large blocs which are then freed from the ground by a large track hoe, pictured below in the quarry pit. Several layers of stone have been removed from the quarry where work continued this week.

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The Eldorado Success invites Warren Jeffs and/or other leaders of the FLDS church to comment on this or any other story surrounding the FLDS and the YFZ Ranch.