Utah judge extends freeze on UEP assets
Arizona signs on to case as property disappears from C-City/Hildale
Even before law enforcement officers and private investigators could serve papers on trustees of the United Effort Plan trust (UEP), notifying them that the trust’s assets had been frozen by a Utah court, faithful followers of FLDS Prophet Warren Jeffs gathered last weekend at two UEP sites to dismantle buildings and remove equipment.
Private investigator Sam Brower was on hand to watch as a large steel building, once occupied by Cozy Log Homes, was dismantled and loaded onto trucks. A video photographer named Mark Folkerson was also present to witness and document the activity.
Jeffs Indicted
FLDS prophet faces criminal charges in Arizona
Warren Jeffs, self-proclaimed prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is a wanted man this week, following a two-count felony indictment last Thursday in a Mohave County Arizona courtroom.
 Jeffs stands accused of arranging a marriage and officiating over the wedding between a 16 year-old girl and a man more than ten years her senior. While he is not charged with a sex crime, the specific charges, or the names that the State of Arizona assigns to the charges, would lead one to believe otherwise.
Officially, the grand jury accused Jeffs of Sexual Conduct with a Minor and Conspiracy to Commit Sexual Conduct with a Minor. In actuality the charges mean that Jeffs ordered one of his 16 year-old female followers to marry a 28 year-old man, who happened to already be married, and then officiated over the service, leading to unlawful sexual contact between the man and the minor girl.
Still, the charges come as a major blow to the practice of polygamy within the FLDS community.
Jeffs, 49, has failed to appear and defend himself in a series of civil lawsuits brought against him, his church and the United Effort Plan Trust, a charitable trust operated by Jeffs and his closest associates.
OPINION
Three wives teaching destroys families
by Roger H. Hoole
Warren Jeffs, prophet of the Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (“FLDS”), teaches that a woman can be exalted and live with her children after death only if she is married to a man with at least three polygamous wives.
Since 1998, Jeffs’ “three-wives teaching’’ has increasingly run into conflict with basic math: There are simply not enough FLDS women and girls. This causes enormous heartache. To reduce the surplus male population, Jeffs has expelled hundreds of adolescent boys from their FLDS homes - some as young as 13. Called the “Lost Boys,” they are not only pushed out, but are considered apostates, damned to Hell, and deprived of any relationship with or support from their families. Anyone willing to risk contact with them gives Jeffs a reason to expel them as well.
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Arizona prosecutor: Expect more FLDS indictments
An Arizona prosecutor told The Success last week to expect more indictments against followers of FLDS Prophet Warren Jeffs.
Matthew Smith, the county attorney for Mohave County, Arizona, said the indictments his office obtained earlier in the month against Jeffs and an unnamed member of the cult, will be followed with additional indictments against as many as fifteen individuals in the next six weeks.
Smith said it was unfortunate that news of Jeffs’ indictment leaked out before law enforcement officials in Arizona, Texas and Utah could be notified.
Okay, you found me out, it's all just an elaborate hoax
 One of my childhood friends was named Ray Browning. Our fathers had worked together in the oilfield at a place called Wimberly Field, several miles northwest of Abilene, but by the time of my earliest childhood memories, both men had moved on to other jobs and Ray’s family had relocated to Tuscola.
Still, our families remained close and I got to see Ray from time to time. I always looked forward to those times mainly because I liked Ray, but also because he had neat toys.
Ray had the first set of Lincoln Logs I ever saw. Contrary to what I told my kids when they were young, I wasn’t deprived of toys, but I did prefer Ray’s Lincoln Logs over the Tinker Toys I had at home.
There was something about the way the toy logs locked together and they symmetry of the log cabins that could be built with them. Throw in a few molded plastic Cowboys and Indians, and a 6 year-old kid could have a great time.
Prophet loses grip on UEP trust
Will oil discovery near YFZ Ranch prompt drilling on FLDS ‘Holy Ground’?
Warren Jeffs may still hold the keys to the FLDS priesthood and thereby continue to represent God on Earth, at least in the eyes of his faithful followers, but the fugitive prophet no longer has any say over the operation of the United Effort Plan trust. Jeffs was removed last week from his position as a UEP trustee by Utah District Judge Deno Himonas.
The judge didn’t stop there, however, he went on to remove all the members of the UEP board of trustees and appointed a ‘special fiduciary’ or independent manager to oversee the operation of the trust until a July 21, 2005 hearing, at which time Judge Himonas is slated to hear testimony and consider appointing new trustees and/or increase the special fiduciary’s control over trust assets.
The United Effort Plan trust was originally established to protect members of a fundamentalist Mormon sect that later became the FLDS church, from having their property confiscated by the government over the issue of polygamy. Most of the group’s property in Colorado City, AZ and Hildale, UT was actually owned by the UEP, with members having the right to build homes and live on the property. However, when Warren Jeffs ascended to power within the church, he and his lieutenants soon began using their authority as UEP trustees to punish FLDS members who were deemed to be less than faithful to the new Jeffs as the church’s new prophet.
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