Polygamist sect's purchase of ranch worries neighbors
 
By Bill Hanna
Knight Ridder Newspapers
Provo Daily Herald
 
ELDORADO, Texas -- First it was going to be a hunting lodge.

Then a retreat.

But as each new dormitory-style building goes up, residents here become a little more apprehensive as a secretive polygamist sect prepares to occupy a West Texas ranch four miles outside Eldorado.

Locals say they have good reasons for feeling uneasy about their new neighbors.

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, based in Arizona and Utah, is believed to be the largest polygamist group in the country. The 10,000-member church openly promotes plural marriage and has been subject to allegations of forced marriages, abusing the welfare system and wife swapping.

If large numbers of the polygamist church's followers do end up in Eldorado, residents fear that the group could dominate the town of 1,955 about 45 miles south of San Angelo.

"They could easily come in here, bring in several thousand followers and take over the hospital board and other elected positions if they wanted to," said Randy Matkin, editor of the Eldorado Success and head of the Schleicher County Hospital District board. "That is what concerns us."

Locals note that the group initially tried to hide its purchase of the 1,691-acre ranch last year. And the scale of the construction there leads many to question whether church elders were truthful when they said the ranch will be used as a retreat for 200 members.

Little interaction with the outside world

As part of their beliefs, church members interact with the outside world as little as possible. Followers could not be reached for comment for this article, but their lawyer, Rodney Parker, said the allegations are nothing more than religious persecution.

The twin cities of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah, where the church is based, are dominated by the polygamist group.

The church owns the houses and controls the police and the schools, even though most children of its members are home-schooled.

The group believes that the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints strayed from its true beliefs when it renounced plural marriage in 1890. The fundamentalists broke from the church and have defiantly practiced polygamy ever since.

Eldorado residents became upset in March when they learned that the group had bought the property. One City Council member even suggested the devil had come to town.

The alarm has largely subsided, replaced by apprehension. Residents still grab copies of the Success as soon as they're placed in the racks and call the sheriff when they see large trucks headed to the church compound.

From County Road 300, a two-lane road that surrounds the ranch, the construction is largely out of view.

The only evidence of the budding community is a no-trespassing sign and guard shack. The top of a cement batch plant tower is the only visible structure.

But it's a different picture from the air.

Five buildings, including three large structures that appear to be living quarters, have been erected in a matter of months. Workers laid another large foundation in mid-June.

Getting a clear picture of what this activity means is difficult.

Warren Jeffs took over leadership of the church after his father, Rulon Jeffs, died in 2002.

This year Jeffs purged about 20 church elders, including several rivals, leading some observers to think that the move to Texas is a search for greener pastures.

The church already has a community in Bountiful, British Columbia, and there are rumors of another outpost in Mexico.

One author and former member says the group has changed since Warren Jeffs became the leader.

"The biggest thing I've noticed since Warren Jeffs took over is the wife swapping -- taking wives from one man and giving them to another," said Benjamin Bistline, who wrote "The Polygamists: A History of Colorado City, Arizona," a nonfiction account of the church's history published by Agreka Books based in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Under Jeffs, the group has changed some of its beliefs, said Bistline, who left the church in 1980.

"I've always defended the polygamists," Bistline said. "They're a very moral people. But now, since he has taken over, there is more corruption, more abuse of women."

Parker, the church's lawyer, disputes allegations of abuse and forced marriages, saying that detractors take the group's beliefs out of context.

"With regard to the marriage issue, it's very messy, very complicated," Parker said. "There are marriages between the ages of 16 and 18, and occasionally younger, but they're not commonplace. They're being used by critics to imply that's what the church is about and nothing else. It's grossly inaccurate, a deliberate falsehood. None of these girls are being held prisoner."

Parker also argues that attempts to prosecute polygamists will not withstand legal challenges.

"I think polygamy is constitutionally permitted," he said. "All manner of sexual relationships are now being permitted. To somehow single out this one and say it's illegal doesn't make any sense."

Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran, who has visited Colorado City and the Eldorado property, has been trying to learn about the group and calm locals' concerns.

"They have very different beliefs, but they have a nice town up there in Colorado City, and they let me see everything," Doran said. "I talked to women and young children, and everyone was open and polite. I'm trying to do everything in my power to keep a line of communication open to them."
 
harktheherald.com
Originally published Monday, July 12, 2004
 
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