10 April 2008 The public affairs office of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today complimented U.S. media outlets for being careful to distinguish between the 13-million-member international Church and a small polygamous sect raided by Texas state officers late last week.
However, the Church said that some international news outlets are running misleading reports that confuse the Church with the polygamous group. Some news outlets have even run photographs of the Mormon temple in Salt Lake City alongside the story of the polygamists. Several headline writers have inserted the term “Mormon” into headlines without making distinctions.
The Church reiterated on Sunday (6 April) that it has no affiliation whatever with the Texas-based sect that has been subject to investigation by state law enforcement officers and child protective services in recent days, and whose leader, Warren Jeffs, was jailed in 2006.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints discontinued polygamy officially in 1890. More than a century later, some news reports, especially those outside the U.S., still fail to draw clear distinctions whenever stories arise about polygamy in the Intermountain West.
After the story about the Texas raid on the polygamy compound broke last week, the Associated Press Salt Lake City bureau was immediately in contact with their Texas counterparts to discuss how to make the correct distinctions. CNN, National Public Radio, Voice of Americaand USA Today were among many organizations that made the distinction accurately
Elder M. Russell Ballard, an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who oversees public affairs, said that the Church had noticed “a marked improvement” in the past few years in the way the news media has reported on the Church’s historical connection with polygamy. The changes may be a result of the increased public awareness of the Church resulting from coverage of the Salt Lake Olympics and the recent presidential bid by a member of the Mormon faith.
But Elder Ballard said that Latter-day Saints are still offended when elementary mistakes are made in the news media or when printed or posted photographs fail to make the distinction between the Church and the polygamous groups.
“You would think that after over 100 years, media organizations would understand the difference,” he said. “You can’t blame the public for being confused when some of those reporting on these stories keep getting them wrong.”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has members in most countries of the world and serves its members in over 90 languages.
Some examples of misreporting include:
- The French news agency Agence France-Presse initially posted on its Web site a photograph of the Salt Lake Temple along with the story of the raid on the polygamous compound. The photograph was removed on Wednesday, three days after the Church requested the agency to take it down and correct inaccuracies in the story. The news wire service then sent out correcting information.
- Several major Russian media outlets continue to associate the Church with the polygamous sect despite requests to correct reports.
- Some Mexican radio reports have erroneously identified the sect as being The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Several media reports in Bolivia, the Caribbean, Uruguay and Colombia have also failed to make the distinction clear.
Beginning today, the Church is placing additional materials on the Newsroom Web site and on other Internet sites to help clarify misleading reports.
The site also links to a related Reuter’s report:
The Mormon faith — or Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as it is officially called — has a “fundamental” PR problem.
It may have renounced polygamy over a century ago but the breakaway sects which continue to practice plural marriage are the ones that often catch the public eye, leading to the popular misconception that all Mormon men have, or strive to have, more than one (often underage) wife.
This was driven home to me as investigators late last week swooped on a polygamist compound in a remote part of west Texas in response to an abuse complaint.
The compound belongs to followers of jailed polygamist leader Warren Jeffs and is linked to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which broke away from the main branch of the faith decades ago.
Over 400 children were yanked from the Texas facility over the course of the weekend and into the early part of this week, providing a riveting spectacle in a dusty corner of the state.
Television footage showed young girls in long, apparently homemade “pioneer dresses” boarding buses. Some who looked to be in their early teens carried infant children. Texas child welfare officials said it was their biggest operation ever.
As all of this was unfolding my wife happened to mention to a friend of hers in South Africa — a friend who is well-educated, a journalist and a devout Christian — that I was covering the story. Her friend’s response? “Those Mormons, they’re weird. I don’t answer the door when they knock,” she said. My wife said as far as her friend was concerned, Mormons were Mormons and that was that.
Of course, the mainstream Mormon church, which claims a worldwide membership of around 13 million, is the one sending missionaries around the globe to knock on doors and spread the faith.
The renegade polygamist sects whose followers number several thousand (some estimates are as high as 40,000 or more) are not knocking on doors in Johannesburg. But the perception is clearly there: Mormons are the funny fellows taking multiple wives and living in isolated retreats in remote patches of America.
In places like Texas, the mainstream Mormon faith — based in Salt Lake City, Utah — has to contend with plenty of suspicion anyway.
Southern Baptists and other evangelicals widely regard Mormonism as an almost sinister cult which is successfully competing for souls among the faithful. They regard Joseph Smith, who founded the faith in New York state in 1830, as a false prophet. Southern Baptists are taught in Sunday School to be wary of that “knock on the door” from Mormon missionaries.
Against this backdrop the last thing the mainstream LDS needs is more bad press stemming from its fundementalist kin. The Texas media is abuzz about the probe and court documents alleging a compound rife with sexual abuse and girls being forced into “spiritual marriage” after reaching puberty.
One also gets the impression that Texas authorities were chomping at the bit to take the place down, given the scale of the operation in response to complaints allegedly made by one person.
But it has all served to reinforce popular stereotypes of the Mormon faith — and that must be causing discomfit in Salt Lake City.
Unfortunately the lead photo of the Reuters story is one of Warren Jeffs, who is not now, and has never been a Mormon. From what I have read I agree with the public relations deparment that the foreign coverage seems to be the most sloppy; however, until some time today, USAToday ran an article with a side bar graphic listing the history of the FLDS Church; however, the title of the graphic was:
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
On 4/8/08, I sent an email (copy below) to the USA today accuracy editors. The title of the graphic did not change until sometime today. I’m certain it was not in response to my email, but rather contact from the Church’s public affairs department.
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Mr. Brent Jones:
USA Today’s story appearing here:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-04-08-polygamy_N.htm
contains an egregious error. The story identifies the Fundamentalist Church in West Texas as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is the Mormon Church based in Salt Lake City. The Church’s are NOT the same. Please see this link:
http://www.newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/-mormons-and-polygamy
The error is located in the side bar of the paper’s online story. Please correct this error, or remove the side bar reference.
Thank You.
Guy W. Murray
Messenger and Advocate
My other complaint with most of the media coverage is the incredible sensationalism on the alleged “sexual” aspects of the story. The discovery of a bed in the temple, is now some type of sexual consummation bed for new brides after entering into “spiritual marriages.”
Overall, I think a few media sources have reported well, including the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News; however, almost all televion/cable stations have had horrendous coverage.
Messenger and Advocate 
April 10, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Is it just me, or it this reaction from the Church a little disappointing? I get the need to distinguish and distance from the FLDS, but I was hoping that they’d weigh in on the situation — and they didn’t.
April 10, 2008 at 6:42 pm
I think they’d do best to not weigh in at all.
April 10, 2008 at 7:55 pm
A little vague note at the end that our hearts go out to those that are innocent victims might be nice.
April 10, 2008 at 11:18 pm
Steve, Clark, and hawkgrrl,
I would have liked to see the Church weigh in as well; but, don’t expect that would ever happen. I think hawkgrrl’s vague note about the victims would be something they could and probably should do. Perhaps even sending some of the Church humanitarian aid to West Texas would also be appropriate, as I don’t think there are many LDS wards/stakes in the area.
April 11, 2008 at 2:49 am
hawkgrrrl,
But for the church to write a note saying “our hearts go out to those that are “innocent victims”” will enmesh the Church where they probably don’t want to, and don’t need to be involved. It also would send a message that the Church feels the actions by the state were unwarranted (and I highly doubt the Church would ever go that far in this day and age). It also overplays the situation. When you have a hurricane displacing the lives of thousands, or a terrorist attack that kills hundreds, and you compare that to this situation, you’ll find that, well, there really is no comparison. Save the “our hearts go out to the victims (innocent or not)” for the situations that actually are catastrophic.
April 11, 2008 at 6:36 am
In the past, the church has offered brief comments on the issue of abuse in polygamous communities.
Responding to the HBO program “Big Love”:
“The Church has long been concerned about the illegal practice of polygamy in some communities, and in particular about persistent reports of emotional and physical child and wife abuse emanating from them. It will be regrettable if this program, by making polygamy the subject of entertainment, minimizes the seriousness of that problem and adds to the suffering of abuse victims” (Mar. 6, 2006).
On the prosecution of Warren Jeffs:
“The Church has long been concerned about the continued illegal practice of polygamy, and in particular about reports of child and wife abuse emanating from polygamous communities today” (Nov. 21, 2006).
Responses to questions from the LA Times here.
April 11, 2008 at 8:24 am
Given that Justin, perhaps just directing a link to those comments would be useful by the Church.
April 11, 2008 at 4:39 pm
I think that the Church needs to address the issue of FLDS, since at the core they both practice the religion that Joseph Smith founded. Although Mormons do not practice polygamy on earth, they do believe in polygamy in heaven. If both the LDS church and the FLDS were to be studied side by side, the only difference would be polygamy. They both have eternal marriages, they both have temples, they both wear garments, etc. The LDS church only gave up polygamy so that they could receive statehood from the United States. I am sure that there are those LDS members who still practice polygamy, they simply keep it under wraps so to speak.
April 11, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Lori, you are absolutely mistaken. Your comment suggests an enormous unfamiliarity with either religion, save for some spoonfed soundbites that smack of typical antimormonism.
“If both the LDS church and the FLDS were to be studied side by side, the only difference would be polygamy.” That is laughable! The differences are vast, both in terms of culture and doctrine. Having temples, garments and marriage with terms not ending at death as a commonality is hardly an indicator of an identical nature.
Your final statement re: LDS members practicing polygamy is ridiculous. Do you have any evidence at all to back up that claim? Any member of the LDS church who practices polygamy today is excommunicated. Spare us the ridiculous conspiracy claims.
April 11, 2008 at 9:22 pm
I noticed a Google Ad appearing on one of Huffington Post’s articles regarding the FLDS raid:
Ads by Google
Polygamy in the News
Church has no affiliation with polygamists – Read more here
newsroom.lds.org
April 11, 2008 at 11:00 pm
The LDS and the FLDS have the same root…Joseph Smith.
Let’s pretend that Joseph Smith was living now. [edited] Joseph Smith was the James Frey of the 1800’s.
To this day, despite all of the evidence, there are people who believe James Frey. And this is in a day and age in which there are accurate, historical evidence and witnesses who can tell you straight out that everything Frey said was a lie.
In the 1800’s it wasn’t so easy to check out the veracity of Joseph Smith’s claims. But it has been done. [edited] He just wanted to do what he wanted to do, while having power and control over a lot of people. [edited] If he had he would never have acted in the way that he did [edited].
[edited]
Criminals stealing taxpayers money, to live in illegal compounds, while they hold children in sexual abuse and slavery.
[edited]
No matter how much money, how much education, how many senate seats, how many entertainers come out of LDS, the lie that holds them together will never let them be free. [edited]
Strong families, abhor divorce? Sure, because then the secrets come out. [edited]
April 12, 2008 at 2:35 am
Libby, you are absolutely right.
And, any church that hides/denies it true history ought to be an indication of just what it is all about. [edited]
Those women and children were born into this just like the women and children before them [edited]
Karma is finally catching up with the LDS church and those in it who cover up the truth. I am THRILLED that this rescue has happened, first and foremost for the victim’s of the FLDS and also for all of the potential converts to the LDS church who may now think twice or at least look for facts before becoming IT’S victims.
Physical abuse, sexual abuse, spiritual abuse…it is all disgusting and BOTH the FLDS and the LDS need to start being held accountable for it.
April 12, 2008 at 5:09 am
Libby and Laurel, You are certainly welcome to leave comments here; however, if you want to spew your anti-Mormon venom, you can go to the thousands of websites that are dedicated just for that purpose, or you can start your own.
April 12, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Guy, I agree. This is no place to demonize an entire relgion due to pure ignorance. I am not part of the LDS church, but feel so moved by uncertainty of what is in store for the women, children and yes even the men of this situation. I know that the LDS church has distance themselves from this group in Texas, but is there any hope that they will step up and send down representatives to the shelter where the victims are currently being held so that they can aid in education and recovery. To imagine all these children entering the foster care system in Texas is more horrifying a thought then I can handle. Having worked in social services I know there are success stories, there are also just as many tradgic ones. Could the LDS church allow these children the option to enter homes of loving families ready to teach the the beauty of their religion as opposed to a forced, uncertain future and potential landslide of foreign religious concepts of their foster families? May God help and protect them all.
April 12, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Having been born and raised in the LDS Church, and having converted to fundamentlism, I can say that there is not a whole lot that seperates the two. The doctrinal differences that exists are profoud, but the majority of our beliefs are the same.
If you were to look at the priesthood lineage of the fundamentalist it would go back to the same source as the priesthood lineage of any LDS priesthood holder. We share basically the same history until the Heber J. Grant administration.
I don’t believe that there is another Christian church out there that is as close to LDS beliefs as the fundamentalist Mormons.
By the way, the fundamentalist are also very concerned about the reports in the media of child and wife abuse coming from LDS communities today. We were also disturbed about the Oleg Barabash incident in Ensign Magazine. We hope that one day you will finally be able to root out all those child abusers and wife beaters in your midst.
My point in the above paragraph is that no church is immune from deviants. The problem comes when people use inflamatory language to discredit another church. You will find no shortage of anti-Mormon sites out there claiming abuse in the LDS Church. It just saddens me when the Church I was born and raised in engages in the same tactics. The LDS Church hardly mentions polygamy without adding the word “abuse” shortly after. Just imagine how you would feel if someone implied abuse everytime they mentioned one of your deeply held religious beliefs.
In Utah there is a double standard with fundamentalist, which is why Warren Jeffs got a stiffer sentence for performing an underage marriage than Mark Hacking got for killing his wife and throwing her in a dumpster.
April 12, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Lynn,
Some good questions. If there are some local LDS families situated to help out that might be an option; however, I truly hope the children who have no connection to the alleged complaint of the one 16 year old girl are returned, along with their families to their homes. That would be all the children but the one, assuming they find her.
April 12, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Although Mormons do not practice polygamy on earth, they do believe in polygamy in heaven.
There most certainly are Mormons who practice plural marriage on earth, as a tenet of their faith. Notwithstanding the protestations of Hinckley (who, in contradictory fashion, didn’t like LDS being called “Mormons” either), there are many groups who self-identify as Mormons, because they follow the teachings of Joseph Smith and The Book of Mormon. Some of those groups happen to practice plural marriage, as part of the teachings of Joseph Smith.
Your final statement re: LDS members practicing polygamy is ridiculous. Do you have any evidence at all to back up that claim? Any member of the LDS church who practices polygamy today is excommunicated. Spare us the ridiculous conspiracy claims.
Actually, Steve, it’s fairly well known among Mormon Fundamentalists that many so-called “Independents” (i.e. those not affiliated with any particular church) practice plural marriage in secret, while retaining their membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They’re carrying on a deception, and if they were found out, they would be excommunicated, but you’re quite incorrect in your blanket denial.
April 12, 2008 at 8:55 pm
I was a mormon at one time and spent 20 years studying the original church under Joseph Smith. You might want to read about Emma Smith and the ordeal that she went through; not much different then the women on the compound in Texas. Having been a mormon wife, I was, as are all wives, taught to understand the man holds all the rights. The right to call you forth after death or the right not to. Interesting how the LDS and FLDS believe that it is the man that calls the woman forth to reside in heaven. That it is the man who has the final say so on all matters of the family. All anyone has to do is read about the early church and you will understand how truly the LDS and FLDS mirror each other. I am not a bitter former mormon, I am an educated ex-mormon who came to understand that Joseph Smith and Warren Jeffs are very much alike.
The mormons beliefs of good clean living, being kind to others and serving the Lord are basic Christian beliefs. It is that they hide the activities in the temple, how much money they have, etc. This is what the FLDS church has done. So once again, they mirror each other.
Also, I know that there are “faithful” mormons in the LDS church that do practice polygamy. Having lived here in Utah for a long time, you notice things that take place around you.
April 12, 2008 at 9:16 pm
Lori,
Early Mormons viewed Eve as being more sacred than even Christ. (The Women of Mormondom, p. 200) Would exalting a woman above Christ fit in with your view that women lacked value in the early church?
April 12, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Lori,
Men hold all the rights? The man has the final say in family matters? The husband decides whether the wife will be resurrected or whether she will reside in heaven?
I must have slept through the meetings in which those LDS doctrines were taught. Can you provide some reliable sources I can study to become as educated as you?
April 13, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Lori,
You are extremely naive to think that people on this site have not read and educated themselves about Joseph and Emma and all that entails. We have, and still remain faithful, and that NEVER includes polygamous marriages.
April 15, 2008 at 8:14 am
The man holds all the rights? Somebody had better tell my wife.
OK, that was a bit facetious. I’ll just say that in all my years of church membership I have never heard any such thing taught. What I have heard taught is the Proclamation of the Family, which suggests that husband and wife are equal partners.
And I’d also agree with what Mmiles said. I’m not ignorant of the life of Joseph Smith, and many people who participate in some of these forums are fully aware of what the anti-Mormons accuse of purposefully ignoring.
April 16, 2008 at 12:05 am
To Lori and all others who actually studied, listened in church, and in the temple.
You are all right. I considered myself a practicing Mormon until I was sealed to my husband in the temple. I remember being told by many women beforehand not to “worry” when some of the stuff going on in the temple seemed scary or just plain wrong. Just raise your hand and so on and so on…I did that up until it got to be more than I could handle. A voice inside kept quietly asking me if I thought that secrecy of something so precious would be hidden and scare tactics used to guarantee adhearence? Does this really sound like something God or Jesus would do? It doesn’t to me. I kept attending for a few more years because of fear of my marriage ending. We have four kids. My husband-a firm believing missionary, stood by me. All of our kids want nothing to do with the church. I will not give up on my husband. The Lord in due time will help him to see the truth of the evil in this church.
About the flds wives-did anyone else have the gut feeling they had been prepared ahead of time because they seemed to know what they could and could not say legally? I also had the distinct feeling the lady was lying about her own knowledge of events and of what happened during and after the raid. As a christian we all want to believe what people say to us when they are possibly being victimized. Sadly the lds church taught me that anyone who is a practicing lds or flds or whatever can’t be trusted…they’re in complete denial. I know because I was one of them.