I was disappointed to see HCN join the long list of publications choosing to print rambling horror stories about polygamy in Utah and the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
In the future, I hope you will clearly distinguish facts about individual misconduct (i.e., Warren Jeffs’ pedophile conviction), from rumors and allegations about groups. Collective denunciations are not appropriate without detailed support. Every source cited in this story has a personal agenda with respect to the FLDS that could have been discovered with reasonable investigation. A useful maxim is “follow the money.” The author could have asked attorney Roger Hoole what his financial interest is in the ongoing judicial actions.
What is “polygamy”? It is impossible to tell in this article whether the author is speaking about sex with underage women, sexual relations between adults, or simply non-sexual relations.
There are a number of fascinating untold stories about the role that religious polygamy has played in Utah’s history. Is the commitment that FLDS members have to their faith qualitatively different from other religious commitments accepted without question by the broader public? Or is the problem that they take their religion too seriously?
Scott Berry
Lifelong atheist and former FLDS attorney,
Salt Lake City, Utah
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Rambling horror stories.
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