The details of the documentary are based on the true-life experiences of families caught up in a religious cult that took from them the freedom of choice. Often, it also stole from their daughters a normalized childhood where they were victimized by sexual abuse.
Of course, it was all couched under the auspices of blessing. Warren Jeffs, the prophet, or head of the church since 2002, made all the decisions regarding the congregation who lived on the property. The FLDS (Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) group practiced polygamy and decisions regarding marriage were solely made at the discretion of the prophet. Jeffs taught that to get to heaven, a man must have at least three wives. In addition, he taught that the more wives a man has, the closer to heaven he is. Excuse me, heaven is not the destination I suspect that kind of living situation most closely resembled.
Attempting to avoid the scrutiny of state officials and laws regarding statutory rape, Jeff moved the FLDS group from Utah to Arizona and subsequently to Texas. It goes without saying, that the FLDS group was subsequently responsible for bringing national attention to Eldorado, Texas.
Law enforcement and Children's Protective Services forcibly raided the compound and removed 468 children from the families living there. Several children's homes across the state accommodated the state's need for placement. In so doing, they ensured that children would be placed in a cottage only caring for children from the Yearning from Zion Ranch. There were a number of other requirements, but when the State reached out to the children's home where I worked prior to the raid, we didn't have an empty cottage that could be dedicated solely to that population of children.
I had several friends who made arrangements to serve those children, and they expeditiously worked to meet an immediate need. Less than two months later, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that children's protective services had been wrong to raid the compound in April and remove 468 children. Reportedly, the State could not substantiate that the children were in immediate danger.
Warren Jeffs, the prophet and leader was convicted of sex crimes concerning children. His youngest wife was only 12 years old. She was the youngest of four children that he married. He is currently serving a lifetime prison sentence.
All My Best!
Don