TEXAS, LDS FUNDAMENTALISTS AND REMOVING CHILDREN FROM PARENTS

• First, a historical thought about FLDS.  LDS beginnings revolve totally around Joseph Smith, who was born on 23 December 1805 in Sharon, Vermont.  His early years were greatly influenced by his father, who curiously spent a great deal of time searching for buried treasure using unorthodox and often occult methods.  His life changed in 1820 when he supposedly received a vision from God the Father and the Son, who told him that all other religions were an abomination but that he was the prophet to bring restoration.  In 1823 another vision from the angel Moroni further solidified Smith’s charge from God.  The angel informed him that he would uncover a number of golden plates that needed translating.  He discovered these plates, inscribed with what he called “reformed Egyptian hieroglyphics,” outside Palmyra, New York.  He was able to translate them with a huge pair of spectacles that he called the “Urim and Thummim.”  According to his story, between 1827 and 1829 he “translated” the plates and in 1830 published The Book of Mormon.  The plates were purportedly taken to heaven by Moroni.  In another vision from John the Baptist in 1829, Smith received the Aaronic priesthood and founded the “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.”  He subsequently relocated his religious headquarters to Ohio and Missouri, but, according to Boa, “Mormons were accused of a number of crimes in those places and were required to leave Missouri” in 1839 by order of the governor.  The Mormons, led by Smith, relocated to Illinois, where they built the city of Nauvoo, where he instituted the practice of polygamy.  When Smith and his brother Hyrum tried to destroy a local newspaper office because of its stand against the Mormons, they were arrested and jailed in Carthage, Illinois.  Tragically, an angry mob stormed the prison and on 27 June 1844 shot and killed the two brothers, making them martyrs.  The leadership mantle passed to Brigham Young, the “First President” and prophet of the church.  Under Young’s leadership, the Mormons relocated to Salt Lake City in July 1847.  There they settled down and built their unique brand of religion.  Young’s influence was virtually dictatorial, but it provided the stability needed for the group to grow.  During this period, the US government sought to make Utah a state, but first the Mormons resisted this effort and later refused to give up polygamy as a condition for statehood.  Only when the government threatened the Mormons with property loss did they change their doctrine and abolish polygamy as a doctrine.  Yet, even today, as this case demonstrates, there remain a core of Mormons, known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, who practice polygamy as a key element of their faith and practice.

• Second, several concerns.  (1)  Although I find this group of LDS fundamentalists and their practice of polygamy repugnant and without biblical support, I am concerned about the actions of the state of Texas in this matter.  For example, Kevin Hasson, president of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, poses this question:  “Can the government interfere with how you raise your kids?  Except in extraordinary circumstances, the answer is no.”  He goes on, this is “. . . in fact a very serious, very mainstream question.”  Also, Stephanie Simon, in a helpful article on this subject, summarizes how the courts have looked at cases like this:  “Courts have long struggled with how and when to limit parental rights, especially when they are wrapped up with religious beliefs.  In the 1940s, the US Supreme Court ruled that a guardian had no right to violate child labor laws by asking a 9-year-old to distribute Jehovah’s Witness pamphlets, though evangelizing is a central part of that faith.  Three decades later, the court granted Amish the right to withdraw their children from school after eight grade, in accordance with their faith, despite truancy laws.  In more modern times, courts routinely grapple with child-custody cases that pit parents of differing religious beliefs against each other.”  So, how does this case fit in this evolving legal tradition and precedent?  I have some significant concerns.  It depends on how the case is framed and decided.  If the issue is how mothers raise their children to be obedient, what about millions of people (of many faiths) who raise their children to be obedient to parents and to God?  R. Albert Mohler, Jr., a prominent Southern Baptist leader, also argues that if the question is about independent decision making, then what about women who believe that the Bible instructs them to submit to the servant leadership of their husband?  He goes on:  “The state must be certain it does not trample on rights that are precious to all of us, including the right of religious believers to follow the dictates of their own church.”  (2)  On the other side of this question is the duty of the state to protect its citizens.  There is evidence that the church engaged in “a pervasive pattern of grooming” girls to have sex with middle-age men.  Is this an acceptable practice in our culture?  Few would agree that it is, but if it is tainted with a religious dictate, can the state intervene?  Should it?  Is this a pervasive issue of concrete, blatant child abuse?  Or has it been sensationalized?  Has the state of Texas truly proved its case of widespread child abuse?

In short, this is a potentially dangerous case that could further impede genuine religious liberty in the United States.  It is delicate and it is emotional.  But as a civilization, we must exercise enormous care in giving the state the power to take children away from their parents when the issue involved revolves around religious convictions and practices.  Polygamous practices of the FLDS I find personally repugnant and having no biblical warrant.  However, I remain very concerned about the power of the state to seize children!  As with many ethical and legal matters, there is enormous tension.  May God give us great wisdom and discernment.

See Stephanie Simon in the Wall Street Journal (25 April 2008) and James P. Eckman, The Truth About Worldviews, pp. 98-100.