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Despite not wanting to get married to Allen Steed, the twisted ideals of the church were favored. As Warren Jeff took more and more control of the church, it meant he could do anything, which meant taking control of all the women. So, because Elissa has had small doubts about her religion, she is being married as a sign of obedience and a way to control her.

Quote 10:
"His words were kind and meant to be encouraging, but I didn't want my force obedience to be an example to anyone" (162).

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Jaska Jeffs has no desire to see her father.
"No way," she said. "Absolutely not."
Jaska is trying to distance herself from her past, a past that includes her father, infamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) leader Warren Jeffs, who is serving life in prison for a variety of sex crimes against children.
She hasn't spoken to her father since she was 11 years old, and has no plans to do so.
In her 19 years in the FLDS, she had no idea what her father was accused of, or why he was in prison. She didn't learn the reality of the situation until she walked away.
"Now it makes me really upset because we were lied to," she said.
Her attempt to distance herself from her past FLDS life includes a name change. Born Naomie Jeffs, the now 20-year-old Jaska is a college student at Dixie State who is pursuing a physical therapy career and wants to travel with her sibilings, as 19 of her 54 biological siblings who have left the FLDS.
"It's just fun to live a normal life," she said.
Needless to say, that wasn't always the case.
As a small child, Jaska spent time at a Colorado FLDS compound before being sent to the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas. She lived at the ranch until April 2008, when a prank phone call led to the federal government raiding the ranch and scooping the children up and whisking them away to the local civic center.
Jaska was 6 at the time and doesn't remember much, but does remember how frightened she was, having never dealt with outsiders before, save for government employees who had to come onto the land to measure buildings, do inspections, etc.
Even then, she said, the children were told to hide from those strangers.
Jaska's mother, Monica, was not present at the ranch when it was raided, as she was visiting Warren Jeffs in prison. She was not allowed to visit them at shelters since she was not on the property when the raid occurred.
Jaska said the children were kept at the civic center for about a week and it was around two months before the children were returned to their parents. The children eventually returned to the YFZ ranch, and Jaska ended up at the Custer County compound in 2012.
Jaska recalls a happy childhood, albeit one that was far from typical. When most children were running around and playing-just being children-she and her siblings were tending to the garden, praying and spending three hours washing dishes while the school-aged children went to school. That was when she was 4, she said.
"I hated it," she said of dish duty.
The children were kept busy, she said, but they were also segregated according to their age. Not only that, they didn't get to spend much time, if any, with their mothers. Instead, she said, the children gathered with another mother who served as a caretaker of sorts for that age group.
In fact, Jaska didn't see her mother for a six-year stretch-from the time she was 10 until she was 16-because her mother was "sent away."
Being sent away is hard to explain, Jaska says, and says she herself was sent away many times. Essentially, being sent away meant the person was doing something wrong in the eyes of Warren Jeffs, which meant they were somewhat excluded from the FLDS by being sent to a separate FLDS-controlled locations until they did what was required to be welcomed back.
"Pretty much nothing," Jaska says when asked what it took to get sent away. "You can try as hard as you can and still be sent away."
Initially, Jaska said she was determined to be a better person whenever she was sent away, but eventually found herself caring less and less about being in the church's good graces.
When she was around 10 years old, days consisted of getting up at 5 a.m. ("If you were up after five, you were late," she recalls), getting ready for the day and gathering with family for prayer. That was followed by breakfast, and school started at 7:30 a.m. School generally ended around 3 p.m., and from there the children went to work helping the adults with cooking, cleaning or whatever chores needed finished.
"We didn't have toys or dolls or anything like that," she said, lamenting that the children of the FLDS never got a chance to actually be children.
Jaska said she isn't sure how many people were at the Custer County compound during its peak time, which was before she arrived at the compound. The compound had a variety of "leaders," including Seth Jeffs, and the children were constantly told of the evils of the outside world.
"Before the raid (at the YFZ Ranch) I didn't know there was an outside world," she said. "I felt we were about the only people in the world. I don't know why I thought that, but I did."
The raid seemed to reenforce the belief the outside world was bad, and Jaska said following the raid she was afraid of outside people, particularly law enforcement.
Ironically, it would be a law enforcement officer who would later become her biggest confidant and ally.
When she was sent away as a teenager she was required to get a job in the "real world," as those sent away to Fargo, N.D., did not live on a compound, but rather, lived in homes they rented.
As she began to work her job outside the confines of the FLDS, she slowly started to realize the outside world wasn't so bad.
Although she said she "always knew" she would some day leave the church, it was around the age of 15 when she and a sister would openly discuss leaving the FLDS with each other.
The last time she was accepted back into the church after being sent away she went back to Custer, which by that time was mostly women of her family. They were much more visible in public, because there were no men to take them places.
Toward the end, she said, while there were men in charge of the land she lived on, the men weren't in charge of the lives of the women.
"We wouldn't let them be," she said.
When the Custer County compound was sold at auction in February 2021, it meant those still on the compound, including Jaska, had to vacate. As they battled the new owners to get property off the compound, they first met Custer County Sheriff Marty Mechaley, who worked with them to get their property off the land.
The girls appreciated what Mechaley had done for them, and kept in touch with them. Before long the girls were sneaking away from North Dakota to travel to Custer County to visit Mechaley and his wife, Jen. They would have so much fun, she said, it was hard to go back to their FLDS lives.
While with the Mechaleys, they reveled in doing things the average teenager takes for granted. They loved to watch movies. Riding on the Mechaleys' ATVs for hours was a blast. Jen taught them how to put on makeup.
"We didn't get to have stuff like that," Jaska said.
Jaska admits the girls, the epitome of sheltered, didn't know how to act around the Mechaleys at first.
"I think I still don't know how to act (in public)," Jaska said with a laugh.
She has no doubt the girls "acted weird" around the Mechaleys, but they loved how accepting the Mechaleys were of them-weirdness and naivety and all. In fact, she said, that was her favorite part of the visits. The girls didn't have to be perfect and didn't have constant stress.
"We could just be ourselves," she said. "They were the first people I felt actually cared about us and wanted to help us. They were the first ones we actually talked to."
She hasn't been to Custer since she moved to Idaho, and then Utah, to begin her college career. It's on her to-do list, though, along with the aforementioned traveling.
A visit to Palestine, Texas, where her father is incarcerated, is not in the offing, however. She has severed ties with her father, she said, adding he still controls the FLDS from the confines of a prison cell. She does still talk to her mother, however.
A popular misconception of the FLDS, Jaska said, is that people are held against their will. People are free to leave at anytime, she said, but they are so brainwashed by the church that doing so isn't even a thought by many-if not the majority-of Warren's followers.
"We felt like we couldn't be different. People don't understand why it's so hard to leave," she said. "You can leave. You just have to get into the mindset you don't care what is said about you."
Growing up, she said, questioning what was going on in the FLDS was the "worst thing you could do."
"I never wanted to question it until it just got weird enough I was like, 'I'm done,'" she said.
And, she said, the FLDS wasn't all bad. She and her family had many good times, she said, while learning a variety of skills many children don't know, such as cooking, gardening, canning and making clothing.
"I'm not saying (FLDS) is bad. I think the control they have is bad," she said. "It hurt a lot of people and it will take a long time to come back from that."
Jaska knows the FLDS compound in Custer County is for sale, which she said makes her a little mad, as she is not a fan of the former FLDS members who purchased the property.
Whatever happens there, she said, she would like to see something different and positive end up on the property.
But like her given birth name, her FLDS life and her father, the former Custer County FLDS is a part of her past, and what becomes of the property isn't really something she concerns herself with.
"I don't really care," she said.

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Daughter of Warren Jeffs says she 'always knew' she would leave FLDS

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Jaska Jeffs has no desire to see her father. "No way," she said. "Absolutely not." Jaska is trying to distance herself from her past, a past that includes her father, infamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) leader Warren Jeffs, who is serving life in prison for a variety of sex crimes against children.

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‘Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey’ -- What Happened to Warren Jeffs and the FLDS?

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What happened to everyone involved in Netflix’s shocking documentary?

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At the age of 14, Elissa Wall was informed by her church leader that she was ready to be married. She was also informed that her future husband was already chosen. As reported by The U.S. Sun, she would be forced to wed her 19-year-old cousin Allen Steed.

As a member of The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Wall was expected to respect the decisions made by Warren Jeffs - the self-proclaimed "prophet" and president of the fundamentalist sect. Wall was devastated, as she did not believe she was ready to be married. She was also worried because she and Steed did not get along.

In an interview with The U.S. Sun, Wall said she had known Steed her "entire life," and she had "an intense dislike of him." She said he was "mean and rude" toward her, and the idea of marrying him made her incredibly uncomfortable.

Wall said she tried to discuss her concerns with Jeffs. However, the FLDS leader simply asked, "Do you believe you know better than the prophet?" Wall said she was intimidated by Jeffs and genuinely "wanted to feel worthy of salvation." Although she relented and accepted her fate, Wall was absolutely devastated.

The U.S. Sun reports Wall remembers watching her mother and sister make her wedding dress. However, what should have been a joyous day was overshadowed by the undeniable reality that the teenager was being forced into marriage against her will.

Elissa Wall was forced to marry her cousin when she was 14

Elissa Wall and three other girls, who were also 14 years old, were taken to Nevada - where the ceremonies would be performed in an abandoned hotel. When it was time for her ceremony, The U.S. Sun reports Elissa Wall was led into a room with her mother, Warren Jeffs, and Allen Steed. As Jeffs performed the ceremony, Walls said she was crying so hard her tears soaked the front of her wedding dress and she was unable to repeat her vows.

Nevertheless, Jeffs, who performed the ceremony, declared the couple married. Unfortunately, the wedding was only the beginning of the terror that would plague Wall for years to come.

As she dreaded, Steed was cruel and abusive. Wall said she was uncomfortable with the idea having sexual relations with her new husband, and attempted to refuse his advances. However, Steed asserted that he had a right, as her husband, to do what he wanted. Although she was crying and pleading with him to stop, Steed raped her on their wedding night.

Wall said she did not fully understand what Steed was doing to her, but she did know it was "scary and terrifying." According to The U.S. Sun, Wall talked to Jeffs about the incident, as she hoped he would be able to help her. Unfortunately, he simply told her she was obligated to submit to her husband. She said Jeffs' response to her concerns felt like a betrayal.

Elissa Wall said she was mentally, physically, and sexually abused

Over the next three years, Elissa Wall said the abuse only intensified. In addition to being raped, Wall said Allen Steed subjected her to mental and physical abuse. As reported by The U.S. Sun, Wall also had several miscarriages, which made her feel deep despair. In her mind, the miscarriages were a "message from God that [she] was not worthy to be a mother."

By the time she was 17, Wall had suffered through several years of devastating abuse and personal challenges that left her feeling desperate and terribly alone. According to The U.S. Sun, she ultimately fell in love with another member of the FLDS.

When she and the man, who was named Lamont Barlow, were seen together in a photograph, Steed and Jeffs confronted Wall and accused her of committing adultery. Although Wells sought help, on multiple occasions, for the abuse, Jeffs insisted Steed was an obedient member of the FLDS, and had not done anything wrong. However, he condemned Wall for falling in love with another man.

In an interview with The U.S. Sun, Wall said, "It lit a righteous fury in me - after all the times I had pleaded for help, I was the wicked one." For Wall, the incident was the breaking point that convinced her to walk away from the FLDS.

Elissa Wall left the FLDS and reported the abuse to authorities

Elissa Wall and Lamont Barlow left the FLDS together, as reported by People. Although she was elated to have escaped the abuse, Wall feared she would suffer consequences for her decision to leave the religious sect. She said at times she wondered, "Will the devil be waiting for me?"

After leaving the FLDS, Wall went to authorities about the forced marriage and the abuse she suffered at the hands of her husband. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, she also reported Warren Jeffs' apparent approval, and even endorsement, of the abuse.

Wall eventually testified against Jeffs in a criminal trial, in which he was charged with being an accomplice to rape. Although he was convicted, the decision was ultimately overturned by the Utah Supreme Court. Wall's participation in the trial led to severe condemnation from members of the FLDS, including former friends and members of her family.

Although the conviction in one case was overturned, Jeffs faced criminal charges in multiple states - as former members of the FLDS filed numerous complaints.

Warren Jeffs was ultimately sentenced to life in prison

Warren Jeffs was ultimately convicted on multiple criminal counts, including sexual assault with a child. As reported by The Salt Lake Tribune, he was sentenced to life in prison. However, he is still considered to be the president and prophet of the FLDS.

In 2015, Elissa Wall filed a lawsuit seeking damages against Jeffs and the FLDS, for being forced to marry at the age of 14 and the abuse she suffered as a result. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, she was ultimately awarded a $2.75 million settlement. The settlement was paid by the United Effort Plan, which has possession of land formerly owned by Jeffs. The settlement included cash and a plot of land. Although the land was previously associated with the FLDS, and Wall still has trouble coping with the abuse she suffered as a member, she wants to turn it into something positive.

Elissa Wall hopes to help others who have left or want to leave the FLDS

Elissa Wall said she would like Short Creek to become a thriving community for those who left the FLDS in pursuit of a better life. In an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune, she said, "There was a part of me that wanted to face those demons and remind me that I was bigger than this place."

Wall said she has reconnected with hundreds of former members of the FLDS who have moved back to the land formerly owned by Jeffs. As his supporters have all moved away, she hopes she and the others can make it a better place where they can build new, and more positive memories.

In 2017, Wall won another civil case against Jeffs and the church and was awarded $16 million in damages. In addition to building a new community, The Cinemaholic reports she hopes to use the money to help others who already have, or want to, leave the FLDS.

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The Girl Whose Story Ended The Career Of Warren Jeffs From Preaching Evil - Grunge

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At the age of 14, Elissa Wall was informed by her church leader that she was ready to be married. She was also informed that her future husband was already chosen. As reported by The U.S. Sun, she would be forced to wed her 19-year-old cousin Allen Steed.

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The day a judge awarded her $16 million in damages, Elissa Wall was busy.

She had orders to fill and employees to supervise at her business, My Baby Rocks, an online retail store for punk and alternative baby and toddler clothing. The offices are in Colorado City, Ariz., home to the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saint.

Just on the other side of the state line, in Hildale, Utah, Wall lives with her two children in a home she received as part of a settlement with another party in her lawsuit. By the time she did all the things mothers do when they return home from work, it was time for bed.

She says it could be worse. Wall, 31, could be doing what a lot of people in Hildale and Colorado City, collectively known as Short Creek, do, and drive an hour or more for work.

"You don't want to live in a community where you have to travel 50 miles in order to have a job," Wall said the next morning.

That's not to say life in Short Creek is easy for Wall. In 2007, she testified against FLDS President Warren Jeffs and told a St. George jury how he forced her into a marriage at age 14. The groom was her 19-year-old cousin.

Although the Utah Supreme Court eventually overturned Jeffs' conviction for rape as an accomplice, people still loyal to Jeffs believe she lied in court. She says some of the people who have left the church harbor suspicions or resentments, too.

They exit the FLDS knowing only what the leadership has said about her, she said, and usually don't know her true story until taking the time to speak with her.

Wall has now been awarded a total of $18.75 million for damages related to the marriage and the sexual abuse and multiple miscarriages she said she suffered in the four years before she left her husband. Not everyone is pleased with the monetary award ordered by 3rd District Judge Keith Kelly, either.

Rachel Jeffs, one of Warren Jeffs' daughters who left the FLDS years ago, said on Twitter after Tuesday's ruling that the award would have no impact on her father - who is serving life plus 20 years in Texas for crimes related to sexually abusing two girls he married as plural wives - but would hurt FLDS members who are already victims.

Rachel Jeffs later deleted the tweet and a similar Facebook post, she explained in a later interview, because she didn't want to be mean toward Wall. The two women grew up together.

But in that interview, Rachel Jeffs still expressed concern about the award. There are few men left in the FLDS, she said, and any FLDS properties Wall might pursue in an effort to collect the judgment are probably housing women and children with no way to support themselves. Taking those homes might even encourage FLDS members to remain in the sect.

"It's these kind of things that makes the people's testimonies stronger," Rachel Jeffs said, "because, 'Oh, yes, we're the persecuted ones.' "

Wall says her real goal in suing Jeffs and the church has been preventing future child-bride marriages and helping people in Short Creek.

"Given the fact that Warren doesn't have a lot of money and he is sitting in prison, I really don't think we'll see a lot of that money, if any," Wall said the day after the latest award in her favor. "It was more about holding him accountable."

But her lawyers plan to pursue any assets held by Jeffs or the church, which also has been held liable since Jeffs was acting as the FLDS leader when he arranged the marriage. That could mean taking the FLDS' best-known remaining asset - its ranch near Pringle, S.D. - though Wall attorney Alan Mortensen also has discussed pursuing FLDS holdings as far away as Mexico and Canada.

"By nature, I am not necessarily a fighter," Wall added. "I am a lover, and I am about trying to help people."

Wall was raised in Sugar House until age 13. Then Wall's mother - who had been her father's second wife - was reassigned to a man in Hildale. Wall moved there with her mother. Wall was married to Alan Steed the next year, 2001, and lived in Short Creek throughout her marriage.

After leaving Steed, Wall married a man legally - and of her own volition. They lived along the Wasatch Front and had two children, now ages 12 and 10, but have since divorced.

In 2016, Wall received a $2.75 million settlement from the United Effort Plan - the trust that owns much of the land in Short Creek and which Jeffs was in charge of when he arranged Wall's underage marriage. The settlement paid her in cash and property.

Wall received a plot of unimproved land east of Colorado City along the Vermilion Cliffs. She isn't saying what her plans are for the property, except that she wants to develop it into something that will benefit Short Creek economically. She mentioned jobs and affordable housing as two components of that.

Wall also opted to take what she calls a "dilapidated" house in Hildale, fix it up and move in.

She did that, she said, because she didn't want Short Creek to be defined by Jeffs, the sex abuses he committed and the families he ordered split apart. She believed Short Creek needed former residents to move back and remake the town, even if it meant encountering some resistance and bad memories.

"There was a part of me that wanted to face those demons," Wall said, "and remind me that I was bigger than this place."

She's had the benefit of a support system. In recent years, perhaps hundreds of former Short Creek residents - most of them former Jeffs followers - have moved back, while Jeffs loyalists have moved away. Wall can also look to some of her family for help.

One of her full sisters is Rebecca Musser, who testified against Jeffs and other FLDS men at criminal trials in Texas and wrote the book, "The Witness Wore Red: The 19th Wife Who Brought Polygamous Cult Leaders to Justice." A half-sister, Charlene Wall, was the first wife of Lyle Jeffs, who until his indictment last year for food stamp fraud was running the FLDS on a day-to-day basis in place of his imprisoned brother.

Charlene filed for divorce in 2015, spoke to law enforcement and helped build the case against her now ex-husband. Lyle Jeffs goes to trial in October on charges related to allegations he organized a scheme to defraud the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and then absconded during pretrial release. He has pleaded not guilty.

"By having each other," Wall said of her sisters, "I think it's given us quite a bit of confidence."

Wall also has waded into local politics. While her name will not be on the ballot for Hildale's municipal election in November, she has been among a group who found candidates who do not maintain loyalty to Jeffs. The group also organized candidate meetings and registered people to vote.

Previous municipal elections in Short Creek have been a "sham," she said, with FLDS bishops deciding who would run and whom followers would vote for. Many former members don't know what a city council actually does, she said.

Providing that civics lesson to people and seeing them realize they have a choice has been rewarding, Wall said, and compensates for some of the other complications of life in Short Creek.

"It's kind of a reminder," she said, "of what the American dream really is."

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Once a child bride, Elissa Wall now has ambitions to remake a polygamous community

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The day a judge awarded her $16 million in damages, Elissa Wall was busy. She had orders to fill and employees to supervise at her business, My Baby Rocks, an online retail store for punk and alternative baby and toddler clothing.

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If the name Elissa Wall sounds familiar, you may have met her in the Netflix docuseries " Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey."

Released in June of 2022, the four-part docuseries explores the polygamous Mormon offshoot known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), as well as the rise and fall of its now-incarcerated leader, Warren Jeffs.

Elissa Wall, one of several former FLDS members who appears in "Keep Sweet," left the church at 19 and went on to give key testimony in the first trial of Warren Jeffs. In this special episode of Embodied, Wall sits down with host Anita Rao to discuss her upbringing in the FLDS, her forced marriage at the age of 14 and her ongoing journey to re-establish a relationship to her own body after leaving the community.

Elissa Wall is a speaker, advocate, mother and author of the memoir " Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs."
Please note that this episode contains references to religious trauma, pregnancy loss and sexual assault of a minor. Three quotes from FLDS survivor Elissa Wall about her ongoing journey to reclaim her body
"The moment I found myself at the very bottom in pieces, that was the beginning for me in a lot of ways, because I got to pick up the pieces that I wanted to stitch myself back together with. And the ones that I didn't, I could leave at the bottom, and that was the past."

"I happened to be at the library one day, and I found this book on this Japanese art, kintsugi. It's these beautiful vases and cups and bowls that have been broken, and then they're brought back together and they're mended with gold. And it was this powerful epiphany that I had, where I looked at myself as a broken vase ... and my goal right now is to find the gold that can bring it back together."

"I see [grace] as this beautiful container that can kind of hold a little bit of everything. It has the place to hold sadness and pain. It also has the place to hold joy and pleasure and ecstasy. That's really where I'm at in my world - to continue the healing journey and give myself permission to be in the middle of it, even when it's really really messy. And then to just be messy and graceful in the process."

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No More 'Keep Sweet': Elissa Wall On Life After FLDS

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If the name Elissa Wall sounds familiar, you may have met her in the Netflix docuseries " Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey." Released in June of 2022, the four-part docuseries explores the polygamous Mormon offshoot known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), as well as the rise and fall of its now-incarcerated leader, Warren Jeffs.

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Elissa feels she is too young to be married and even worse, she finds out her future husband is to be Allen Steed. The boy who used to bully her and her brothers. She makes many attempts to stop this marriage. Including talking to her father, the priests at the church, and the prophet himself.

Quote 9:
"No! I want you to know that I won't do it. I will not marry Allen. I just don't want to marry that man" (135)!

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Elissa's new father who is a priest in the church revealed to the family and Elissa that she has been "chosen" by God to be the next lady in the family to be married to someone.

Quote 8:
"Bending down, he smiled and said to me in a soft voice, 'You are one of the three girls'" (123).

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Elissa has been feeling lonely after living in the big family of her new father. She also doesn't fit in as the other girls and mothers of the family aren't as nice as she thought they would be.

Quote 7:
"While there were some kind ones who were also suffering from poor treatment by other girls, the emotional difficulties we were all experiencing made it a challenge for us to really connect and rely on one another. As a result, we all had to fend for ourselves" (112).

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Elissa finally got a taste of a curriculum different from just religious teachings. She learned new things like science and realized that she is good at writing and history, which she also developed a fondness for.

Quote 5:
"Public school opened my eyes to a varied curriculum that gave me a thirst for learning" (99).

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Elissa was just beginning to fit it at school when the prophet commanded all the FLDS people to pull their children out of public school and start priesthood school. The prophet alos restricted all contact with people who abandoned the FLDS religion and non-FLDS people. Elissa is feeling that everything is growing too restricted.

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Elissa's mom got married to the man whose house they have been living in for the past months. She now had a new family and a new father, and it was difficult for her to accept. She now "belonged" to a different father. This made her doubt of her religion grow even bigger especially since she didn't even get along with the other family members.

Quote 6:
"Warren preached that when a family remarried to another man, God changed their blood and DNA to match that of the priesthood man they now belonged to" (101).

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Elissa, after losing her father for the final time, moved to a new school. She loved this new school, it was a public school, something new and different. Elissa finally got to meet kids outside of her religion.

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Elissa lost her father for good. Her father hit her brother through rage and misunderstanding. Her mother's reaction was to call the prophet and the prophet said not to come back home. Her father lost everything, his family, his "priesthood", his place in the Kingdom, and his heart.

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Elissa's church slowly becomes even more controlling. Their prophet decided to physically separate boys and girls, only teach biblical knowledge instead of math and literature, everything that wasn't part of their strict religion was removed from the school, and even start teaching them his own teachings rather than the bible. This resulted in increased doubt about her religion and what she believes in.

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#10 Revelation About Other Families(non-FLDS) 

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#10 Revelation About Other Families(non-FLDS) 

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While at a lake trip with her family, Elissa notices many of the non-FLDS kids playing and she realizes that they look, normal. They look like they are having fun and are just like any other kids. And, that they didn't look evil despite being told that they are. She realized that the only outward difference between them was their clothes.

Quote 4:
"I was curious because I had been taught that outsiders were evil, but at first glance they didn't look that way to me" (68).

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Elissa finally had her family back together, she was back with her dad. Their prophet decided that he done everything to get his wife back, but this time, Elissa's other mother, Mother Audrey, was the one that had to leave.

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Elissa meets her first cousin, who she doesn't like right away. He is mean to her and her brothers, bullying them about losing their father. And they argued every time they met.

Quote 3:
"He was gangly and awkward, but that didn't stop him from teasing my younger siblings and me because we didn't have a father" (60).

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Elissa has a very weak immune system. And as their community doesn't believe in worldly medicine, she never got the proper care so she is always getting dangerously sick.

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Elissa's mom felt as if their family was falling apart, especially with another wife in the mix. So she went to the Prophet, which resulted in the Prophet deciding that their father wasn't worthy in God's eyes anymore and they took Elissa and her side of the family away from their father.

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Elissa growing up in a plural marriage family meant that her mother had many things to worry about. This included her own kids, kids from the other wives in the family, and the other wives themselves. This left Elissa alone and made her feel left behind. She had a sister who was the most motherly to her. She took care of Elissa when her mother didn't and comforted her when Elissa's mother couldn't.

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Elissa finally got to be like the rest of her siblings and go to school. An exciting part of her life, but also nerve-wracking as she had to spend a few minutes each day with Mother Audrey, without the presence of her own mother.

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Wall, Ellis. Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs. William Morrow and Company, 2008.

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Elissa is going to be getting a third mother. Her father broke the news to them one morning; it meant great happiness for them. It also created even more tension in their family as all three wives had different rules and grew up in other families.
Quote 2:
"She had grown up knowing and wanting this lifestyle, but now I understand that our years of turmoil had many of us skeptical about what her arrival would do to the already touchy atmosphere in our household" (42).

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Elissa took a big step in her community and got baptized. This meant that she was an official member of the church and was not responsible for all her actions. pg 39

Quote 1:
"I was officially a member of the church now and responsible for all my actions. It was an important moment in my life as an FLDS believer" (40).

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Elissa's house caught on fire which resulted in their house being burned down, but a good thing that was that they got to experience the kindness (that they didn't expect) from the people who were not from FLDS community. They were told that all people who were non-FLDS had evil character. And the kindness, donations, and help was a new experience that opened their eyes a little bit.