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Show Child Abuse in Arizona and Utah Polygamous Families: An Argument in Favor of Strict and Broad Enforcement of Punishment for Polygamy-related Grimes Against Children Carly Castle When asked about how he felt about the passage of the Edmunds Act, LDS President John Taylor answered by saying "Let us treat it the same as we did this morning in coming through the snowstorm-put up our coat collars and wait till the storm subsides. After the storm comes sunshine. While the storm lasts it is useless to reason with the world; when it subsides we can talk to them" (Berrett and Burton 1958, 71). On hearing the news that the bill had been passed, Wilford Woodruff wrote in his journal his exasperation towards the bill, describing it as "taking a stand against God, against Christ, and His kingdom and against His people" (Berrett and Burton 1958, 73). The first sign of agitation that the Mormons had towards anti-polygamy legislation was a mass of LDS women who gathered at the Salt Lake Theater and declared their "emphatic disapproval upon the aims and methods of the Anti-polygamists." At that time, a memorial to Congress was drafted, asking the body not to enact the legislation that had been suggested (Berrett and Burton 1958, 63). The members of the Church also heard stories about the poor conduct of law enforcement officials when they tried to take people into custody. There are tales about officials storming into the homes of men and women in the middle of the night, and that "Even the bed chambers of modest maidenhood were rudely entered before the occupants could dress" (Berrett and Burton 1958, 75). One story tells about a Mrs. Edwards who was awakened and was forced to walk three miles with her baby in her arms to Salt Lake City so she could testify against her husband (Berrett and Burton 1958, 77). These factors created an overall resentment in the members of the Church towards the government and any legislation that would limit their ability to worship. Even after the Manifesto of 1890, which renounced the Church's affiliation with polygamy, the members felt that they had no choice but to obey unjust laws. In 1890, President of the Church Wilford Woodruff issued a "Manifesto" regarding polygamy. He said that "I publicly declare that my advice to the Latter-day Saints is to refrain from contracting any marriages forbidden by the law of the land" (Embry 1987, 12). The reaction to this proclamation among the Saints was mixed. Some saw the issue of the Manifesto as evidence that "The Government of the United States had assumed the responsibility for saying what was the 'will of God'" (Embry 1987, 12). Others claimed that the only reason that they voted to sustain the Manifesto was because "it was the only thing to do." According to Martha Sonntag Bradley, "Many Mormons stubbornly refused to accept it as a revelation from God; it confused others by its vague and ambiguous instructions for the future" (1996, 7). "Even though polygamy is no longer practiced by members of the LDS Church, plural marriage or celestial marriage is still a valid LDS religious belief" (Llewellyn 2004, 110). The majority of the first prophets of the Church practiced polygamy. From 1852-1890, plural marriage was the "axis around which Mormonism revolved" (Llewellyn 2004, 110). The FLDS Church: Laws, Enforcement, and Politics The Short Creek Raid and Its Aftermath After the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints renounced the practice of polygamy in 1890, the Fundamentalist Mormons settled the town of Short Creek, Arizona. By 1953, the population had grown to 39 men, 86 women, and 263 children. Arizona Governor Howard Pyle focused his attention on what he deemed the "plight" of the Short Creek women and children. In a radio address, Pyle described the settlement as "a community dedicated to the production of white slaves." Pyle then asserted that "As the highest authority in Arizona, on whom is laid the constitutional injunction to 'take care that the laws be faithfully executed,' I have taken the ultimate responsibility for setting into motion the actions that will end this insurrection" (Bradley 1996, 208). On July 26, 1953, a swarm of law enforcement officers descended upon the inhabitants of the town. Over 100 men and women were arrested, and the 263 children were taken into state custody (Bradley 1996, 130). The raid turned out to be a public relations disaster for Governor Pyle. According to a Kingman Daily Miner article of July 2001, "Newsreel of images of children being wrested from the arms of their fathers shocked the nation and Pyle's action was condemned" (Gripman 2001). The Deseret News was the only major publication to praise the raid. It wrote that "Law abiding citizens of Utah and Arizona owe a debt of gratitude to Arizona's Governor Howard Pyle and to his police officers" (Bradley 1993, 148). Pyle thought that this sort of publicity would be the norm, but, according to the Salt Lake Tribune, "The rest of the nation, meanwhile, saw newsreel images of children being separated from their mothers, and criticism came heaping down on Pyle from almost every quarter. The raid was viewed as a politician's grab for the headlines at the expense of innocent families" (Zoellner 1998). The Los Angeles Times and the Arizona Republic both ran front page stories on the raids, and called it a "misuse of public funds," and a "cloak and dagger raid, typical of Hollywood's worst product" (Bradley 1996, 148-149). By 1954, public sentiment in regards to the raid was unanimously against the actions taken by the state. The backlash was so bad that every one of the accused men were released by a judge Pyle himself had appointed, and the Arizona Legislature never created any statutes to prosecute polygamy under the anti-polygamy clause of the Arizona State Constitution (Bradley 1996, 149). Governor Pyle felt betrayed by the system. He said that "You get killed quicker 34 |