Hi folks. We are finally seeing the new website shaping up the way we’d like it. I thought originally that there might be a user registration like we had before, but that is not necessary. We do not have private access. Some have been curious about the “login” feature; it is for the web-admin only and is for administering the website. The comment feature of the site was a temporary feature to see how it would work, but due to a high volume of spam and abuse of that feature, we have shut it down. The website is still evolving and will continue to change as needs arise.
Principle Voices is a non-profit organization dedicated to education and advocacy work dealing with polygamous families. To that end, we offer trainings, presentations, work with the Attorney General’s Safety Net Coalition, and have organized a coalition of representatives from a variety of polygamous communities.
We welcome your correspondence, but have a policy that we do not answer personal questions, religious doctrinal questions (we are not a religious entity) nor do we speak for the individual polygamous communities and their respective faiths. We believe it is important for every community/group to speak for itself, therefore we have compiled contact information for representatives of various polygamous communities and will defer to those representatives with any questions about them. Also, we would be happy to refer any doctrinal questions to sources that address those issues.
Thank you, Principle Voices
Hello friends,
I had a chance to read this book, and found it a very interesting, exciting and intelligent book. I really enjoyed the twists and turns; it was unpredictable, surprising, extremely clever, and fully satisfying reading. I agree with the reviewer below that the portions dramatizing the Mountains Meadow Massacre were difficult, heart-rending reading, but they were also gripping and very much kept me on the edge of my seat.
His characters were well developed and I came to really care about them; I must admit I liked the famous polygamist character the best. :o) Truly, it was nice to see a polygamous family that is talented, loving, intelligent, and vulnerable; the characters exemplify a life of faith, a love for family, and the public/political challenges polygamous families face every day.
I strongly recommend this book.
Mary
************
This book’s hardcover release is scheduled for early September, with two “preview” readings and signings of a special paperback version taking place in August in Utah. They will be at
The Book Cellar, St. George
August 22nd
Ken Sanders’ Rare Books, Salt Lake City
August 28th.
You will need to contact the bookstores directly for times and location. This will be the only chance to get a copy of the book before the release date, so please encourage anyone who is interested to try to attend!
Title: Destroying Angel
Author: Charles M Larson
Publisher: Zyrus Press
Genre: Fiction
Year Published: 2008
Number of Pages: 473
Binding: Quality paperback
ISBN: 978-1-933990-18-7
Price: $16.95
Reviewed by Jeffrey Needle
At its heart, “Destroying Angel” is a tale of a series of brutal murders taking place in and around Salt Lake City, Utah. Orrin Christensen works for the Utah Attorney General as a special investigator working on dismantling the polygamous settlements and bringing the polygs to justice. When it appears that the murders are linked to a fundamentalist, he is assigned to the case, bringing his expertise and determination to the task. He is joined by an agent from the Department of Homeland Security, Bill Woodard, who is called in to help in the investigation.
There are several parallel stories that the reader must track. One involves a television reporter who has ingratiated herself into the murder stories. She finds herself becoming more immersed in the polygamous lifestyle as she tries to discover the perpetrator of the killings. She develops an uneasy relationship with Woodard and Christensen.
In another vein, three nephews of a famous polygamist are planning some sort of action — an action involving firearms, death, and ultimate redemption for what they consider a wrongful act by their relative. We are given brief glimpses into the lives of these three young men. Their entire view on life is so unsettling, so unpredictable, and utterly frightening.
It soon becomes apparent that the fundamentalists are, after all, not responsible for the killings. After meeting with some Mormon historians, the link is finally discovered — each of the victims was in some way related to the perpetrators of the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Neither Christensen nor Woodard had any expertise in the Massacre. To help sort it all out, they consult some real-life historians, including our own
Will Bagley.
Interspersed within the chapters describing the murders, Larson offers up an unimaginably brutal account of Mountain Meadows. These were the hardest chapters to read: one can hardly imagine human beings acting in such a callous and vicious way. He collates many of the accounts currently available and produces a bloody, terrifying glimpse of what it must have been like for the Fancher party to have been gunned down in cold blood. And we even see the event through the eyes of the surviving children.
It is in the accounts of the Massacre that Larson is best at presenting a nuanced, multi-layered view of the victims and the perpetrators. Pure good and pure evil don’t exist in this world; we enter into the lives of real people, and cry out for justice as the account proceeds.
Larson likes to tease us, giving us glimpses of who the murderer might be. But I was taken completely by surprise when I reached the end of the book. I’m willing to guess that readers generally will be very surprised by how the book ends. The identity of the murderer, and his actual motivation, are alarming and unsettling.
Larson’s book is a long read. Coming in at just under 500 pages, the reader must be committed to the task. Fortunately, for me, I was hooked after the first ten pages. I do like a good mystery, and this one had the potential of being a real lulu.
In most books of this nature, fundamentalists come across as unbalanced and fanatical. Instead, Larson’s polygamous families come across as perfectly natural, happy, and well balanced. I was pleased to see this change of view. Tired of the seemingly-eternal rantings against those who practice “the Principle,” it was refreshing to have the opportunity to enter into the private lives of polygamous families where there is order and harmony. I’m sure this will make some unhappy, but it really delighted me.
“Destroying Angel” is one heck of a read. Larson has captured the spirit of Salt Lake City, the mindset of its more extreme characters, and the dubious concerns of law enforcement in a powerful parable of influence, revenge, and ultimate redemption. There’s not a soppy word in this hard-hitting novel. The characters are fully fleshed out, as real as can be. The crises eat at your guts and make you wonder how evil can have such a wide influence in our society.
In short, I just loved this book. I’m so glad I read it — and I read every word, from beginning to end. I cared for the characters, and hoped things would turn out in a way that is both believable and ultimately redeemable.
I am very glad to heartily recommend this read. I think most will find themselves completely immersed in the story, somehow wishing it wouldn’t end.
Jeff Needle
Association for Mormon Letters
jeff.needle@gmail.com
<www.aml-online.org>
<www.LDSBookLovers.com/Needle.html>
Pro-polygamy group educates inside, outside their community
By Ben Winslow
Deseret News
Published: Thursday, July 24, 2008 12:11 a.m. MDT
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700245458,00.html?pg=1
In the face of the controversial topic of polygamy, an advocacy group is trying to build bridges between two worlds that inherently distrust each other.
In the process, the pro-polygamy group Principle Voices has evolved into a political and educational force that is reaching out to people both inside and outside polygamous communities.
”When we first started speaking publicly, it was because nobody was speaking from our perspective,” said Mary Batchelor, the group’s director. “There’s a lot of diversity. There are people who are happy and functional and doing well, blended in society. There are some who are struggling. There are some having difficulty because they are on the receiving end of bias. There are some in abusive situations who don’t feel like they can turn to anti-polygamists. We came to the conclusion there was a need for Principle Voices.”
The group most recently engaged in a public feud with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints over the term “fundamentalist Mormon.” The LDS Church has repeatedly objected to the use of the term. Principle Voices insists that they are, as they say, “fundamentalist Mormons,” with an unofficial census counting 37,000 people in Utah and surrounding states who consider themselves as such.
Origins
The group was founded in 2000 after the publication of the book “Voices in Harmony,” a collection of essays by women who live in polygamy. The book attempted to counter a steady drumbeat that was anti-polygamy by offering the thoughts of those who are happy in the lifestyle.
”One thing led to another. We thought maybe by organizing, we’d have a little more credibility,” said Anne Wilde. “We could also provide an avenue for those in our culture to speak up.”
So Wilde, Batchelor, Marianne Watson and Linda Kelsch sought to bring all of the area’s polygamous communities together. Many of the sect leaders were skeptical and fearful of what they were trying to accomplish, afraid that exposure leads to prosecution.
”They expected our heads to be lopped off,” said Kelsch.
Through persistence, the women were able to persuade 24 leaders and representatives to meet.
”That was a thrill to see people who haven’t seen each other for years sit around in my living room,” Wilde said. “It seemed like up to that time, the groups stayed to themselves. They realized that we can do this, we can work together, we can make a difference.”
Since then, meetings of Principle Voices have become so packed that their coalition had to be limited to a few representatives from each group.
”I’m seeing a great evolvement in my own community,” said Kelsch. “My hope is it will continue to grow.”
Principle Voices has combatted negative stereotypes by showcasing the normalcy and diversity of polygamy. The group has fielded media requests from all over the world to talk to plural families. Some are willing, even going on “Oprah” to talk about their families. Still, many are not.
”Because of the fact that we are speaking up, it helps them be even more protected because they don’t have to and yet the message gets out,” Wilde said.
Members briefly launched a magazine, and Batchelor still maintains a popular e-mail list of news items on all things polygamy.
Over the years, Principle Voices has reached out to government agencies and social services workers. They have given presentations to domestic violence hotline operators, prosecutors, child welfare workers and others. Kelsch made an impassioned plea to the Utah State Legislature against an anti-polygamy bill.
She later ran for public office but was defeated.
Principle Voices has given the communities some political muscle, although Kelsch said there is still some hesitation for many polygamists to register to vote.
Paul Murphy, who coordinates the Utah Attorney General’s Safety Net Committee (a coalition of government agencies, social service workers, activists and polygamists) calls Principle Voices an important liaison in maintaining a dialogue with polygamous communities.
”A lot of the problems have been created by isolation and a lack of dialogue and information going back and forth,” he said. “The polygamists weren’t talking to government; government wasn’t talking to polygamists. We wouldn’t have been able to solve a lot of problems and help a lot of victims had it not been for that open communication.”
Anti-polygamy activists have accused Principle Voices in the past of sugar-coating a lifestyle they say lends itself to abuse. Tapestry Against Polygamy, the state’s leading anti-polygamy group, declined to comment for this story. Tapestry’s co-founder, Vicky Prunty, is Batchelor’s ex-sister-wife.
”There are adults who have chosen this freely — among consenting adults,” Wilde said. “It doesn’t work for everybody. That’s why you get the negative voices of those who had a bad experience. They have every right to tell their story as well. But our story wasn’t being heard for years and years.”
Educating within
Principle Voices has also tried to educate its own. The group has held seminars and trainings on the law, child abuse and domestic violence, childhood vaccinations, health care and other topics. Child welfare workers, domestic violence counselors and others have been invited to speak to them.
“Principle Voices has appeared to be more progressive in terms of opening up the communication pathways,” said Bonnie Peters with the Family Support Center. “We’ve always gotten calls to provide clinical services for polygamous communities, but not all of the polygamous communities knew of our services. More people have called us not only wanting services, but asking questions. That is wonderful.”
Their seminars have been well received.
”If we don’t speak up, then people are going to continue to believe the lies and stereotypes,” said Rebekah Foster, a plural wife who said she is an independent fundamentalist. “They (Principle Voices) are responsible for pulling down those walls and those lies and fears.”
The group has publicly condemned abuse within plural communities.
”We knew abuse existed,” Kelsch said. “It exists in every community, and we didn’t feel it served our purpose to deny any of that. But to be open and up front, it helped the communities stop hiding because of their fear of polygamy being blamed.”
Principle Voices has pushed polygamous groups to raise their marriage age to 18, saying that by doing so they will be complying with the law and not abandoning their religious doctrine. Most recently, a coalition under the group’s umbrella said it is working to draft a formal statement from polygamous churches saying they do not condone underage marriages.
There is still one law that won’t be followed.
”Polygamy becomes a gray area,” said Batchelor. “It’s against the law, but it’s one area they feel they have to break the law.”
The Utah Attorney General’s Office has said it won’t prosecute bigamy per se, but instead focuses its resources on going after child abuse, sex crimes, domestic violence, and welfare fraud within polygamous communities. Bigamy is used in addition to those charges.
The raid
The one group that still does not participate in Principle Voices is the Fundamentalist LDS Church, but Wilde and Batchelor have hope.
”We are willing to open that door,” said Batchelor. “They can educate us, and hopefully there’s things we can do for them.”
FLDS member and spokesman Willie Jessop recently met with Batchelor and other Principle Voices members in West Jordan. A dialogue is beginning, she said. They also toured the YFZ Ranch and met with FLDS members in Eldorado, Texas.
The raid brought many polygamous groups together. In April, Principle Voices staged a rally in Salt Lake City and sent representatives to Texas with care packages for the women and children.
”I’m excited to see some of the steps they’ve taken,” Batchelor said of the FLDS. “I guess they would also learn they need to do things differently. I’m excited they’re speaking publicly and defending themselves and giving their side of the story so people can have perspective.”
For Principle Voices, their ultimate goal is decriminalization of polygamy. It’s not something government is rushing to help with.
”That’s not an area where we can come to an agreement, but there are areas where we can work together and we can agree,” Murphy said.
Wilde hopes it will happen one day.
”I don’t know if that will happen in my lifetime or not,” she said. “But I’d like to see the community at large have more understanding and respect for our culture.”
E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com
PRINCIPLE VOICES DENOUNCES Senator Reid’s “Victims of Polygamy Assistance Act of 2008″ bill, because it will not and cannot serve our families in any healthy or meaningful way, but will injure them. While we welcome efforts to raise funds for service providers to provide help and resources to abuse victims, we’re very concerned about this bill for a number of reasons:
1) Reid’s bill presupposes there are large numbers of women and children waiting to be rescued from polygamy. Not true.
Where there are cases of abuse, or where there are women who may wish to leave a particular family or community, there are already organizations in place to provide assistance and resources. Some victims of abuse do not wish to leave their families, communities, or faith, and services and resources should not be held hostage or made dependent upon a woman’s abandonment of her faith or family.
2) Reid’s bill and his anti-polygamy efforts are not focused on crimes but on a FAMILY ARRANGEMENT. He wants our families/communities treated like organized crime families. Utah and Arizona have both recognized that this type of aggressive prosecution of the practice of polygamy itself is ineffective and creates more harm than it proposes to fix.
Utah and Arizona have pledged to focus their prosecutorial efforts on welfare fraud, sex crimes against minors and abuse, NOT on consenting adult relationships and healthy polygamous families where no such crimes exist. Reid is threatening a way of life for all families in the culture, since all families will be targeted regardless of whether or not those families are guilty of anything but a belief in or practice of polygamy. Such aggressive state and federal action in the past served only to send these families underground, which cuts them off from larger society and the benefits of societal interaction, public/private education, social services, etc.
3) Reid’s approach endorses prejudice and encourages fear and distrust of government. Religious persecution is defined as
Reid has structured the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing in a one-sided manner, proving that our families have little hope of receiving fair treatment. Had opponents to his petition been allowed to testify, they would have provided evidence to support happy, healthy families, dedicated to being law-abiding citizens, which includes taxpayers who contribute to the economy, and a desire to be self-sufficient rather than welfare dependent.
4) If Reid truly cares about women and children in polygamy, then he should HELP them, not hurt them. Driving them underground, casting them out of society and dismantling their families is NOT HELP.
Societal acceptance, openness and interaction is the only way to cultivate healthy families, and reach victims where abuse occurs.
Principle Voices strenuously objects to any effort to characterize our families as anything but what they are: FAMILIES. When Senator Reid, and others, are willing to acknowledge that fact, then and only then, can they truly help anyone from our culture.
****
The Las Vegas Review is reporting the following:
WASHINGTON — A bill to be introduced in the Senate today would establish a federal task force to combat polygamy-related crimes while offering grants to social service agencies that help former members of polygamous sects.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada was preparing to submit the bill and to promote it at a polygamy hearing the Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled for Thursday at his request.
The “Victims of Polygamy Assistance Act of 2008″ would establish a task force to focus on abuse, extortion, witness tampering, embezzlement and other illegal activities suspected to be associated with polygamous groups, according to Reid’s office.
“The federal government has a duty to help fight the serious state and federal crimes committed by these groups,” said Reid, who is one of 16 Mormons in Congress.
“My bill will improve federal enforcement, create a stronger federal-state partnership, and help the victims of abuse get out of these situations so they can start a new life,” Reid said.
The legislation would offer $2 million in grants to state and local police agencies to pursue suspected crime links to plural marriage communities.
Another $2 million would be authorized to provide witness protection, housing, child care, mental health services and other services to people trying to escape polygamous relationships.
Reid has compared polygamous groups such as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to organized crime syndicates, and has called on law enforcement to approach them as such. The FLDS practices polygamy in Hildale, Utah, and neighboring Colorado City, Ariz., and at its Yearning for Zion Ranch outside Eldorado, Texas, which was raided by state authorities in April.
According to a Deseret News article today, Senator Hatch gave the following statement:
“As we have seen just this year, polygamy is not merely a ‘Utah problem.’ Recent enforcement efforts have shown that polygamists have set up shop in states around the country such as Arizona, Nevada, Texas and others,” Hatch said. “I look forward to hearing the witnesses’ testimonies concerning the tools and means they are using to effectively crack down on those who practice polygamy.”
The article continues: “The hearing’s focus is not on polygamy itself — but crimes associated with it. Prosecutors and ex-Fundamentalist LDS Church members will be among those testifying.”
Notice that Hatch referred to “those who practice polygamy”, clearly stating his support for a crack-down on the lifestyle itself, rather than abuse or crime.
Polygamy is FAMILY. It is a family arrangement. You cannot prosecute and destroy FAMILIES without horrendous repercussions. Does he really want to be responsible for shredding innocent families, or driving these families underground?
There is a Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing scheduled for July 24 to target the FLDS. Please follow this link for further information and a petition you can sign:
We call upon Senator Harry Reid to do the right thing, allow current FLDS members to testify at the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing scheduled for July 24 in Washington, D.C., in their own behalf, and on behalf of their community. This hearing is for the purpose of addressing: ”Crimes Associated with Polygamy: The Need for a Coordinated State and Federal Response.” Those invited to testify include ex-FLDS members, but no current members.
The FLDS should have the right to answer allegations leveled at them during this hearing. Senator Reid has shown extreme bias against polygamy, and we are concerned that decisions will be made based on misinformation, partial facts/truths, or false allegations. This hearing specifically targets the FLDS church and its members, but Reid has made it clear that his intent is to pursue investigations and prosecutions of other polygamous communities as well, without any acknowledgment that consenting adult, healthy polygamous families should be left unmolested.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has the right to know the whole truth, not just pieces of the truth offered to the committee by dissidents (please refer to the FLDS website for further information regarding this testimony); it also has a responsibility to open the way for the truth to be told.
Please contact your Senators and make your feelings known about this travesty of justice. If you are from Utah, you can call or email Senator Orrin Hatch at:
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT); Phone: (202) 224-5251
Email form:
http://hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Offices.Contact
There are 18 other members of the Senate Judiciary Committee:
Sen. Jon Kyl [R-AZ]; Phone: Phone: (202) 224-4521
Sen. John Cornyn [R-TX]; Phone: 202-224-2934
http://cornyn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm
Chairman
Sen. Patrick Leahy [D-VT; Phone: (202) 224-4242
Email address without using a form: senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov
President
Sen. Arlen Specter [R-PA]; Phone: (202) 224-4254
http://specter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm
Sen. Joseph Biden [D-DE]; Phone: (202) 224-5042
http://biden.senate.gov/services/contact/
Sen. Samuel Brownback [R-KS]; Phone: (202) 224-6521
http://brownback.senate.gov/CMEmailMe.cfm
Sen. Benjamin Cardin [D-MD]; Phone: 202-224-4524
http://cardin.senate.gov/contact/
Sen. Thomas Coburn [R-OK]; Phone: 202-224-5754
http://coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenatorCoburn.Home
Sen. Richard Durbin [D-IL]; Phone: (202) 224-2152
http://durbin.senate.gov/contact.cfm#contact
Sen. Russell Feingold [D-WI]; Phone: (202) 224-5323
http://feingold.senate.gov/contact_opinion.html
Sen. Dianne Feinstein [D-CA]; Phone: (202) 224-3841
http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactUs.EmailMe
Sen. Lindsey Graham [R-SC]; Phone: (202) 224-5972
http://lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.EmailSenatorGraham
Sen. Charles Grassley [R-IA]; Phone: 202.224.3744
http://grassley.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home
Sen. Edward Kennedy [D-MA]; Phone: (202) 224-4543
http://kennedy.senate.gov/senator/contact.cfm
Sen. Herbert Kohl [D-WI]; Phone: (202) 224-5653
http://kohl.senate.gov/gen_contact.html
Sen. Charles Schumer [D-NY]; Phone: 202-224-6542
http://schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/contact/webform.cfm
Sen. Jefferson Sessions [R-AL); Phone: (202) 224-4124
http://sessions.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ConstituentServices.ContactMe
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R; Phone: 202-224-2921
ABC 4
“I really respect the church’s position on it, I really do, and I feel like I understand their need to distinguish themselves from those who choose to practice polygamy today.”
Mary Batchelor says that she is independent. She believes in the principle but she does not practice it, and she says, she’s Mormon.
“I think it’s ironic that the church feels comfortable telling people that they can’t be considered Mormon, when they themselves have experienced the same thing from Christian denominations telling them they can’t be called Christian, and they obviously clearly do believe they are Christian. I clearly do believe I’m Mormon.”
To watch the entire news clip, go here: http://www.abc4.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=84321@video.ktvx.com
NEWS RELEASE
July 9, 2008
Contact: Anne Wilde
Community Relations, Principle Voices
Email: Principlevoices@comcast.net
“FUNDAMENTALIST MORMON” IS THE CORRECT TERM CONTRARY TO LDS CHURCH CLAIMS
The Principle Voices Coalition has learned that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has sent a letter to media outlets asking that the term “fundamentalist Mormon” not be used. In the recent past, the Church has insisted that we instead be defined as “polygamous sects”, even though most of us are not (and do not refer to ourselves as) polygamists.
We strenuously object to any efforts to deprive us and others of the freedom to name and describe ourselves by terms of our own choosing. Fundamentalist Mormons have been referred to by that name since the 1930s, often by the Church itself. We are proud of our Mormon heritage. Plural marriage is only one of the tenets of our religion, the Gospel of Jesus Christ as restored through Joseph Smith.
Ironically, the LDS Church has been justifiably uncomfortable with repeated assertions by members of some Christian denominations that Latter-day Saints are not Christians. In many ways, we consider ourselves to be adherents to Mormonism (and Christianity) no less than were Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and John Taylor. What distinguishes us from the modern, mainstream Church is that we have endeavored to observe the original, fundamental precepts of the restored Gospel, while the Church itself has, since the early 1900s, repudiated several of them.
—————————————————
The Principle Voices Coalition - contact: Anne Wilde
The Apostolic United Brethren - contact: David Dye
The Davis County Cooperative Society - contact: Carlene Cannon
The Work of Jesus Christ (Centennial Park) - contact: Marlyne Hammon
and numerous independent fundamentalist Mormons
To contact any one of these representatives, please send your emails to: Principlevoices@comcast.net, and we will forward them for you. Thank you.
###
