Splinter Groups FLDS Brodie Olson Part 2

Answering Mormons questions by Bill McKeever and Eric Johnson deals with 36 commonly asked questions by your LDS friends and neighbors. It's a great resource for Christians want to share their faith with friends and loved ones. Be sure to pick up your copy today at your favorite Christian bookstore viewpoint on Mormonism program that examines the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from a biblical perspective viewpoint on Mormonism is sponsored by Mormonism research ministry since 1979 Mormonism research ministry has been dedicated to equipping the body of Christ with answers regarding the Christian faith in a manner that expresses gentleness and respect. And now, your host for today's viewpoint on Mormonism so glad to be with us for this edition of viewpoint on Mormonism on your host, Bill McKeever, founder and director Mormonism research ministry and with me today is Eric Johnson. My colleague at MRM. We also have on the air with this Brody Olson, who serves with his family as a missionary down in the area of Colorado city, Arizona, and as we been talking about over the past couple of days. This is predominantly known for members of the fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to live in Brodie's been serving down there so work or wanting to get a perspective of what it's like living in this type of an area. Some of the challenges that this type of movement brings Christians that are trying to minister among them. But Warren Jeffs. As you mentioned yesterday has had some strange beliefs but one of the more strange beliefs has to do with an edict that he came down with regarding members having children. Did you explain to our listeners what that all entails. Yet, at first I think it would be helpful to put yourself in the position of one of these plural wives for your basic purpose in life is to have children and really have no relevancy in the home and you kind of lost any importance.

Unless of course you can supply the family with multiple kids and now is one that many wives you find your value and your children more than anything else currently.

And then you're told that this time that you can't have any children that were just is not allowed.

That's what happened lifer you would become go from in some cases miserable to downright worthless and so what happened was about about eight years ago or so. There was an edict that essentially nullified all church marriages, and it also made intimacy with even your legal life not allowed with interesting about that is that for community that was willing to go to jail and move into a secluded desert where there was absolutely nothing. All four the preservation of that most important doctrine which is plural marriage now. Not one of these members of the LDS church are practicing polygamy because they propagate the edict that all marriages were no no intimacy with even your legal life was allowed in trying to understand the thinking behind all that is hard because how could the community continue to exist if they don't have children. They don't proselytize or anything like that.

But there's a couple of reasons that that came about. Maybe it was an attempt and this is probably where Eileen is an attempt to force the church members to consecrate their bodies and hope that God would claim the community of the alleged sand that may be in the camp that is actually caused Warren just incarceration.

So, in hopes of allowing Warren just out of prison that maybe by doing this and how God would look with favor public community allowed to present their property that a person that's also possible that Warren just was creating a pure bloodline and that has certainly been rumored to be the case that could very well be. So what he would do as he would specifically select people in the community that Warren identified fire the whole community. So there was a rumor going around at one time it may be the case that is possibly identity of identified 15 they call seafarers who would provide any of the children that these ladies wanted to have kids, which as I mentioned earlier, became their whole purpose of existence and they would have to go through one of these 15 men who would then provide be the same barriers and that provide them with their children and so there's a possibility of a lot of reasons for that, but it's wacky anyway you look at it.

I was still stuck with the seafarers. I'm sure when you said that a lot of our listeners probably turn up the volume to hear a little bit more about that. Explain that again or all of the members are not allowed to be have any having any sexual relations with their spouse, but he has chosen certain women that are exempt from this I have that right so that the men would be called to see bears and the women could petition the profit for the bishop or whatever have to get the approval of war just and they would then be able under certain conditions to have children now as I heard and understood that in these cases, even the husband would have to be present at one of the ceremonial things where actually the 15 men would surround the bad, whereupon this see bear and this woman would consecrate or have the relationship that would help Flickr create the child and the husband would also have to be somewhere watching that the details are hard to confirm that those are the rumors that occurred so that is a possibility, and I've even heard where the husband had to hold the woman's hand while that took place but that was just for a short time in 2012 or so when you say that's not happening today. Yeah, it was simply a short time I've heard of couple of instances of it. Now whether that was actually the case or not. I don't know.

However, it was very short-lived and I had not heard anything for a long time about that that occurring. So basically anytime at eight you run up on a limb and NFL is will and she would have not had children, nor would anybody else at that minute and really is no way of hiding that if you were that were to go and have a child profit would eventually find out and you'd be kicked out of the church so you would lose your whole life if you decided to forgo that edict of the prophet in our book sharing the goodies with Mormons.

We had you share a little bit in that book about evangelism and you had set one of the ways that you like to practice.

Evangelism is just to bring a little child there to where you live, and that gave you the possibility of talking about the gospel can explain a little bit about that. Certainly, as I mentioned earlier a lot of times the abilities people were forced to move out of the area because they refuse to pay these taxes so you might see them actually saw them quite frequently in St. George for shopping or something like that and every time it seemed like we would see them there is either a younger girl with or the mother herself would absolutely love to just come up and see the baby and would would offer sometimes to build a hold the baby so if you like it provided a really great in to a good conversation about the conversation, possibly for a way to get to know them just by bringing a baby along with you and so a lot of times they still loved and covered those things and they grip with that as they greatest desire, and their hope from being a little girl and so I don't see it as much anymore but I think it's a really great way to reach out to the LDS people is just bring a baby and the Tony's mother's have had 20+ kids of their own and so you have these mothers who I would say average in our community of mothers 10 children and often times I've heard of Jean 1819 20 children.

So now no longer having the ability to have children would be just utter devastation for them. So having to see these little babies they that they just love it and in the church.

They do hold of the four scriptures just like the LDS of the King James version of the Bible, the book of Mormon doctrine and covenants in the pearl of great price.

Now, how well do you think the average member of this church knows her scriptures use their scriptures. How well do they know the Bible won't say personal doctrine, the ability as churches really blew it.

It's really determined by the setting profit sitting probably has the ability to nullify past profit. Even Joseph Smith. So what happened a lot of times was Scripture memory understanding was highly dependent on the family because Scripture could change moment to moment after the member families whose father would fill it very important to be able to take the tipsters in the Scriptures, whether that's Bible a book of Mormon, and in fact in our community. I would say I hear more people that take their kids through the Bible that even the book of Mormon which is interesting, such as possible that some of his father's and the community encourage the study of one of the standard works for that particular family. But proficiency and scriptures didn't seem to me to be much of an interest of the church, but more of a personal decision. I'd say, and it seems like any opportunity I've had to share with the member of the F LDS was quickly met with an obstinate belief that the profit is the profit that's all I care about, but any other particular doctrine was really useless in their mind they like that. It may be touched on the doctrine of polygamy, or something like that thought say no. The people in our community were not as a rule well-versed in any of those standard works of Mormonism. What was most important of them was their willingness and ability to retain and follow whatever the prophet says so they may not go through books or Scripture. They would actually listen to audit hours upon hours of audio of sermons from Warren Jespersen. The previous profit. That's where they get most of their theology, you suggested that perhaps in 5 to 10 years that the fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints may even no longer exist. What makes you think that an wordy think a lot of these people are going to end up will at this point there are no meetings there is no profit, there is no plural marriage, there's no doctors there's no community and is no buildings so all the elements that made the religion have all been abandoned. At this point.

So what in the world would they talk about would make me if nothing so you think about it before this time people would gladly be thrown in jail. Bill moved to a forsaken desert created community live in poverty bear 20 children all so that they can retain the practice of plural marriage throughout the ages. All of this is been stripped away by their setting profit right now so I think it's just simply a matter of time when the idea of God.

Just no longer becomes relevant in their lives and they turn either to atheism or becoming Gnostic so to me the future of this community that they have no desire to go eventually.

Just like the rest of them who have been either forced out or chosen to leave is basically getting rid of the idea of God is not been there for them over the past leaders in their in their estimation. If somebody wants to know more about what you are doing specifically how can I find out more about your ministry down there now that would be great.

We have a website to them. Actually, our ministry is called grace reigns GRA CERT IGN as grace reigns.or that's our ministry of our community center youth center and thrift store, but we also have a church in our churches community of Grace Church. You can find that the LG church.org on their website if if you uncheck that out of Mike's lesson me an email to brody.olson@gmail.com or stop in on the Sunday 11 AM when located at 45 W. Johnson Ave. in Colorado city. Any of those outlets are opportunities for us to really connect with you and I love to give you as much information as I can't that be great. Now Brody.Olson that's BER ODY.olsoand@gmail.com we been talking to Brody Olson. He's with grace reigns working among the members of the fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints telling Colorado city.

Thank you Brody for this insight. I'm sure it's opened a lot of eyes regarding what's going on down there again. Thanks Brody for coming on is my pleasure.

Thank you, thank you for listening.

If you would like new information and research ministry. We encourage you to visit our website at www.mrm.org you can request a free newsletter Mormonism research. We hope you'll join us again as we look at another viewpoint is have you ever wondered what life is like for women and children who were attracting polygamy. If so, you are invited to hear from ministry schemes reaching those in polygamy, as well as testimonies of former polygamist were now Christians. This event will be held in Sandy, Utah on Saturday, September 19 from 830 to 2:30 PM registration is $20 per person includes a continental breakfast and lunch for questions or to register, call Chris at 801-754-3636 again that's 801-754-3636