Splinter Groups FLDS Interview with Brodie Olson Part 1

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And now, your host for today's viewpoint on Mormonism welcome to this edition of viewpoint on Mormonism. I'm your host, Bill McKeever, founder and director Mormonism research ministry and with me today is Eric Johnson. My colleague at MRM but as we mentioned in yesterday's show since we were talking about the fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We have with us today. Brody Olson, who serves as a missionary in Colorado city, Arizona, one of the strongholds for the F LBS Brody. Welcome to the show.

Glad to have you.

Thank you. Glad to be here. First of all, introduce yourself to our listeners tells a little bit about your family why you made a decision to move to Colorado city and what life is actually like living down there yet, but my name is Brody Olson my left living in Virginia when school there. I was finishing up seminary in knowing that I wanted to head back to somewhere in Utah enjoyed working with Mormons in the past and hope to do so after graduation, the opportunity came up to take a survey trip throughout all of Utah in one place we stopped was Colorado city and we had worked with Chip Thompson and Petra Grace ministries Denise Graham and he was actually giving us a tour Colorado city and realized them a few outreaches that he had done that the community was really okay not when it came time to decide where we would go after graduation. I really felt God calling us to a place with the gospel is never been rendered relevant. So is that you take charge and try out Colorado city. We had nowhere necessarily have one place to place to live but we didn't have any income, savings, and we just got contains provide as we got here and sure enough, he has and so in about C was June 1, 2012 my wife Elizabeth and I moved to Colorado city. We did there is no gospel presence, and we didn't really know how to get that going and we didn't think starting a church was the best option at that time so weeks just newly want to get the gospel out there. Lots of things and so after arriving in 2012 got involved with a help organization that was already doing work with the LDS people there called holding out help Salt Lake Draper and that we work with them on a few things and I remember what the first guys we were tasked to work with was a guy out: Sam and that Sam had some challenges with his marriage after coming out of the F LBS which they were all arranged marriages. So, his wife decided that she really did not do them in without step in guy help the marriage and one thing led to another and Sam began coming to a Bible study. We started so that began our actual Bible study and then we have the opportunity along with HOH to lease property right there in the middle Colorado city to distribute needs like food and clothing, that sort of thing that began the car ministry location where we done a lot of different things through that over the years 2015 end up starting a nonprofit organization called Grace Raines and that is now offered in operation and we run a store, a youth center and center and eventually a Bible study group to client where Rick started church was church was is called community of Grace Church and that began in 2018 and we've been meeting ever since. Actually, at that same location. I remember first million. We never had a hard time having children actually until he moved to Colorado city and then since moving we have for poor children now and so I guess that's just part parcel of living in places like Colorado cities and a lot of kids. That's where retina and yesterday's show Brody. We're talking about the level of suspicion that some of the locals have towards outsiders. Would you agree that that still is a problem there. And how are you accepted when you first moved into that area. Yeah, I definitely that was a problem in issue in the league first got here. It was a different place and I think now is a bit different to some of the changes in the community now but them when we first moved to Colorado city that a lot of people do this with lots of suspicion, not just if LBS people but those who had left the religion or were part of like another religion which is called Centennial Park and I remember actually taught at one of this schools here as that is a job I picked up as a part-time substitute teacher and nobody understood why the world we moved out here affect some people thought we were running from the law just kind stay gone. I often equate it with like going to a birthday party and let's see you at a birthday party and it just finally dawns on you that you are actually invited.

So the people here won't really cast you out there that will do anything to physically harm you, but they would rather pretend like you don't even exist next and how we felt we first moved here that when you move down there, Warren Jeffs, who is the head of the fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

He was already imprisoned, talk a little bit about the kind of hole.

This individual has on the people in the area in which you live.

Okay.

When we first moved here it was that the large majority of people where still part of the F LBS now. He controlled the LBS from his prison cell and that included all of the government offices the police department, city councils, everything was controlled through the church by Warren Jeffs and he would give edicts or give the requirements and anytime in May or the didn't please him he would weakly replace and those sorts of things so he had a lot of control of the whole community just seems like it when we got here in 2012. He continued to give all these revelations about different things and even down to only eating beans and water different things and they would follow through with all of his edicts just kind of illustrated the level of control that he had an I remember one particular story that might help understand the climate time and a friend of mine has an uncle who was kicked out of the F LBS church and you know when you get to tell you actually lose your family. You lose your house. He was your job is everything that is meaningful to you and somebody asking what time will how can you kick that as well.

Apparently Warren just had a dream as well as the military, I had an affair with another woman, he says, but I just know I've never had a spare I would do that kind of thing is not who I am and the other weird thing is I was never in the military. I actually have that much control the convinced somebody that they done something wrong that they had never actually done and the problems you could question the prophet because look is the mouthpiece of God and if you question them is like questioning God your out anyway so will the loss of control of the community, particularly first party we heard that many of the people still belonging to the church are praying on the hour for Jeffs to be released. You think that still the case going on. Yeah, I would not be surprised that I would bet that is going on prayer has always been really large part of the community friend of mine told me at one time while he was still the church everybody was commanded to pray anytime they came to a complete stop. So if you stuck to the stop sign you are asked to pray for like a full 30 seconds before continuing on in some places it just got to endurable you couldn't and he remembers recalling situations like that as a prayer is always been a large part of this community and I would not be surprised that still going on that if you go and look at the chimney of war. Just previous compound words pray they are inscribed in brick on the chimney of this house to remind people that there need to pray innovative profit in all areas and so yeah I think that's that that's exactly probably was going on the day they are very devoted to him and ask an interest rate that she will eventually get out, he will somehow write all of the wrongs that we done this community so all the properties that are no longer in their possession will somehow immediately revert back into the church members possession when he sent to prison so I think their very intent on seeing that happen to probably pray as long as they have to do it if you look online.

Many people are saying the church has between 7 to 10,000 members still but we talked to you earlier and off air and you said that perhaps there are fewer than 3000 members, with only maybe 5% of the Hildale community being made up of F LBS members and 40% in Colorado city. Why are people leaving these two cities who belong to this church. And where are they going will the church was made up really of various communities residing anywhere from candidate North in Mexico all the way down south and the largest of these groups is of course Hildale and Colorado city which was formerly known as stork Creek now when Warren just came into power. You not only consolidated all the power but he also consolidated the people and so at one point he asked all the F LBS members in Utah tomorrow moved to short three. So as a result, the majority F LBS population really resided right here. It sure Creek, which is color sitting Hildale and Soto 7500 people that were residing at that time were probably 95% F LBS. But the reason the numbers are really shifted so drastically being closer to 20% overall population of this community today are in fact I would say one of which was mass expulsions started occurring sometime in 2010. It was probably due to constant paranoia that others were jockeying for position and having a hard time Warren just as the prophet. I don't think that was the case I think that was all advocated in his brain.

But along with that.

The really bizarre prophecies that were kind of like power tactics by the prophet, and it really created a lot of media attention, and it brought to light a lot of the illegal and unfair practices of the F LBS leader people who may have kinda been questioning those things became proof that they needed to leave the church and probably the other thing that had a lot of impact on that percentage to where it is today is UEP trust which owns all this property in Colorado sitting Hildale was way behind on taxes and it was decided by the judge overseeing this trust does taxes must be paid on this mistake because they judge but Warren's policy at that time as the trust was going out and making those people who are living in those properties pay those taxes. He strictly prohibited the payment of even taxes to the trust. As result F LBS members chose rather walk away from these large compounds. In some cases, is like 10,000 square-foot house and bigger, and they were just going bunk with other faithful members of the F LBS sect at some point they become to be convicted and the house is just essential began running out of the F LBS people had really nowhere to go so it was natural for the residence here and start looking for other places to live in surrounding regions because they refused to pay those taxes that the trust had to take care of and begin closing upon people's along with the mass expulsions the media attention that was the critical loss of control and all of the tax situation people leaving because they refuse to pay taxes.

That's what really contributed to the higher rates of attrition statement in recent years we've been talking to Brady Olsen. He serves as a missionary in the town of Colorado city, Arizona town that has lot of people from the fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, headed by Warren Jeffs, who, as we've said is now serving a prison sentence tomorrow is going to continue this conversation with Brody on this fascinating subject. Thank you for listening. If you would like new information regarding your research ministry. We encourage you to visit our website 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 trapped in polygamy. If so, you're invited to hear from ministry schemes reaching those in polygamy, as well as testimonies of former polygamist were now Christians.

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