I've intentionally kept out of the FLDS saga, not blogging upon it because it so quickly became so complicated and convoluted that I ceased being able to tell what was true, what was conjecture, and what was outright lies. And while I initially supported the raid, I also understood the importance of returning some -- but not necessarily all -- of the children to their parents. Taking that many kids could not be justified.

But one striking point through all of this is the claim made by the FLDS members that no underaged girls were married off as part of the cult's practice of "spiritual marriage". How, then, can they now make this statement?

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints made the startling announcement Monday that it will no longer allow underage girls to marry adults within their sect.

* * *

As the transfers were taking place, Willie Jessop, an FLDS member and the group's Texas spokesman, said: "In the future, the church commits that it will not preside over any marriage of any woman under the age of legal consent in the jurisdiction in which the marriage takes place."

The announcement applies to both the group's "spiritual" unions and legal marriages. The minimum age to marry in Texas is 16, but only with parental permission.

"The church believes in purity, cleanliness and innocence, and our children and families are the cornerstone of our lives and religion," Willie Jessop said. "We hope this modest clarification will alleviate recent concerns and allow this church and its families to reside in peace among its neighbors."

Now hold on -- I thought they already didn't allow such marriages. Doesn't this constitute an admission that they did -- and the initial move to protect young girls from sexual exploitation by older men was, in fact somewhat justified (even if the initial phone call was a hoax)?

Posted by: Greg at 03:01 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 323 words, total size 2 kb.