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A review by kevin_shepherd
Church of Lies by Flora Jessop
4.0
“It's no coincidence that so many cults align themselves with mainstream religions. Like a predatory animal that has evolved to resemble something commonplace and nonthreatening, these organizations understand that the more they appear to be a branch of a familiar institution, the more easily they'll be able lure new followers into the fold.” -Sara Coughlin, 2018
Flora Jessop was born and raised in the polygamous hell-hole of Colorado City Arizona. Her father and his many wives were fundamentalist Mormons (FLDS). While still a child Flora was repeatedly sexually abused by her father. As a teenager she made several attempts to escape Colorado City, eventually succeeding. She now works as an advocate for the protection of abused children and as an activist helping both children and adults to extricate themselves from religious tyranny and abuse.
Trigger Warning
This is a hard read. The descriptions of the abuse Flora endured are nauseatingly graphic, so much so that I almost put this down and walked away. Consequently, you’ll find this title on many DNF lists. Unless you’re devoid of empathy the accounts of what happens to the children in FLDS will very likely turn your stomach as well as break your heart.
it gets worse…
Monsters are still out there. The FLDS may have a prophet or two in prison (see Warren Jeffs) but their pestilential presence is still alive and well. According to Al Jazeera America the adherents number around 10,000 in the United States and Canada (2015), a high percentage of those are young adults and children.
horrors ad infinitum
I am not sure where to draw the line between religion and cult. Is one better than the other? Religions tend to be larger, making their crimes against children less conspicuous, but does that necessarily make them less culpable? Less evil? For every bad actor in FLDS there are, for example, a hundred spread throughout the various Catholic dioceses. Churches have been and will continue to be a mecca for pedophiles and degenerates because of the access they provide to women and children. The FLDS is a beast, but it is one of many.
Flora Jessop was born and raised in the polygamous hell-hole of Colorado City Arizona. Her father and his many wives were fundamentalist Mormons (FLDS). While still a child Flora was repeatedly sexually abused by her father. As a teenager she made several attempts to escape Colorado City, eventually succeeding. She now works as an advocate for the protection of abused children and as an activist helping both children and adults to extricate themselves from religious tyranny and abuse.
Trigger Warning
This is a hard read. The descriptions of the abuse Flora endured are nauseatingly graphic, so much so that I almost put this down and walked away. Consequently, you’ll find this title on many DNF lists. Unless you’re devoid of empathy the accounts of what happens to the children in FLDS will very likely turn your stomach as well as break your heart.
it gets worse…
Monsters are still out there. The FLDS may have a prophet or two in prison (see Warren Jeffs) but their pestilential presence is still alive and well. According to Al Jazeera America the adherents number around 10,000 in the United States and Canada (2015), a high percentage of those are young adults and children.
horrors ad infinitum
I am not sure where to draw the line between religion and cult. Is one better than the other? Religions tend to be larger, making their crimes against children less conspicuous, but does that necessarily make them less culpable? Less evil? For every bad actor in FLDS there are, for example, a hundred spread throughout the various Catholic dioceses. Churches have been and will continue to be a mecca for pedophiles and degenerates because of the access they provide to women and children. The FLDS is a beast, but it is one of many.