Editing Warren Jeffs (section)

==Church leadership==
Prior to his father's death in 2002, Jeffs held the position of counselor to the church leader. Jeffs became Rulon's successor with his official title in the FLDS Church becoming "President and [[Prophet, Seer and Revelator]]" as well as "President of the Priesthood". The Revelator was the head of the organization of all adult male church members who were deemed worthy to hold the [[priesthood (Latter Day Saints)|priesthood]], a tradition carried on in the [[Latter Day Saint movement]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The FLDS Church |url=http://www.mormonfundamentalism.com/archive/ChartLinks/FLDSChurch.htm |website=MormonFundamentalism.com |publisher=[[Brian C. Hales]] |access-date=May 9, 2019 |archive-date=May 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531025412/http://www.mormonfundamentalism.com/archive/ChartLinks/FLDSChurch.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Timeline: History of polygamy |url=http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/bustupinbountiful/timeline.html |access-date=May 9, 2019 |work=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615042231/http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/bustupinbountiful/timeline.html |archive-date=June 15, 2013}}</ref>

The death of Rulon and Jeffs's ascension to the leadership position caused a split in the FLDS Church between Jeffs's followers and the followers of [[Winston Blackmore]], the long-time [[Bishop (Latter Day Saints)|bishop]] of the [[Bountiful, British Columbia]], group of the FLDS Church. More than half of the Canadian branch members left the FLDS Church to stay with Blackmore as their leader, and Jeffs [[Excommunication|excommunicated]] Blackmore in September 2002.<ref>{{cite news |title=Leaders of Canadian FLDS branch, offshoot convicted in polygamy case |url=https://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/2017/07/25/leaders-canadian-flds-branch-offshoot-convicted-polygamy-case/509064001/ |work=The Spectrum |date=July 25, 2017}}</ref><ref name = nationalpost>Canadian Press, [https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/court-rules-against-b-c-polygamous-leader-winston-blackmore-issues-150000-in-penalties "Court rules against B.C. polygamous leader Winston Blackmore, issues $150,000 in penalties"], ''[[National Post]]'', 28 August 2013.</ref><ref name = cbc>Canadian Press, [http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/polygamous-family-deemed-unworthy-of-special-tax-status-1.1144342 "Polygamous family deemed unworthy of special tax status"], [[CBC News]], 4 May 2012.</ref>

Following Rulon's death, Jeffs told the high-ranking FLDS officials, "I won't say much, but I will say this{{snd}}hands off my father's wives." When addressing his father's widows he said, "You women will live as if Father is still alive and in the next room." Within a week he had married all but two of his father's wives; one refused to marry Jeffs and was subsequently prohibited from ever marrying again, while the other, [[Rebecca Musser|Rebecca Wall]], fled the FLDS compound.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/stoleninnocencem00wall|title=Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs|first=Elissa|last=Wall|others=Pulitzer, Lisa|isbn=9780061628016|edition=First|location=New York|oclc=223505308|date=May 13, 2008}}</ref> Naomi Jessop, one of the first of Rulon's former wives to marry Jeffs, subsequently became his favorite wife and confidant. As the sole individual in the FLDS Church with the authority to perform marriages, Jeffs was responsible for assigning wives to husbands. He also had the authority to discipline male church members by "reassigning their wives, children and homes to another man."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Goodwyn |first1=Wade |last2=Berkes |first2=Howard |last3=Walters |first3=Amy |author-link1=Wade Goodwyn |author-link3=Amy Walters |title=Warren Jeffs and the FLDS |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4629320 |access-date=May 9, 2019 |work=[[NPR]]|date=May 3, 2005 |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Home of Warren Jeffs in Colorado City.jpg|thumb|alt=A picture of a compound of the former home of Jeffs in Colorado City, with a grass meadow and a road in the foreground|Former home of Jeffs in Colorado City]]
Until courts in Utah intervened, Jeffs controlled almost all of the land in [[Colorado City, Arizona]], and [[Hildale, Utah]], which was part of a church trust called the United Effort Plan (UEP). The land has been estimated to be worth over $100 million. All UEP assets were put in the custody of the Utah court system pending further litigation. As the result of a November 2012 court decision, much of the UEP land is to be sold to those who live on it.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Foy |first1=Paul |title=Court upholds sale of polygamous church assets |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/court-upholds-sale-of-polygamous-church-assets |access-date=May 9, 2019 |work=[[Washington Examiner]]  |date=November 5, 2012 |language=en}}</ref>

In January 2004, Jeffs expelled a group of twenty men from the [[Short Creek Community]], including the mayor, and reassigned their wives and children to other men in the community. Jeffs, like his predecessors, continued the standard FLDS and [[Mormon fundamentalism|Mormon fundamentalist]] tenet that faithful men must follow what is known as the doctrine of [[plural marriage]] in order to attain [[exaltation (Latter Day Saints)|exaltation]] in the afterlife. Jeffs specifically taught that a devoted church member is expected to have at least three wives in order to get into heaven, and the more wives a man has, the closer he is to heaven.<ref name="Cooper-2006"/>

===Changes in location and leadership===
Before his 2006 arrest, Jeffs had last been seen on January 1, 2005, near [[Eldorado, Texas]], at the dedication ceremony of the foundation of a large FLDS temple on the [[YFZ Ranch]]. The ranch came into the public eye on April 7, 2008, when Texas authorities conducted a raid and took legal custody of 416 children, in response to a March 31 phone call alleging physical and sexual abuse on the ranch. The caller claimed to be a 16-year-old girl married to a 50-year-old man, and stated that she had given birth to his child a year prior. Residents, however, told authorities that there was in fact no such girl, and the calls were ultimately traced to 33-year-old Rozita Swinton, totally unconnected to the FLDS Church, and known for repeated instances of filing false reports. Nevertheless, Texas authorities continued to investigate whether Swinton's claims were a hoax.<ref>{{cite news |date=April 7, 2008 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/07/texas.ranch/ |title=Texas takes legal custody of 401 sect children |work=CNN |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411050954/http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/07/texas.ranch/ |archive-date=April 11, 2008 |access-date=May 10, 2019}}</ref> The women and children who were suspected of being minors were returned after Texas courts established that the state had not presented sufficient evidence of abuse to have removed them.

On June 10, 2006, [[Attorney General of Arizona|Arizona Attorney General]] [[Terry Goddard]] told the ''[[Deseret News]]'' that he had heard from several sources that Jeffs had returned to Arizona, and had performed marriage ceremonies in a mobile home that was being used as a wedding chapel.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Winslow |first1=Ben |title=Jeffs seen in Arizona? |url=https://www.deseretnews.com/article/640185888/Jeffs-seen-in-Arizona.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100731175649/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/640185888/Jeffs-seen-in-Arizona.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 31, 2010 |access-date=May 10, 2019 |work=[[Deseret News]] |date=June 10, 2006 |language=en}}</ref>

On March 27, 2007, the ''Deseret News'' reported that Jeffs had renounced his role as prophet of the FLDS Church in a conversation with his brother [[Nephi Jeffs|Nephi]]. Nephi quoted him as saying he was "the greatest of all sinners" and that God had never called him to be a prophet.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Winslow |first1=Ben |title=A prophet no more? Jeffs called himself a 'sinner' in jailhouse conversation |url=https://www.deseretnews.com/article/660206525/A-prophet-no-more-Jeffs-called-himself-a-sinner-in-jailhouse-conversation.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100831100303/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/660206525/A-prophet-no-more-Jeffs-called-himself-a-sinner-in-jailhouse-conversation.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 31, 2010 |access-date=May 10, 2019 |work=[[Deseret News]] |date=March 27, 2007 |language=en}}</ref> Jeffs presented a handwritten note to the judge at the end of trial on March 27, saying that he was not a prophet of the FLDS Church.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Adams |first1=Brooke |title=Mystery note: Jeffs may have abdicated polygamist prophet role |url=http://www.sltrib.com/polygamy/ci_5598067 |access-date=May 10, 2019 |work=[[Salt Lake Tribune]] |date=April 5, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320122320/http://www.sltrib.com/polygamy/ci_5598067 |archive-date=March 20, 2012}}</ref> On November 7, the [[Washington County, Utah]], Attorney's Office released video of jailhouse conversations between Nephi and Jeffs, in which Jeffs renounces his prophethood, claiming that God had told him that if he revealed that he was not the rightful prophet, and was a "wicked man", he would still gain a place in the [[telestial kingdom]].<ref name="dnvideoshows">{{cite news |last1=Winslow |first1=Ben |last2=Perkins |first2=Nancy |title=Released video shows emotional Jeffs in jail |url=https://www.deseretnews.com/article/695225779/Released-video-shows-emotional-Jeffs-in-jail.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130121092536/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/695225779/Released-video-shows-emotional-Jeffs-in-jail.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 21, 2013 |access-date=May 10, 2019 |work=[[Deseret News]] |date=November 8, 2007 |language=en}}</ref> Jeffs also admits to what he calls "immoral actions with a sister and a daughter" when he was 20 years old.<ref>{{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Kirk|author-link= Kirk W. Johnson |date=November 2, 2007 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/02/us/02jeffs.html |title=In Recordings From Jail, Polygamist Had Doubts |work=[[New York Times]] |access-date=November 11, 2007}}</ref> Other records show that while incarcerated, Jeffs tried to kill himself by banging his head against the walls and trying to hang himself.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Tuchman |first1=Gary |author-link1=Gary Tuchman |title=Polygamist Jeffs tried to hang himself in jail, documents say |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/11/07/jeffs/ |access-date=May 10, 2019 |work=[[CNN]]}}</ref>

Jeffs formally resigned as President of the FLDS Church effective November 20, 2007.<ref name = "Perkins">{{cite news |last1=Perkins |first1=Nancy |title=Warren Jeffs resigns as leader of the FLDS Church |url=https://www.deseretnews.com/article/695233512/Warren-Jeffs-resigns-as-leader-of-the-FLDS-Church.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091213221515/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/695233512/Warren-Jeffs-resigns-as-leader-of-the-FLDS-Church.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 13, 2009 |access-date=May 10, 2019 |work=[[Deseret News]] |date=December 5, 2007 |language=en}}</ref> In an email to the ''Deseret News'', Jeffs's attorneys made the following statements: "Mr. Jeffs has asked that the following statement be released to the media and to members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints:{{Nbsp}} Mr. Jeffs resigned as President of the Corporation of the President of The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Inc." The statement did not address his ecclesiastical position as prophet of the FLDS Church, and many in the FLDS communities still regard him as the prophet and their current leader.<ref name = "Perkins"/> There are also reports that Jeffs admitted his position of prophet in the FLDS Church was a <!--'a' is indeed correct, not 'an', as it's pronounced 'YOU-surpation'
Either way is correct; however 'an usurpation' is becoming obsolete.-->[[usurpation]] in a conversation to his brother, and declared that "Brother [[William E. Jessop]] has been the prophet since [my] Father's passing", though Jeffs's attorneys have claimed he misspoke.<ref name="Adams-2007"/> In early 2011, Jeffs retook legal control of the denomination.<ref name="retakeslegalcontrol"/><ref name="CNN">{{cite news |last1=Tuchman |first1=Gary |author-link1=Gary Tuchman |title=Sources: Jailed polygamist retakes control of church, ousts 45 members |url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/02/24/texas.polygamist.jeffs/index.html |access-date=April 10, 2021 |work=[[CNN]] |date=February 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130126140911/http://articles.cnn.com/2011-02-24/justice/texas.polygamist.jeffs_1_flds-sexual-abuse-marriages-with-older-men?_s=PM:CRIME |archive-date=January 26, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>