Warren Jeffs Polygamist Group in the Panhandle

[itsmyopinion]

New Lockney businessman has ties to polygamist Jeffs' hometown
BY beth pratt
a-j religion editor

Business development isn't always what it appears, Lockney residents are learning.

Floyd County Clerk Marilyn Holcomb confirmed Friday that Samuel Chris Fischer filed a doing-business-as form for Techsum Industries on April 19.

The cabinet-making operation will work out of the Tye building, once a farm implement building business in Lockney, according to reports in the Floyd County Hesperian-Beacon.

"He was a nice guy," Holcomb said about Fischer, noting that people were excited about a new business in Floyd County, which is rapidly losing population because there are few jobs available.

No one immediately connected Fischer's Hildale, Utah, address with the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a polygamist group led by Warren Jeffs, 49, son of the late Rulon T. Jeffs, who had been the group's prophet.

When the elder Jeffs died at the age of 92, he left an estimated 75 widows and 65 children.

According to a report by National Public Radio, almost all the property in Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah, is owned by a church trust and controlled by Warren Jeffs. That includes residential property estimated at $100 million.

In May 2005, the Mormon polygamy sect built a new settlement in West Texas at Eldorado, south of San Angelo.

Federal authorities arrested Jeffs in August. He was on the FBI's 10-most-wanted list at the time. He is accused of ordering a polygamous marriage between an underage girl and an adult church member.

A young woman testified in November that Jeffs forced her into the marriage at age 14.

Jeffs is the only one who can perform marriages and assigns wives to husbands, according to the NPR report. To reach the highest heavenly place, each man must have at least three wives who must be totally obedient to their husbands if they have any hope of getting to heaven.

Power over the men is wielded by the threat of giving their wives and children to another man.

The early Mormons practiced plural marriages according to the teachings of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young but abandoned polygamy about 1890 to gain statehood for Utah, a requirement of the federal government. Today, Mormons found practicing polygamy are excommunicated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"They are in no way associated with the church," President Scott Hendricks at the Lubbock Temple of the LDS said. "If any member is involved in polygamy, a disciplinary council is held and they are excommunicated. They call themselves Mormon, but they are not affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

Holcomb said Fischer told her he had been scouting in the Panhandle area for a place to start his business and liked the area.

"We were thrilled," she said.

But Floyd County residents are wondering if the sale will actually go through now that people know the hometown of their new neighbors. A buyer may not legally be refused by city or county officials on the basis of religious belief, although some communities have tried to do that with various religious groups. www.lubbockonline.com/stories/050507/reg_050507044.shtml

[petiepanzer]

Boy, that is all we need in this area. I don't think the evangelical Christians in the area are going to be very welcoming to the fundamentalist mormons that come down here. Honestly, mormonism is a cult and people need to realize this before getting involved with these people. If they come to your house, do not talk to them, do not allow them to come in, tell them as unfriendly as possible to get the F**k off your property, and turn the garden hose on them if they do not run off of it. These tactics may seem harsh, but it is the only way to deal with these people.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFUW6htvUss

[sj]

The county of the pumpkin just gained a bumpkin.... ;D

But, hey "When the elder Jeffs died at the age of 92, he left an estimated 75 widows and 65 children." That's not a really good batting average....going 65 for 75....he must of slipped a little in his latter years.... ;D

[itsmyopinion]

By The Way | by Alice Gilroy



Mr. Fischer called me on Monday morning. Obviously he perceived things differently than I did concerning the FLDS column.

The first thing we clarified between each other was the phone number I had for Fischer. The number I have been calling was an old number and had been disconnected. Mr. Fischer wanted me to understand that he would have talked to me if I had gotten him on the phone.

We talked at great length.

I stand by what I printed last week, but I will add Mr. Fischer's comments.

Mr. Fischer said that he will be hiring people from the community. He said the number of people hired will depend on how well the business does.

He said the cabinet shop will be a "modular line" so he can train people on specific jobs.

He said he only inquired about the labor camp because it is always good to have housing for your employees.

Fischer said he is coming with his family at first and he doesn't know how many more from the FLDS community will come, but according to Fischer the majority of people he will hire will be local people.

Mr. Fischer was defensive about Warren Jeffs and referred to him as "Uncle Warren".

According to Fischer the charges of Accomplice to Rape brought against Warren Jeffs are not true.

He believed all the information I had in my column to be information from people who were "unhappy" with the FLDS church, so you couldn't believe what they said.

He told me I needed to listen to Warren Jeffs and hear him for myself. I replied that is hard to do when it is a secret society and no one knows what goes on in their church.

I told Mr. Fischer that I had heard Mr. Jeff's teachings on tapes through the Eldorado internet site. Mr. Fischer said that was still second hand and implied that the tapes could have been altered.

Mr. Fischer said he had 23 children. He had 13 of his own and adopted 11.

I asked Mr. Fischer if he practiced polygamy and he said he didn't "practice it" he "lived it".

He said he had "two ladies" and had adopted some children and their mother.

Mr. Fischer denied that his church had arranged child marriages. He said the arranged marriages were with women from the ages of 17-30.

He referred to the stories of Abraham and Solomon, etc., as the basis for God's approval of polygamy.

When questioned about scripture in the Bible vs. the teaching of the "prophet". Mr. Fischer stated that according to the Mormon Article of Faith, "The Bible is the Word of God as far as it is translated correctly."

According to his religion, Mr. Fischer said "We all can ask God to speak to us, and if we are open to God He will tell us what we need to know." If that Word from God is different from the Bible then the Mormon, said Mr. Fischer, must listen to the words from God.

Mr. Fischer stated he was not on welfare and never had been. He said he wanted to benefit the community.

Mr. Fischer believes his religion and Warren Jeffs' have gotten a bum rap in the press. He said, "I've known Uncle Warren since I was 15 years old. I know him to be a good man and an honest man. All the bad publicity from the press and the media does not change that fact. This is not hearsay. I can say this from first hand knowledge."

Mr. Fischer says he wants a chance to explain what he wants to do at the Tye Company and to "help people understand each other".

Because of this he has taken the steps to reserve the Lockney Community Center, for Friday, May 11, at 6:30 p.m.

He said he will take questions from the audience. He hopes this will allow people to get to know him better. He told me that he hopes people will confine themselves to only asking questions about his business plans and not about the Warren Jeffs' controversy.

I encourage those interested to attend. Bring a chair. There probably won't be enough chairs.

FloydCountyHesperian-Beacon