As the Warren Jeffs trial goes to the jury, take time to learn what it’s really all about.

Arguably the most infamous trial in Utah since the two trials of John D. Lee is about to go to the jury. I commented when this trial started that the real show was up the road in Colorado City. A thumbnail sketch of what this trial is about is on that page.

Developments have shown that I was right. The trial itself has turned into a “he-said, she-said” contest between the former polygamous “husband” and the “wife” who is alledged to have been forced into the relationship with her cousin at the age of 14. Their stories from the stand could not be more different. Nobody knows who the jury will believe. But we see variations of this story in courtrooms every day in America.

The only “new” thing about this trial, in fact, is the institution of polygamy and the FLDS Church. And that isn’t very new. It’s almost 200 years old now. But something that IS new is the candor and honesty that government has started to show in dealing with it. A wonderful example of that new, fresh breeze is a 57 page “primer” about the FLDS church and the institution of polygamy that was jointly published by the Attorneys General of the states of Arizona and Utah in 2006.

The stated purpose of this “primer” is to help public servants, such as welfare case workers and law enforcement, deal with polygamists in a way that will lead to more successful outcomes by understanding them, their history, and why they are the way they are. Previous “raids” on polygamist communities were disasters, in part, because nobody took the time to try to understand the community they were dealing with.

This time around, government is taking a much more reasoned approach — which is explained fully in the “primer”. But there’s a lot more there, too. For example, a quick, but brutally honest history of where polygamy came from:

“Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), often referred to as Mormons, began practicing plural marriage in the 1830s under the direction of LDS Church founder Joseph Smith. Attempts were made to keep the practice a secret from most of the membership and the public and many historians believe the secrecy was a factor that led to Smith’s assassination in 1844.”

Boy, Howdy! I’ve had discussions with Mormons who simply refuse to believe that Joseph Smith actually kept polygamy a secret in the early history of the Church. I wonder if they will believe it now.

This is one government document that deserves to be read!