Child Bride under Warren Jeffs - Ceci Hendrickson | Ep. 2103
Mormon Stories Podcast
Dr. John Dehlin
4.6 • 5.2K Ratings
🗓️ 12 January 2026
⏱️ 269 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of Mormon Stories Podcast, we sit down with Ceci Hendrickson, who shares her story of growing up in the FLDS Church before the rise of Warren Jeffs and witnessing how the church transformed under his leadership. Warren Jeffs was once her high school principal, long before he became the self-proclaimed prophet of the FLDS Church.
Ceci walks us through her upbringing in a large polygamist family, where strict rules, indoctrination, and obedience were woven into everyday life. She describes how life changed dramatically when Warren Jeffs took power, detailing how religious practices became increasingly extreme. Families were torn apart as church members were regularly sent away, creating a culture of fear and paranoia within the community. We explore the realities of arranged marriages, the phrase “keep sweet,” and the systems that normalized control and abuse—especially for women and children.
As a teenager, Ceci was suddenly told she would be married, launching her into a polygamous marriage that she now recognizes as child abuse. She shares what it was like to be reassigned within families, to live in hiding after crimes were committed, and to witness children—including her sister wife’s 12-year-old stepdaughter—being handed over to Warren Jeffs himself as plural wives. We also discuss the YFZ Ranch in Texas, the 2008 raid, Warren Jeffs’ continued control of the church from prison, and how his actions ultimately contributed to the unraveling of the FLDS community.
We then discuss Ceci’s escape from polygamy, how she managed to reclaim her children from the church, and how she built a new life for her family outside of the FLDS faith.
Today, Ceci is a mother, entrepreneur, and advocate, using her voice to help other women find their way out and reclaim their lives.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of Mormon Stories podcast. I'm your host, |
| 0:04.0 | John DeLind. It's December 16th, 2025. And today we'll be answering the question again, |
| 0:10.0 | but from a different angle with a different person. What was it like to grow up in Warren Jeff's |
| 0:16.0 | Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or the FLDS Church as a polygamous wife. |
| 0:24.1 | And I think we can say teenage bride. Is that right? |
| 0:27.1 | I was. Yes. |
| 0:28.4 | So today we are interviewing C.C. Hendrickson. Hi, C.C. |
| 0:33.0 | Hi. Thanks for joining us. Thank you so much for having me. |
| 0:36.2 | It's a pleasure to have you. And Margie is co-host, hey Margie? Hi. And my wife, some people want to know, wait, are you all married? Are we married, Margie? We are indeed. We're married. So Margie is my co-host, Amy. No, but for those who have been joining us on Mormon stories for a long time, and even for those who haven't, |
| 0:54.9 | we've covered polygamy several times on Mormon stories. |
| 0:58.4 | We started with Anne Wilde, who was married to an early sort of independent Mormon polygamist in the 70s and 80s. |
| 1:12.1 | She joined as an active faithful Latter-day Saint. |
| 1:16.5 | But since then, we've interviewed Lance and Vance All-Red from the All-Red group. |
| 1:21.2 | We've interviewed Amanda Ray, who is with the Kingston group. |
| 1:32.3 | And, of course, we've interviewed Sam and Melissa Ziding. Sam grew up in the FLDS Church. |
| 1:35.3 | And then Elise Wall is probably the most popular interview |
| 1:39.3 | we've ever done on Mormon Stories podcast as well. |
| 1:43.3 | But just because polygamy is continuously in the news and because each one of these stories |
| 1:51.0 | deserves to be told, but also because it, to me, it really does still tie to Joseph Smith |
| 1:58.0 | and the legacy that we have regarding Joseph Smith and plural marriage that affects us all today. |
| 2:04.9 | I think it's important to regularly cover this topic with a new set of eyes or a new set of hearts or experiences. |
| 2:14.4 | And so without any further ado, C.C. Hendrickson, thank you for being willing |
... |
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