4.5 • 18.2K Ratings
🗓️ 13 July 2023
⏱️ 66 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
According to Warren Jeffs’ thousands of followers, he was the leader of a secretive but devoted religion – their prophet, and the representative of God on Earth. But according to US law, he was a dangerous, totalitarian, child-molesting horror with over 80 wives – some married off as young as 12. Still, according to the church, Earthly laws are no match for the voice of God.
In this episode, we explore the story behind the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints: how the visions of a charismatic, seventeen-year-old farmhand grew to become a major world religion; how plural marriage caused a major rift in the church; and how its teachings were warped into a systematic cult of child abuse, underage sex, and absolute power.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
0:00.0 | Prime members, you can listen to Redhanded early and ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the app today. |
0:06.0 | If you love True Crime, the Generation Y Podcast is essential listening. Hosts Aaron and Justin started this podcast over 10 years ago to dissect together some of the craziest and most notable murders, crimes and conspiracy theories. |
0:18.0 | And with over 450 episodes, there's a little something for every True Crime lover. Follow the Generation Y Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. |
0:30.0 | I'm Anna. I'm Sruti. And welcome to Redhanded, where this week we've got my absolute favorite topic. |
0:43.0 | Ormits. It is your favorite. I am getting after having gone through this group for this. I'm getting pretty sick of them. But I have to get through it. |
0:51.0 | Or you saw two in the wild yesterday. It's your right. Yeah, they're everywhere. They are. They're surrounding me. It's like they know that we're going to do this two-part on. And they're on to us. |
1:03.0 | When Mary Ann Jessup turned 12, her father decided that she was ready for marriage. |
1:11.0 | But who she married wasn't up to her wasn't even up to her dad. The only person who could decide was the Jessup's prophet, a man who they believed had a direct line to God. |
1:25.0 | The prophet conducted one of what he called his heavenly sessions. He jerked around wildly like he was in a trance and cried out messages from his God to be transcribed. |
1:38.0 | And this time it was God's will that the 51-year-old prophet himself should marry the 12-year-old Mary Ann. |
1:49.0 | How convenient. |
1:51.0 | And so three weeks after her 12th birthday, they were married. |
1:57.0 | Mary Ann's father, a high-ranking bishop in the church, presided over the nocturals. At the 1,700-acre yearning for Zion complex in Texas. |
2:09.0 | After the ceremony, the gangly six-foot-five 51-year-old prophet posed for a photo with his new bride. And I would urge you, dearest-ness, to come and follow us on social media so you can take a look at this horrifying picture |
2:26.0 | that I am currently gazing upon. |
2:29.0 | Horrifying is the word. |
2:31.0 | I hate it. It's so... The picture that's like at the top of the three, we're looking at a little trip-titch of horror. |
2:38.0 | The picture at the top looks like a dad and his 12-year-old shot. |
2:42.0 | And then they're making out. It's disgusting. |
2:45.0 | It's truly vile. And because she's in one of those Mormon dresses, kind of looks like fancy dress? |
2:51.0 | Yeah, not liking it. So yeah, let me just describe for you in a bit more of a visual way what's going on here. |
2:59.0 | You've got this old man with his arm wrapped around this child. And he leans down for a passionate kiss. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Wondery | RedHanded, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Wondery | RedHanded and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.