SELF-PROCLAIMED prophet Warren Jeffs is a central figure in The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS).
Though Warren Jeffs was sentenced to life plus 20 years in prison for child abuse, rape, and arranging marriages between young girls and older men, many still consider him the leader of the FLDS today.
How many wives did Warren Jeff have?
Part of the FLDS religious doctrine revolves around polygamy and the idea that a man must have at least three wives to gain the favor of God needed to enter heaven.
Warren Jeffs had at least 78 wives, and at the time of his arrest, 24 of them were under the age of 17.
While some of Jeff’s wives remained steadfast in their beliefs after his arrest, others turned against the cult.
What is known about his wives?
Here are some wives we know about after they were featured in a 2022 Netflix docu-series called Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey.
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Merrianne Jessop
Merrianne was married to Jeffs when she was just 12 years old.
After his arrest, she was placed into foster care and then taken in by a cousin who was an ex-FLDS member.
She soon ran off though and was last seen back at the compound in Texas, which was her last known whereabouts.
Mildred “Millie” Blackmore & her sisters, Alyshia Rae Blackmore and Nolita Collen Blackmore
Mildred was married to Jeffs at the age of 13.
According to her brother, she’s now evading the law in Canada, where she still practices polygamy.
Her brother also claims that a fourth sister was married to Jeffs and that the latter three are missing.
The parents of the girls are currently facing charges for taking them across the border to the US so that they could be married.
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How many children does Jeffs have?
Warren Jeffs has fathered more than 60 children.
Most of Jeffs’ children have sought to stay out of the limelight.
However, a select few have opened up to the world through outlets like CNN and documentaries, sharing just how terrifying life was for them growing up.
Where are they now?
In 2016, Roy Jeffs, a son of Warren Jeffs, opened up to CNN about why he left his father’s church.
“I left on my own,” he said. “When I first came out, it was nice to feel that way.”
“I remember standing there, just staring at myself in the mirror, just in shock forever, just sitting there like, ‘Oh my God, I can choose.’”
“But at the same time, because I was so used to being told ‘You can do this, you can’t do this,’ I wanted somebody to tell me what to do.”
“It was terrifying.”