Man who was raised in Warren Jeffs’ polygamous Mormon CULT with 28 SIBLINGS details his desperate escape from the sect – where women were treated like ‘slaves’ and members were forced into sex as minors

A man has revealed how he escaped a polygamous Mormon sect before its former leader was sentenced to life behind bars for child abuse.

Based in Utah, Ben appeared on a recent episode of the Cults to Consciousness podcast to share what it was like growing up in the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints Church (FLDS) with two mothers, who were sisters, and 28 siblings.

FLDS was a breakaway group that split from the original Mormon Church when the mainstream religion stopped practicing polygamy.

Ben exposed the strict rules imposed by former self-proclaimed leader Warren Jeffs, who “controlled everything” followers did, including when they could “have sex” and “make babies.”

Ben started by explaining to host Shelise Ann Sola what it was like living in the isolated community.

‘Growing up there, you didn’t think you were different from anyone else.

“We thought we were from a higher power, if you want to put it that way. We were the chosen ones – God’s chosen children…

“People like me who left religion were damned and the things of Satan would happen to us.

“You were afraid that if you left, God would strike you down with a lightning bolt-like deal.

“You fear God instead of having a loving God…

“If you really got to the heart of it, if you didn’t do what they said, Satan would attack you and you would be damned to hell.”

Polygamy was the main driving force behind the group; men had to have at least three wives to reach the highest level of heaven.

Modesty was also a big factor, as Ben explained that everyone had to be fully dressed down to the neck, wrists and ankles – despite the overwhelming heat inherent to living in the desert.

Ben was present when self-proclaimed leader Warren Jeffs – who had an estimated 85 wives – began taking control of Father Rulon’s cult as he battled health problems, adding: ‘His father was dying and he killed himself the power.’

The FLDS group had their own private school that separated the boys from the girls, with Warren acting as principal.

Referring to the former leader’s beliefs, Ben said: ‘Looking back at who he is, it’s quite eerie and sickening how close he got to some girls and also some boys.

‘He distributed flyers about how to do things with your wife. He would also release an audio tape on how to do that. He’s a scary guy.’

But Ben said education was not a priority within the group, revealing he got his first job in a shop at the age of eight.

He was When he was just ten years old, he was hired to work on a construction site, adding, “That’s how they raise all their children. We don’t necessarily have any education.”

In the same wayyoung girls were trained for marriage and were often forced to marry men they had never met before.

Ben claimed that Warren “assigned” suitable partners from other FLDS sects elsewhere in the country, adding, “That’s how they kept the population from becoming too incestuous.”

He said: ‘When Warren took over, he told everyone how they could and couldn’t have sex, when they could or couldn’t have children, he had everything under control…

‘Women have actually become enormous slaves.’

Discussing how the FLDS maintained control, Ben said, “They told us the outside world was trying to come and steal us and take us away and turn us evil.”

When asked why he left, the former cult member replied: “Because I was working and meeting people outside the real world.

‘It was nice to see that there were nice people in this world.

“They were not as we were taught. They weren’t evil and tried to steal us from our parents.’

He explained how he had actually left the sect twice.

‘I left once with one of my friends. We did bad things, things we shouldn’t do as children.

“We left and stayed at his brother’s house. IIt was a trailer with a bunch of smokers and drinkers in it.”

He said his father eventually tracked him down and threatened the homeowner with jail time because Ben was under 18.

As a result, he went back, but everything changed when he reached his milestone birthday.

‘I got into an argument with my father… I don’t know what we were arguing about, but I pushed him down and I felt it sh*tty about it now.

“At the time you thought you were a macho man, but now I think, ‘Oh, why is that the last moment I ever spoke to my father?’ And that, I think, is the last time we really talked.”

His father had called ahead to his brother’s house, where Ben was going, and told the sibling, “If you take Ben in, I won’t let you see any other family members.”

“I won’t let you see mommy, I won’t let you see anyone. You will be shunned for life.”

Ben’s brother wouldn’t let him stay and he ended up living in his truck for three to four months.

He started bouncing around and lying on his friends couches, but still didn’t regret it.

‘I felt so free and so alive. It was insane. I felt freedom, I felt liberated, I felt amazing – like a million dollars.

“When you come out, it’s so high, I guess, that’s a better way to explain it.

“Once you leave that place, the rush you get every day when you wake up and you’re not there, you think, ‘Oh, this is all me, I can do whatever I want.’

Ben decided to go to college, where he met his current wife, with whom he shares four children, and has been helping his siblings navigate the real world ever since.

In 2011, Warren was sent to prison for life after being convicted of two felony counts of child sex abuse for having sex with two girls, aged 12 and 14.

He is currently serving a life sentence plus 20 years for the charges, but it was previously reported that he has continued to preach to the remaining members of the FLDS from his prison cell.

As of 2018, the Guardian reported that there were still about 10,000 active members of the Church.

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