Hildale, Utah - As the the polygamist town of Hildale, Utah heals from deadly flash floods, the rumors continue to swirl. There were facts and pieces of fiction about the town and families affected that surfaced but many people didn't get the clear story. Just days after the flooding on September 14th, the fathers who lost their families read prepared statements to the media.
"Our grief and sorrow is now met with extermination from our homes. Our family with hundreds of families have been evicted from their homes because they will not forsake their religious beliefs," Sheldon Black, who lost several children to the floods, said at a news conference.
Black read a prepared statement that referenced the town's financial trust, the United Effort Plan. Joe Jessop, the other man linked to the wives and children swept away, echoed Black's sentiments during the news conference.
"I've had my children taken from me. As we stated in the statement, religious genocide," Joe Jessop said in front of the media, volunteers and city officials.
The fathers explained that their families had recently been evicted by the United Effort Plan, or U.E.P, and that they hoped the tragedy could help people realize the UEP is wrong in conducting evictions.
"Those fathers were not with those families and had nothing to do with the UEP. And for them to use their sound bite and read a statement that was critical of the state of Utah, state of Texas or UEP--I believe it was a little bit of grandstanding and was inappropriate," Jethro Barlow told ABC4 several weeks after the floods.
Jethro Barlow is an accountant, Hildale resident and consultant for the UEP. Barlow believes the trust should have never come up in the middle of the flooding disaster. He says it just doesn't make sense because the trust works to place families back in the homes they built. The prophet of the FLDS church, Warren Jeffs, kicked many people out of their homes after excommunicating them, and sent them to other cities to repent. Families who stayed now pay an occupancy fee to the trust and are working toward obtaining the deed to their homes. People get evicted when they don't pay and refuse to work with the UEP.
"A lot of people won't talk. But when they do they tell us complaince with us, complaince with the trust, complaince with the fees would be tantamount to losing my standing in the church," Jethro Barlow said.
Devout FLDS members are forbidden by their prophet to work with the UEP, and while Jethro Barlow says that's unfortunate he also says it's just wrong to make a claim that the UEP had anything to do with the fathers affected by the floods.
"Neither of them had been the target of an eviction of the trust. Before or after," Barlow said.
After the tragedy, the UEP suspended evictions which lasted a few weeks, but Jethro Barlow says it's court ordered to continue. Many Hildale residents though, say this natural disaster hit at time when the town was juggling a slew of man made disasters.
"Oh this storm was a storm on top of a storm," Willie Jessop told ABC4.
Willie Jessop is the former body guard of FLDS imprisoned leader, Warren Jeffs. He left the church but still lives in the town and said nobody could have anticipated how terrible the floods would be, but says the cover up by public officials immediately following the deaths was wrong.
"They wanted to make it about the U.E.P, make it about an agenda, make it about getting a big statement out on behalf of something other than the deceased was very distasteful and very hurtful," Willie Jessop said.
Willie Jessop said the truth was not put out about the victims, the town and how this tragedy will affect the community for years to come.
"They will put on a big show to get their statement out at that time. But to go today and tell what happened to the family. Was the father even with them prior to the accident? He wasn't," Jessop said.
Many people say, even while in prison, Warren Jeffs is still in control of his followers. When Jeffs was convicted of two counts of sexual assault of a child and went to prison, he sent out several edicts on how his congregation should live. FLDS members follow the edicts in order to be considered in good standing within their church.
"In this case, he had separated the family, imploded their relationships, the father had been sent away years and years ago, the church had taken their housing away and two of these ladies had lost their children and been separtated in that raid in Texas," Jessop said.
The FLDS church sent the fathers away, not the UEP, and Joe Jessop had not had contact with the victims in about five years. The victims' families could be considered a common model of the typical FLDS family.
"To go and hold this press conference and hold this father out like they were the Brady Bunch and they lost this big happy family. There was absolutely family lost, but was it told in the entirety or even accurate to the reality? It seemed extremely disingenuous," Willie Jessop explained.
Under the direction of Warren Jeffs, Willie Jessop said no husband and wives are living together in Hildale, family members are forbidden to talk to non practicing members, and no one is procreating. When ABC4 visited the town, the youngest children our photographer caught on camera were toddlers. The evidence lies in the birth records for the towns of Hildale and Colorado City, Arizona. They've declined significantly from 467 in 2009 to only 42 in 2013.
"Most all these people, including at City Hall, have been required to seperate themselved fromt heir wives and their children. A lot of the familes are taken care of with caretakers, their houses have been taken from them by the church. Not by the UEP or not by the courts," Willie Jessop said.
Basic needs of the FLDS members are met if you follow the rules of the imprisoned prophet. On top of that, Jessop said every government position held in town is held by a Warren Jeffs follower. Jessop said those were some of the only FLDS church members at the public memorial for the victims.
"Very staged. it was just part of the propaganda, there was the element (sigh) you know it was better than nothing," Jessop said.
Little steps that build toward progress, it's how Jessop says he has to look at it. The victims' burial took place overnight with only certain church members invited. The floods, though, Jessop says will do more good for the town than anything else.
"We'll always remember the gratitude for the outside people that helped them, against what the church has said about outside people," Jessop said.
The positive interactions with volunteers and rescue teams will ultimately force people to challenge their beliefs, which can only lead to good for people under the firm grip of a convicted prophet.
"It's the change of behavior, and as a result of that, it's a long term change. You aren't going to see it overnight. You will see those seeds of kindness that are planted that will last people a lifetime."