Post 2

 Uncle Rulon and Colorado city 

The next chapter’s of Under a Banner of Heaven written by John Krakauer, outlines the town of Colorado City. This is extremely fascinating ‘stuff’. Lets talk about Colorado City. The town sits on the Utah-Arizona border and it is home to more than three Mormon Fundamentalist sects, including the FLDS. The city’s members live in strict accordance with the commandments of the ninety two year old tax accountant turned prophet Rulan T. Jeffs, or commonly known as “Uncle Jeffs”. Here is an interesting not on “Uncle Jeffs”….In the book Krakauer quotes a science teacher who lives and teaches in the town by saying “A lot of people here are convinced Uncle Rulon is going to live forever.” Rulan Jeffs died two months after the book was published and released. It was reported that at the time of Jeffs' death at age 92 that he may have had as many as 75 wives and 65 children. Several of his wives were given to him in marriage when they were fourteen or fifteen while he was in his eighties. His sermons frequently stress the need for total submission. One of his speeches reads, “I want to tell you that the greatest freedom you can enjoy is in obedience. Perfect obedience produces perfect faith.” These are United States citizens saying this stuff. I understand that people have their rights and the constitutional amendments protect them, but COME ON! Okay back to the little town of Colorado City. Members of the religion, he explains, are forbidden to watch television or read magazines or newspapers. Krakauer writes “As the TV prohibition suggests, life in Colorado City under Rulon Jeffs bears more than a passing resemblance to life in Kabul under the Taliban.” If that doesn’t help a reader understand members of FLDS then I don’t know what would. One more note and than I’ll leave you for the night. Currently, the residents of Colorado City receive eight dollars in government services for every dollar they pay in taxes. “Uncle Rulon justifies all that assistance from the wicked government by explaining that really the money is coming from the lord,” says Deloy Bateman. Here’s an idea. Stop fucking paying them!  Wait hold on…just read something. Uncle Roulon and his followers believe that the earth is seven thousand years old and that  man has never walked on the moon. Well no, its actually 4.7 billion years. Learned that in Earth Science class.