Rachel Jeffs
Rachel Jeffs Blackmore (born 1983, Salt Lake City)[1] is an American author and former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She is the daughter of the church's prophet, convicted pedophile Warren Jeffs.[2][3]
Life in the FLDS Church
[edit]Jeffs, who was born to Warren Jeffs' second wife,[4] had 47 siblings and half-siblings.[5] Her father sexually abused her from age eight until age 16.[5][4] She received up to an eighth grade education.[5]
Jeffs married in 2002, at age 18, to a man chosen by Warren Jeffs; the couple met for the first time on the day of their wedding.[4][6] Once she married, Jeffs lived in a home with three 'sister wives', who were also married to her husband.[5] She gave birth to her first child in 2003, at age 19,[6] and she worked at a school run by the church, teaching third graders.[5] Her mother died of breast cancer in 2004.[6]
In 2014, Jeffs was banished from her community and prevented from seeing her children for seven months for allegedly having sex with her husband while pregnant.[4] She has credited this event, and her anger surrounding it, to be the "breaking point" for deciding to leave altogether.[4] Around this time, she also discovered one of her sisters had also been sexually abused by Warren Jeffs, starting at age 6.[1]
Jeffs left the church on December 31, 2014, with her five children and one of her sisters.[5][4]
Life after leaving the church
[edit]After leaving the church, Jeffs moved in with relatives from her mother's side of the family in Centennial Park, another polygamous community.[1][5] However, Jeffs was put off by the practice of polygamy and ultimately moved away, staying at times in Salt Lake City, Texas, and Montana. She enrolled her five children in public schools, and Jeffs got her GED and started college.[5] The family was on food stamps for a time, and Jeffs taught violin lessons to make money.[5]
Shortly after starting college, Jeffs met Brandon Blackmore, who had also been raised in a fundamentalist Mormon community.[5] The two began a relationship, with Jeffs providing support when Blackmore testified against his parents in November 2016, in a court case involving the marriage of his 13-year-old sister to Warren Jeffs in 2004.[5] Jeffs and Blackmore married in September 2017.[5][7]
Jeffs has since spoken out against her father and the religion,[8] appearing in reality television shows such as Escaping Polygamy, and Secrets of Polygamy.[4][9] She later moved to Idaho and identifies as a Christian.[5][10]
One of her siblings, Roy Jeffs, also left the religion and committed suicide in 2019.[11] Another sibling, Helaman Jeffs, is still a high-ranking member of the church.[12] Ammon Jeffs, one of Rachel's full-blooded siblings left the church in 2023 and also published his memoir the following year.[13]
Bibliography
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c Bramham, Daphne (November 22, 2017). "Polygamist prophet Warren Jeffs's daughter speaks about his abusive cult". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ^ Associated Press (2017-11-11). "Daughter of polygamous sect leader says he abused her for years". New York Post. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
- ^ "How Warren Jeffs' Son Exposed Polygamist Cult Leader's Sex Abuse of His Other Children". Yahoo Entertainment. 2019-06-04. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Daughter of polygamist Warren Jeffs tells how she broke free of his cult". TODAY.com. 2017-11-10. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Bramham, Daphne (November 22, 2017). "Rachel Jeffs on life after polygamy and why she testified against the Blackmores". Vancouver Sun.
- ^ a b c d "Book excerpt: Rachel Jeffs, daughter of a polygamist and prophet, gets news that scatters her family from Utah to Texas". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
- ^ "A&E's 'Secrets Of' Franchise Expands with New Documentary Series 'Secrets of Polygamy' Premiering Monday, January 8 at 10PM ET/PT". A&E. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
- ^ Rachel Jeffs accuses father of abuse | CNN, 2017-11-11, retrieved 2023-12-12
- ^ Bobic, Chrissy (2021-03-05). "Rachel Jeffs Has Dedicated Her Life to Speaking out Against the FLDS Church". Distractify. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
- ^ Gaudette, Emily (2017-11-14). "FLDS Prophet's Daughter: "Pedophiles Are All the Same"". Newsweek. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
- ^ Whitehurst, Lindsay (2019-06-04). "Son who spoke out against infamous polygamous leader dies". AP News. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
- ^ Tupper, Seth (2019-03-03). "Polygamous compound has new overseer, court records indicate". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
- ^ "Ammon Jeffs: books, biography, latest update". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
- ^ "Book Excerpt: Breaking Free". NBC News. 2017-11-10. Retrieved 2023-12-12.