Steed, now 26, said he barely knew his cousin when the two married. They share a polygamous grandfather. His attempts at moving marital relations along were awkward and clumsy, he admitted. Although his wife could be rude and cold to him in public, Steed said she would kiss and snuggle up to him at other times in private. He wrote her love notes during their 3 1/2 years of marriage, which the defense and prosecution both used as evidence.

Steed said the couple first had intercourse about three weeks into the marriage and that his wife initiated the sexual contact. Steed said he got home late after working a 12-hour shift and fell asleep in his clothes, only to wake up later with his wife rolled up next to him in bed. She wanted to know if he loved her, he said, and asked him to scratch her back.

"One thing led to another," he said, testifying he never forced his wife to have sex with him. His wife, he said, went to Canada without him, wouldn't finish her schooling and often was rude to him, yet he considered the marriage an eternal one and he tried to make it work.

Steed, who broke down several times while on the stand, testified Jeffs dissolved his marriage after he discovered a photo of his wife with another man in the community. Wall has since married the man and had a child with him.

Jurors also listened to several recordings of Jeffs teaching FLDS doctrine during home economics and priesthood history classes at an FLDS school in Salt Lake City nearly a decade ago.

Prosecutors sought to emphasize FLDS teachings about the roles of men and women in the polygamous sect. They argued that women are not allowed to disagree or show dissention and that a woman must submit herself to her priesthood head in all things. The men, they argued, answer only to the prophet, or Jeffs.

Several FLDS couples defended their faith on the witness stand, testifying that although their arranged marriages were difficult at times, they learned to love one another and were pleased with their mate. Troubles within marriage, even problems with intimacy, are often brought to the prophet for counsel, several people testified.

Steed and Jeffs' accuser both testified they went to Jeffs for counsel at times, both before and after the wedding. Steed said he sought advice on what he could do to help his wife be happier and more comfortable in the marriage.

Jeffs, he said, counseled him to "be kind and considerate, pray together, work together, play together and love each other."

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E-mail: nperkins@desnews.com