"I invited Mark to come to our community, but they didn't particularly want me to attend their meeting," said Barlow.

"I don't have a conflict with that. They wanted to have their say without any of those other people there," said Barlow, referring specifically to the media and anti-polygamy groups such as Tapestry Against Polygamy and the St. George-based organization Help the Child Brides. "Any kind of dialogue is good. I don't see any harm by it."

In nearby Kane Beds, Ariz., resident Ben Bistline said his daughter and son-in-law were invited to the meeting with Shurtleff.

"It was put together by the Centennial Park women, and they only invited who they wanted to come," said Bistline. "The prophet of their church, Joseph Timpson, got up in church one Sunday and told them this (Shurtleff's attention to polygamy) was their problem and they needed to take care of it. I know some men went, but none of them talked."

Members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints consider Centennial Park residents apostates. The FLDS church, headed by 47-year-old Warren Jeffs, is headquartered in Colorado City, and most of its 10,000 members live in the twin border towns of Hildale, Colorado City and the plural community of Bountiful, British Columbia.

Centennial Park residents broke off from the FLDS church and started their own church called "The Work of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints."

The split has polarized the plural communities, which often are referred to as the First Ward and Second Ward, and rumors persist that Jeffs is losing authority over his people. Jeffs recently told his congregation that church services, including plural marriages, were being suspended because of their sins.

Shurtleff in the past has challenged Jeffs to meet one-on-one with him under the promise Jeffs would not be arrested. So far, Jeffs hasn't taken Shurtleff up on his offer.

"I think we made some strides with this group," said Shurtleff. "I told them we're not going to investigate everybody, but we are going to listen to victims who come forward and who are credible. We also need their help up the street."

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E-mail: nperkins@infowest.com