From 'nerd' to FLDS chief

As the story goes, Warren Jeffs was not supposed to live.

On Dec. 3, 1955, he was born premature to Marilyn Steed, the fourth wife of his father, Rulon Jeffs. He is one of dozens of siblings.

Jeffs grew up at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon, in a compound of homes that would later become the site of the Alta Academy, a private FLDS-run school.

The man who would become the FLDS Church's prophet was a bit of a nerd in high school. His 1972 yearbook at Jordan High School in Sandy shows a young man in a shirt and tie and horn-rimmed glasses. Graduating in 1973, Jeffs was one of the top students in the school academically. The Beetdigger's high school yearbook says Jeffs was in the top 10 percent and the top 3 percent of his class.

Alumnus find it more than a little amusing that one of Jordan High's top 10 students is now on the FBI's top 10 list of wanted fugitives.

The Alta Academy

Working for his father as an accountant for a brief time, Jeffs later went on to teach at the Alta Academy. Former students and teachers said he taught math, history, church history and led devotionals every morning.

"He always complimented us on our special programs and cooking," said one former student, who asked not to be identified because of family members still within the FLDS Church. "I remember he was very good at math, and you could phone him at night if you were having trouble understanding the math homework."

But Jeffs was also known for harsh discipline and almost fanatical desire to control his students. Girls at the Alta Academy were chastised for "cuteness" and urged to "keep sweet" by not talking to boys. Bra straps were never to be shown and they were given strict instructions how to wear their hair.

"Warren would sneak up behind you and say into your ear, 'Are you staying sweet?' You never knew when Warren might be sneaking up behind you," the former student said.

Boys at the Alta Academy were reportedly subjected to beatings with yard sticks, pointers and leather belts.

"I witnessed Warren Jeffs taking a young second grader and hanging him upside down by the ankles in order to shake the evil out of him," the former student said.

Another student was Andrew Chatwin, who recalls standing up to Jeffs on more than one occasion.

"Me and him butted heads," Chatwin recalled. "I was driven out by Warren Jeffs."

Years later, as one of the original "Lost Boys," Chatwin would be booted from the polygamous border towns of Hildale and Colorado City. He has since returned with his wife, reclaimed his family home and has been serving property tax notices on homes on UEP land.