FLDS raid to 'alter their world forever'

SAN ANGELO, Texas — Shannon Price believes the events of the past six days will have everlasting effects on the Fundamentalist LDS Church and its members.

"It will alter their world forever," said the director of the Diversity Foundation, which provides assistance for former members of polygamous lifestyles. "There are a lot of things that are going to change."

Since Thursday, police officers and social workers have taken all 416 children and 139 adult women from the secluded and sheltered ranch in Eldorado, Texas, where more and more members of the church have moved since 2004.

Price traveled from Utah to Texas over the weekend to be a consultant for the Department of Family and Protective Services to help them understand the unique beliefs and practices of the FLDS lifestyle. Price has family who are members of the church and has personally known some of its leaders.

"Hopefully, this action will open up the walls of this community," she said. "The children now have been outside that community and interacted with government workers and volunteers and learned they're kind people ... and they'll be dealt with and treated well."

Those who have left the FLDS community say its members are often taught that the outside world is evil and so are the people outside their community. They believe they are God's chosen people.

Price says the state welfare workers have gone out of their way to try to understand the community, meet their needs and treat them well, which may be the opposite of what many of the children and women were expecting.

"Texas is great to respect the culture and not make it about plural relationships," she said.

After this experience, Price said she hopes that any child or woman who eventually returns to the ranch or the community will have fewer fears about the "outside world" and more contacts and knowledge about services that are available should they need them.

"It may get to a point that a woman will have more advantages outside the community than in," Price said. "And now she has someone to call that she knows will treat her well."

As a consultant, Price said she and others suggested bringing in midwives for exams, since the FLDS women are comfortable with them. She suggested providing sewing machines, Books of Mormon printed before 1977 and hymnals for the women at the temporary shelters.

"They are singing songs in the (shelters). They have beautiful voices. They're also praying a lot," Price said.