Residents lobby Utah, Ariz. in sect's land fight

A handful of residents in polygamous communities on the Utah-Arizona border are voicing concern over settlement talks for control of the property trust that holds their homes.

In a letter-writing campaign to the Utah and Arizona attorneys general, residents no longer connected to the Fundamentalist LDS Church said they fear control of the land and homes in Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., will go back to members of the church.

"Basically there are some people here that aren't part of the religion and we're concerned that we are going to lose our homes," said Louis Bistline, who was raised in the church but left in 2006.

The FLDS have long controlled the twin towns, where most of the land and homes are held in the church's United Effort Plan Trust. The UEP was formed in 1942 when members pooled their assets for the benefit of all who keep the tenets of the faith. With some exceptions, leaving the church has historically meant leaving homes and property behind.

The trust was seized by the Utah courts in 2005 after Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff alleged church leaders had mismanaged its assets.

Under the control of a court-appointed accountant, Bruce Wisan, the UEP was converted into a secular entity. The changes opened the door for individual property ownership and for former members — whether they chose to leave or were excommunicated — to return to the community and claim a share of the assets.

The FLDS view secular management of the trust as a violation of their religious rights.

Third District Court Judge Denise Lindberg has said she does not want a "UEP II" that sends the property back to church members only to have them hand it over to the control of church leaders. That's a shared concern, Bistline said.

"What we're afraid of is that the FLDS people are going to take it all the way and start another trust," said Bistline, who lives in a home assigned to him by FLDS leaders in 2005. "Then we'll all get evicted."