re: Rogue Persecution | 12:35 a.m. June 3, 2008
Let's not tolerate those who are eager in making this type child seizure common place. In every state, the child protection racket needs to be reigned in, and re-focused on real abuse.

"To err on the side of the children" is a naturally applied deception made by those who profit by taking children from good parents. It is not in the interest of children to be separated unless the immediate threat of physical abuse can be shown before-hand. Some abuse cannot be predicted, regardless of how clairvoyant a CPS agent believes himself to be.
This Judge | 12:38 a.m. June 3, 2008
Not only does this judge need to disqualified from presiding over future FLDS cases, she needs to be removed altogether.

Sign the petition to have her impeached. Google gopetition walther.
Interloper | 12:44 a.m. June 3, 2008
I certainly hope that things turn out well for Sarah and her children. However, I cannot help but wonder about something key to this imbroglio. Sarah's 'spiritual husband' is twice her age. Will she allow aging FLDS men to 'marry' her daughters, too? Has the eldest girl, 13, already been offered for marriage? Does Sarah still revere Warren Jeffs? This article would have been much more newsworthy if such questions had been asked.
Comments continue below
Leroy G. | 1:59 a.m. June 3, 2008
I am really glad the children are going home.
I think the article was written just the way it should have been. It is not a time to wonder about questions , It is a time to share the joy of a family back together again.
Annie | 2:02 a.m. June 3, 2008
In a year's time, Becca could be married and pregnant.
Deaf Ears | 2:09 a.m. June 3, 2008
Thank God for the legal aid people who fought tirelessly to get a terrible wrong partly corrected. How great it is to see these children back where they belong, in their mothers arms. Never again should the American people have to witness another government persecution such as this. The FLDS kidnapping is but the tip of the CPS abuse that goes on every day in the USA. It is time to disband these tyrannical agencies.
mistereporter | 2:12 a.m. June 3, 2008
Kudos to the writer. This warm piece is a nice break from mean-spirited writing we often find here. Thank you, Deseret News.

Dan | 3:34 a.m. June 3, 2008
I find polygamy repugnant, but I am even more disturbed by the unconstitutional actions of Judge Barbara Walther and feel she should be impeached and removed from the bench. There is a petition for her impeachment which you can find by googling Impeach Judge Walther.
Shelly | 4:04 a.m. June 3, 2008
Why is it wrong to be married at age 15,16,17, or 18? Throughout history people have gotten married after adolescing. That is only natural as once you're able to have babies, and you have a sex drive, you want to get married. In the 19th century for some unknown reason, girls didn't have their menses until age 18, now they have it much earlier. I just don't see what the big deal is. (By the way I am not Mormon).
Anonymous | 4:08 a.m. June 3, 2008
There's no doubt that the FLDS marriage practices need to be changed, but for the state to apply blanket measures to hundreds of children was a gross miscariage of justice that the Texas Supreme Court recognized and overturned. I hope that the judge responsible for the original ruling has been sufficently shamed before her collegues to preclude her sitting on any more important cases for the rest of her career. What a shame. Individual justice for all.
Chai Tea | 4:36 a.m. June 3, 2008
You need to keep up on things, Interloper. FLDS have issued a statement saying that underage marriage is no longer permitted. I can't remember the exact wording, but the FLDS themselves are renouncing it.

To the FLDS - I am so sorry this happened to you. I have prayed daily for you and especially for your children - I continue to pray that no real harm has come to them and that they are able to heal from the emotional abuse they suffered at the hands of the State of Texas and CPS. God forgive them.

Please post the pics that Abe helped take. :)
Outrage | 5:14 a.m. June 3, 2008
It's heartbreaking to comprehend what these little children were made to unnecessarily suffer by being violently separated from their families, and it is clear there are emotional wounds for these chidren and their mothers cope with now the rest of their lives.
How can anyone rationalize the trauma not being covered in a more "newsworthy" way? At what point do we decide where "newsworthy" begis and common human DECENCY is thrown in the garbage can? How does the American general public allow this crime against humanity to take place without ther being more outrage?
Barry Johnson | 5:17 a.m. June 3, 2008
I was really beginning to wonder about my, perhaps, misguided faith in the "American Way" when all these events began to happen. Especially alarming were the letters to the editor by ordinarily good people who seemed to be sanctioning the actions of Texas authorities carte blanche. NO child ought to be removed from his/her parents in this country until something more substantial than a hoax of suspicion has been clearly displayed. What a miracle it was that no one of the FLDS community lost their heads and took up arms - it speaks something of their basic goodness. No one supports the child marriage thing by any stretch of the imagination, but this whole episode has been a serious travesty of justice from the get go. There could have been a less traumatic method of "fixing" the bug without uprooting the whole forest. This country condoned one serious episode of religious genocide with my forefathers in Nauvoo, Illinois and surrounding in the early 1800's. May this country never engage itsself in such mischief against its own loyal citizenry ever again, God so help us.
Anonymous | 5:18 a.m. June 3, 2008
Another example of how intolerant society can be when looking at people who look different or act different. The judge was a complete joke starting with her initial approval of action to be taken. Based on what? I really hope the legal team from the FLDS sect and the the ACLU pursue this case for many months. I hope the state officials and the judge face some sort of accountability.
zxcvbnm | 5:26 a.m. June 3, 2008

It seems that 18 inditements are being considered by the grand jury, so the show will go on.
Re. Interloper: If you are refering to the Sarah in this article she is 37 years old and can make the decision about "spiritual" anything with whomever she wishes. Sarah may also worship as she pleases.
As far as her children, when they are of legal age they may marry whomever they please and at the age of 17 consent to sex with whomever they chose.
Not much can be done about the choices these people make.....it's still a free country.
VA Gal | 6:02 a.m. June 3, 2008
What a beautiful story. I am sorry they can't go back to the ranch, but it is probably for the best right now. I am hopeful that each family will be reunited quickly.

I agree about Judge Walthers, she may be a fine judge in other respects but she needs to be removed from any interaction with this case. A judge is supposed to be impartial. She obviously isn't.
@ Interloper | 6:09 a.m. June 3, 2008
Why is it any of your business when a 21+ woman marries a 40+ man and has her first child at 24? What additional information do you require?

Go talk to Larry King who is happily married to someone LESS than half his age. And then get a life.
Morina | 6:09 a.m. June 3, 2008
Interloper: So what if Sarah's "spiritual husband" is twice her age if she WANTED to marry him? So what if she "allows aging FLDS men to marry her daughters" if they WANT to marry them? Demi Moore is 16 years older than her husband. South Carolina's Senator Strom Thurmond is 66 and married Nancy Janice Moore, 22, a former Miss South Carolina. Reference your comment "has her 13 daughter already been offered in marriage". Many countries arrange marriages of teenagers, just so the marriage is not consumated until everyone is of legal age - and the children (upon being adults) can change their minds.

As for Warren Jeffs - she can "revere" him all she wants, just so she does not do anything he says that is counter to the law. People still have the right to follow and believe an idiot if they want to.
Interesting | 6:24 a.m. June 3, 2008
A few parts of this story struck me:

1) The husband had been kicked out of the church and told to leave his family behind, but came back to help his wife get the kids back.

2) She did not return to the ranch, but yet got a new home and job - sounds kind of permanent to me.

3) The story does not go into the future plans for this family. Is the husband coming back into the family? Will they ever return to the ranch? The reporter dropped the ball here. This family seems happy to start a new life.

Interesting!
Changes? Right. | 6:26 a.m. June 3, 2008
The only things that will change at the ranch are the level of secrecy and the level of discipline for those who break the secrecy: they will increase in severity.
Jan | 6:32 a.m. June 3, 2008
Thank You Heavenly Father for reuniting our families.
other side of the story | 6:34 a.m. June 3, 2008
I can identify with all of the righteous indignation expressed in these posts. But, if this had not happened, the children's father would have never been allowed to see them again. Folks tend to forget that "Dad" had been deemed unworthy and his children and wife had been secretly shunted away from him-in violation of the children's rights and the law. Please keep in mind that he is not the only parent who has had his/her family illegaly taken by the sect. The sad event of the sect losing all of the children may be what needs to have happened in order to blow the lid off the secrecy that allowed sect members to also wholesale abandon the "lost boys" with out any legal consequences. The sect has been able to ignore court ordered custody arrangements and secretly move families around so parents that have been deemed "unworthy" by sect leadership were deprived of the right to see, love and raise their own children.

Please save some of your vitriol for the sect leadership who set up this sick situation in the first place. We need to worry more about the abandoned boys and the cast off parents.
Roosevelt Reader | 6:47 a.m. June 3, 2008
To Interloper: Why do you need to know? Why is it any of your business? Is perhaps your mind an imbroglio?
Re: Interloper | 6:55 a.m. June 3, 2008
Why do you insist on spouting gossip over evidence which two courts declared did not exist? Those courts ruled that there was no evidence justifying the removal of all the children. There was no welfare fraud per TX welfare. There are no "lost boys" in TX and in the UT/AZ border, lost boys are actually almost entirely comprised of adult men. I read about one being asked to leave because he refused to quit smoking. Perhaps you allow your adult children to ignore your house rules, but I certainly would not permit such. Odd, I see a Sarah age 30 married to a David age 31. That isn't exactly twice her age. Perhaps you need to look up this name: Billy Dan Carroll. There is plenty of information available about that court-appointed advocate to put you into proper perspective.
A friend | 6:57 a.m. June 3, 2008
Sarah...so good to hear the good news about you and your family. I only wish you could come back to Utah/Arizona, be back with your husband and once again return to being a family. You are still a beautiful women (I can see why the authorities would place you as a teenager!) Good luck and God bless you and your kids.
re:other side of the story | 7:00 a.m. June 3, 2008
Do more research on the "lost boys" who are almost always actually legal men. Parents do not suffer legal consequences because there aren't ANY laws against telling your adult child to leave the nest for not obeying house rules including smoking, drinking, using drugs or etc. To keep them in the home is actually called enabling. I found a list of "boys" at gosanangelo and was shocked. Again, these are NOT boys but men that deserved to have the apron string cut.
zxcvbnm | 7:13 a.m. June 3, 2008
RE: other side:

The childrens "natural father" and presumably legal father did have options. He could have persued a legal divorce and the court would have issued visitation and child support. Sarah the mother chose to go to the ranch and agreed in one form or fashion to be reassigned....a free choice.
As far as being illegally taken by the sect, the mother chose to take her children with her to the home of her new "spiritual" husband.
Free choice......decisions made by the mother and father of the children ...... noone illegally did anything except perhaps the mother and her bigamous act of living in some fashion with her new man.......but even then,the US supreme court has suggested that states rethink their bigamy laws and conform with consensual sex rulings....the times are changing.
Bruce | 7:18 a.m. June 3, 2008
"Has the eldest girl, 13, already been offered for marriage? Does Sarah still revere Warren Jeffs? This article would have been much more newsworthy if such questions had been asked. "

"Newsworthy" indeed. For what, the National Enquirer? The FLDS have already made a formal statement regarding future marriages. Beyond that is not of our business.
Stephen | 7:32 a.m. June 3, 2008
Thanks be to their faith in God, He is our guide and refuge, he knows all things, he knows the hearts of mankind. Soooo the Texas CPS wants these mother's to leave their children and go find work? The best place for mother is at home with the children.
Local | 7:40 a.m. June 3, 2008
How hardened must the teenagers be in Texas for 37 year old Sarah to be mistaken for 18 or under.

Is CPS so used to seeing young girls so aged by abusive lifestyles that they can't get past the natural beauty of those who live clean?

You are a beautiful lady Sarah!
mensem | 7:44 a.m. June 3, 2008
Glad to see the kids home with their families. I'm still for enforcing the underage marriage and polygamy laws.

Listening to Carolyn Jessops testimony with regards to her escape from another FLDS community might be helpful to some who defend/attack this group.
Rest of the story | 7:48 a.m. June 3, 2008
I'm glad the children are being reunited, but the news isn't complete.

Are ALL children being reunited with mothers?
How soon is it to happen?

And further, are the mothers and children to be reunited with fathers? When?

This will not be totally resolved until the families are reunited completely and CPS's wings are clipped.
Free Choice | 7:53 a.m. June 3, 2008
All this father had to do to see his children was go to court and request visitation. He could have done that at any time whatsoever. If he did not see his children for several years that was by his own choice.
Good Luck | 7:57 a.m. June 3, 2008
I hope the children's biological father gets to see them soon.
American | 8:04 a.m. June 3, 2008
I am happy to see the children will soon cease to be abused, traumatized and neglected by the CPS.

I am disappointed to see those guilty of GENOCIDE feel they can require conditions.

The good news is agreements made under duress an coercion will probably not be legally inforcable.

I hope the Parents immediately ask their lawyers to pursue charges of GENOCIDE against Walther and CPS officials �. . so as to deter others from unlawful actions, when there is �NO evidence� under �color of law�.

Grandpa Phil | 8:04 a.m. June 3, 2008
For those who expressed righteous indignation at the misguided efforts of CPS and Judge Walther to deprive these good parents of their children, this is a good day. It is still sad that some such as Sarah cannot go back to their life at the ranch as yet but things will improve for them if they can keep the wolves at bay for a while. This is why we have Appellate Courts in the US; to keep lower court judges honest. I fully support any actions taken to impeach this particular lower court judge; her actions far exceeded her authority and any rules of good conscience.

For any of you interested in hearing the true story of Flora Jessop and why she has said the things she has said, go to thetruthwillprevail.com and read the article written by her appointed Guardian, Martha Barlow Jessop. It is a REAL eye-opener and explains exactly why Flora Jessop has said all of the things she has about the FLDS. She, too, should be held accountable for the lies she has told to help persecute the FLDS families.
Relieved Texan | 8:14 a.m. June 3, 2008
CPS never seems to consider whether or not their decisions cause more harm than was actually present in the first place. In this case there was a more or less law-abiding community with misguided and currently illegal ideas about the age of consent. I would take that community next door to me any day over the murderers, thieves, gang-bangers, drug dealers, etc. that are prevelant in most cities.
True Beliefs | 8:26 a.m. June 3, 2008
It's doubtful that I'll get a truthful response, but, could an FLDS member give some truthful answers to some questions about your beliefs.

1. Do you believe that a man must be married to 3 or more women in order to reach the highest level of heaven?

2. If so, since the natural ratio of men to women is 1:1, and since you live in a closed society that attracts VERY few new women, and since some of the men have a dozen or more wives, who decides which men are worthy of the available women?

3. What happens to the hundreds of boys/men for whom there are no women to marry? Do they have to abandon their faith and leave the FLDS community?
Pico | 8:34 a.m. June 3, 2008
In short, Short Creek.
Matthew | 8:37 a.m. June 3, 2008
Sarah is a poster child (make that woman) for the situations that apparently really exist in FLDS society. She is educated, married after the full age of majority, and didn't have a child until age 24. She should be giving parenting classes to those ignorant Texas CPS people (and some that post here).

Wake up people! Most of the nonsense claimed about these poor people is just plain lies. The only thing wrong, that only some of them have done, is the polygamy. Compared to many things that US society considers acceptable, polygamy is pretty minor (but still illegal). All the other stuff is fiction. If Sarah was 36 and they thought she was 17, then the supposed 12 year-old pictured kissing Warren Jeffs must have actually been a 24 or 31 year old. That isn't nearly so salacious is it?

Wouldn�t you move to a different house it you thought is would help get the CPS Nazis to leave you alone? She can still travel to the YFZ Temple when she wants to.
WBM5 | 8:53 a.m. June 3, 2008
well, i think this will provide an opportunity to for this family to really make a choice based on truth. Is the world as bad as they have been told. Do they really need to separate themselves from society?

Can one live in the world but not be of it? I know we can. I am LDS and I live everyday with people who think differently than I do. I don't hide from them. I have nothing to hide.

Sara, take this opportunity to grow and learn. This is a good thing for you and your children. Bloom where you are planted!!
Positive dad | 9:01 a.m. June 3, 2008
So refreshing to read a happy positive story about these people. Hopefully some good will come of this horrible event. The FLDS have got to give their people more freedom. I think a happy ending to this story would be for Mr. Barlow to gather this family up and go to living his life as it was pre warren jeffs. Such a sad tale to hear of so many children who don't have a daddy to pick them up and hug them as well. Thankyou Dan for at least going to assist in these kids gaining their freedom to be reunited with their mother.
Actress Demi | 9:23 a.m. June 3, 2008
To Interloper,
I have to agree with you. The actress Demi Moore is somewhere around 24 years older than her husband. Some women like them younger as well. So what's the deal?
Gray Wolf | 9:23 a.m. June 3, 2008
FLDS mother Sarah Barlow Draper and her children are a joy to behold!

This entire family and those dear to them will be impacted by their story for generations. Some memories will be very happy. Some will be sad.

No one is immune, irrespective of their upbringing, from the joys and pains of life. It is just that they are different for each person.

God will take care of the long term issues, including polygamy.

Texas displayed a firm hand, but lives were spared!
To all the negative posts... | 9:56 a.m. June 3, 2008
To all the negative posts...okay..enough is enough!

It's time to move on and clam up about all the negative. We've heard it...now it's time to celebrate families like Sarah's and be grateful these children are back with their mother.

It's obvious they are well taken care of in this environment, and their mother has been very proactive in getting things in order so that her children will have the easiest possible transition.

This is a heartwarming story.

It's time to move forward and hope for the best for these children and mothers such as this Sarah.
Anonymous | 10:09 a.m. June 3, 2008
It would be nice if some of you on these posts would find your own "posting name" and not use the names of others. There seems to be a bunch deceptive people on all the FLDS posts. No wonders the authorities are on to all you deviates. I notice there is a Interloper, @interloper. So I posted my post to the wrong one.
Anonymous | 10:26 a.m. June 3, 2008
It's all about coming from families that love us and/or creating families we love. The love definitely seems to be there. I am very very pleased the dark night of separation is ending for these families.
Gal50 | 10:30 a.m. June 3, 2008
The interesting thing about this family is that they did not return to the ranch. The mother is bright and doesn't want to put her children at risk and wants to minimize CPS scrutiny. One gets the feeling that she was cooperative from the start. She probably identified her children which allowed them to be placed together, unlike some of the others who refused to identify their children and ended up with placements all over the state. Her family seems very supportive as well. The grandmother will probably do childcare while the mother supports her family. The FLDS states that it will follow state rules when performing marriages which means that technically the girls must be 18 since you can't get parental permission for 16-17 year-olds if the girls are entering a polygamous marriages. Actually, the girls can be 16 and enter a monogamous marriage and there is always the chance that the FLDS will get around the law somehow. It looks like some of the rigidity enforced by Jeffs is down the tubes as the kids have some playground equipment and the father is sending some books. This family is allowed contact with the outside world.
Pretty Story... | 10:38 a.m. June 3, 2008
Oh my, it is a lovely story. But it is not the norm for the single parents (in eyes of the state) who are mothers to the FLDS children. Most of the mothers do not have an education and job prospects like Sarah, if they did, more of them would be off the compound renting a house. Best of luck to her. Her Husband was tossed out of the FLDS, She was reassigned to another "husband" and his many wives I imagine, as is their practice, according to Warren Jeffs desires, which they hold as sacred. She was most likely glad to be away from the new husband and her sister wives. You go girl.
to other side of the story | 10:41 a.m. June 3, 2008
Actually the father chose not to be involved in the life of his children which is frequently the case outside of the FLDS as well.

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FLDS mother Sarah Barlow Draper holds her 4-year-old daughter, Autumn, outside their home in Abilene, Texas, on Monday. At left is her 9-year-old daughter, Danielle, with her 13-year-old daughter, Rebekah, at right. "We're all excited and happy," the mother said of their reunion.

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