"[5] In 1904, the LDS Church issued the Second Manifesto renouncing polygamy, and eventually excommunicated Mormons who continued to solemnize or enter into new plural marriages.

The community believed that in issuing the 1890 Manifesto, Wilford Woodruff sold his right to the Priesthood, thereby making Lorin's father, John W. Woolley, his successor by the One Man doctrine.

[7]: 76–78 [8] After being excommunicated by the LDS Church, some of the locally prominent men in Short Creek,[6] including Lorin Woolley and John Y. Barlow, created the organization known as the Council of Friends.

[13] The Short Creek raid was the largest mass arrest of polygamists in American history, and it received a great deal of press coverage.

[citation needed] In November 2003, church member David Allred purchased for YFZ Land LLC the 1,371-acre (555-hectare) Isaacs Ranch four miles (six kilometers) northeast of Eldorado, Texas, on Schleicher County Road 300 "as a hunting retreat".

It was reported in the news media that the church had built a temple at the YFZ Ranch; this is supported by evidence including aerial photographs of a large stone structure (approximately 88 feet (27 m) wide) in a state of relative completion.

The same day two teenage girls reportedly fled the town with the aid of Flora Jessop, who advocates for plural wives' escape from polygamy.

[23] In October 2004, Flora Jessop reported that David Allred purchased a 60-acre (240,000 m2) parcel of land near Mancos, Colorado, (midway between Cortez and Durango) about the same time he bought the Schleicher County property.

[citation needed] In July 2005, six teenaged and young adult "Lost Boys" who claimed they were cast out of their homes on the Utah–Arizona border to reduce competition for wives, filed suit against the FLDS Church.

"The [boys] have been excommunicated pursuant to that policy and practice and have been cut off from family, friends, benefits, business and employment relationships, and purportedly condemned to eternal damnation", their suit read.

"[citation needed] On May 7, 2006, the FBI named Warren Jeffs to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on charges of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

[27] On September 25, 2007, after trial by a jury in St. George, Utah, Jeffs was found guilty of two counts of being an accomplice to rape[28][29] and was sentenced to ten years to life in prison.

[44] By that time Willie Jessop had publicly broken with Jeffs, putting himself forward as a challenger for the leadership, but he was subsequently declared an apostate and left the church.

On April 18, 2008, following a two-day hearing, Judge Barbara Walther of the 51st Judicial District Court ordered all of the FLDS children to remain in the temporary custody of Child Protective Services.

[citation needed] The abuse hotline calls that prompted the raid are now believed to have been made by Rozita Swinton, a non-FLDS woman with no known connection to the FLDS community in Texas.

[52] In November 2008, 12 FLDS men were charged with offenses related to alleged underage marriages conducted during the years since the sect built the YFZ Ranch.

[60] On March 17, 2010, a Tom Green County, Texas jury found Merril Leroy Jessop guilty of sexual assault of a child after deliberating for one hour.

[citation needed] Records obtained by subpoena from the banks involved showed a series of purchases made by Chief Barlow and Darger that are questionable, including diapers, child's clothing, and food, although the firefighters are not fed by the department.

[69] In 2012, Warren Jeffs published a volume titled Jesus Christ Message to All Nations containing various revelations, including one proclaiming his innocence and others serving as warnings to specific countries around the world.

"[72] Documents presented to the media and state prosecutors in 2022–23 indicate that Warren Jeffs issued a series of revelations from prison in 2022 reasserting his authority over the church and calling its members together.

[90][91] As of 2018[update]: In direct contrast to the structure of the Short Creek Community, the FLDS Church teaches that God only works through one man who has all Priesthood keys.

[93] The FLDS Church teaches the doctrine of plural marriage, which states that God commands in order for a man to receive the highest form of salvation to have a minimum of three wives.

[97] State control of the UEP ended in 2019, with the trust reformed into a "religiously neutral" entity benefiting the original donors and their heirs, including those who had left the FLDS Church.

Women and girls usually wear pastel-colored homemade long-sleeved prairie dresses, with hems between ankle and mid-calf, along with long stockings or trousers underneath, usually keeping their hair coiffed.

[102][verification needed] At the time of his death, FLDS Church leader Rulon Jeffs was confirmed to have married 46 women and fathered more than 60 children.

[113] In 2022, FLDS Church leader Samuel Bateman was found to have 20 wives, which included underage girls, and, according to his family, also sought to marry his teenage daughter.

[118] The Royal Canadian Mounted Police also suspects that the FLDS Church trafficked more than 30 underage girls from Canada to the United States between the late 1990s and 2006 so they could be entered into polygamous marriages.

Carolyn Campbell ("Inside Polygamy in the '90s", 102) adds, "The attitude of some polygamists is 'the government is untrustworthy and corrupt, and I'm above it, but give me those food stamps and free medical care.

[136] In April 2017, filings in U.S. District Court stated that Paragon Contractors, a company with ties to the FLDS Church, and Brian Jessop agreed to pay $200,000 in federal fines over the following year.

This settled a dispute with the U.S. Department of Labor hours before Paragon Contractors was due to face a potential contempt of court citation before a federal judge.