The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which is not associated with the mainstream Mormon church, has been in the news for years due to its embrace of polygamy and its strict adherence to self-proclaimed prophets, including Warren Jeffs, who ruled over the community of short creek in Colorado City until his conviction on sex crimes over 10-years ago. Two reporters recently produced a podcast that includes accounts of the control that Warren Jeffs had over his followers. That podcast is titled, “Short Creek: Unfinished Business.” We talked to the hosts, Sarah Ventre and Ash Sanders.
This story is important to Venre an Sanders because they believe the town of Short Creek is a changing community. Except, this change isn’t documented as much and isn’t given the opportunity to as well.
The hardest part about getting the story was being accepted into the tight knit community. Ventre says that people who wanted to leave the community would be treated as if they don’t exist. This means, leaving behind your family, your belongings, and your community. With this kind of environment it is really hard for people to get close. Although, Ventre said her experience made her realize that there’s not enough time to learn everyone’s stories.
