Inside remote fundamentalist Mormon community in Nevada where families still engage in 'PLURAL' marriages, have spouses chosen for them by a 'PROPHET' - and men have DOZENS of children with their multiple wives

Daily Mail, UK/March 15, 2024

By Lillian Gissen

A fascinating documentary has lifted the lid on life inside a fundamentalist Mormon community where families still practice 'plural marriage' - but insist they're nothing like the horrific FLDS cult founded by Warren Jeffs.

Peter Santenello, 45, a popular YouTuber who is based in the US, recently spoke to a group of people who are part of what's known as the Righteous Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - and they spilled on everything from why the believe in polygamy to how the women combat 'jealousy' over their husbands spending time with his other wives.

Peter visited the community that they live in, which is located in Nye County, Nevada and documented his experience in a video shared to his YouTube channel in December.

They revealed that a 'prophet' chooses who they should marry - but vowed that every woman has the final say unlike Warren's 'horrible' and 'mind controlling' FLDS.

'Of all the 17 million Mormons that exist in this world, under half of one per cent have stuck to the fundamentalist doctrine,' explained the YouTuber in his vlog.

'We're gonna get in with some of these fundamentalists to see how they live, understand plural marriage better, and get an inside look of a world that most of us will never see. Let's do this.'

In the documentary, he chatted with one woman, named Trina, who revealed that she used to be part of a plural marriage before her husband passed away.

When asked why they practice polygamy, she explained that they believe that if a man is 'really good and righteous' he should 'have the opportunity to be the father to as many children as possible.'

'The way we believe is, if you don't have the marriages the heavenly father wants, in the next life you won't be married. You will be single. You will eternally be single,' she added.

'We try to find out who it was in the previous existence that we covenanted with to be with in this life.'

She said that her husband had a whopping five wives - and between them all, he had 22 children.

When asked if they all lived together in one house, she revealed, '[At first] we did but as the family grew it was better to have our own abodes - but we still came together for many functions.'

Trina explained that she grew incredibly close to her sister wives, which helped when her husband had to be 'called away on missions to do the Lord's work.'

'Our husbands aren't always around, so it's nice to have that close-knit companionship with other women,' she said.

'A woman relates to another woman a lot better sometimes. We are supportive to each other and help each other's children.'

But that doesn't mean that it didn't come with its 'challenges,' as she admitted that it's 'a lot of responsibility' on the man 'to make sure that everyone's happy.'

'There's challenges but you learn to rise above those and love and care for each other and each other's children,' she continued.

'It's just a different attitude and perspective. You have to get over your fears and jealousies.'

Trina said that a 'prophet' decides who should get married to who, but vowed that the woman has 'the final choice.'

'It's not for everyone, it's only for those who really want to,' she dished. 'No woman should be forced.'

'Warren Jeffs is horrible. There's a lot of mind control in that [group] and we don't believe in mind control, we believe in free agency,' Trina said

She added that 'free agency' is 'highly honored' in their community, and that a woman could leave a plural marriage 'any time they want' - insisting that they are nothing like Warren's FLDS.

It was said that Warren brainwashed, imprisoned, and sexually and physically abused multiple women and children, eventually resulting in him being sentenced to life in prison.

He had more than 70 wives, 24 of whom were underage girls, when he was arrested in 2008.

'Warren Jeffs is horrible. There's a lot of mind control in that [group] and we don't believe in mind control, we believe in free agency,' Trina said.

'We are encouraged to keep our covenants and try to work through differences of course, but nobody is gonna be hunted down and killed [if they left].'

One of Trina's former sister wives, named Annette, also spoke to Peter about some of 'scarifies' she had to make to be in the polygamist relationship.

'You learn to love the other wives just as much as the husband. We became best friends, we always hung out, and did things together.'

When asked if she would ever get upset by her husband spending time with his other wives, she admitted, 'It was just something I accepted.

'I knew within me that he loved them just as much as he loved me and as long as I knew he loved me it didn't matter to me.'

One member of the group, named Benjamin, told Peter that he thought what happened in the FDLS community was a 'tragedy.'

'Unfortunately, their whole community has been torn apart by the evils and corruptions and violence,' he said.

'We have nothing to do with them. Separate leaders, separate communities.'

One couple, named Marissa and Simion revealed that they don't currently have a don't have a polygamist relationship but explained that they 'do believe in it' and were open to it in the future since they both 'grew up in plural families.'

'Whenever we feel like God has called us to do that then the time will come,' said Marissa, who revealed she has 21 siblings.

'It's important to realize that the whole plural situation is based off of whether we want to or not. None of us are forced into it. Everyone has to consent.'

One woman, who did not share her name, explained that their lifestyle was 'more than just a religion' for them.

'We lean on each other, you know? We're a true family,' she said. 'I know in my community that if I might need something, somebody will be there to help me.'

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