Flooding along the Utah and Arizona borders of two primarily polygamist towns caused the death of 12 women and children, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. The government got involved, as did the media.
Writer Lindsay Whitehurst detailed the events surrounding floods to “radical offshoot sects” of the Latter-day Saint religion; ones who have lived in the area since the early 1900s and who also famously practice polygamy.
For Anais Parker, freshman in biochemistry from Honolulu, this news came as a surprise. “This is the first I’ve heard in the news about polygamists in a while.” She continued, “they must be very secluded if it takes this much of a disaster to be noticed. I think that religious practice is weird.”
According to Whitehurst, the delicate balance between government involvement, desired isolation, and the need for outside help has driven two saddened fathers in the communities to plead their cases on camera in an extremely rare occurrence for those belonging to the quiet religious sects.
She writes, “With cameras rolling, the two grief-stricken fathers read statements that pivoted from the loss of their families to what one called ‘religious genocide’ against people who consider notorious, jailed leader Warren Jeffs a prophet of God.”
Whitehurst goes on to say the families of the two fathers were evicted from their homes and caught in a trap between rejection and not wanting to give up their religious beliefs.
Zerin Parker, undeclared freshman from Honolulu, empathizes with the plight of the families but takes emotional reasoning with a grain of salt. “I think to a degree it was dramatized,” he said.
The unique nature of the story indeed produces mixed feelings for students, including Angelo Hernaez, senior exercise and sport science major from the Philippines.
Hernaez read about conflict local to Utah and Arizona between those who move to decriminalize polygamy for the sake of religious equality and those who move to keep a stricter ban on the practice. Whitehurst states, “A federal judge struck down key parts of Utah’s law banning plural marriage, removing the threat of arrest for those families.”
Hernaez, however, believes in an unequal distribution of true belief in polygamy for the communities in Hildale and Colorado City. He said, “If there was a movement to decriminalize them, it might open some members’ eyes to the world we live in now.”
Hernaez continued, “The criminalization process should only have been aimed at those generations who first believed in this lifestyle. Once some people aren’t under the influence of the prophets who first started the movement, being out in public might help them.”
Emi Miskin, senior art major from California, disagrees and stands on the side of those who, according to Whitehurst, move to appeal the federal judge’s decision on plural marriage. She stated, “A natural disaster is a natural disaster. It’s not a sign that polygamy should be allowed in Utah. I think it’s sad that there was so much flooding and that’s what caused the government to be more involved, but it doesn’t mean they should allow polygamy.”
Typically, Whitehurst writes, “the people in Colorado City and Hildale avoid outsiders and run from cameras, but those habits changed in the immediate aftermath of the flood, including the grieving fathers’ news conference.”