Though only the hardest of hearts would deny that the world's various religious faiths have brought peace and comfort to untold millions, the fact remains that religious institutions demand that their worshippers enter into emotionally and psychologically dependent relationships with them. And if we know anything about humanity, we know that we do not do well with imbalances of power. Those who hold the power are tempted to abuse it while those who have given up their power are easily manipulated into sacrificing their rights, rights every human being should have and exercise. Stolen Innocence is a vivid demonstration of this human weakness made real.
Elissa Wall was born into a world defined, in every respect, by Mormon fundamentalism. Her parents, who were both active members in the FLDS church and practitioners of Plural Marriage, did not expose her, or her siblings, to mainstream America. They, and their community, taught her to fear that world. They taught her that the police would, if they learned of their lifestyle, disperse their family beyond the ability of anyone to piece it back together. As a consequence, Ms. Wall was raised to have full and unwavering faith in her parents and her church. And so, when it came time for her to be married, at fourteen, to her cousin, nineteen, she was expected not to question. She was expected to do her womanly duty and further her husband's ascent to heaven by expanding his Household. When, unhappy in her abusive marriage, she rebelled, the leader of her church, Warren Jeffs, the megalomaniacal son of the church's dying prophet, first called upon her sense of duty to her husband to convince her to stay in the marriage. But when that failed to silence her, he turned to threats, against her and her family, manipulating Ms. Wall through her devout and complicit mother. But Ms. Wall defied all these pressures to break free of her cultish world, relying on the love of a supportive friend to be the star witness in the well-publicized trial of Warren Jeffs.
Though autobiographies draw their vitality directly from the striking, first-hand accounts of their authors, they simply cannot be objective. I doubt anyone has the necessary mental clarity to be objective about their own ordeals. But while it would be wise to take Ms. Wall's extraordinary tale with an appropriate amount of salt -- she does, at times, seem to almost revel in being the helpless, wide-eyed victim --, the extent to which she reveals the FLDS church as an institution driven by coercion, manipulation,heartlessness and duplicity is worthy of Jon Krakauer. Jeffs' herculean efforts to maintain power over others at all costs, even the misery of his own followers who look up to him as a demigod, is both sickening and depressing. It's a good thing then that, to a large degree, Ms. Wall's tale has a happy ending. But what about the hundreds, maybe thousands, of other women who are raised in isolation from the moderating influence of society, trained to be obedient, and then locked into unhappy marriages from which there is no exit but exile? What of them?
Ms. Wall narrates her challenging life with a kind of delicate grace. The clear and uncomplicated delivery of her story will, in all likelihood, leave readers with a poor opinion of Jeffs and his church. And though I agree that these men are revolting, we must remember that these sorts of practices, regardless of which religion sanctions them, are the result of imbalances of power. Men like Jeffs succeed because other people surrender their free will to them, not because of the popularity or otherwise, the righteousness or otherwise, of their faith. Until we find a way to ingrain in everyone a belief in themselves, in their own power, there will always be Elissa Walls and Warren Jeffs. But then, there will always be books like this one to remind us of deeper truths. (3/5 Stars)
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