The tragedy of bigamy, excuse me,"polygamy," has once again reared it's ugly head. It is a shame that it has come to this, but in that type of environment (sect, cult), it has come to be expected. I have yet to see any good come out of such a lifestyle.
I wish that the victims of this cult knew my God. He is a loving God. He doesn't want families torn apart. He wants women to be able to think for themselves as they follow His Word, just as men do. My God doesn't want children to be abused and neglected. He created the color red (forbidden in this cult) for us to enjoy. My God wants everyone, even those of the fairer sex, to grow, be educated, and become the best person they can be. I will even go as far as to say My God doesn't want Americans to abuse the wonderful right we have to serve Him.
I love America because I am able to worship my God and serve as I see fit. This cult that has made me question if everyone should have the freedom of religion. Those people in the off-shoot of the Church of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) are ruining it everyone. The craziness that occurs when people are doing things in the name of religion!
Who are the victims? They aren't just the children that have been torn from their mothers and the only place they call home. It is the men. They, too, have been brainwashed for generations to behave in the way that they do. All in the name of a God they don't even know.
Now that families have be torn apart and the evil of this cult has been exposed, once again, what happens? What do we do? There is no easy answer. The children should not be allowed to go back to such a way of life, yet they need their families - using that term loosely. Freedom of religion, a gift from God and all those who have defended this country, is being abused by a few extremists. Not only should the children not be allowed back, no one should be allowed back into that compound or any compound like it. Men, women, and children of that Texas polygamist sect needs our love, compassion, and prayers.
I know what I would like to do. I would love to take one of the fourteen year old mothers and her children into my home. I would hand her my Bible that's cover is barely hanging on and tell her to open it anywhere and read. Let her read the Book that has been forced upon her without the benefit of her actually reading it. I would care for her children to the best of my abilities and let her slowly experience the "real world" - go to McDonald's, read a newspaper, choose her own clothes, rest from the spirit-breaking hard work she was forced into, get the education she deserves because she breathes just like the rest of us, let her, as my grandfather said numerous times, "use her own mind,"...allow her, give her the freedom, to be the person she feels God wants her to be.
I can't do that. There are too many legalities. Too many papers to sign. Too much red tape to cut through. Too many abused and neglected children with children to choose from. I will just love them, have compassion for them and get on my face before my loving, gentle God and pray for them. All of this from across the miles that separate us. I will also pray for those who are doing there best to help them in Texas. I will also pray that God will reveal Himself to those locked within the gates of that compound. As God reveals Himself to them, no brainwashing will keep them from His love. They will learn, for themselves, who God really is and choose to serve and worship Him as they see fit, without others forcing them to obey the laws created by leaders of the polygamist sect. This is what freedom of religion truly is. This is why it was included in our Constitution as a right no one can take away or force upon us. That is what freedom of religion should be.