Summary of Carolyn Jessop's Escape

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 I was born in 1968 in Hildale, Utah, a fundamentalist Mormon community known as the FLDS. My childhood memories begin in Salt Lake City, where my parents moved when I was five. I adored my father, Arthur Blackmore, and felt safe when I was in his presence.

#2 When we moved to Salt Lake City, my mother began to change. She would complain about having no reason to live, and how she would rather be dead. She would also talk about how she was going to kill herself that day. I was terrified about what would happen to us if my mother killed herself.

#3 I grew up with the understanding that my mother was doing what was considered good discipline by the community. She was raising righteous children, and teaching them obedience was one of her most important responsibilities.

#4 My mother’s depression worsened as her children grew up. She spent more time in bed, and when my father came home, the house was tense. But the spankings stopped when our father was home, which was a relief.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822525757

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Insights from Chapter 1

#1

I was born in 1968 in Hildale, Utah, a fundamentalist Mormon community known as the FLDS. My childhood memories begin in Salt Lake City, where my parents moved when I was five. I adored my father, Arthur Blackmore, and felt safe when I was in his presence.

#2

When we moved to Salt Lake City, my mother began to change. She would complain about having no reason to live, and how she would rather be dead. She would also talk about how she was going to kill herself that day. I was terrified about what would happen to us if my mother killed herself.

#3

I grew up with the understanding that my mother was doing what was considered good discipline by the community. She was raising righteous children, and teaching them obedience was one of her most important responsibilities.

#4

My mother’s depression worsened as her children grew up. She spent more time in bed, and when my father came home, the house was tense. But the spankings stopped when our father was home, which was a relief.

#5

I had a beautiful mother when she was happy, but she was a much better mother when she was depressed. She would sink into a deep depression after our first and last Christmas in Colorado City.

#6

The FLDS Church, which is the main religion in Short Creek, believes in the principle of celestial marriage, which is only given to God’s most chosen. It is not for everyone. The prophet Joseph Smith said that this one principle would condemn more men than it would save.

#7

The Mormon Church allowed members to live in plural marriage as long as a man did not have more than two wives. However, in the early 1920s, the Mormons tried to get rid of polygamy altogether and began excommunicating anyone who practiced plural marriage.

#8

The raid at Short Creek, Arizona, on July 26, 1953, was a key point in FLDS history. Grandma told me the story of how the women of the community rallied to protect the work of God, and how the authorities attempted to take babies from their mothers’ arms.

#9

The raid led to the increased secrecy of the FLDS, as people were afraid of the government. The dress style became more conservative, and women were forbidden to wear pants.

#10

The raid on Short Creek destroyed the trust women had in the outside world. They were told that everyone was against them, and that they must be more obedient to the prophet in the future.

Insights from Chapter 2

#1

We were taught that the destruction of the world was a good thing because it would usher in a thousand years of peace. But the devil wanted to destroy us so no one would be left to do God’s work.

#2

The game of apocalypse continued, and we were soon faced with famine. We had to sneak messages back and forth to communicate between the groups. If we were caught, we were killed on the spot.

#3

I was enthralled by my cousin’s stories, which mixed biblical stories with local legends. The end times sounded frightening, except that I knew if I survived the destruction, I would then live through the thousand years of peace.

#4

My cousins told me that their father was a man of God who had a lot of bills and debts. If we could find the gold buried in