Escape

I just finished reading this book by Carolyn Jessop who, at one time was a member of FLDS, but found a way to escape with her 8 kids. This book was fascinating to me. It's such an eye-opening look into this crazy world that exists within a world. The way they treat women and children is infuriating to me. I have to say that after a few chapters into this book, I became pretty... disturbed I guess is the right word. Not only because of what she said was happening in her life some thirty years ago, but because in explaining how their beliefs came to be, I saw my own religion and what I believe took place some hundred years ago.
The fact that we have the same roots and that in the book she mentions things that I recognize and consider sacred struck a nerve. Not that I questioned my beliefs because of her story, but because I'm categorized with this "cult" because the very core of what I believe is the same as theirs. Only one issue is the reason there was a split which, looking back, probably seems like a minor detail.
But as the book progressed, I was able to see the progression of their religion into something that is so far from what I believe... to the point where I finally couldn't see myself relating to them in the least. What a sad way of life! I admire this lady a lot for what she endured and how hard she fought. With all the recent attention on the FLDS, I hope that people outside our religion can see that there's a lot more of a difference in our beliefs than just the letter "F".