Merril Jessop

Merril Jessop (born about 1935) was believed to be the de facto leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS Church)^[1][2] after its former leader, Warren Jeffs, resigned when he was convicted as an accomplice to rape in 2007,^[3] until his removal by Jeffs in February 2011.^[4] He was also head of the YFZ Ranch,^[5] Jessop has been a lifelong member of the church, his father and grandfathers were former high ranking FLDS officials. Jessop is connected by a nebulous series of marriages to the Jeffs family; several of Jessop's daughters and at least one of his wives were previously the plural wives of Rulon Jeffs (a man old enough to be their great-grandfather) while at least one of Jessop's daughters was a plural wife of Warren Jeffs.^[6]

While he was imprisoned, Warren Jeffs reportedly designated William E. Jessop as the rightful successor to the FLDS Church presidency.^[7][8] However, William Jessop remained at official church headquarters in Hildale, Utah. News reports suggested a possible shift of the church's headquarters to Eldorado, Texas, where a temple has been built by FLDS Church at the YFZ Ranch members.^[9] As the bishop of the church at YFZ, it appeared that Merril Jessop was the de facto president and the most powerful person in the FLDS Church, until February 2011.^[4]

One of Jessop's former wives, Carolyn Jessop, wrote a memoir in 2007 about their 17 year marriage, conducted when she was 18 years old and he was 50. The book includes dozens of allegations of spousal and child abuse, both emotional and physical.^[10] Carolyn Jessop left the FLDS Church in 2003 and, after a custody battle with Merril Jessop, won full custody of their 8 children.^[11][12][13] She is the second woman to leave an FLDS community and gain full custody of all her children, though one daughter, Betty, after turning eighteen, decided to return to her father, then living at the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Texas,^[14] and vehemently denies her mother's accusations. In 2009 Carolyn Jessop also won a child support judgment against Merril Jessop in the approximate amount of $148,000.00 for support Merril Jessop failed to provide his children between 2003 and 2009.^[15] As of February 2010, Merril Jessop had still not paid any of the child support he owed. According to Carolyn Jessop's attorney, Natalie Malonis, Merril Jessop can be jailed for contempt for his failure to pay the support he owes his children.^[15]

According to his former wife's memoir, Jessop is the father of more than fifty biological children with at least five wives.^[10] His senior wife, Faunita, who suffered from mental illness and was the mother of at least 15 children, was literally abandoned by the roadside when the group was moved to Texas and became a ward of one of her grandchildren living in the mainstream Mormon community.^[10] Jessop is believed to have taken many more wives since the departure of Carolyn. According to his ex-wife's book, Jessop has nebulous business interests that include construction and hotels and has suffered from major heart problems in recent years.^[10]

In a National Geographic article published in February 2010, Jessop both praised and discussed his troubled relationship with Faunita (spelled 'Foneta' in the article). Over 5,000 people were in attendance at Faunita Jessop's funeral. "My hand is a bit sore today," Merril was quoted as saying at the end of the funeral after greeting all those who came.^[16]

See also

• Mormon fundamentalism
• Colorado City, AZ
• Placement marriage
• Patriarchal priesthood

References

1. ^ "Judge Orders FLDS Nursing Mothers to Foster Care With Infants". CNN. 2008-04-23. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0804/23/ng.01.html. 
2. ^ Katherine Wojtecki (2008-04-15). "At the green gate, and then a glimpse of the polygamist’s life". CNN. http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2008/04/15/at-the-green-gate-and-then-a-glimpse-of-the-polygamists-life/. 
3. ^ Nancy Perkins (2007-12-05). "Warren Jeffs resigns as leader of the FLDS Church". Deseret Morning News. http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695233512,00.html. 
4. ^ ^{a b} McKinley, Carol (March 5, 2011), Inside a troubled fundamentalist Mormon sect, Salon Media Group, Inc., http://www.salon.com/news/religion/?story=/mwt/feature/2011/03/05/inside_flds_trouble_brewing, retrieved March 11, 2011, "In just a few weeks, Jeffs has gone on a rampage, kicking out at least 40 of his most pious men. One of those faithful is Merril Jessop, a 70year-old FLDS bishop." 
5. ^ Ben Winslow (2007-08-29). "Honors for ex-polygamous wife". Deseret Morning News (reprinted at rickross.com). http://www.rickross.com/reference/polygamy/polygamy692.html. 
6. ^ Carolyn Jessop, Triumph (2010).
7. ^ *Hilary Hylton, "A New Prophet for the Polygamists?", Time, 2008-07-18.
8. ^ Brooke Adams (2007-11-30). "What Warren said to William". Salt Lake Tribune. http://blogs.sltrib.com/plurallife/labels/William%20E.%20Jessop.htm. .
9. ^ YFZ Ranch - A trip through time, The Eldorado Success
10. ^ ^{a b c d} Palmer, Laura; Carolyn Jessop (2007). Escape. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-2756-7. 
11. ^ Madigan, Nick (29 June 2005). "After fleeing polygamist community, an opportunity for influence". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/29/national/29polygamy.html. Retrieved 2010-05-12. 
12. ^ "Escape from polygamy". Vancouver Sun. 3 December 2005. http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/observer/story.html?id=0ff3d621-4d12-4f18-9c71-623d777061e7. 
13. ^ "CNN Interview transcript". CNN. 2 September 2006. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0609/02/smn.03.html. 
14. ^ Escape by Carolyn Jessop
15. ^ ^{a b} Matthew Waller (2-22-10). "Woman sues FLDS Leader". San Angelo Standard Times. http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2010/feb/22/woman-sues-flds-leader/. Retrieved 4-11-10. 
16. ^ Anderson, Scott (February 2010). "The Polygamists". National Geographic. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/02/polygamists/anderson. 

Religious titles
Preceded by Warren Steed Jeffs	Prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints possibly 2007 TBD; disputed among:[discuss] Warren Steed Jeffs, as incumbent Lyle Jeffs, designated acting president William E. Jessop (once momentarily Warren's successor) Merril Jessop (recent de facto head) Wendell L. Nielsen (recent head, sect's temporal affairs)	Succeeded by incumbent

Persondata
Name	Jessop, Merril
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