Polygamist leader: Communal living key part of religion
Source: Associated Press
Polygamist leader: Communal living key part of religion
By BRADY McCOMBS
Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A polygamous sect leader who is among a group of people accused of carrying out a multiyear food stamp fraud scheme said Tuesday not sharing the food would prevent him and others from living their religion and being prepared for heaven.
Seth Jeffs' testimony came as he and 10 other suspects accused of fraud and money laundering tried to persuade a Utah judge they were following religious tenets of communal living, not breaking the law.
His testimony offered a rare glimpse into the mindset of the secretive group that practices religious principles rooted in the early Mormonism of the 19th century. Members of the group based in a remote community on the Utah-Arizona border don't usually talk with outsiders at the behest of their leaders.
Seth Jeffs, who runs the group's South Dakota compound and is a brother of the group's imprisoned leader, Warren Jeffs, was only the defendant to take the stand.
Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_POLYGAMOUS_TOWN_FOOD_STAMP_FRAUD?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-10-04-18-26-09
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