The local paper, the Eldorado Success, had an attachment on their website about a month ago. It was called, simply, the Bishop’s List. This pdf file was basically an internal census that the YFZ families submitted to their bishop annually to help him keep track of the FLDS membership. Let’s look at one of the families outlined in the list.
Wendell Loy Nielson, age 67, has twenty one (21) wives, the youngest six still in their twenties. His list of children still at home consisted of fifteen sons and twenty two daughters. The daughters were all under the age of fifteen. The youngest child was six months old.
So let’s summarize. Just since his 45th birthday, Mr. Nielson has fathered at least 37 children. This list does not include those daughters already paired with other husbands or the excess sons that have probably been booted out of the flock. It’s highly likely that some of his wives were also his nieces and possibly his own granddaughters. Family trees do not spread very wide with this bunch.
Folks, this is an abomination any way you look at it. These people aren’t just another harmless Luddite sect like the Amish or the Mennonites. There are pathological deviancies at work here that have to be confronted. Now Texas CPS may have made some mistakes but, by and large, I heartily support their actions.
One final note: In another decade, if left unchallenged, the FLDS in Schleiber County will be untouchable, much like they already are in Colorado City, AZ. They will have a voting majority in the county and be in a position to take over the county government and the school district. Once that happens I predict that we will look back on the events of 2008 as an opportunity lost. This will be the last best chance we have to get the leadership of the FLDS in Texas to reform their ways.
