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A new episode of Dateline airing on Friday, May 8 features Rebecca Musser, a former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints, which was run by her late husband Rulon T. Jeffs.
NBC’s official synopsis teases that in the crime show episode, “Rebecca Musser talks about being a fundamentalist Mormon.” According to IB Times, the episode is expected to follow Musser’s journey to a wife of Rulon Jeffs to testifier against his son, Warren Jeffs.
Here’s what you need to know about Rulon T. Jeffs:
1. Jeffs Was the President of the Fundamental Church of Latter-Day Saints Until His Death
It’s the story of the woman in red versus one of the FBI’s most notorious fugitives… Get the latest Friday on #Dateline at 9/8c.
From 1982 until his death in 2002, Rulon T. Jeffs was the president of the Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a Mormon church in Hildale, Utah. Deseret Reported that Jeffs was considered a prophet by the church’s over 10,000 members.
According to Jeffs’ obituary on Legacy.com, he died on September 8, 2002 in Dixon Regional Medical center, of “illness incident to age.” He was 92 years old. The obituary remarked that “His followers knew him as a kind, thoughtful, and prayerful man. They will miss his humble wisdom and gentle guidance. President Jeffs is survived by a large and loving family, all of whom will miss his fatherly love and devotion”
After his death, Hildale Mayor Dan Barlow told Deseret News “He was a gentle man and much loved by his people. I’ve known him ever since I was very young and have always respected him as a godly man.”
Following the death of Rulon T. Jeffs, his son Warren took over as President of the Fundamental Church of Latter-Day Saints.
2. Jeffs Was a Polygamist With Dozens of Wives, Including Rebecca Musser
“We were taught you should want to be a plural wife, because it was more holy.” More Friday at 9/8c on #Dateline
Since polygamy one of the fundamentalist Mormon practices within the Church of Latter-Day Saints, Jeffs had many wives throughout his lifetime. The Associated Press estimated that, when he died, he had anywhere between 19 to 75 wives (who gave him dozens of children).
One of those wives was Rebecca Musser. Musser was married to Jeffs when he was 85 years old – she was only 19 at the time. Musser told Dateline that, growing up in the fundamentalist Mormon church, “We were taught you should want to be a plural wife, because it was more holy.”
In an interview with NPR, Musser explained that “When I found out that I was going to be married to Rulon Jeffs, it was tremendously hard because on one hand, I had all this principle going on in my head telling me this is right, this is holy, this is what I’ve been taught that I’ve lived for my entire life. And yet here was this man who was supposed to be God in mortality and then to see the very human, the very carnal side of this man was incredibly overwhelming because I could no longer deny the reality of the incongruity. What we were taught versus what was really going on.”
3. After Jeffs’ Death, Rebecca Escaped the Church & Authored a Tell-All Book
Becky’s prospects were extremely good, especially because of the particular person who expressed his interest in her… @Dateline_Keith with the latest in the story, tonight on #Dateline at 9/8c.
In a promo video for Musser’s revealing Dateline episode, it’s explained that while she was “horrified” to marry Rulon Jeffs, the arrangement came with the “certain amount of protection” from his son Warren, who was her teacher. Once Rulon died and Warren was put in charge as the new prophet of the Church of Latter-Day Saints, Warren married Rulon’s wives, and eventually told Rebecca “I will break you” one week before she was set to be married, which is when Rebecca decided to escape and tell her story in court against Warren.
Rebecca detailed her childhood, marriage, and escape in her book The Witness Wore Red: The 19th Wife Who Brought Polygamous Cult Leaders to Justice. The book’s Amazon description explains ”
4. Jeffs’ Son Warren Was Sentenced to Life in Prison in 2011
Warren Jeffs listens to testimony during his trial on rape-as-an-accomplice charges September 19, 2007 in St. George, Utah.
After escaping the Fundamental Church of Latter-Day Saints, Musser stood witness and shared her testimony in an effort to save her younger sisters and other underage girls from being married to older men. With the help of Musser’s testimonies against the church and Warren Jeffs, Jeffs was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of two felony counts of child sexual assault.
In an NPR interview with polygamy expert Ken Driggs, Driggs examined Jeffs trial, in which Warren Jeffs represented himself. Explaining how Warren rose to power within the community, Driggs told NPR “In the late 1990s, his father had become basically so infirmed with age that he was not really able to function as leader of the church. And Warren came down to the, sort of, home community in Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona – it’s basically one community that sits on the state line – and, essentially, began running the affairs of the church. And many of the practices and teachings of the church really began to change as Warren exerted his influence. One of the big things that changed was their relationship with the outside world. They became much more withdrawn and pulled back into themselves. They took their children out of public schools and began teaching through church around the schools.”
5. Jeffs’ Grandson Roy Died by Suicide in 2019
Roy Jeffs, who publicly accused dad and FLDS leader Warren Jeffs of abuse, dies at 26
Warren Jeffs fathered between 50 and 70 children, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. One of those sons, Roy Jeffs, took his own life on May 29, 2019 at the age of 26; he was found in his home in Salt Lake City, Utah. Roy’s half-sister Rachel placed some of the blame for Roy’s death on their father Warren, telling the Tribune “Father didn’t love him. [Roy] knew it. All of us knew it. We all got told Roy was a bad boy.” Roy escaped from the church in 2014.
Prior to his death, Roy spoke out against his father and accused him of sexually abusing him and his siblings. According to AP News, his brother Raymond said “He never quit trying to have his voice heard, to make everyone realize what abuse Father had done to him, to his family to everyone.” Agreeing, his half-sister Rachel added “I know his whole goal was to bring the family together and be more kind to each other in a more loving world,” she said. “I know he just wanted everyone to be happy.”
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