The Witness Wore Red by Rebecca Musser with Bridget Cook

Education

man landing on the moon-- considered fake

My dad was selling stuff to Morton Thiokol for their solid rocket boosters for the space shuttle! There was such a thing as men landing on the moon! p24

"library" at their school
p24-25

While educators had worked diligently to put these packets together, their own knowledge of the outside world was dangerously limited. Kristin was two weeks shy of eighteen, but I could tell it would take at least another two years of study to get her GED. p237

Family

It was often the case that when a father's life became too packed full of the demands of multiple wives and many children, the sons took his place in labors of love and emotional support. After all, a man can have countless wives, but he will only ever have one blood mother. p31

Beliefs

"Like Brigham Young, I don't like whiny women! Just like him, I tell 'em, 'Leave! I'll replace you in an instant with another wife, and she will serve me the way a woman should serve her Priesthood Head.'" p39

We didn't know that divorce was easy in the early church, because it certainly wasn't now. p39

Ever since Uncle Rulon himself had married my mother's little sister Ora, over fifty years his junior, it seemed that our uncles and other older men in the FLDS were beginning to see possibilities for young brides among several of us who were no longer considered children but "options." p41

I looked at my FLDS role models-- my mothers, aunts, and cousins-- and everything they had to endure. Like most of them, I felt that I could handle anything in this life if it meant salvation in the next. p44

Not only had Jesus been married, but he first appeared to his wives when he rose from the dead, as explained in the Bible, even before his beloved disciples. p51

beliefs about marriage- conversation- p56

My father, who had been through the Mormon temple before partaking of plural marriage, still did not have alcohol in the cupboards at home, but the Prophet liked his wine, liquor, and coffee. Among the people it was felt that as he had courage to live the higher law, his drinking was considered morally justified. p72

I played the good wife when I had to, so I could leave whenever possible. And every day I prayed to the God I did not like or trust that he would somehow have mercy on my soul. p109

[Musser learned that] Doctors were not a part of some secret government scheme to poison, falsely impregnate, abuse, or annihilate people. p189 (Emphasis mine- this was an interesting statement to read considering the time at which I'm reading this-- summer 2019. The summer of Gilead.)

"Eww!" Why did you let him do that to you, Beck?" as if I'd had any control over my body or my destiny as Rulon's wife. p216

"The ultimate sacrifice will take thousands of years off of your suffering in the afterlife." p265

Clues

I noticed that children also left his office changed in a way that I couldn't put into words. I deliberately steered clear of there. p44

When lookouts warned of oncoming OSHA inspectors, boys as young as eight would hide out, lying on the floors of pickup trucks with tinted windows until the inspectors drove away. Then they went back to work in pits, up on scaffolding, framing, and rooftops. Lyle took advantage of his young labor crew, often refusing to pay by saying proceeds were going to support the Prophet and the church. p46-47

I paid attention and began to notice a pattern. If Rulon was really outspoken or talking crazy, his sons would intervene and fifteen to twenty minutes later he'd be asleep. p113

Not considered legal wives, they used their maiden names to apply for benefits. Subsidies accounted for millions of dollars-- much of the community's income. p120

It irritated me that Uncle Rulon utilized his position to make his preferences suddenly seem like they were what God wanted from us. p67

Stories began running rampant among the FLDS about Jesus's mother Mary being twelve when she became pregnant. In a very twisted way, it became almost a sign of "holiness" to justify a wedding of one so young. With hundreds of these girls being married off, I could not help but feel dread and horror. p122

Although Merill's and Lyle's boys often boasted of direct OSHA violations, our boys were well- trained with tools, and I hadn't thought much about safety on construction sites until a child died on a worksite. We all grieved for him and his family. It had happened more than once, but everyone kept it quiet to avoid inevitable prosecution. p126

Though bloodlines among the people were usually considered in regard to marriage, if the Prophet directed it, it was believed God would honor the union. Biological and scientific issues would not come to pass as long as the couple had "enough faith." (*missing page number)

Or was it just that people were heartless-- people like terrorists? People like Warren? p134

"He simply hops from bed to bed, treating us like whores-- without even the dignity of holding us in his arms for even one night after relations." p140

Not only did our scripture forbid men from ever marrying their mothers; something about the whole thing just felt sick. p146

Although he had gotten what he had wanted, he didn't push me away, like I'd seen so many men do once their wives were off duty. p168

I realized that because of the remote location, and the fact that the local minimum age for marriage was fourteen, Warren had found himself a little spot of Heaven. p192

It had been Kristin's daily duty to serve meals to the men at Western Precision, an FLDS company with government contract to make precision parts for the nation's defense system. This work brought in massive amounts of income to certain families and tithes for the FLDS church. p237

Powerful Lines

I had taken an oath to "tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God"-- but the lawyers were bound by no such vow. p291

"Ben," I said softly, "you have never been that young girl violated in the name of God." p296

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