YFZ Ranch, Warren Jeffs' Polygamist Compound in Eldorado, Texas, Busted

Most people don't think about polygamy and other controversial lifestyles until they here about it in the news. Most people don't realize that they are people that are part of these lifestyles all around them. When most people think of polygamy they think of Utah and Mormons, but polygamy is much further reaching then that.

According to Los Angeles Times, a Polygamist compound in Texas was found with at least 18 girls being taken into custody. This ranch, called the YFZ ranch, was built by Warren Jeffs, and it housed 52 girls ranging in ages from infants to 17 years old. Marrying more then one woman is illegal in Texas, but polygamist followers often do not get marriage licenses. Authorities have shut down the ranch, and are in the process of investigating and interviewing Warren Jeff's over 400 followers.

When we here stories like these we often think things like this would never happen near us. I know I never thought I would actually live next door to a family that practiced polyamorism. For a long time I didn't even know what was going on. There was a husband and wife with three kids and another woman that lived there. I thought they were a typical family. I just assumed an aunt or someone else lived with them. I would always see them and they were very friendly neighbors. It wasn't until I talked more to the "aunt" when I realized what was going on.

While being married to more then one person is illegal in all states, it's not illegal if you are not actually married to more then one person. My neighbors used this fact to keep what they were doing from being illegal. The man was married to the one woman and had two kids with her; he wasn't legally married to the other woman, but he considered her like a wife. Two of the children were the actual wives, and the other child was the other wife's.

I thought this was the most bizarre thing I have ever heard of. I knew people believed in this, but I never thought I would encounter someone in person who followed these beliefs. I also couldn't believe that from the outside they seemed like such a normal family. I can see why so many people never know this is going on around them in their neighborhoods.

I was curious about what this family believed in and why they choose this lifestyle. The wife was very upfront and explained a lot to me. She explained that to her this seemed completely normal. She said that she feels the reason so many marriages don't work out these days is because she thinks we weren't made to be monogamous with just one person. She feels that this is a way for a happy marriage to stay fresh and successful though out the years. Even though they don't have an official marriage license she considers the man her husband. Both wives consider all the children their children whether or not they gave birth to them.

After hearing more about the polyamorist lifestyle and why they chose to live this way, makes me understand it a little more. As far as polygamy is concerned, it is becoming more and more accepted in our society with shows like "Big Love" being on television. Living next door to someone who practices these lifestyles makes them seem more real, and less like some crazy practice only followed by religious fanatics. While my neighbors had some of the same beliefs as the followers of Warren Jeffs', they lifestyles are still very different. Both of the women that I lived next door to, were over 18 and they were over 18 when they got involved in their relationship. The fact that there are such big differences in lifestyles of people that choose to be polygamists show that you can't judge everyone by stories that we hear on the news.