A glint of sunlight at the base of a mountainous red rock drew my eyes. Was that it?

Yep, another curve or two and Rockland Ranch came into view. I had never seen anything like it. Disneyland came to mind.

From a distance, tiny house fronts seemed superglued to the base of the sandstone slab.

Up close, it was just as astonishing. The Rock was just as fantastical as I'd been told.

For nearly 30 years, Bob Foster, his sons and others have labored to turn this section of Utah desert into a refuge for when things get, as Bob puts it, ''hectic and bad.''

Bob is an independent fundamentalist Mormon and one of Utah's most colorful characters. His apocalyptic views make him as interesting as his belief in plural marriage.

He spent 20 days in jail back in 1974 after being convicted of bigamy (he has three wives). Back then, Utah apparently had no qualms about prosecuting consenting adults for polygamy.

As he talks about his life, Bob often sounds bemused. When the judge ordered him to jail, ''I about flipped,'' he said.

After his jail stint, Bob went south and began to build his desert refuge in earnest. His wives are all accomplished women, several with excellent jobs. They have lived at The Rock on and off over the years. In the past few years, the community has seen a resurgence in interest in people who like the self-sufficient idealism Bob promotes.

If the country goes to hell, he's ready.

Shortly before our visit, Bob had a close call when a blast went off a little too quickly, leaving his fingers scorched and his face pocked and eyes coated with black powder.

Just another miracle, he said, that he wasn't hurt badly.

One interesting thing happened when Trent and I visited Rockland Ranch. A young kid in a red pickup truck began following us as soon as we pulled off the paved road and headed toward Rockland Ranch.

He kept some distance behind us, but nonetheless was clearly tracking our route. Who was he? We had no clue and were kind of bugged about it.

Minutes after we pulled in at the ranch, the red truck pulled up. The kid jumped out and joined us as we chatted with Bob outside the charity house, which was then under construction.

The young man didn’t say much, he just tagged along as though he was part of the tour. Bob didn't ask who he was either. We figured Bob thought he was with us.

I think at some point I asked Bob if he knew him. He didn't, but told me people were always just showing up like that.

Bob spent some time talking to the kid, who turned out to be a Utah State University student who'd been hiking around the Moab area.

After a few hours, the young man left. ''He'll be back,'' Bob said. God is sending people here regularly to hear how things are.''

Labels: Bob Foster, polygamy

Fiduciary Bruce Wisan is ''boiling'' mad about the slow progress in breaking up the UEP trust property.

Last January, he filed a lawsuit seeking a default judgement against Hildale after the city council ''abstained'' from acting on Wisan's subdivision plan. The council said it would not ''defend or object to a court proceeding or order granting a petition to subdivide.''

In other words, the council told Wisan to do what he had to in order to get the subdivision going but it did not want to help him along.

Why? When FLDS members helped buy and build up UEP properties, they did so in the name of God and their faith. The lands are consecrated for that purpose, in their view, and can not be taken back.

Back to the lawsuit. After filing it, the court action was idled while a truce of sorts developed and Wisan and the city began working together on the subdivision.

But much too slowly for Wisan's liking. He recently renewed his effort to get a default judgement against the city and have 5th District Court Judge Eric Ludlow order Washington County to approve the subdivision.

Wisan noted in a court filing that much of the plat he sought approval for was already well developed, with culinary and sewer lines in place. ''No basis exists in fact or law for [the city] to disapprove the plat,'' he said in a court filing. He called the city's balkiness ''arbitrary and capricious.''

Not so fast, said Richard Chamberlain, the city's attorney.

The council's absention did not mean that Wisan would get a free pass on ''reasonable requirements'' for getting his subdivision approved. Existing utillities need to be mapped, Chamberlain said, and certain water lines need to be upgraded to meet fire protection regulations.

''Hildale's request for the identification and mapping of public utilities and the improvement of municipal infrastructure constitutes reasonable requirements in connection with an application for a subdivision,'' he wrote the court.

Wisan had indicated in an October letter to the city that he expected the subdivision approval process would be completed by March 30, 2008, Chamberlain said.

So Wisan's renewed effort to get a default judgement against the city came as a surprise, Chamberlain said in a Dec. 17 court filing.

Wisan told me he had changed his mind because city officials had failed to keep to an agreed upon schedule that ensured the process would wrap up by March. He wants the city to approve the subdivision based on his pledge to get the infrastructure work done.

Fifth District Judge Eric A. Ludlow agreed and on Wednesday he granted Wisan's request for a default judgement.

Not so fast, the city said.

An attorney representing Hildale alleged Ludlow had a conflict of interest hearing the case because he had prosecuted cases against FLDS members.

Ludlow apparently agreed. On Thursday, he recused himself.

Here is the entry from the court docket:

The Court notes the Default Judgment was signed Dec. 19, 2007. Notice was given to the Court after the Default Judgment was signed that a party submitted documents to contest the Judgment. Notification was given by phone to all parties of the Court's intention to recuse on December 19, 2007. The Court now makes a Matter of Record of the Recusal. This case will be assigned another Judge.

Labels: Bruce Wisan, Hildale, UEP

Here is something interesting.

The S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah is looking for brief monologues about family -- any kind of family, including cohabitation, blended families, extended families, motherhood, fatherhood, alternative reproduction, adoption, choosing not to have children, gay people parenting, polygamy and polyamory, elder care, and friendship.

Yes, polygamy.

A news release from the college says submitted monologues ''can take a variety of forms, including prose, poetry, song, etc. They must be under five minutes in length and address experiences and thoughts related to the theme ''New Frontiers of the Family.'' This could include, for example, stories about new family forms, family functions, and new geographic boundaries of the family.

The aim of the call for submissions is to collect stories from diverse women and men with different perspectives and experiences related to the family, intimacy, kinship, and relatedness.

Here is what else you should know:

''A distinguished panel of judges will select monologues with an eye toward representing the range of family stories submitted. Selected monologues can be performed either by the author, or if you prefer, a performer.
Submission requirements:

Deadline: January 10, 2008

Email submissions to: kesslerl@law.utah.edu.
Please put ''Telling Tales on Families'' in the subject line.

Alternatively, mail submissions to: Laura Kessler
S.J. Quinney College of Law
332 S. 1400 E.
Salt Lake City, UT 84112

Please include the author's name, phone number, and email contact information with each submission. Also indicate if the author is a University of Utah student, staff, faculty member, or a community member.

Selected authors will be notified in late January.

For more information on symposium events, please check the website: http://www.law.utah.edu/special/family-law-frontiers/

Labels: polygamy

In 1975, a woman using the pseudonym ''Melissa Merrill'' wrote a story about her experience in a plural marriage. It was titled ''Polgaymist's Wife.''

Here is my question: Does any one know who she was?

She wrote about the demise of her marriage after her husband took three other wives. Her book launched the modern era, so to speak, of the ex-plural wife genre.

I wonder what happened to her.

Labels: plural marriage

The Utah Court of Appeals last week overturned 5th District Court Judge James L. Shumate's decision to dismiss eight second-degree felony charges against Colorado City Mayor Terrill C. Johnson.

That means Johnson will be going to court after all on charges he falsified Utah title and vehicle registration documents by indicating he lived in Hildale.

Johnson apparently lives two blocks south of the state border, in Arizona. But he registered his vehicles in Utah and listed his address as being in Hildale.

Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona, are home to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

The appeals court said the state only had to show a reasonable belief that Johnson knowingly made a false statement on the vehicle registration forms, not show that he acted fraudulently or harmed the state of Utah by his acts.

The state met that requirement by showing Johnson had an Arizona drivers license, ''is or at least was'' mayor pro tem of Colorado City and is associated with a dairy in Arizona.

Johnson was able to pay lower taxes and fees by registering his vehicles in Utah, which also created an "inference of knowledge" that what he was doing was wrong, the court said.

At trial, Johnson will be ''free to argue that the statements were not false or were not knowingly false,'' the court said.

Labels: FLDS

The UEP Trust needs money to pay for water lines, fire hydrants, surveys and what not and guess who will be asked to pay for it?

Fiduciary Bruce R. Wisan is sending a letter to residents of Hildale and Colorado City informing them that, come January, every household will be expected to pay a $100 a month to cover the trust's expenses. He has not yet figured out who will collect the money.

Wisan sought to have the cities pay for the upgrades, but officials refused. That is a developer's responsibility, they said, and the trust is the ''developer'' turning land once owned by a single entity into private lots.

Wisan eventually acquiesed.

But residents are in for an expensive ride. He estimated a few months ago that infrastructure improvements could cost as much as $1 million. That expense is partly because the water supply to the two towns is insufficient to accommodate growth and even struggles now to provide service to existing residents. This summer, the city tanks nearly failed. And lines laid down years ago are inadequate to meet today's fire codes.

Still, Wisan blames the cities for these "substantial costs,'' saying he has encountered "noncooperation, delay and, in some cases, outright obstruction from the City governments.''

Ah, the good old days, when community residents just pitched in to do what needed to be done.

Here's how it used to work, according to affidavits submitted to the FBI in the 1980s during a battle between FLDS trustees and apostates who wanted the right to stay in their homes.

Resident No. 1:

''The affiant states that he was a member of an organization commonly known as the missionary corps, which was organized in September 1959 under the immediate and personal direction of the United Effort Plan trustees, which trustees were understood to be the same as the religious governing body, the Priesthood Council.''

''The affiant further states that the object of this missionary corps was to help build up the United Effort Plan holdings in Colorado City and elsewhere with the labor of the corps. It was understood that we were working for the common welfare of all who chose to be associated with the United Effort Plan effort. The affiant spent about two years full time working on ditches, homes, farms and public buildings.''

Resident No. 2 (a woman, likely Cora Stubbs):

''The lot was assigned in Colorado City at approximately 1961. Contributions made to the United Effort Plan are as follows:

1. (Blank) donated one year of his service as a plumber.

2. Her husband helped pay for all of the water pipe laid on Laurtizen Avenue, Colorado City, Arizona, which was approximately two blocks of 2 1/2 inche pipe.


Resident No. 3.

''In the latter part of 1958, in the first part of 1959, United Effort Plan encountered financial problems in Colorado City, Arizona. The fundamentalist church leadership decided to require two-year work missions from young male members to save the UEP.''

''During March 1960 (blank) was approached by the church leadership and he was asked to serve a work mission for the fundamentalist Mormon faith. (Blank) consented and he began work in the church sawmill located near Colorado City, Arizona. During his two-year mission, (blank) also cleaned streets and built homes in Colorado City.''

That led to (Blank) getting a lot and a wife, the document states.

''(Blank) stated that he knew when he took possession of his unimproved lot that continued possession was dependent on good membership in the fundamentalist Mormon faith.''

The man then made improvements to his assigned building lot. The improvements included:

1. Leveling the building lot
2. Paying for culinary water and sewer hookups to the home
3. Planting trees, lawn and other landscaping
4. Building a home and basement
5. Paying the tax assessments between $100-$250 yearly.

Labels: UEP

A reader pointed out to me that there was another earlier book about the plural wife life (now there is a tongue twister).

Fanny Stenhouse, who was married to T.B.H. Stenhouse, wrote a book in 1875 and then revised it in 1877 under the title, ''Tell It All.'' Fanny's husband owned the Salt Lake Telegram, which was later bought by and melded into the Tribune.

'' Very talented lady, and a cleverwriter as well,'' Linda said. If all goes well, Utah State University Press will soon be bringing
out a new printing of her original book, so maybe more people can get acquainted with the 'earlier' Fanny.''

And today in the mail I received yet another book purporting to tell the ''real'' story about the polygamous life.

I plan to tackle it this weekend.

Labels: plural wife, polygamy

My daughter handed me a box of Christmas cards last night. She said, ''These are perfect for you.'' I agree! Do you think the people I send my cards to will notice?

Carolyn Jessop will be on the Diane Rehm Show on NPR on Monday to talk about her book, ''Escape.''

Carolyn has heard that one of her former sister wives is reading the book and can't put it down. I would love to hear what the sister wife thinks of it, and I'm sure Carolyn would, too.

One update from her story: Carolyn's daughter Betty came to see her two weeks ago. At least they are in contact.

Labels: Carolyn Jessop

Irene Spencer will be at the Salt Lake Main Library tomorrow night to talk about her book, ''Shattered Dreams.'' She will sign copies of the book beginning at 5 p.m.

The memoir chronicles Spencer's experience as a plural wife of Verlan LeBaron, who was apparently a much kinder man than his brother, Ervil.

Ervil LeBaron orchestrated the deaths of numerous people in the 1970s as he tried to seize power among fundamentalist Mormons. Among those killed: Rulon C. Allred of the Apostolic United Brethren.

Back to Verlan.

Verlan, who died in a car accident in 1981, may end up with the most publicized marriages of any modern polygamist. He wrote briefly about his wives in the 1981 book ''The LeBaron Story.''

And so far, two of his wives have written about their marriages to Verlan: Irene and Susan Ray Schmidt.
Susan's book is called ''His Favorite Wife: Trapped in Polygamy.''

Now that is a title that probably got a rise from some of Verlan's other wives, but not Irene. Keep reading.

One thing that makes Irene's story compelling is her family history. Her father was Morris Kunz, who spent time in prison during the 1944 polygamy raid. Her mother was Olive Allred, whose sister Rhea also was married to Morris. Rhea, the first wife, spent time in prison, too. Irene has family connections to all of Utah's polygamous groups.

With three books now available about Verlan LeBaron and his marriages, it is possible to do some interesting cross referencing.

Here is what Verlan wrote about Irene:

''I met Charlotte's younger half sister, Irene, when I started to court Charlotte. At first I didn't realize what was going on in Irene's mind. It became evident that she had a special feeling for me and wanted very much to be in my family. However, she soon began to see the problems she would have to face, as there were those who were opposed to a marriage. Without telling me her feelings, she left southern Utah and went back to live with her mother in Trout Creek, near the Utah-Nevada line.''

Verlan says Irene got engaged to a young man but left the day before the marriage with her sister Donna. ''The marriage Irene felt she was being pushed into so she would not marry me was forever canceled.''

Their marriage was conducted by Rulon Allred. They moved to Mexico, where the rest of the LeBaron clan lived. Verlan notes the hardship of those early years and says: ''Irene's one wish was for a can of Franco-American spaghetti, while Charlotte would have been satisfied to attend just one evenign of the Summer Festival at the University of Utah. ''

Now, here is Irene's version of those events.

Irene was 14 when she first met Verlan. He came to her home to court her half sister, Charlotte, but Irene felt in an instant that he was to be her husband, too. ''Oh God,'' I thought, you just said he'd be my husband. Oh well, I'm only fourteen. Maybe I'll still have him in my future.''

After her sister's wedding, Irene says she cried. ''Even then, I resented Verlan making love to my half sister.''

But within a year, Irene had met 28-year-old Glen Spencer, the man her mother hoped she'd marry.

Irene found herself caught in an emotional tug-of-war between him and Verlan.

''My beliefs drew me to Verlan, but I was in love with Glen,'' Irene writes. Verlan won out.

As for the spaghetti reference: It burned Irene when she read it in Verlan's book. ''He told the world, in essence, that I had no aspirations. At times in our poverty, yes, I'd mention how nice it would be to enjoy a can of spagetti; but I cajoled Verlan far more about the finer aspects of life than about food.''

Here is Susan's description of how Irene appeared during her wedding to Verlan:

''Irene, appearing calm and serene, stood next to Verlan in front of the fireplace. She took my hand from Dad's arm, squeezed it, and placed it in Verlan's.'' And later: ''What was it Irene had said to me that night in the church hallway at Colonia LeBaron? 'You will be a beautiful jewel in Verlan's crown.' ''

She describes Irene as warm and friendly. ''Surely this was what the Lord had in mind when he said that sister-wives should get along. How could anyone not want to be friends with a person like Irene?''

Here is Irene's take:

In 1968, Verlan announced he was going to marry Susan Ray after she turned 15. Irene was shocked. Susan was just two years older than their daughter.

''Susan was a tremendous threat to me -- her beauty, her youth. Mostly, I was sick and tired of sharing the one and only man for whom I'd given up my whole life. I felt jealous, hateful and thoroughly uncooperative.''

Yet in the coming months, as Irene got to know Susan, she found she liked her.

At their wedding months later, Irene -- pregnant with her 11th child -- Irene felt she had to put on a smile and ''guard Verlan's image.

''I hung an artificial smile on my face and endeavored to set a good example for the other women.'' A week later, when Susan returned from her honeymoon, the two women had shared a laugh over a matronly pair of shoes Verlan had given his child bride.

''I felt a protective love for Susan, a motherly bond of concern. I would never be jealous of her. She not only won Verlan's heart, becoming his favorite wife, but she also won mine.''

Labels: Irene Spencer, Susan Ray Schmidt, Verlan LeBaron

A columnist at Esquire offers a provocative take on the polygamy debate in the current issue of the magazine, which you can find here .

Labels: marriage, polygamy

Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman released his fiscal 2009 bugdet today. State departments included a list of ''major accomplishments'' along with their funding requests.

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is seeking $52.1 million for the coming year. He listed three items on his ''got-it-done'' list.

The office wrapped up the protracted David C. lawsuit, which led to reformation of the state's child welfare system. It got Kennecott Utah Copper to agree to clean up a 20-mile section polluted groundwater.

And the AG ''obtained a felony conviction of Warren Jeffs for participating in marrying under-aged girls.''

Labels: Mark Shurtleff, Warren Jeffs

This cartoon, courtesy of Mike Paulos, appeared in the Chicago-Inter-Ocean, on Monday, June 4, 1906. Double click the cartoon to make it bigger.

Labels: Reed Smoot

Here is another Reed Smoot cartoon, courtesy of Mike Paulos. Titled ''Justice or Force,'' it appeared in The Salt Lake Tribune on Wednesday, Feb. 20, 1907, the day after Smoot delivered his speech to the U.S. Senate. Double click the cartoon to enlarge it.

Labels: Reed Smoot

Mike Paulos shared a couple cartoons that appeared during the course of the Reed Smoot hearings. Here is ''The Tattooed Man,'' which appeared in The Salt Lake Tribune on Saturday, June 9, 1906. If you double click on the cartoon, you'll get a larger image.

Labels: Reed Smoot

Today I wrote a story about some of the parallels between Mitt Romney and Reed Smoot, the first Mormon to be seated in Congress.

The triggers for the story were, of course, Mitt's ''Religious freedom'' speech in Texas and the about-to-be published abridged transcript of the Smoot hearings.

Michael H. Paulos, an armchair historian, edited the new Smoot book, which is titled ''The Mormon Church on Trial: Transcripts of the Reed Smoot Hearings.'' It is being published by Signature Books and will be out in January. You can pick up the 744 page tome for $49.95.

Smoot, who had been named an LDS Church apostle in 1900, was elected to serve in the U.S. Senate by the Utah Legislature in 1903. A protest of his election was filed immediately by the Salt Lake Ministerial Association, who raised four primary objections.

The group of Protestants claimed Smoot was a polygamist (he wasn't); that he condoned polygamy (he didn't); that he and other church members took an ''oath of vengence'' against the U.S. government in sacred temple ceremonies; and that his allegiance was to the church, not the laws of the land.

Other groups joined the protest, including the National Congress of Women. According to Priddis, they consider Smoot's election to the Senate an "affront to the American family and the home.''

One hundred years later, that last objection is being thrown at Romney, hence today's speech.

Ron Priddis of Signature Books says the Smoot hearings are a largely forgotten episode in Mormon history for most LDS church members and political pundits. While the hearing transcripts are available to any one who wants to paw records kept at university libraries, the new book makes them widely accessible.

The book also includes extensive footnotes that correct and elaborate on statements made by witnesses at the hearing. Those witnesses included then LDS Church President Joseph F. Smith, whose testimony provided newspapers covering the hearings with one sensational headline after another.

The senate investigation helding hearings that spanned a little over two years.

Some LDS Church members were also surprised by some of Smith's testimony to the senate committee.

''They ask him about revelation and he says he never received one which was a shock to people back in Utah,'' Priddis said.

Of course, there was the fact he was a polygamist, too. He had five wives and fathered 11 children after 1890, when the LDS Church issued the Manifesto disavowing polygamy.

Smith gave nuanced answers to many questions and equivocated on others. In some instances he was, well, cheeky.

Here is one exchange:

Committee Chairman Julius Caesar Burrows: There is one thing I do not understand that I want to ask about. This manifesto suspending polygamy, I understand, was a revelation and a direction to the church?

Joseph F. Smith: I understand it, Mr. Chairman, just as it is stated there by President Woodruff himself. President Woodruff makes his own statement. I can not add to nor take anything from that statement.

The Chairman: Do you understand it was a revelation the same as other revelations?

Mr. Smith: I understand personally that President Woodruff was inspired to put forth that manifesto.

The Chairman: And in that sense it was a revelation?

Mr. Smith: Well, it was a revelation to me.

The Chairman: Yes.

Mr. Smith: Most emphatically.

Now, when I read those words I imagine an inflection that emphasizes Smith's surprise at Woodruff's action. I am interested in how the historians interpret what Smith meant.

Smith goes one to say that adheres to both Joseph Smith's first revelation sanctioning polygamy and Wilford Woodruff's inspired declaration revoking it. ''I adhere to the first in my belief. I believe that the principle is as correct a principle today as it was then.''

Another witness: George Reynolds, the clerk who served as the basis of the LDS Church's petition to the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the ban on polygamy.

Paulos and historian Harvard Heath, who wrote an eloquent and concise introduction, said the hearings caused both Smoot and the LDS Church much angst. Still, Priddis points out that Joseph F. Smith repeatedly insisted that the hearings also were a great prostelyzing opportunity for the LDS Church.

He sees that same opportunity for "greater understanding and visibility" at work today in Romney's bid for the presidency. ''However, in both cases, the reality is it opens to scrutiny of the LDS Church that was previously unprecedented,'' Priddis said.

I will share a few interesting exchanges from the transcripts in the next few blog posts.

Labels: Mitt Romney, Reed Smoot

I toured the Utah State Prison last week to refresh my memory of Warren Jeffs' new home. By the way, Warren turns 52 today. No word on whether he is getting a cake.

Warren is officially in ''receiving and orientation,'' where they are trying to figure out what he needs and where to put him in the system. That will depend in part on whether officials classify him as a Kappa, Omega or Sigma.

Yes, there is a fraternity of sorts.

Kappas are the aggressive inmates who prey on everyone else. At least 90 percent of inmates get a Kappa designation, according to Captain Russ Armstrong.

Omegas are neutral personalities. They don't bother anyone but will stick up for themselves.

Sigmas are the weaklings, the prisoners that have to be protected from the rest of the population or they'll end up . . . well, you know where I'm going with that. A lot of sex offenders get a sigma classification.

You can put Kappas and Omegas together; you can put Omegas and Sigmas together. But you can't put Sigmas with Kappas.

The prison currently has 6,505 inmates, including 780 people who are mentally ill. There are nine people on death row.

Warren will spend the first month or so going through a mental health evaluation, psychological work up, psychiatric evaluation, an educational assessment and substance abuse check. All of that is then used to come up with a treatment plan. He is likely to be assigned to a sex offender treatment program. Warren also might be put in an anger management, life skills or a ''cognitive restruction'' class. Sample titles: Thinking for a Change; Thinking Errors; Personal Finance; Impact of Crime.

I went through the Uinta sections, including Super-Max, where the inmates who like to spit, slime (use other bodily fluids as weapons) and are just no fun end up. You don't want to end up in Section 4 of Uinta.

A couple death row guys were playing handball. Apparently, people on death row typically are fairly easy to manage.

I went through Wasatch and the ''shops,'' where inmates were making license plates, signs and print materials for state agencies. Interesting. If Warren behaves himself, he just may be able to get a job.

The first Tuesday of the month (6 p.m.) is Family Orientation Night, where officials go over how the system works and dos and donts of keeping in touch with an inmate.

Some pointers:

1. Keep the commissary account low. Last January, Nephi Jeffs told Warren he had put $700 in his account at Purgatory. That's a bad idea. Other inmates find out and start trying to get their hands on it. Officials say $50 to $100 is plenty.

2. If an inmate is married, only the legal spouse can visit unless the ''girlfriend'' is accompanied to visits by the spouse. Hhhmmm, let's see, in Warren's case, Annette is the legal wife. She'll be a gatekeeper, apparently.

3. Inmates can make telephone calls once a week for 30 minutes. Warren will have to fill out an ''Inmate Telephone Request Form'' that lists the telephone number, name, address and relationship to all persons he wants to be able to call. Cell phone numbers are not allowed; calls have to be placed to land lines.

4. It is a simple life. Once the prison figures out where to put Warren, he'll be assigned a mattress, two sheets, a pillow, three jumpsuits, seven pairs of underwear and socks, and a pair of shoes. He'll be given soap, toothpaste, a toothbrush and a towel. He'll have to buy anything else he needs.

New inmates and those assigned to Super-Max wear orange jumpsuits; pre-sentence inmates wear red jumpsuits; everybody else wears white.

5. Cells are small, 8 x 10. There is a a toilet, sink, dull mirror and either one or two bunks, depending on whether you are single or double celled. Inmates eat all meals in their cells. Some cells are definitely better than others. It's nice to live alone. The charlie block of Wasatch has cells with built-in showers, which spares you from having to use the group shower within a cell section.

6. Good behavior and active participation will earn you time out of your cell, a good job, the privilege of buying, if you can afford it, electronic appliances such as a TV, CD player, etc. The best jobs pay $3 to $3.50. The worst, like cleaning cells, pay only 40 cents an hour.

7. There is a lot of ''dead time.'' With the exception of the inmates working jobs, the inmates I saw were sleeping, watching TV, reading or writing. One group was visiting the library, which is stocked with lots of well-worn books. There was a waiting list for the newest Harry Potter book.

Labels: Warren Jeffs