
The Witness Wore Red
The 19th Wife Who Brought Polygamous Cult Leaders to Justice
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Narrated by:
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Rebecca Musser
About this listen
You've watched Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey, the top 5 true-crime docuseries on Netflix. Now discover the revealing memoir of one woman featured in the series who was forced into polygamous marriage and her brave struggle to protect others from the same fate.
Rebecca Musser grew up in fear, concealing her family's polygamous lifestyle from the "dangerous" outside world. Covered head-to-toe in strict, modest clothing, she received a rigorous education at Alta Academy, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' school headed by Warren Jeffs. Always seeking to be an obedient Priesthood girl, in her teens she became the 19th wife of her people's prophet: 85-year-old Rulon Jeffs, Warren's father. Finally sickened by the abuse she suffered and saw around her, she pulled off a daring escape and sought to build a new life and family.
The church, however, had a way of pulling her back in—and by 2007, Rebecca had no choice but to take the witness stand against the new prophet of the FLDS in order to protect her little sisters and other young girls from being forced to marry at shockingly young ages. The following year, Rebecca and the rest of the world watched as a team of Texas Rangers raided the Yearning for Zion Ranch, a stronghold of the FLDS. Rebecca's subsequent testimony would reveal the horrific secrets taking place behind closed doors of the temple, sending their leaders to prison for years, and Warren Jeffs for life.
The Witness Wore Red is a gripping account of one woman's struggle to escape the perverse embrace of religious fanaticism and sexual slavery, and a courageous story of hope and transformation.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2013 Rebecca Musser (P)2013 Hachette Book GroupListeners also enjoyed...
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Story
In September 2007, Elissa Wall, the star witness against polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs, gave captivating testimony of how Jeffs forced her to marry her first cousin at age 14. This harrowing account proved to be the most compelling evidence against Jeffs, showing the harsh realities of this closed community and the lengths to which Jeffs went in order to control the sect's women. Now, in this courageous memoir, Wall tells the incredible story of how she emerged from the confines of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints and helped bring one of America's most notorious criminals to justice.
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Chris from Cedar City, UT USA
- By Christine on 06-14-08
By: Elissa Wall, and others
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Answer Them Nothing
- Bringing Down the Polygamous Empire of Warren Jeffs
- By: Debra Weyermann
- Narrated by: Kate Marcin
- Length: 16 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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When police raided the Short Creek compound of the Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1953, it soon became a political and publicity nightmare and eventually cost the governor of Arizona his job. From that point on, skittish public officials allowed the polygamist sect to practice its tenants unmolested for the next 50 years and turned a blind eye to child abandonment, kidnapping, statutory rape, incest, and massive tax and welfare fraud. But then Warren Jeffs, a new FLDS prophet, escalated the sect’s crimes to near madness.
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Adequate but not impressive
- By Dorothy Wimsey on 04-20-19
By: Debra Weyermann
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Give Me Back My Children
- Sarah C Allred, Book 1
- By: Sarah Allred, Ellen Taylor
- Narrated by: Annlan Tran
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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She only wanted to be a mother to her own children - FLDS Cult leader had other plans. Sarah was born in 1979 in the FLDS compound. At 18, Sarah entered into an arranged marriage to Richard S Allred who was the grandson and personal bodyguard to leader Rulon Jeffs, and later Warren Jeffs. Sarah was the first of five wives and was often used to set the example. Sarah's husband was given Warren's prized daughter as his third wife who became Warren's source to control Sarah's family. As the Leadership adjusted, her world turned upside down.
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Yikes
- By Dar on 11-04-24
By: Sarah Allred, and others
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Destroying Their God
- How I Fought My Evil Half-Brother to Save My Children
- By: Wallace Jeffs, Shauna Packer, Sherry Taylor
- Narrated by: Erik Johnson
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1991, Wallace Jeffs was coerced to become an FLDS polygamist. In 2011, Wallace rebelled against the sect, and the FBI helped him reclaim his kidnapped children. Then an "accident" put Wallace into a 45-day coma. Growing up as half-brother to future Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saint prophet Warren Jeffs, Wallace tried to follow FLDS teachings.... As his prophet-brother increasingly manipulated him, Wallace started hearing about FLDS atrocities.... Wallace defied the prophet and soon ended up in a coma.
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Interesting from the very beginning until the end
- By Shandor on 05-09-23
By: Wallace Jeffs, and others
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The Sound of Gravel
- A Memoir
- By: Ruth Wariner
- Narrated by: Ruth Wariner
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Ruth Wariner was the 39th of her father's 42 children. Growing up on a farm in rural Mexico, where authorities turned a blind eye to the practices of her community, Ruth lives in a ramshackle house without indoor plumbing or electricity. At church, preachers teach that God will punish the wicked by destroying the world and that women can ascend to heaven only by entering into polygamous marriages and giving birth to as many children as possible.
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Unputdownable
- By Lesley A. on 01-16-16
By: Ruth Wariner
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The Polygamist’s Daughter
- A Memoir
- By: Anna LeBaron, Leslie Wilson - contributor
- Narrated by: Anna LeBaron
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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"My father had more than 50 children." So begins the haunting memoir of Anna LeBaron, daughter of the notorious polygamist and murderer Ervil LeBaron. With her father wanted by the FBI for killing anyone who tried to leave his cult - a radical branch of Mormonism - Anna and her siblings were constantly on the run with the other sister-wives. Often starving and always desperate, the children lived in terror. Even though there were dozens of them together, Anna always felt alone.
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Bait and Switch
- By A. C. on 04-25-17
By: Anna LeBaron, and others
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Triumph
- Life after the Cult - a Survivor's Lessons
- By: Carolyn Jessop, Laura Palmer
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2003, Carolyn Jessop, a lifelong member of the extremist Mormon sect the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), gathered up her eight children, including her profoundly disabled four-year-old son, and escaped in the middle of the night to freedom. After detailing the shocking conditions of FLDS and her harrowing flight in her memoir, Escape, Carolyn reveled in her newfound identity as a bestselling author, a devoted mom, and a loving companion to the wonderful man in her life. She thought she had put her past firmly behind her.
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Helped me to look at the raid differently.
- By Karen on 10-19-12
By: Carolyn Jessop, and others
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Prophet's Prey
- My Seven-Year Investigation into Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints
- By: Sam Brower, Jon Krakauer
- Narrated by: Jonah Cummings
- Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Despite considerable press coverage and a lengthy trial, the full story of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints has remained largely untold. Only one man can reveal the whole, astounding truth: Sam Brower, the private investigator who devoted years of his life to breaking open the secret practices of the FLDS and bringing Warren Jeffs and his inner circle to justice.
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Incredible Story of the FLDS
- By S on 11-11-11
By: Sam Brower, and others
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Sex Cult Nun
- Breaking Away from the Children of God, a Wild, Radical Religious Cult
- By: Faith Jones
- Narrated by: Jaime Lamchick
- Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Educated meets The Vow in this story of liberation and self-empowerment - an inspiring and stranger-than-fiction memoir of growing up in and breaking free from the Children of God, an oppressive, extremist religious cult.
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An absolute page-turner
- By Lara on 12-03-21
By: Faith Jones
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The First 20 Years of My Life, In the FLDS
- By: Jenelle Jessop
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 2 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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I grew up in the FLDS. My life was hectic and unstable. After leaving, I brought it up I conversation. Some people said I should write a book. This is that book. It is a short, 23,000-word, memoir with my memories about cult indoctrination and the events of my life. This short book is written in 3 parts. Part 1 is the history, indoctrination, and setting of the church. Part 2 is my story in the church. In part 3, I talk about the struggles I face as a result of my upbringing, what I’ve learned about the world, and where I am now in this journey of life. Much time and revision went into ...
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Virtual Voice
- By Chasity on 02-10-25
By: Jenelle Jessop
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Cults
- Inside the World's Most Notorious Groups and Understanding the People Who Joined Them
- By: Max Cutler
- Narrated by: Pete Simonelli, Raquel Beattie, Erin Ruth Walker, and others
- Length: 15 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Cults prey on the very attributes that make us human: our desire to belong, to find a deeper meaning in life, to live everyday with divine purpose. Their existence creates a sense that any one of us, at any time, could step off the cliff’s edge and fall into that daunting abyss of manipulation and unhinged dedication to a misplaced cause. Perhaps it’s this mindset that keeps us so utterly obsessed and desperate to learn more, or it’s that the stories are so bizarre and unsettling that we are simply in awe of the mechanics that make these infamous groups tick.
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Disappointed
- By KJ on 04-12-23
By: Max Cutler
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Shattered Dreams
- My Life as a Polygamist's Wife
- By: Irene Spencer
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Irene Spencer did as she felt God commanded in marrying her brother-in-law, Verlan LeBaron, becoming his second wife. When the government raided the fundamentalist, polygamous Mormon village of Short Creek, Arizona, Irene and her family fled to Verlan's brothers' Mexican ranch. They lived in squalor and desolate conditions in the Mexican desert with Verlan's six brothers, one sister, and numerous wives and children.
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Eye Opening... Difficult Listen... Honest
- By Paul Mullen on 06-24-08
By: Irene Spencer
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Under the Banner of Heaven
- A Story of Violent Faith
- By: Jon Krakauer
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Defying both civil authorities and the Mormon establishment in Salt Lake City, the renegade leaders of these Taliban-like theocracies are zealots who answer only to God; some 40,000 people still practice polygamy in these communities. At the core of Krakauer’s book are brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty, who insist they received a commandment from God to kill a blameless woman and her baby girl. Beginning with a meticulously researched account of this appalling double murder, Krakauer constructs a bone-chilling narrative of messianic delusion, polygamy, savage violence, and unyielding faith.
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Interesting @ arm's length
- By pixychild on 07-17-09
By: Jon Krakauer
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Cult Insanity
- A Memoir of Polygamy, Prophets, and Blood Atonement
- By: Irene Spencer
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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In Cult Insanity, Spencer reveals the outrageous behavior of her brother-in-law Ervil---a self-proclaimed prophet who determined he was called to set the house of God in order---and how he terrorized their colony. Claiming to be God's avenger and to have a license to kill in the name of God, Ervil ordered the murders of friends and family members, eliminating all those who challenged his authority. Cult Insanity is a riveting, terrifying memoir of polygamist life under the tyranny of a madman.
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Not as good as the First
- By Debra A on 12-07-09
By: Irene Spencer
Compelling and emotional read
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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes, gives real insight into the FLDS church in a frightening yet real storyWho was your favorite character and why?
Rebecca, obviously as the story was from her.Would you be willing to try another one of Rebecca Musser’s performances?
No. The reading was way too dramatic which really distracted from the story. When Brooks and the other Texas characters were introduced things got worse in her attempt to imitate them. At one point I almost stopped listening. A different narrator would have been a better choice.Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No, this book could have used some additional editing as many parts seemed like excess information that didn't pertain to the message of the book.Any additional comments?
Overall good book, frightening story especially since it's true.Compelling yet sad story
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Good for her!
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I like the fact that the author is not writing out of bitterness or hate against the FLDS, but rather from love and sadness.
When she describes her upbringing she does it in a rather objective manner. Describing the facts and the feeling they evoked in her, rather than chastising and criticizing.
She did what she did out of love to her people not out of vengeance.
I believe that this what made her such a critical part of bringing the corrupt, power drunk, megalomaniacal male leadership to justice.
She is not "out to get them", she is out to get the truth and save next generations of FLDS children.
The beginning of the book is a bit slow and overloaded with details. I understand the need to present these details so you can understand the background and setting that would allow such sickness to run rampant with very little resistance from the subject of the abuse. The details, while tedious, help you understand the absolute brainwash that the FLDS followers are born into and subjected to.
It is worth the effort of getting through the start of the book in order to get to rest of it which is riveting and she's light on this secretive parallel universe of the FLDS.
It becomes hard to put down the book (or hit the "pause" icon since we are discussing and audio book). This book is definitely very thought provoking and important as a cautionary tale about the power and danger of cults and of any group where the leaders have absolute and undisputed power. It reminds us that many times such leaders use God as an excuse and justification for the atrocities thet are committing while in reality it has nothing to do with God and everything to do with their sick twisted minds.
I applaud Rebecca Musser for her courage and determination.
Captivating and informative
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Amazing women! Great book!
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Amazing true story
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Wow
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Very interesting story.
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it was a decent book.
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She’s brave and I’m amazed.
But holy moly the Texas accent is horrendous! I genuinely wish they would re-record the offensively inaccurate accent when she uses when recalling speaking with the TX sheriff. It’s impossible to listen to it.
You can tell us someone is from a state without butchering how they talk. No Canadian accents were used- why use any?
The Texas accent is awful and offensive
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