Broken Ties

Seth Doane Reports On The Boys And Young Men Who Leave The FLDS

(CBS)  They aren't all that far from home, but Frankie Johnson and Caleb Barlow couldn't be farther from their roots. They were born into and grew up in the FLDS, until the need to escape pressed so hard there was nothing to do but leave everything behind.

Frankie, who grew up in Colorado City, left four years ago when he was 18 years old. At the time, he says he was the oldest of 18.

Like Frankie, 18-year-old Caleb started to resent the endless regulations of the religion, like losing everyday freedoms as basic as being able to date girls. The belief was that the outside world was evil, and that joining it brought punishment.

"Yeah, it was a fear," Caleb tells correspondent Seth Doene. "I wondered if I was really going to go to hell."

Frankie and Caleb-and hundreds of other boys like them-ended up out of FLDS and in limbo, in places like Utah. They've left home or been kicked out when they were barely teenagers. Their refusal to conform to their religion's unbending social rules pushes them and their families to the edge.

Those that go are known as "The Lost Boys." Their future and very survival are uncertain, and the only sure thing is that most of them can never go back to that secretive world.

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The YFZ Ranch
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When Caleb decided to leave, his father made it clear he'd never be welcomed back. "He grabbed my littlest brother and he just like shaking in my face, he's like 'You’ll never see him again,'" Caleb remembers. "He said we were better off dead than to leave."

A kind of communal safe house has been home to Caleb and Frankie, where they and other boys, like brothers Hyrum and Simon, learn a new kind of "normal."

"Didn’t have very good social skills, 'cause I never went to high school or anything," Simon explains.

Simon and Hyrum also left the FLDS because they simply couldn't live without freedom of choice.

"The benefit of them coming into our home is that they have the time to be in a quiet place without expectation," says Michelle Benward, a Utah social worker who came up with the idea for the home.

Donations and government grants make Michelle’s work possible.

The boys came to the home because they couldn't tolerate the strict changes made by Warren Jeffs. "We were taught to listen to Warren, do whatever he says," Caleb explains.

"We are taught to never ask 'Why?'" Frankie adds. "Don't question nothing. Perfect obedience."

"Don't talk to girls. Don't talk to people outside the community. Don't play video games. Don't watch TV, listen to music," Caleb says.

[jcsslc2009]

It would be nice if CBS would do an update. to let us know how Caleb and Frankie are doing. Did they get their High School Diploma or GED. Did they go to College ?.

I was interested in knowing if the FLDS is still practicing spanking kids then pouring water on them to teach them not to cry.


James Smith

[jcsslc2009]

To Caleb and Frankie,


Our God is a Loving God. Prayer is the key to God's Heart. All you have to do is pray and ask. God wants to have a personal relationship with you. You both are very special people. Caleb, I admire your courage. I know it took alot for you to say enough is enough. Frankie, I admire your srtength, you need to keep going. I am very proud of the both of you.


James Smith PHD, Psychologist
Valencia, Pennsylvania

[rowdywicca]

Reassigning a father to another place, and reassigning a mother to another husband sounds rather like the slavery of old and/or communism.

Wonderful that these boys are getting help and realizing that they have choices. No religion is above the law of the land or our Constitution.

[gal50]

Among the endless amount of injustice within the FLDS are the forced marriages, the statutory rapes, the abandonment of the boys and the reassignment of families.

To the Frankie''s of the FLDS, there are 300 million people in the United States and while the 10,000 people in the FLDS believe that you are going to hell, the remaining 300 million believe you are still headed to heaven. Many of these 300 million are fairly certain that Warren Jeffs has a reservation in hell for all of the pain he has caused to you and your families. There is no reason you shouldn''t be able to see you families, there is no reason your father should be kicked out and there is no reason your mother should be reassigned to a new husband. There is no other religion in the United States that would treat you this harshly. Religion is supposed to be about love and forgiveness, not abusiveness.

[janeyre-2009]

Ms Benward, would a letter to my Congressman help?

[janeyre-2009]

If ever the government needed to help children, young people... This is the time. These young men need a proper education and skills and love. I am just heart broken over what they have endured. This is inhumane. How dare they do this to these young people. Please know that there are those who care Frankie, and other''s. May you find a measure of peace and I wish I could do something to help you. M Benward, you are an Angel. Thank you for caring.