FLDS member Willie Jessop this week sent Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. a letter extending an invitation to visit the YFZ Ranch in western Texas. He also asks Huntsman to intervene on behalf of Utah residents whose identities are disputed and whose children were taken during an April 3 raid at the ranch.
Lisa Roskelley, spokeswoman for Huntsman, on Friday confirmed his office received the letter.
"Our office has been in communication with Mr. Jessop, and we are reviewing the requests of the letter," she said.
Texas authorities removed 463 children from the ranch, owned by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, after finding evidence of sexual, physical and emotional abuse. A baby born last Tuesday upped the total in custody to 464.
Jessop said at least 10 children in Texas custody are residents of Utah and were visiting the ranch with their parents.
The letter also asks the governor for help getting Utah birth certificates and driver licenses recognized as official documents.
The FLDS are "being told that the birth certificates and Utah driver licenses are 'faked documents' and they are lying about their legal name, age and residency," Jessop's letter states.
Jessop sent a similar letter and invitation to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, but was referred to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Three FLDS mothers also sent a letter to Perry, to no avail.
The appeal to Huntsman says Texas has "torn apart functional, productive, self-sustaining and loving families - children purposely never exposed to the constant mind-numbing diet of violence, promiscuity, alcohol and drugs found on prime-time television.
"Our children are taught to honor and respect their mother and father, and to have a love for God and nature," it said. "The community of the YFZ Ranch has incorporated the core issues of good citizenship through family values, home-based education and honest work ethics."
Utah residents, the letter said, are "currently being held hostage by the state of Texas. . . . Without your leadership and personal intervention in this matter, the parental rights of every Utah family is at risk."
brooke@sltrib.com
