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(Photo courtesy AP)
Andrew Adams reporting
New FLDS Web sites are trying to turn public sentiment in favor of the polygamists in Texas like publicity did after the 1953 Short Creek raid. But at least one historian sees few similarities.
Ben Bistline is an author and former member of what he calls "the cult." He says naming the church "FLDS" was another PR move. "They needed a church entity to hide behind," he said.
Bistline says 2008 Eldorado and 1953 Colorado City were two different places. "I courted my wife. We weren't married until '55, but we weren't told who to marry. [It's] just a whole different situation. We were just normal kids, normal teenagers," he said.
Bistline says the Short Creek raid was politically driven. He says that isn't the case here, calling it "strictly a child molestation situation."
E-mail: aadams@ksl.com
