It seems so long ago now that the news was flooded with articles about the religious compound that was raided by authorities in Texas, and the large amount of children who were removed due to suspected involvement in forced arranged underage spiritual marriages.

 The world screamed out with cries of injustice on both sides of the fence, their were those who wept for the young girls who were forced into marriages and marital duties with their new husbands, and those who wept over the government tromping on the religious freedoms of those who sought comfort and protection in the polygamist sect; The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, run by Warren Jeffs.

The court cases began, and the news died out. After so much outcry from the nation, our attention quickly turned to the next greatest tragedy that took the spot of glory at the top of our homepages. Well it is time to shift our attention back to the children for an update on what has been going on while we were looking elsewhere.

First we have the news for those who were screaming out for the children. Officials have asked for eight children to be put into foster care, because their mothers refuse to limit contact between their daughters and the men that they are spiritually married to.

"For children who lived in a home with a man who married underage girls or agreed to an arranged marriage of an underage daughter, the safety plans include a requirement to keep the children away from that man," officials said in a statement Tuesday.

-CNN.com

A hearing has been set for the end of September to decide the fate of the eight girls in question.  Don't you just love the system?  They are in immediate danger!  Let's hurry up and discuss it...next month sometime.

Now the news for those who were against the government coming in and taking children from their homes and families without having any evidence to back up their suspicions.

Officials have also asked that 32 of the cases involving the children be closed due to; lack of evidence…go figure.

One of the eight girls, a 14 year old, has been proven to be spiritually married to Warren Jeffs, the leader of the sect. She was 12 at the time of the marriage, he was 51. If that doesn’t get your stomach turning how about the fact that her parents lovingly, and willingly signed the ceremony document allowing the marriage to happen?

When asked about her marriage to Warren Jeffs, and if she felt she was being abused, her response was:

the marriages are pure," the document said. The girl added that "this can't be a crime because Heavenly Father is the one that tells [Jeffs] when a girl is ready to get married and that he is only following the word of Heavenly Father."

-CNN.com

Hmmm….now I am a spiritual person and all, but I am pretty good at sniffing out B.S. brainwashing when I see it. How about you?

Image Credit: Matt Callow