Listen free for 30 days
-
Church of Lies
- Narrated by: Eve Bianco
- Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Politics & Social Sciences, Social Sciences
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Audible Membership
$14.95 a month
Buy Now for $25.97
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Buy it with
-
Escape
- Written by: Carolyn Jessop, Laura Palmer
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee
- Length: 15 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When she was 18 years old, Carolyn Jessop was coerced into an arranged marriage with a total stranger - a man 32 years her senior. Merril Jessop already had three wives. But arranged plural marriages were an integral part of Carolyn's heritage: She was born into and raised in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), the radical offshoot of the Mormon Church.
-
-
I love memoirs! This is one of the best !
- By Nick on 2020-04-28
Written by: Carolyn Jessop, and others
-
Prophet's Prey
- My Seven-Year Investigation into Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints
- Written by: Sam Brower, Jon Krakauer
- Narrated by: Jonah Cummings
- Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Great book!
- By Amelia Danielle on 2021-12-01
Written by: Sam Brower, and others
-
The Witness Wore Red
- The 19th Wife Who Brought Polygamous Cult Leaders to Justice
- Written by: Rebecca Musser, M. Bridget Cook
- Narrated by: Rebecca Musser
- Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The revealing and inspiring memoir of a woman forced into polygamous marriage in FLDS Church 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.
-
-
Amazing and eye opening
- By Pamela on 2019-08-04
Written by: Rebecca Musser, and others
-
Breaking Free
- How I Escaped Polygamy, the FLDS Cult, and My Father, Warren Jeffs
- Written by: Rachel Jeffs
- Narrated by: Rachel Jeffs
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this searing memoir of survival in the spirit of Stolen Innocence, the daughter of Warren Jeffs, the self-proclaimed Prophet of the FLDS Church, takes you deep inside the secretive polygamist Mormon fundamentalist cult run by her family and how she escaped it. Born into the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Rachel Jeffs was raised in a strict patriarchal culture defined by subordinate sister wives and men they must obey.
-
-
Fascinating and Gribbing!
- By Sue Volpe on 2017-11-28
Written by: Rachel Jeffs
-
Stolen Innocence
- My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs
- Written by: Elissa Wall, Lisa Pulitzer
- Narrated by: Renée Raudman
- Length: 15 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
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.
-
-
Heart wrenching tough read.
- By Adele on 2020-08-14
Written by: Elissa Wall, and others
-
Tears of the Silenced
- An Amish True Crime Memoir of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Brutal Betrayal, and Ultimate Survival
- Written by: Misty Griffin
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Misty was six years old, her family started to live and dress like the Amish. Misty and her sister were kept as slaves on a mountain ranch where they were subjected to almost complete isolation, sexual abuse, and extreme physical violence. When Misty reached her teens, her parents feared she and her sister would escape and took them to an Amish community where they were adopted and became baptized members. Misty was devastated to once again find herself in a world of fear, animal cruelty, and sexual abuse.
-
-
All I Can Say Is… WOW.
- By Nicole Provost on 2022-04-22
Written by: Misty Griffin
-
Escape
- Written by: Carolyn Jessop, Laura Palmer
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee
- Length: 15 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When she was 18 years old, Carolyn Jessop was coerced into an arranged marriage with a total stranger - a man 32 years her senior. Merril Jessop already had three wives. But arranged plural marriages were an integral part of Carolyn's heritage: She was born into and raised in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), the radical offshoot of the Mormon Church.
-
-
I love memoirs! This is one of the best !
- By Nick on 2020-04-28
Written by: Carolyn Jessop, and others
-
Prophet's Prey
- My Seven-Year Investigation into Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints
- Written by: Sam Brower, Jon Krakauer
- Narrated by: Jonah Cummings
- Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Great book!
- By Amelia Danielle on 2021-12-01
Written by: Sam Brower, and others
-
The Witness Wore Red
- The 19th Wife Who Brought Polygamous Cult Leaders to Justice
- Written by: Rebecca Musser, M. Bridget Cook
- Narrated by: Rebecca Musser
- Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The revealing and inspiring memoir of a woman forced into polygamous marriage in FLDS Church 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.
-
-
Amazing and eye opening
- By Pamela on 2019-08-04
Written by: Rebecca Musser, and others
-
Breaking Free
- How I Escaped Polygamy, the FLDS Cult, and My Father, Warren Jeffs
- Written by: Rachel Jeffs
- Narrated by: Rachel Jeffs
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this searing memoir of survival in the spirit of Stolen Innocence, the daughter of Warren Jeffs, the self-proclaimed Prophet of the FLDS Church, takes you deep inside the secretive polygamist Mormon fundamentalist cult run by her family and how she escaped it. Born into the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Rachel Jeffs was raised in a strict patriarchal culture defined by subordinate sister wives and men they must obey.
-
-
Fascinating and Gribbing!
- By Sue Volpe on 2017-11-28
Written by: Rachel Jeffs
-
Stolen Innocence
- My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs
- Written by: Elissa Wall, Lisa Pulitzer
- Narrated by: Renée Raudman
- Length: 15 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
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.
-
-
Heart wrenching tough read.
- By Adele on 2020-08-14
Written by: Elissa Wall, and others
-
Tears of the Silenced
- An Amish True Crime Memoir of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Brutal Betrayal, and Ultimate Survival
- Written by: Misty Griffin
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Misty was six years old, her family started to live and dress like the Amish. Misty and her sister were kept as slaves on a mountain ranch where they were subjected to almost complete isolation, sexual abuse, and extreme physical violence. When Misty reached her teens, her parents feared she and her sister would escape and took them to an Amish community where they were adopted and became baptized members. Misty was devastated to once again find herself in a world of fear, animal cruelty, and sexual abuse.
-
-
All I Can Say Is… WOW.
- By Nicole Provost on 2022-04-22
Written by: Misty Griffin
-
Triumph
- Life after the Cult - a Survivor's Lessons
- Written by: Carolyn Jessop, Laura Palmer
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Carolyn Jessop, New York Times best-selling author of Escape, returns with the moving and inspirational tale of her life after she heroically fled the cult she'd been raised in and hares the sources of strength that allowed her not just to survive, but to flourish in her new life. The tools of her transformation range from powerful female role models to Curves fitness clubs to a college education.
-
-
Amazing Book
- By Nick on 2021-05-11
Written by: Carolyn Jessop, and others
-
Lost Boy
- Written by: Maia Szalavitz, Brent W. Jeffs
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS), girls can become valuable property as plural wives, but boys are expendable, even a liability. In this powerful and heartbreaking account, former FLDS member Brent Jeffs reveals both the terror and the love he experienced growing up on his prophet's compound and the harsh exile existence that so many boys face once they have been expelled by the sect.
Written by: Maia Szalavitz, and others
-
The Sound of Gravel
- A Memoir
- Written by: Ruth Wariner
- Narrated by: Ruth Wariner
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Engaging story
- By Tinitree on 2022-05-08
Written by: Ruth Wariner
-
Broken Faith
- Inside the Word of Faith Fellowship, One of America's Most Dangerous Cults
- Written by: Mitch Weiss, Holbrook Mohr
- Narrated by: Vivienne Leheny
- Length: 12 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1979, a fiery preacher named Jane Whaley attracted a small group of followers with a promise that she could turn their lives around. In the years since, Whaley’s following has expanded to include thousands of congregants across three continents. Based on hundreds of interviews, secretly recorded conversations, and thousands of pages of documents, Pulitzer Prize winner Mitch Weiss and Holbrook Mohr’s Broken Faith is a terrifying portrait life inside the Word of Faith Fellowship, and the harrowing account of one family who escaped after two decades.
Written by: Mitch Weiss, and others
-
Don't Call It a Cult
- The Shocking Story of Keith Raniere and the Women of NXIVM
- Written by: Sarah Berman
- Narrated by: Ewa Wolniczek
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sex trafficking. Self-help coaching. Forced labour. Mentorship. Multi-level marketing. Gaslighting. Investigative journalist Sarah Berman explores the shocking practices of NXIVM, an organization run by Keith Raniere and his high-profile enablers (Seagram heir Clare Bronfman; Smallville actor Allison Mack; Battlestar Galactica actor Nicki Clyne). In her deeply researched account, Berman unravels how young women seeking creative coaching and networking opportunities found themselves blackmailed, literally branded, near-starved, and enslaved.
-
-
Fascinating and Horrifying
- By Candice S. on 2021-06-03
Written by: Sarah Berman
-
Beyond Belief
- My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape
- Written by: Jenna Miscavige Hill
- Narrated by: Sandy Rustin
- Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jenna Miscavige Hill, niece of Church of Scientology leader David Miscavige, was raised as a Scientologist but left the controversial religion in 2005. In Beyond Belief, she shares her true story of life inside the upper ranks of the sect, details her experiences as a member Sea Org - the church's highest ministry - speaks of her "disconnection" from family outside of the organization, and tells the story of her ultimate escape.
-
-
Excellent description of Sea Organization
- By Amazon Customer on 2018-11-26
Written by: Jenna Miscavige Hill
-
Under the Banner of Heaven
- A Story of Violent Faith
- Written by: Jon Krakauer
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This extraordinary work of investigative journalism takes listeners inside America’s isolated Mormon Fundamentalist communities, where some 40,000 people still practice polygamy. 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.
-
-
Informative and disturbing.
- By Amazon Customer on 2020-09-02
Written by: Jon Krakauer
-
The Family Next Door
- The Heartbreaking Imprisonment of the 13 Turpin Siblings and Their Extraordinary Rescue
- Written by: John Glatt
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On January 14, 2018, a 17-year-old girl climbed out of the window of her Perris, California home and dialed 911 with shaking fingers. Struggling to stay calm, she told the operator that she and her 12 siblings - ranging in age from two to 29 - were being abused by their parents. When the dispatcher asked for her address, the girl hesitated. "I've never been out," she stammered.
-
-
Repetitive content and the narrator is horrible
- By L1stentomysoul on 2020-10-21
Written by: John Glatt
-
Hope
- A Memoir of Survival in Cleveland
- Written by: Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, Mary Jordan, and others
- Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie, Marisol Ramirez, Arthur Morey
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two victims of the infamous Cleveland kidnapper share the story of their abductions, their decade in captivity, and their final, dramatic rescue. On May 6, 2013, Amanda Berry made headlines around the world when she fled a Cleveland area home and called 911, saying: “Help me, I’m Amanda Berry...I’ve been kidnapped, and I’ve been missing for 10 years". A horrifying story rapidly unfolded. Ariel Castro, a local school bus driver, had separately lured Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight to his home, where he kept them chained in the basement.
-
-
Heroic
- By Alyssa on 2020-04-19
Written by: Amanda Berry, and others
-
Shattered Dreams
- My Life as a Polygamist's Wife
- Written by: Irene Spencer
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
Written by: Irene Spencer
-
Favorite Wife
- Escape from Polygamy
- Written by: Susan Ray Schmidt
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
- Length: 22 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
She had no choice in the matter - none of the girls did. Her mission was to give birth to and raise many children in devoted service to a shared husband. Susan was 15 years old when she became the sixth wife of Verlan LeBaron, one of the leaders of a rogue Mormon cult, who was engaged in a blood feud with his brother that from 1972 to 1988 claimed up to two dozen lives. In this gripping and eloquent book, Susan Ray Schmidt tells the story of growing up on the inside and of her ultimate escape with her children from an oppressive and violent life.
Written by: Susan Ray Schmidt
-
The Hospital
- Written by: Barbara O'Hare
- Narrated by: Charlie Sanderson
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Barbara was 12 when she was admitted to the psychiatric hospital Aston Hall in 1971. From a troubled home, she'd hoped she would find sanctuary there. But during her stay, Barbara was systematically drugged and abused by its head physician, Dr Kenneth Milner. Somehow, eventually, she started to campaign for answers. This is a shocking account of how vulnerable children were preyed upon by the doctor entrusted with their care.
-
-
What a fighter
- By B.J Snider on 2020-06-19
Written by: Barbara O'Hare
Publisher's Summary
From the Preface:
"My name is Flora Jessop. I've been called apostate, vigilante, and crazy bitch, and maybe I am. But some people call me a hero, and I'd like to think they're right too. If I am a hero, maybe it's because every time I can play a part in saving a child or a woman from a life of servitude and degradation, I'm saving a little piece of me, too.
I was one of 28 children born to my dad and his three wives. Indoctrinated to believe that the outside world was evil, and that I resided among the righteous, I was destined to marry a man chosen for me by the Prophet. I would then live in harmony with my sister-wives, bear many children, and obey and serve my future husband in this life and throughout eternity. But my innocence didn't last long. While still a child, I understood that the church of the righteous was nothing but a church of lies.
When I was eight years old my father sexually molested me for the first time, raping me when I was 12. I tried to kill myself. Beaten, molested, taunted, and abused by family members alleging they only wanted to save my soul became a daily routine, I ran from this abuse more than once in my early teens - even attempting to cross the desert on foot. My family hunted me down. I thought government agencies would provide me safety if I reported my father. Instead, police and social services colluded with the FLDS to return me to my family and I ended up back inside polygamy, right where I started."
Flora goes on from there to tell the dramatic true story of how she ultimately escaped and has been fighting against frustrating obstacles with hard-fought successes in rescuing women and children from the FLDS. It's a story you can't put down.
More from the same
What listeners say about Church of Lies
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Granny of 9
- 2020-08-02
So sad!
Sickening how people can be so brainwashed! And how we as a society don’t help these children.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 2021-09-01
Amazing, horrendous abuse, and triumph.
This book has left me speechless. What a horrific cult and prison FLDS is. It’s hard to here the details of abuse, however, the people who have gone through this need us to be educated. Flora is a hero and has done a work that is invaluable trying to help her old community and anyone else who has suffered. Worth purchasing this, if only to support her but also for the education and awareness.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Fr0gStar
- 2021-01-16
One of the best accounts of this topic
Upfront honesty from the first chapter, Flora shares the challenges of being raised FLDS. The timeframe spans from the 1980s until 2012. No topic is off- limits, helping the audience understand the insidious nature of FLDS leadership, along with the long-term psychological effects on current or former members. This book includes accounts of horrific, sanctioned abuse by FLDS members as well as hope, dedication, and amazing perseverance..
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Schvell Williams
- 2022-08-03
Great read
Very good insight to the poly life for FLDS community. Pretty good book. I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in learning more about these lifestyles.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Angela
- 2022-08-02
Interesting
Overall very Informative and detailed. A heartbreaking glimpse into the dysfunctional world of polygamy. Flora is incredibly brave.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- indicarol
- 2022-06-20
True or false?
After a while, this memoir begins to sound false. Perhaps some of this happened, but I couldn’t listen past chapter 7, when she’s a constant victim. Some things, but not EVERYTHING rings true. I just don’t believe it.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 2022-06-19
AMAZING
The words I would like to express about this book escape me at this moment . The truth that she tells in this book is undoubtedly the hardest thing she has done . But she did it with strength that I have not seen in a long time. I pray this book reaches the women who need to read and hear the words she has put down on paper. Flora Jessup is a women of incredible strength and courage God Bless Her for telling her story
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Brandy Martin
- 2022-03-15
Great listen
such a strong story of heros helping make children safe. great listen. should be on everyone's list.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jayn S. Dyer
- 2021-04-11
Great listen
I love true stories of overcomes and this one didn’t disappoint. It grabbed me from the start and I wanted to keep listening. It was very informative about all the evils of polygamy and the cult it was. I had no idea this kind of corruption and abuse in the name of religion was going on here in the United States.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Suzanne Guzman
- 2021-03-02
Amazing story!
Amazing story of such bravery. So glad there are people in this world like Flora Jessup, to fight for the rights of these poor abused woman and children.