Is there no end to the number of true crime series that Netflix can create? Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey is the latest in a long line of hard looks at disturbing religious and cult leaders, and as usual, it doesn't disappoint.
With just four episodes, this mini-series focuses all of its attention on the polygamous FLDS Church and its current leader Warren Jeffs.
Polygamy is the practice or custom of having more than one wife or husband at the same time. In the case of the FLDS (fundamentalist latter day saints), it is having multiple wives.
Illegal in the US, the ideology is that the more wives you have the greater your chance at salvation and the better the afterlife you get when you eventually die.
A fundamentalist church and extremist offshoot of the regular Mormon church, the FLDS headquarters were originally located in what was then known as Short Creek in Arizona, on the southern border of Utah
Run by Rulon Jeffs, he was deemed to be the ‘last prophet', essentially the church's god on earth. And while it was incredibly strict, with women and young girls largely treated as second-class citizens, it got a whole lot worse when Rulon died and his son, Warren Jeffs took over.
As documented by former FLDS members in Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey, Warren Jeffs implemented such strict rules in the church that even certain colours were banned.
Women's hairstyles were regulated, as were their clothes. Education was limited if provided at all and with absolutely no contact with the outside world, those raised in the church fully believed that disappointing the prophet Jeffs was worse than death.
Followers did exactly as they were told. Unconditionally. Any descent was met with harsh punishment. Women were there only to marry and have as many children as possible.
To the extent, that child brides were common practice with girls as young as 14-years-old being forced to marry much older men.
Is Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey Worth Watching?
Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey is a shocking four-part documentary. It chronicles the rise of a despicable human being and his control over thousands of people.
For a long time, the church went unnoticed by law enforcement and politicians who simply didn't want to involve themselves in private family lives.
Jeffs was so controlling that in January 2004, he expelled a group of twenty men from the community, and reassigned their wives and children to other men in the community.
But when it became clear that the church was rife with forced marriages with underage girls, sexual abuse, rape and sexual assault, the authorities stepped in.
Thanks to a few courageous women who finally had enough and testified against Jeffs in court, police were able to raid the compound and locate all the records of the church.
The evidence they discovered was revealed in a shocking criminal case that saw Warren Jeffs receive a life sentence.
And having watched the documentary, it's the least he deserves.
It's another winner for Netflix, which has gone all out to reveal the truth behind the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
For the survivors of this unbelievable community, it's a difficult road to recovery, especially as so many still have family members in the church.
Where Is Warren Jeffs Now?
Warren Jeffs is in prison where he belongs. He will not be eligible for parole until 2038, at which point he will be 83 years old.
Jeffs formally resigned as President of the FLDS Church effective November 20, 2007. But it is now thought since 2011, from prison, he has retaken legal control of the denomination.
Current FLDS members continue to consider Jeffs to be their leader and prophet who speaks to God, and who has been wrongly convicted.
