A MUM who fled a notorious cult weeks after being forced into a child marriage at 16 finally found love – incredibly with the stranger she had wed.
Angela Johnson was born and grew up in a breakaway Mormon sect known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, completely cut off and with no access to the “bad” outside world.
Kennedy News MediaAngela Johnson, pictured with her husband Cade, who she was forced to wed as a young teen[/caption]
Kennedy News MediaAngela and Cade barely knew each other on their wedding day, but have incredibly gone on to have a long and successful marriage[/caption]
Kennedy News MediaDespite being forced to wed, Angela and Cade Johnson are now in love and very happy together[/caption]
Angela, now 38 and a nurse, was raised in the strict 1,500-person religious community in Bountiful, British Columbia, Canada, which has practised polygamy for over 70 years.
The group gained notoriety after its leader Warren Jeffs, who described himself as a prophet and had 78 wives, was sentenced to life in prison in 2011 for sexually abusing two children he horrifically took as brides.
Angela said that polygamy “was one of the main parts of the religion” with a strict hierarchy of men that left the women “very oppressed” and having “to obey everything”.
She added that while her dad didn’t have multiple wives, Angela “grew up with polygamy” all around her – with one relative marrying 24 women.
Angela said the group was completely “isolated from the outside world” – with no access to the “internet, TV, newspapers or anything like that” and members were made to feel “elite” and “part of the chosen” ones.
She added: “I was born in complete fear of everyone who wasn’t part of the religion.
“It was indoctrination after indoctrination – that this was the only way.”
Baby-faced bride
The mum-of-three, who now lives in Washington, US, was made to dress modestly at all times and had to live in “complete obedience” to the church.
Those brave enough to leave were simply “shunned” by family and friends.
Angela said most girls didn’t complete their schooling past the age of 15 because “after that, we were all married”.
The nurse therefore didn’t know any better, and was raised from a young age with the knowledge that she would marry young – and she simply accepted this.
She said she didn’t find it strange as she had always been prepared to marry a complete stranger.
However, she admits feeling scared of marrying a man she didn’t know, having only had a handful of encounters with men outside of her family.
And at just 16, she wed fellow FLDS member Cade Johnson, who was 19.
The pair had only briefly met twice before getting married, and they “didn’t even kiss” at the bizarre ceremony.
A snap from her wedding day shows baby-faced Angela in a white satin gown, flashing a smile with her braces while clutching her new 19-year-old husband’s hand.
But within weeks of her wedding, doubts began to emerge in her mind about both the marriage and the religious sect – which she described as an “awakening”.
Who is cult leader Warren Jeffs?
WARREN Jeffs is a polygamist cult leader who was convicted of two felony counts of child sexual assault in 2011.
He was sentenced to life plus 20 years for these crimes and was also investigated for arranging marriages between his adult male followers and underage girls.
Jeffs is the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Previously, the FLDS were led by Warren Jeffs’ father, Rulon Jeffs.
Following the death of his father in 2002, Jeffs became the cult’s leader.
By 2006, Jeffs was placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list and there was a $100,000 bounty for his arrest.
He was also believed to have 78 wives, 24 of whom were underage girls.
It is believed that he has fathered more than 60 children, but that number is still undetermined.
Despite being in jail, Jeffs is still in control of the 10,000-strong congregation.
Jeffs’ children have lived quiet lives over the years, though some have spoken out about their childhood.
Among those who have spoken out is Roy Jeffs, who sat down with CNN in 2016 to explain why he left his father’s church.
“I left on my own,” he told the media outlet.
“When I first came out, it was nice to feel that way. … I remember standing there, just staring at myself in the mirror, just in shock forever, just sitting there like, ‘Oh my God, I can choose.’
“But at the same time … because I was so used to being told ‘You can do this, you can’t do this’ … I wanted somebody to tell me what to do.
“It was terrifying,” he continued.
Roy was born in the isolated fundamentalist Mormon community in Short Creek, along the Arizona-Utah state line, and had to live under the “strict rule of his father,” CNN notes.
The year prior, Roy and his sister Becky Jeffs appeared on the CNN show This is Life, where they alleged that they were both sexually abused.
“I thought, I’m not the only one molested, he’s done it to her it must be something that was in his nature,” Becky said on the show, via CNN.
“Where does it end? If he had this in him, how can I trust him? How is he really our prophet?”
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, Roy was found dead at his home in Salt Lake City, Utah, in May 2019 – just a few days before his 27th birthday.
Angela realised a few weeks after her wedding she needed to escape, despite the ‘shame’ it brought on her familyKennedy News Media
The couple have now been married for 23 years, but only started talking again by chance, when Angela realised she needed to speak to him about getting a divorceKennedy News Media
Shunned for ‘creating a scene’
Angela and Cade began avoiding each other and kept talking to a minimum as the mum started to wonder if there was “something more to life than this”.
She then made the incredibly brave decision to flee the cult and seek a divorce around six months after the wedding.
Describing how she stopped asking her husband’s permission to do certain things, Angela said: “I started acting more rebellious and asking more questions, which doesn’t go down well in the religion.
“I told my family I didn’t want to be married anymore and they were embarrassed and ashamed because I was ‘creating a scene’.
“It was a cardinal sin to even consider leaving, you were shunned from your family and friends.
I just kept thinking ‘there has to be more to life than this’. I was the first one in my family to leave the religion.
Angela Johnson
“It’s really scary because your whole life you’re taught how bad the outside world is.
“I just kept thinking ‘there has to be more to life than this’. I was the first one in my family to leave the religion.”
Incredibly in the process she formed a genuine friendship with Cade, now 41 and a lifeline helicopter pilot – who had also escaped the cult by this time – that later turned into a relationship.
Kennedy News MediaCade was 19 when the pair were forced to wed by their very religious community[/caption]
Kennedy News MediaAgainst all odds, Angela and Cade have carved out a loving and successful relationship together[/caption]
Rebuilding a relationship
The couple, who have now been together for 23 years and have three children, initially both moved to America separately to rebuild their life away from the strict restrictions they grew up in.
After fleeing the group, Angela had no plans to speak to her estranged husband again, until discussions over divorce led to sparks flying in the relationship.
She also said she had “no friends” and therefore no one to talk to about her ordeal – except Cade.
Around six months after their wedding, when both of them had escaped the religion, Angela contacted Cade on the phone, seeking a divorce.
Angela explained: “Uneducated me didn’t realise I’d actually have to get a divorce.
“That’s how I ended up finding Cade again, to try and get a divorce so I could move on in life.
“We ended up talking and trauma-bonding. I found out Cade had actually left the religion too and was living with friends.
“We kept chatting on the phone and formed a friendship. I had nobody out in the world I could trust at this time.
“I went to go see him and listened to music of artists we’d never even heard of together and really created a bond.”
After their initial meet-up in the outside world, Cade suggested giving the relationship a try.
‘Proud’ of achievements
Angela and medical helicopter pilot Cade have now been married for more than 20 years.
The pair have also welcomed three children along their unconventional journey.
She said that it’s “amazing to think” about what the pair had to endure “with a lack of support”.
Angela also added they’re “proud” of what they’ve achieved, despite their harrowing upbringing.
What is Mormonism?
A MORMON is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which was founded in 19th century America and has around 16 million followers around the world.
Mormonism came to the UK in 1837 and has around 190,000 members.
Mormons believe that other Christian churches have gone astray and theirs is a restoration of the Church as Jesus had intended.
The Mormon church was created by a man called Joseph Smith, and later was developed by Brigham Young, who moved with the new Mormons to Salt Lake City in 1847.
Mormonism is centred on strong traditional family life and values.
And “sins” such as gambling, smoking, drinking alcohol, drugs, tea, coffee, homosexuality, pornography, and sex outside of marriage are forbidden.
Mormons hold fast to the belief that God has a physical presence and is married and can have children.
They also believe that mankind can become gods after they die.
Polygamy, or having more than one marital partner, was taught by the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century.
The tradition was stopped, however, over a century ago and mainstream churches even excommunicate anyone who practices it.
Despite this, many people still hold the misconception that all Mormons are involved in polygamous relationships.
That being said, there are fundamentalist offshoots of the mainstream Mormon Church which still continue to practice polygamy.
Kennedy News MediaThe pair fell in love after escaping the cult and now have three children[/caption]
Kennedy News MediaAngela moved to America after fleeing her religious upbringing, and is proud of what she has gone on to achieve[/caption]