"what I say unto you...
love your enemies,"
bless them that curse you,
do good to them that hate you
"and pray for them
which..."
- "Despitefully." - "...
Despitefully use you and persecute you."
See, boys, what this means is
it may take people just a little
more time to... to get used to us.
They may be busy
or distracted
or they may need
our help.
I want all of you
to pray tonight,
asking God to help you
be more loving to people,
even if they seem
like enemies to you.
Wayne, honey...
boots.
All right, Bill, I've... I've
tried calling your mother again.
It just rings
and rings and rings.
I'll check in with Jodean,
find out what's going on.
How are things at the store?
- Cara Lynn said it's touch and go.
- It's still tense.
Good news on the safety
net front though.
The Attorney General's
office signed on.
If I can corral the compounds,
drag 'em to the table,
we'll be seen as reformers.
I think it'll blunt a lot of
hostility out there before it gels.
Oh, I think
it's already gelled.
Barb and I got att*cked
in the supermarket.
- Didn't she tell you?
- No.
Two women went off on us.
- They were yelling, "lying polygamists!
- Cara Lynn.
Let's all be present
and try to be here
together with one another.
- Mathletes is tomorrow.
- Please?
It's okay, sweetheart.
Go ahead.
Look, I know
it's rough out there.
I'm working as fast as I can
to get this safety net
meeting up on its feet.
Defusing the charge that we have
some kind of polygamy agenda
is our one path
through this thing.
- What is that, hon?
- Goji-blast.
I told you about it.
I'll pour you a glass.
I thought I might
try my hand at selling it.
Is it supposed
to taste like this?
I'd work from home,
make my own hours.
It's Michael Sainte,
multilevel marketing.
Like avon?
That could be good.
It was only an idea.
I can't treat you
unless you tell me
who gave you the hormones
to start with.
I already told you...
my doctor, who left town.
Miss Grant, the fact that you
were impregnated at your age
by a doctor whom
you refuse to name...
why can't you just
write me a prescription?
Because there are serious legal
and ethical issues here.
Carrying this baby to term
presents very real hazards.
The potential for complications
is extremely high.
I understand that my
pregnancy is not sustainable
without aggressive
hormone therapy.
But if you are suggesting
that I give up this baby,
I must tell you
I am a deeply religious woman
who regards all life
as a precious miracle,
and even if something
seems out of the blue,
there's always
a greater plan at work.
How is this out of the blue?
This was clearly
planned, right?
Of course.
I assume you can at least
produce your files.
No.
They were destroyed in a fire.
I
want to get state agencies
and polygamist leaders
to sit down together and talk.
If we can get
into the compounds,
offer support to the women
who want out,
we can break
the cycle of abuse.
Look, sounds great in theory,
but how are you going
to make it work?
The meeting's already planned.
I just need help with
creating the infrastructure.
Saint flora's
has a long history
of coordinating public
and private agencies
and a network of shelters
and programs already in place.
Yes, but so are a lot
of other organizations.
Why ask us?
I mean, after all,
polygamy is a mormon problem.
Sister, the abuses of polygamy
aren't a mormon problem.
They're a human problem.
You know as well as I do in this
town there's the mormon church
and then there's
everybody else.
The LDS church is determined
to ignore the compounds out...
out of fear of being
associated with them.
You're the only ones
without a tangled agenda.
Think about it.
This really shows you
how difficult it was
on the trek west.
Have you seen
this room's... oh.
Um, why don't you go on
to the next gallery?
I'll catch up with you there.
What are you doing here?
I was hoping we could talk.
I told you last week
I have nothing more to say.
You will never know
what it was like
to turn on the evening news
and see you...
the four of you.
Right. You're right.
I don't know.
And I don't want to rehash it,
but I want us to rise above it.
Last week you called me intolerant.
No, you're
the only person I know
who's gone through this too.
We're being pilloried.
Everything we say
or do gets twisted.
When was I ever pilloried?
When you stood up against
the John birch society.
When you marched for the era.
Well, I never realized
you cared so much
for my political causes.
Well, I finally understand
what you went through
and how strong you had to be.
I joined Sunstone.
You did?
My word! Why?
Well, I thought it was something
we could do together.
I've already volunteered
to participate in a symposium.
Mae you could join me.
It's about families
and mothers and daughters...
Bonds between them,
the challenges they face.
I don't know. I...
I just need to be with you.
Margene, you're still so young,
and people start over
again all the time.
Yeah, I have a whole life here.
I can't just pick up and go.
I'm not saying forever,
but here, everywhere you go,
people stare at you like you're
a zoo animal or something.
Well, what kind of life is that?
You've got to leave.
Get away from here.
Get away from this town.
I didn't know
you were stopping by.
Oh my gosh, I love this song!
How are you feeling?
Are you taking
your multivitamins?
Yes. Thank you for asking.
Did you get our message about the
job opening up in accounting?
Oh, I love this song!
When it first came out, my mom
listened to it like 10 million times.
- Margie, it's a bit loud.
- It's so moving, you know?
It's so sad, you know?
She just wanted to get out.
She's just a girl
who wanted to get out.
I know, honey,
but turn it down.
Oh, you know what else is good?
Marge, are you okay?
Yeah yeah, no no no.
I'm fine. I'm fine.
Maybe we should
call it an evening.
- Yeah. - No no no no no no.
No, please. Just wait.
I gotta... I'll find, um... um... oh!
Oh! You know what's good?
Here, this is so good.
Oh, this one's good!
This one's good.
Me and my girlfriends
used to dance to this.
We'd go, uh...
we'd... we'd do this.
Bill.
I don't understand
what's gotten into you.
- We should stop for tonight.
- No. No no no no no.
Please don't go.
It's still early.
- We have time for one more hand.
- I'm tired.
- No, please don't go.
- I'm tired, really.
- Give me the coat.
- No, please.
- Bill, it's okay.
It's okay. - I said no!
- Ahh!
- Ana!
Ana!
Are you all right?
- Ana, are you okay?
- I think I'm okay.
I'm okay. I'm okay.
Okay, I'm fine.
Ooh.
I think Ana and Goran
are a bad influence.
- They make her unhappy.
- Let's not talk about that till we have to.
Ana's here for now,
so the baby's staying.
I know there's a lot going on,
but you know I saw your
bottle in the cupboard.
How long is this phase
of yours going to continue?
Well, Bill, I don't exactly
have a planned end date.
Well, I'm not saying that,
but I don't want you
to drink in front
of the children.
You're not going to shame me and
turn me into a closet drinker.
There she is.
Um, you know, maybe this isn't
such a good idea after all.
I don't even know her anymore.
I represent Sandy
in the senate.
She represents Sandy
in the house.
We have to start building
our allies on the hill.
- Well, then you talk to her.
- I'm not the one who used to babysit her.
Set it up for Friday.
Friday?
I... I have a class.
- What class?
- I'm... I'm taking a dance class.
Tonight then.
I don't care.
Midge?
Barbara!
Is that you?
I can't believe you lied to me.
I get the Sunstone newsletter
and this is what's
included inside...
"The impact of
excommunication on families."
That's what this panel
is really about, isn't it?
Not mothers and daughters.
You lied to me.
Well, I was going to tell you,
but I knew that you'd overreact.
Look, just forget
excommunication.
That's an unfortunate
coincidence.
I would have spoken on that panel
if it were on polar bears.
Well, here's another
unfortunate coincidence.
I'm not going.
I'm not about to give
a blow-by-blow account
of one of the most painful
experiences of my life.
- Mother, please... - Unlike you,
I'm not an exhibitionist, Barbara,
hanging my dirty laundry out
for the whole world to see.
- No, just cancel it.
- No, I won't.
I am going.
I have to.
And I need you to come with
me to help pave the way.
- For what?
- I need a community, mother.
I have become so isolated.
I need a place
to explore questions...
questions of faith even
with open-minded people.
- Fine, go.
- No.
I may be a new member, but
it's not lost entirely on them
that I am one of the
infamous lying polygamists.
No, you have been a charter
member for 35 years.
I was hoping you would
introduce me.
So sue me.
Well, why couldn't you have
said that in the first place?
Well, because I didn't want
another lecture on polygamy
and how I've brought
it all on myself.
All right, I'll go with you.
But there's
a vast difference between
"I need you, mommy"
and "I need something
from you."
It's called safety net, bud.
It's state-sponsored.
Juniper creek's
already on board.
Look, I don't give
a rusty hubcap
if juniper creek's showing up.
The world doesn't rise and
fall on juniper creek.
We're all tired of living
under the Grants' shadow.
Well, I applaud
your independence, bud,
but we need you at that table
to show that there's
strength in numbers.
Why?
What's at stake to us?
To the doctrine of multiple
mortal probations?
I've been Joseph Smith,
king Arthur, Isaiah,
Benjamin Franklin and William
Wallace from "Braveheart."
- Really?
- I have no use for the state.
Well, you see, bud, I've
been elected to senator,
and that means I work
with the state.
And since you have
eight wives and 27 children
all on government
assistance,
i think you do have
some use for the state
and I think we could
help each other.
The meeting
is Thursday at 2:00.
Excuse me, ladies.
That is correct.
Contestant number 17, you are
the winner of this year's
- Utah math and science
association tournament. - Whoo!
Congratulations!
Congratulations.
Excuse me.
- You're Cara Lynn's
mother, aren't you? - Yes.
She shouldn't be here,
you know.
I beg your pardon?
Why is that?
She's too advanced
for this division.
She breezes through everything
faster than I can
teach it to her.
Sorry, I'm Greg lvey.
- I'm Cara Lynn's math teacher.
- Nicolette Grant.
Her file says that
she's been homeschooled
until this year?
Someone's done a very good job.
Thank you.
Excuse me.
Congratulations.
That was so...
I just got lucky.
No, you were awesome.
I mean it.
I think you're so special.
- Have I got news for you.
- Mom, what's going on?
We've been calling and calling.
You can't not
pick up your phone.
Gee, I'm sorry.
I... I don't know what happened.
Uh, could... could
the battery have run out?
I stopped by 'cause Jodean
said you could use some help.
Why would I need help?
I'm fine.
So you're not having
night terrors?
Is that what she said?
And you believed her?
Frank's the one terrorizing me.
Won't you ever learn?
I put in a work order for some
maintenance with the UEB.
Some mess-up
with the paperwork.
I paid my tithe.
I'm sure your father's
behind this.
What happened over here?
What?
Oh that.
Your father tried
to burn me out.
What?
He wants my money.
What else is new?
I'm lucky he didn't burn
the house to the ground.
I'm on to him though.
That money is hidden good.
You want a sandwich?
I got some bread
and some cream cheese.
Stay in the car, okay?
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
I went to the place
where our trailer used to be
and... everything's gone.
It's all over.
And, I mean, I lived there
for eight years with my mom
and I just... I couldn't
wait to get out.
I promised myself
that I would do something,
that I would be somebody.
And then I looked over
at my kids...
and I love them.
I love my babies, I do.
But all I could think is,
"what was I even thinking?
How did I even get here?"
Oh, I'm so sorry.
You don't want to hear this.
No no, I... I do.
Um, I think about
the future a lot too,
about what kind of life
that I want.
Cara Lynn, you have
to listen to me.
If opportunity knocks,
you have to take it.
You have to go
as far as you can
and as fast as you can,
and you can't look back.
You have to go to college
and then to grad school,
and you can't let
anybody stop you, okay?
So you've got to
promise this to me.
You have to promise this to me.
I... I promise.
Hey, you have a sec?
- I'll go give Nell her bottle.
- Thank you.
- Where'd you go?
- Oh, I was out just driving around.
Honey,
you look like you're crying.
You know I'm here
for you anytime.
We can talk.
We can pray together.
- I know.
- Or scripture.
There are so many verses
that I've turned to
in difficult times.
I appreciate that, Barb.
Yeah, maybe later.
Marge, would you like
a blessing?
A blessing?
Yeah, just a...
just a small one.
I mean sometimes
we ache in ways
that only heavenly father
can help us with.
Right here.
Close your eyes.
Okay, are you ready, sweetie?
Margene Gretchen Heffman,
by the power of the holy
melchizedek priesthood...
- what's going on in here?
- Barb's just giving me a blessing.
You what?
Uh, not exactly.
What does that mean?
- Was she?
- No.
I don't...
I don't think so.
- I don't know.
- It's just olive oil, Nicki.
What's it for?
It's in case
I have a sudden urge
to toss a salad.
For heaven's sake,
it just happened.
It's not a big deal.
And maybe not everything
is so cut and dried.
I understand you're taking
a dance class now.
Yes, I am.
It's helping me find
my center of gravity.
Thank you for asking.
Here are vouchers
for two plane tickets
and some money to help you
settle in for whatever you need.
So you're having us
leave the country.
Not just Goran, but both of us.
Well, it's not exactly
like we imprisoned you.
Just about.
Isn't this what you want?
It is what we want.
But you were trying
to get me the job.
You we trying
to convince me to stay,
trying to keep your baby.
We've learned we can't
impose our will on you.
I don't believe you.
It sounds like
you want us to leave.
No, Ana.
I just want
what's best for you.
I still just get
super concerned
about the p*rn issue.
There is such a crying need
for more public awareness.
It only takes a moment for a
child to see an image that...
Stays with them for a lifetime.
One of our boys
has been participating
in the virtue campaign
at school.
I'm very pleased.
The schools have
given it a good push.
- Carrots, major?
- No, thank you.
- Midge.
- Thank you, mother.
Anyway, safety net
uses the thr*at
of the Attorney General's
office to get the compounds
to the table to accept reform.
It's voluntary so far,
but if it's going to work...
and I believe it can... it's gonna
need long-term funding and support.
I'm going to submit a Bill
at interim next week
and I'd sure like you
to sign on.
I was told you made
a deal with Thorne
for a seat
on senate appropriations.
Is that going to hold up
under senator barn?
- He and I are discussing it now.
- Oh.
It's awfully nice
to see you again, Barbara.
Oh, midge, thank you.
I feel the same.
And I'm glad to see you're
still eating your vegetables.
How's your poor mother, Barb?
How's she doing?
Still hung up from that
whole Betty Ford thing?
- Mother, please. - Oh, that was a
big stinkeroo if ever there was one.
I saw in the Sunstone flyer
you and Nancy are speaking
at the symposium.
When did you become a member?
Just a favor to my mother.
- What are you speaking on?
- What's Sunstone?
Uh, it's... it's like a
club, kinda like a club.
Your father was Roman Grant.
Yes, major, he was.
You're like that girl
on that documentary
I was watching
about that man...
- Mother.
- No no no.
The woman... the daughter,
Victoria Gotti.
The mobster's daughter.
She admitted her father
was a m*rder*r.
Major, Nicki is
our in-house reformer
and safety net is an
important reform program.
Midge, I'd really like
to count on your support.
My election's landed us
in a bit of a sideshow.
I guess I'm trying to say
I could use a friend
right about now up on the hill.
Bill, I see
what's in it for you.
But yours is an agenda
I'm not certain
I'm comfortable with.
No offense,
but it'd be a bit like
legalizing marijuana
or prostitution.
I'm not trying
to legalize anything.
I'm trying to reform something.
Well, you know what I mean.
Look, this is what
I've learned tonight.
You're a good man,
a spiritual man.
You have a lovely family.
I respect that.
So let's take it
one day at a time.
Fair enough.
I found it.
- Oh, here you go, sweetie.
- Thanks, Barb.
Great, now she'll be up
all night reading.
"Jane eyre"
is a great novel, Nicki.
It happens to be my favorite.
Can I ask?
Why have you joined Sunstone?
- It's just a think t*nk.
- I'm not ignorant, Barb.
It's a hotbed of malcontents
and freethinkers
and doubters is what it is.
- Yeah, maybe from your point of view.
- Don't twist this around.
We're married and I'm entitled
to a straight answer,
not something
all wishy-washy.
All I want is to do something
that makes me happy.
Why is that so hard
for you to understand?
Pre-Christmas sale
at the store ends Friday.
Everyone should go
and stock up.
You know one source
of genuine happiness?
Service.
And do you know why?
'Cause when you're busy
helping others,
you don't have time
to agonize over
all the little ways
that life doesn't please you.
Nicki, I told you,
stop picking on her.
Give things a chance to heal.
How long are you gonna
give her a free pass?
You're our priesthood holder.
- She has to be brought back in line.
- S's struggling.
We need to give her
a little longer leash.
Do we?
I caught her trying to
give Margene a blessing.
- A blessing? Barb?
- Yes.
Marge asked for a blessing?
Margene wouldn't know what a blessing
was if it bit her on the nose.
Barb pushed it on her,
as best I could tell.
But Barb wouldn't.
She doesn't have the authority.
She knows that.
It's all connected.
Don't you get it?
The wine,
the dancing and this...
Barb's not
just careening, Bill.
Whatever she's up to,
it's intentional.
How come you didn't invite
me to your dance class?
Uh, to be honest,
I didn't think you'd want to.
'Cause it's the kind
of thing, you know,
people usually do together.
Well, I'm sorry.
Did you want to go?
And the Sunstone thing...
we used to talk about
big decisions.
Well, it wasn't big.
Mother just asked me to join.
It was her way for us
to spend some time together.
Well, is it going
to be controversial?
It's not about our going public,
if that's what you mean.
Well, how can it not be?
As soon as you step up, it's
what everyone'll be thinking.
Anything we do that's the least
bit provocative right now
will only sh**t us in the foot.
Bill, I can't not live
my life and hide
just because everywhere I go
I'm wearing some kind
of Scarlet p.
Don't worry.
I'll be careful.
That's all I'm asking.
Oh, Nicki!
Thank you.
Sardines.
And... and peaches
from South America.
Oh, this is so generous.
All this wonderful,
delicious food.
You're very welcome.
Did everything go well
at the doctor's?
Yes, though you'd think
he was running fort knox.
Getting a measly prescription
for the hormones
and some syringes
was like pulling teeth.
I'm going to a meeting
this afternoon.
It's Bill's safety net
thing he created.
Yes, we've heard about it.
I hope it's
the right thing, Nicki...
inviting the state
into our affairs.
Mama, do you want
to come with me?
- Are you finally ready to speak out?
- I can't.
If anyone's suffered,
if anyone's in the position
to tell it like it is...
I... I can't.
I'm not a victim.
Honey, you know that.
I believe in what
we're doing here.
I believe in
your father's works.
- Mama, it's empty.
- I know.
Albert moved out.
He wanted something newer
that was pure.
That's very important
to him now.
You're staying by yourself?
With no one to look after you?
What if they throw you
in the hole again?
Honey, I appreciate
your concern,
but this is where I've been the
happiest... with your father.
And I need to be with that now.
Sometimes we have
to walk from the past
and sometimes
we have to embrace it.
Heaven help us to know
the difference.
Angela Lebouf, church of the
lamb of the first-borns.
Alfred Woodsteed, the house
of innumerable saints.
Deva Pitstone, box elder
county cooperative society,
representing Hollis Greene.
Bud Mayberry, apostolic
united brotherhood.
Vera Petticrew, interested
observer, Sweetwater group.
Debbie Upshaw, under protest,
tapestry against polygamy.
Eleanor Spitland,
Millennia park.
And to those
joining us from afar...
- palm Ridge?
- Here.
- Juniper creek.
- Albert Grant, present.
Okay, to you, representatives
of the polygamist communities,
and to you, representatives
of state agencies, welcome.
Welcome to safety net.
We're all here
with a shared goal...
to ensure that people
of all polygamist communities
have the same
educational opportunities
and access to justice,
safety and services
as the general public.
We may have divergent
voices and interests,
but here we can
find consensus.
I'd particularly like to acknowledge
sister Mary Catherine Angus
of Saint flora's
family council,
- who has graciously
agreed to... - Excuse me.
Yes, Mr. Grant.
Millennia park
is a non-official,
non-recognized
breakaway sect.
We are not a breakaway sect.
We separated from
juniper creek in 1989.
Let's not wander off
into the weeds here.
We're an officially
incorporated municipality.
We have a nationally
recognized charter school.
And we have our own academy.
Juniper creek's academy
was closed down in 2003.
The trustees
reopened it in 2004.
That's a lie, Albert.
Papa shut down the academy
and you know it.
There's no High School education
for anyone at juniper creek,
and no education for girls of any kind.
I should know.
And that's exactly what we're
here trying to address.
- If that's my sister,
she's mistaken. - No.
Girls are treated as chattel,
traded as commodities
like cattle...
- That's enough, Nicki. - ...
Brainwashed to have babies till our uteruses fall out
or we drop dead
in childbirth.
Nicki, this isn't the place.
She's telling the truth
and it needs to be said.
- Please.
- This is a travesty.
- Bud, bud, please, don't go. Come back.
- This meeting is an outrage.
You're using your office to legitimize
the compounds and legalize polygamy.
- That's not true!
- Bill Henrickson, you're a liar!
- Charlie?
- You're a liar because you lie.
Everyone, please...
That's right, you are a liar!
- He's a liar! He's a liar!
- Please, just calm down, calm down.
We had dinner with midge last
night and she brought the major.
Ugh, that awful woman.
- Are we going to be on time?
- Yeah, we'll be there soon.
I'm sure that clock works well.
What does that mean?
- It means it means.
- And what does that mean?
- It just means what it means.
- Mother.
It means that Bill is a jackass
for making you drive
this decrepit junker.
- Those are for dance class.
- Mm.
Sunstone, dance class...
all sorts of new hobbies.
You know, I struggle every
day with my beliefs, mother,
big and small, just as much
if not more than you do.
Congratulations.
Good for you.
I am desperately trying to find
my voice and share my truth.
Well, I'm glad to hear it.
Instead of just
always kowtowing
to Bill's
fundamentalist tropes.
Please.
Please just...
let's not start.
And I'm hardly the only woman
in this decrepit junker
whose back aches
from kowtowing.
- What are you implying?
- Ned.
At least it took guts
for me to marry Bill.
I didn't just
get married because
I needed a priesthood holder.
And, yes, the major
brought up Betty Ford.
Let's just not forget
that whole mess.
All right,
you stop right there.
Just leave Betty Ford
out of this.
Just get this crate
moving, please.
Let's just get there
and get this over with.
It was Charlie and that
new guy from shipping.
They threw the meeting
into chaos.
I watched it online.
It was streamed live
across the state.
Peg called.
She heard about it on the radio.
So-called prophets ran for the
hills like squealing pigs.
I've got to get everybody
back to that table.
This thing can't fall apart.
I picked up a flyer
in the break room.
Someone's trying to organize
protests in front of the stores.
Bill, how could you?
What are you doing here?
How could you?
I just saw Ana and she
told me everything!
How could you send them
away like that?
Ana and Goran are part of my
life and they're leaving.
- I know. - I thought that
baby was part of our family.
He is part of our family.
Then how can you send them
away like they mean nothing?
That baby is my son,
sent to us to raise
and bring to heavenly father
as part of our
celestial family.
I know that to be true.
But you were sent to us too,
Margene, and I chose you.
No, you can't...
no, don't do that to me.
You're putting your eggs
in a leaky basket.
I'm sinking, Bill.
Look at me.
My mom is dead.
My business is gone.
I have three kids
and, I'm sorry,
but I don't see a fourth
on the horizon.
I'm three credits short
of a High School diploma
and my marriage
is really really complicated.
I need a big timeout.
Oh God, I really do.
My excommunication
was devastating.
It was like I didn't know
where I lived anymore,
like I was exiled
from myself.
! Lt's taken me a long time
to come to terms with that,
but it led me to question, to really
look at the things we've been taught,
the ways our religion
has been interpreted,
and now to reach out to others
and find a new community...
you know, as long as we're
talking about excommunication,
I... I'd just like
to speak for a moment
about how hard it can be
on the loved ones as well
and of the decisions that
led up to the excommunication
and how they tore
the family apart.
Well, the focus of this panel
really is on the aftermath.
For instance, my daughter,
as you all know
but are too polite to say,
is a polygamist.
Her excommunication
was difficult, true.
But the schism happened
years before
and it was when she decided
to submit to her husband
and follow him into polygamy.
No, that was not the way
that it happened.
She abandoned her religion
and she abandoned us.
No, I chose the path that I
believed to be right for me.
Oh, Barbara, please.
You are all but brainwashed.
Mother, no, you closed
the door on me.
- What?
- Yes.
Which is something that I would
never do to my own child.
You were the one
who cast me out.
The church had nothing
to do with it.
That's just not true.
And as far as Betty Ford
is concerned,
I never abandoned that woman.
I adored her, and everybody
in this room knows this.
I'm the one that
backed her invitation
to come speak to us, wasn't I?
There's just
nothing more to say.
Cindy, it's your mother.
Who do you think it is?
I need a ride.
Barbara.
Well, of course she did.
And then she rubbed my nose in the
whole Betty Ford thing all over again
right in front
of everybody.
Boy, they ate it up.
Someone please go get her Mike.
Hey.
Have I got news for you.
I just really think
some extra tutoring
would help Cara Lynn develop
her talents and gifts.
I understand, but I have a full load
this semester and she's doing fine.
Cara Lynn, would you
step outside for a moment?
I'd rather stay.
Cara Lynn grew up
on a compound.
So did I.
They are corrupt, emotionally
deprived places that...
- it's not always like that.
- Sweetheart.
I am determined
that my daughter achieve
her God-given potential.
Anything that helps erase
the effects of 15 years
of indoctrination
on her psyche,
then that's what we're doing.
Don't get me wrong.
I'd like to help, but...
You're the one who has
to decide, Cara Lynn.
Is this what you really want?
I appreciate everything
you're trying to do here, mom,
but I am okay.
I can study on my own
and I've got work
after school anyway.
Maybe that isn't such
a good use of your time.
But I like my job.
Honey, I'd prefer if you focused
on your studies instead.
I think we need
to quit the job.
- This is about Gary Embry, isn't it?
- Absolutely not.
But while we're on the subject,
dating before you're 16
keeps you from
other experiences
that will help you meet
your true eternal partner.
I'm looking for someone looking
that I can talk to at school.
He's disrespectful to Bill.
- And how do you know that?
- It's in his manner.
- I've overhead him speaking.
- So now you eavesdrop?
Sometimes.
What of it?
This place is no different
from a compound.
Don't you ever say that.
Please, don't press me on this.
You are quitting home plus
and you are not
seeing that boy!
You need to focus
on your future,
and Gary Embry is nothing
but a dead end.
Some criticize us
and say we're too uptight,
but I say don't knock us
because we have
different values than you.
p*rn strikes
in many ways,
even the provocative p*rn-inspired
aerobics classes in gyms.
We're not saying ban gyms.
We're merely saying
that those aerobic rooms
should have blinds
and curtains on them
so the people who do not wish
to see offensive material
do not have to do so.
Hey, what do you think of that?
Pretty cool, huh?
I don't think so.
Ahem.
Senator-elt.
I came to pick up my son
Wayne and to drop off
the proposed safety net
authorization Bill.
My wife Barb baked these
cookies for your family.
Thank you.
I'll, um...
I'll take a look at your
proposal and get back to you.
What's going on here?
And you have every
good right to know.
I'm looking for a co-sponsor
in the senate for a Bill.
What for?
It's not personal, Bill.
It's just politics.
It's a Kn*fe to my throat
and you say it's not personal?
I have no choice.
Our mutual constituents
are up in arms over you
and their anger's only growing.
The world saw how your
safety net meeting went.
I can turn all that around.
- I just need time.
- Wake up.
You've ignited a firestorm
in the district.
There are protests
and boycotts being organized.
It's ugly out there
and it's about
to get a lot worse.
Come on, son.
Let's go home.
What?
They're three for $25.
Is Cara Lynn working tonight?
No, and she won't
work here again,
and I don't appreciate you interfering
in the life of my daughter.
What are you talking about?
Terrorizing her with tales
of your childhood misery?
Children are like
tender seedlings.
We have to protect them
and nourish them
before they're ready
for the outside world.
- Okay.
- Cara Lynn is impressionable.
And as her mother,
I have to protect her.
Nicki, the only thing Cara Lynn
needs protecting from is you.
It's obvious you're totally
traumatized by your past
and projecting it
onto your daughter.
What?
You went through a lot
when you were Cara Lynn's age.
- You were r*ped.
- I was not r*ped!
Nicki, you were pushed
into a marriage
that was forcibly consummated.
It's only natural
that seeing Cara Lynn
go through adolescence
should freak you out.
But she's just being
a normal kid
and you're just
gonna scare her away.
If I'm protective of Cara Lynn
it's only because she
isn't exactly surrounded
by reliable female role models.
All right, whatever's going
on, can we just park it?
It's been a stinky week already.
Yes, it's us,
the lying polygamists!
Go tell your friends.
Ugh, let's get out of here.
No, wait a minute.
We are not done here,
not by a long sh*t.
I may not know for a fact which one
of you gave this to Cara Lynn,
but judging by the smutty
drawings, I can take a guess.
Don't look at me.
And I resent being associated with smut.
Margene didn't give Cara
Lynn that book. I did.
Ah, I should have known.
No wonder Teenie had
a dirty magazine habit.
Nicki, "our bodies, ourselves"
is perfectly appropriate
for our daughters.
It's the book my mother gave
to me and I gave to Sarah.
And we all saw where that led!
- And right under your nose too.
- Excuse me?
I will not have my
daughter defile her body
the way yours did.
Th was cruel,
insensitive and horrible.
What is the matter with you?
You should be ashamed
of yourself.
Let us begin.
I invited you in my homes
to get us back on track.
This safety net experiment
must go forward.
Don't talk to us
like we're children.
That meeting you lured us into
was disrupted because of you.
The principle
was doing just fine
before you brought
this scrutiny upon us.
I think bud's right.
You are the lying polygamist.
It's in all the papers.
You've reinforced the worst
stereotypes about us.
The principle can't survive
in the glaring light.
- It needs protection.
- I'd expect that from you.
It's the secrecy and abuses
that will k*ll us.
I'm trying win us
a seat at the table.
We can only win respect
to the extent that
we are respectable.
Is that so?
Well, I've heard
that, thanks to you,
we're on the Eve
of a new witch hunt.
There's new legislation
on the table
to hunt us down
and wipe us out.
- That's what he's won us.
- Where did you hear that?
You think we don't have
connections on the hill?
What's he talking about?
The legislation targets me.
Polygamy will explicitly be
redefined as an impeachable offense
and recriminalized
as second-degree felony.
Citizens will be able to sue
the Attorney General
for not enforcing
the antipolygamy statutes.
Such a visionary, Bill.
Such a keen tactician.
Yes, I stuck my neck out
and drew attention.
But how do you want to live?
Subservient?
Safe if we stay in our place?
Does that give you
self-respect?
Is that how we honor our faith?
This is what your pride
hath wrought.
Now blood will rain down
from the skies.
And I say we move forward,
working together.
Whether we like each other
or not, we play ball.
They want to come in the
compounds, we let 'em.
Same with our houses.
There is no other sane choice.
Barbara, what are
you doing here?
You have to leave now.
Everyone's coming after us.
I didn't know where else to go.
- Can we talk? - I'm... I'm sorry.
I just can't.
Everyone's talking about
our blow-up at sunstone.
And ned is just livid.
He's forbidden me to see you
or even speak to you.
It's not right
to ask us to submit.
It's not right of them.
It's like Betty Ford
all over again.
- Well, raise hell, mother,
like you did then. - No.
I lied.
I... I campaigned
so passionately
for the equal rights amendment.
- You know that. - Well, of course I do.
You inspired me.
You know how hard the church
came down against the era.
- I asked Betty to come and
speak to our group. - I know.
They wanted me to disinvite
her, but I held out.
I got her on that plane, but
they pushed back even harder.
And I caved.
I couldn't face her.
I just left her at the airport
waiting for someone
to come get her,
someone who never came.
Mother.
And now there's nothing
I can do to redeem myself.
Would you give me a blessing?
Oh, Barbara, I can't do that.
Yes, you can.
No no.
You have to ask that of... of
your husband and your sons.
But I... I think we hold the
priesthood too, mother, not just men.
You do.
We all do.
I believe there's
a basis in scripture.
I know it to be true.
Does Bill know
you feel this way?
I think he senses something.
What you're saying
goes against everything.
It... it goes against
the proclamation of the family.
It goes to the very heart
of what we believe in.
- Please hear me out.
- No.
What you're asking...
how can you ask this of me?
How could you do that?
Dear heavenly father,
by the authority
of the holy
melchizedek priesthood,
i give unto this child
a blessing.
I pray you will have
a life full of joy.
And if you should ever want
it, should you ever need it,
you will always have
your place in this family.
In Jesus's name, amen.
Don't forget about us.
Never.
What's going on?
Oh no.
Margene, I want you to know
you have permission
to choose to... to go.
I have no desire
to go to Serbia.
No.
To leave the family...
If this marriage
makes you unhappy,
if I make you unhappy...
Because you deserve
to be happy.
- Thank you, bye bye.
- Thank you very much.
Bye bye.
Good job.
Hi.
I wanted to say I was sorry
for what I said about Sarah.
Nicki, this is where I com
to have my own space.
I said I was sorry.
Well, it's clear everything
I do irritates you.
I know you think I'm
indulgent and frivolous.
Maybe I'm envious.
I see you doing things
just because you want to.
Maybe I wish I could
do the same.
And I don't want Cara Lynn
to turn out like me,
scared underneath.
I hope she turns out
more like you.
What do you do here anyway?
Just the standard dances,
you know?
Actually, I don't.
I've never danced before.
Well, it's easy.
Put one hand here
and the other hand here.
05x02 - A Seat at the Table
Watch/Buy Amazon
Bill Henrickson seems like a typical suburban husband and father, except for the fact that he has three wives, nine kids and three homes to maintain.
Bill Henrickson seems like a typical suburban husband and father, except for the fact that he has three wives, nine kids and three homes to maintain.