5 things to know about FLDS survivor Rebecca Musser

One of the many wives of former FLDS leader Rulon Jeffs, Rebecca Musser, escaped the religious sect in 2002 after her polygamist husband's death.

Trigger Warning: This article contains mentions of abuse. Readers' discretion is advised.

Musser, who is now an activist, author, and divorced mother-of-two, has disclosed the horrific details of her past life on multiple occasions. She often speaks about the abuse she endured throughout the years ever since her marriage to Jeffs at the age of 19. She even testified at the trial of one of her former husband's sons, who is now a convicted felon and child r*psit, Warren Jeffs.

Rebecca Musser's story has inspired others and will feature on Dateline: Secrets Uncovered's upcoming episode titled Unbreakable. It will air on Wednesday, February 22, 2023, at 8.00 pm ET.

The synopsis states:

"The behind-the-scenes story of Rebecca Musser vs. Warren Jeffs, one of the FBI's most notorious fugitives; Rebecca opens up about life in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and why she decided to leave."

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Rebecca Musser's marriage to Rulon Jeffs, her escape from FLDS, and more details about the case

1) Rebecca grew up in a polygamous household

Rebecca Musser was born into the family of FLDS member Lloyd Wall in 1976 in Salt Lake City, Utah, who at the time of her birth already had two wives. She grew up with more than 20 children from her father's two wives, one of whom lived upstairs while the other resided in the basement with her children.

Musser told NPR news that her father did not grow up as part of the fundamentalist church but later joined it.

She said:

"My father was a businessman. He was not born and raised in the fundamentalist church, and he was converted to it. He had a wife and five children at the time of his conversion."

She added:

"A couple years later, he married my mother for his second wife, and I am the fifth child of my mother. So I grew up in the middle of a very large family. Because of the situation with my father being in business, he was not open about the fact that he was a polygamist."

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2) At the age of 19, she was forced to marry the then-president of FLDS, Rulon Jeffs

When Rebecca Musser turned 19 in 1995, she discovered that Rulon Jeffs, the church's then-president, had a "divine inspiration" that she was to become his 19th wife. He was in his late 80s at the time, and later went on to marry dozens of other women in the years that followed. Her father forced her to marry 85-year-old Rulon Jeffs and in exchange, he was "gifted a third wife."

Musser claimed that she felt "scared" and had no control over the situation.

She told CNN:

"I was scared, I was terrified of marrying this man, and yet I could not say no because it would bring a tremendous amount of shame on my family."

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3) Rebecca Musser refused to remarry Rulon Jeffs' son after his death and escaped

Rulon Jeffs presided over the FLDS from 1986 until his death at the age of 92 in 2000 after which one of his sons, Warren Jeffs, succeeded him and took over the church. Musser reportedly told NPR News that at the time of Rulon's death, he had a total of 56 wives who were being forced to remarry their new leader Warren Jeffs.

Musser refused to comply with his desires and had to face Warren, who reportedly told her, "I will break you, and I will train you to be a good wife." She told the publication how she had to beg him to "not do this to me. He said that I had a week and I would be remarried, period."

That's when she made the decision to escape after finally realizing that "I could not say yes to something I no longer agreed with, and I did." Leaving a note behind, she slipped past the guards and became the only person to have escaped the FLDS in the next 10 years.

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4) A few years later, Musser became the state's star witness in Warren Jeffs' trial

In August 2006, Warren Jeffs was arrested when the church's custom of getting minors married to older men came to light. Rebecca Musser was the state's key witness during Warren's trial. In 2007, he was first found guilty as an accomplice to r*pe.

Authorities then raided his temple at the YFZ ranch in Eldorado, Texas, in 2008, finding evidence of illegal underage marriages. As the documents were seized during the search, Musser once again assisted police and prosecutors in examining the documents and providing insight into the FLDS culture.

In 2011, Warren was ultimately convicted of aggravated s*xual assault against a minor and s*xual assault against a child.

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5) Rebecca Musser published a book, narrating her experience with FLDS

After her great escape in 2002, Musser married a former member, Ben Musser. The couple had two children, Natalie and Kyle, but soon got divorced. She even published a book titled The Witness Wore Red: The 19th Wife Who Brought Polygamous Cult Leaders to Justice, narrating the past abuse she faced. She shed light on various rules that had to be followed in the sect, including the famous one about the color red, which was banned in the FLDS church.

Rebecca Musser explained to NPR how she wore red for the first time in the courtroom during Warren Jeffs' trial "out of defiance."

She further explained:

"It was to send him a message that I was not broken. It later has been a reminder to me, as I've learned and I've grown, wearing red to me means that I have choice. It's a reminder that I have a choice every single day, and I have to act on that choice."

In 2013, she established the Claim Red Foundation in Fruitland, Idaho, where she currently resides with her two children. The foundation creates awareness about identifying and resisting oppression and abuse.

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The upcoming Dateline: Secrets Uncovered episode will shed some more light on the case, which will air on Oxygen at 8.00 pm ET on February 22, 2023.