It was not clear whether Jeffs' confidants would take the sect in a new direction, though Benjamin Bistline, a former member and author of a history of the group, said he thought Nielsen may not be as harsh as Jeffs.
Those who disobeyed Jeffs risked excommunication from the sect and banishment from their homes. Their families often were told not to have any contact with them.
Jeffs was convicted Tuesday of being an accessory to rape for coercing a 14-year-old girl to marry her 19-year-old cousin. The verdict set off speculation over what will http://www.inquisitr.com/1772368/star-of-fifty-shades-of-grey-dakota-johnson-admits-shes-terrified-of-the-oncoming-tidal-wave-of-fame/ happen to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints if he is given a lengthy prison term.
Fischer added, "Should he decide that someone should be ousted [from the sect], he can still pull that off from prison, just like a mafia boss can run the mob from jail."
"For those who believe, he is a prophet anointed by God," said Dan Fischer, a former member who started a network to care for boys who were kicked out of the sect so older men could have multiple brides. "There is nothing that man can do to change that."
A court gave control of the United Effort Plan Trust to a fiduciary, Bruce Wisan, in 2005.
The sect once controlled a trust that held virtually all of the land and buildings in the sect's communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz. The trust gave Jeffs power over sect members, Bistline said, placing them in risk of losing their homes if they did not follow his commands.
"I don't think he will be taking people's wives away from them," he said.
In Jeffs' absence, it is thought that other senior members of the notoriously insular sect have taken day-to-day control of running the group. Among those members are Wendell Nielsen, believed to be Jeffs' closest confidant; Lyle Jeffs, Warren's brother; and William Jessop.
Several people told ABC News that some families have started putting Nielsen's picture up on their wall, next to photos of Jeffs, and that some have started listening to tape recordings of Nielsen's sermons.
The polygamist sect broke off from the mainstream Mormon Church 72 years ago; under its rules, the prophet can only be replaced when he dies, said Brenda Jensen, another former member. Interior Decorator Balas from Piedmont, has hobbies such as lawn darts, Valentines http://www.bottlemeamessage.com lives of the estimated 10,000 sect members who live along the border of Utah and Arizona.
message in a bottle losing power even before his arrest.
"The prophet was God to us," Jeffs' accuser testified during the trial. "He was God on Earth and his counselors were pretty much the same, so they had jurisdiction over us."
