(May 13, 2008)--Behind guarded, ornate gates at the end of a rural road, a self-proclaimed prophet warns his followers about the end of time and rails against a dangerous and unclean world outside their West Texas compound in Clyde, but this isn't the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' ranch, which authorities raided last month in Eldorado after receiving reports that underage girls were being forced to marry much older men.
This is the House of Yahweh: a different, even darker sect that the state has been investigating for years.
It’s between Clyde and Eula In Callahan County.
In February, authorities charged the group's 73-year-old leader with performing polygamous weddings and forcing about 40 children, some as young as 11, to work jobs at his 44-acre compound.
If convicted on the most serious charges, Yisrayl Hawkins would face as much as 20 years in prison.
Another sect leader goes to court this summer on charges of sexually abusing a teenager, bigamy and welfare fraud.
Although members deny they practice polygamy, former members say Yisrayl Hawkins has at least two dozen wives and state records show he fathered two babies last year with women ages 19 and 22.
Yisrayl Hawkins, who has pleaded not guilty in his criminal case, told The Associated Press that he and his church are misunderstood and persecuted because of their religious beliefs.
An article in the April edition of the magazine The Prophetic Word, which the House of Yahweh publishes, says “persecution against Yahweh’s Saints is nothing new.”
“We have been persecuted since the dedication in 1982,” the article says.
“Yet for the last 26 years, we have continued to remain steadfast and firm in teaching the Laws of Yahweh and revealing the sins of the world.”
Click Here For House Of Yahweh Web Site
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