The daughter of infamous cult leader Warren Jeffs opens up about escaping the polygamous Mormon sect — and the moment she knew she had to leave: 'There's healing after trauma'

• Warren Jeffs' daughter Rachel Jeffs Blackmore escaped from the FLDS church in 2014.
• She was recently featured on A&E Network's "Secrets of Polygamy" docuseries.

Looking at Rachel Jeffs Blackmore's beautifully curated Instagram page, which features snapshots of her family and her life in the snowy mountains of Idaho, you'd be hard-pressed to assume that she was anything other than a busy mom and farmer.

But scroll a little longer, and clues about Jeffs Blackmore's past — as a former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (or FLDS), an ultra-conservative offshoot of Mormonism — begin to appear.

"As most of you know, we weren't allowed to celebrate Christmas when I was a kid," she wrote in the caption of a post showing her holding her young son in front of a Christmas tree on December 18. After revealing that her father once destroyed a Christmas book she and her siblings had enjoyed reading as children, Jeffs Blackmore (who's currently in the process of legally removing "Jeffs" from her name) expresses gratitude that her children aren't raised to feel guilty about enjoying Christmas.

In another post from October celebrating her daughter's engagement and pregnancy, Jeffs Blackmore wrote in the caption: "As a young teen and into adulthood I so wanted to allow myself to feel those feelings that I was constantly told to crush. I wanted to talk to that boy that kept looking at me. I wanted to choose the guy of my dreams."

"Instead I had a placement marriage," she concluded.

Jeffs Blackmore's story is unique — she's not only a former FLDS member, she's also the daughter of Warren Jeffs, the church leader who was imprisoned on child sexual assault charges in 2011 after a nationwide manhunt.

Warren Jeffs, one of the leaders of the FLDS, was sent to prison in 2011 on child sexual-assault charges

The Mormon Church officially decried polygamy, or the practice of having multiple spouses, in the late 1800s, and the FLDS branch was subsequently founded as an offshoot. FLDS members continue to practice polygamy to this day, though some former members, including Jeffs Blackmore, have described the FLDS as a "cult."

Warren Jeffs' father Rulon was the leader of the church up until his death in 2002, which is when Jeffs took over as the "prophet." Dispensing what he termed "revelations" to his followers, former FLDS members have described Jeffs' word as being law, and have noted that he would frequently expel male members from the church whom he deemed a threat to him or his leadership.

Jeffs also appointed himself responsible for organizing the marriages of young, often underage FLDS women. He had nearly 80 wives as of 2011, and dozens of them were younger than 17, according to a report from the Washington Post.

However, when a member was convicted of bigamy in 2003, Jeffs left the community and began traveling extensively, ostensibly to avoid authorities. In 2005, Jeffs was indicted in Arizona for fleeing prosecution and arranging a marriage between a 16-year-old girl and an already-married man. He subsequently entered a not guilty plea. The church leader was also charged in Utah for being an accomplice to a rape, but the charges were later dropped.

After being on the FBI's most-wanted list for several months, Jeffs was finally arrested near Las Vegas in 2006. He was subsequently indicted by a grand jury in Texas (where another FLDS ranch was located) on bigamy and sexual assault charges, and was sentenced in 2011.

Though Jeffs insisted repeatedly that the charges against him were an attack on his religion and his community, he was found guilty of two counts of child sexual abuse related to underage marriages in the FLDS in Texas. Authorities have said they have evidence Jeffs still regularly shares "revelations" with FLDS members and maintains control over the sect while serving a life sentence in prison.

The leader's cruelty apparently extended to his own family members as well. In her memoir and during interviews for A&E Network's "Secrets of Polygamy," Jeffs Blackmore details how her father sexually abused her and several of her siblings, and punished her harshly even as an adult woman.

Jeffs Blackmore escaped FLDS in 2014 with her five children

After she was repeatedly separated from her family, including her children, as punishment for perceived misdeeds, Jeffs Blackmore escaped the FLDS in 2014, after her father was behind bars. Jeffs Blackmore left with her five children from her first marriage, which was arranged without her consent and included several other wives. She's now married to Brandon Blackmore, who also left the FLDS, and together they have two more kids.

On "Secrets of Polygamy," Jeffs Blackmore shares insights about her experience in the FLDS with investigators, who are trying to track down missing children who have recently left the church.

But while much of her adult life has been spent speaking about the terrors of the FLDS and the dangerous influence of her father, Jeffs Blackmore told Business Insider that her time in the church gave her some happy memories, too.

"Growing up, there were lots of happy times with my siblings. We would do programs and sing together, go on hikes together, swim," she said. "We had a lot of good things, and I think it's important to remember to hold onto the good when you do leave and not just say it was all bad."

Jeffs Blackmore explained that while she questioned the FLDS guidance to avoid interactions with the outside world, including the internet, she was content to spend the rest of her life in the church with her family — at least, up until a certain point.

"I came to terms [with the fact] that I am going to live here. I'm going to stay here as a young adult because this is where my family is, this is where my friends are," she told BI. "It was bearable at the time, but as things got more hurtful, especially for my kids, where they were separating us and making me leave them with people who were not treating them well, I started realizing that life was just really going downhill."

Jeffs Blackmore reached a breaking point when her younger sister told her about the sexual abuse she experienced at Warren Jeffs' hands. "That really gave me the peace I needed, that I don't have to stay here, I can leave," she said.

Jeffs Blackmore wrote at length in her book about Jeffs' sexual abuse, which she says she experienced from the ages of 8 to 16. According to Jeffs Blackmore, the abuse continued to haunt her as an adult in the church, when Jeffs forbade her from sharing her experience and threatened her with punishment if she did. Several other of Jeffs' numerous children have also come forward in recent years to accuse their father of similar abuse.

"All those years feeling like I was the only victim made me wonder if there was something wrong with me. And realizing that it was a problem with him just gave me the strength," Jeffs Blackmore said.

Jeffs Blackmore wants to use her experience to help others trapped in abusive communities

Despite the intense trauma she says she experienced while in the FLDS, Jeffs Blackmore told BI that she doesn't want to completely sever ties with her former community, especially with her family members who remain. She credited her social-media presence with serving as a potential lifeline for any members trying to leave, too.

"The main reason why I was glad I got out and got on Facebook is I felt like this is a way that any of my family could reach me if they ever needed to," Jeffs Blackmore said. "Social media has been a help for the families and the girls that have tried to escape."

Although Jeffs Blackmore has been outspoken about the abuse she says she suffered while a member of the FLDS, she told BI that the church and its members aren't totally reprehensible.

"I think it's important to realize that a lot of these people who have left the FLDS are very talented, very smart. They have a lot of good, they know how to work really hard, and a lot of 'em are leaders and amazing people," she said.

"There were lots of happy times, and there was a unity and a togetherness that I don't think that we should forget," Jeffs Blackmore continued.

Overall, Jeffs Blackmore said, she takes her newfound position as an advocate for former FLDS members to heart.

"I feel like that strong feeling that I want people to realize there's happiness after trauma, that they can heal," she told BI. "And that's a big thing for me — to help people realize there's healing after trauma."

Former lawyers for Jeffs didn't immediately respond to BI's request for comment.

"Secrets of Polygamy" is currently airing on A&E.