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AE: How did you manage to infiltrate a group that is notoriously secretive?
RB: It took a long time. I made a series of useful contacts through Mormon friends, one of whom had connections to “lost boys” [teenage boys who had been expelled from their fundamentalist Mormon communities]. Eventually I began communicating with a woman who'd escaped the FLDS some years ago.

This woman arranged for me to meet some relatives of hers to whom I was introduced as the widow of a Mormon man I'd met when he was a missionary, and who later decided to live the principle, marrying two other women.

My story was that I had two teenage daughters — I photographed two beautiful young cousins for this — and the Heavenly Father had revealed to me that I needed to seek a husband who lived the principle more zealously, so that my daughters would have the advantage of marrying into a more traditional polygamist community. Members of the family I'd been introduced to agreed to help me in this aim and drove me to the home of relatives of theirs in Hilldale-Colorado City.

Before I did this, I spent about 18 months preparing myself, helped by various contacts I'd made. I learned Mormon vernacular, which is quite unique, customs, prayers, acceptable female demeanor and dress habits. I grew my hair long and dyed it, put on weight and accustomed myself to the clothing FLDS women wear.

AE: How long were you undercover?
RB: Over two weeks. It felt like an eternity.

AE: What did you spend your time doing in the time that you were with them?
RB: I became a participant in the household. I was taken under the wing of the head wife and carried out household chores and child-minding. It was a chaotic and depressing environment: numerous sister-wives and children, low standard of living — not remotely like we see on HBO's Big Love — and a high level of psychological and physical abuse, at least by our standards. They simply see it as normality.

I volunteered to run errands with various sister-wives so that I could explore the town. I read scriptures and presented myself as shy and quiet; that way I could contain my exposure somewhat. I asked questions very carefully so that it seemed I was just trying to learn what would be expected of me in this new environment once I settled with my daughters.

I was inspected and “interviewed” by a couple of powerful men in the community, and then introduced to several men willing to become my husband. Usually a husband is simply assigned, but in my case they made quite a thing out of how I would have a choice. It was really my daughters they were interested in, and these prospective husbands all indicated that they would also marry my oldest daughter if the prophet agreed. It is not unusual for a woman and her daughter or sister to have the same husband or for a man to “marry” his stepdaughter, half-sister, cousin or even his own daughter.

I think I was given kid-glove treatment because they didn't want to scare me off and lose two young marriageable girls. Young girls are the sought-after commodity in that community and are often “sealed” to men 40–60 years older than they are.

AE: As an outsider, how were you treated?
RB: The people I stayed with were hospitable and tried to make a good impression. The FLDS community does not welcome outsiders; they are extremely secretive and paranoid — they have a great deal to hide. But I was brought in by people who were trusted, and it would have curried favor with the prophet had my host family been able to bring two new young girls into the community.

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