In evaluating Flora Jessop's story, it's well to remember we need to assess it's truth based on her own consistencies.
Do you remember last fall they found the bones of the English king Richard the 3rd? This is the king who is hated based on a number of stories. Did you know there was a Richard the 3rd society? Their goal is to reform his reputation. But there is a dynamic here that is also at play with Flora Jessop. Once someone disappears from the scene it is the survivors, alone, that get to write history. Outside of her community of origin, the tales may have grown with the telling without her being around to remind folks, and there may be a number of people to "verify" her mother's version of events. It is impossible to know.
Her story checks out to me. There are no inconsistencies, large memory gaps, or other indicators of lying. We have to remember the FLDS are not us. They may have come from us, but we do not need to be embarassed by their mistakes. Some of the raids against them have been too heavy handed, but we don't need to be embarassed by that either.
