Lost Boys are young men exiled from polygamous communities due to a shortage of brides. They struggle to adapt to the outside world and may lack basic skills. Some become activists and report child abuse and other violations of the law, causing further deterioration in relations with the outside world.
Lost Boys are boys and young people who are exiled from communities that practice polygamy. These are forced to leave their communities due to concerns about the shortage of brides; in a community where people regularly take multiple wives, clearly large numbers of women are needed to fill the need for brides. One way to ensure that there are enough women in the community to go around is to exile young men, typically using relatively minor infractions of community rules as an excuse for exile.
The plight of the lost boys first came to public attention in 2005 when the media covered several boys exiled by the fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS). Some of these boys had been exiled by the age of 13 and many had simply been told to leave, or dumped by the side of the road. Older men who had left the Mormon Church began reaching out to lost boys, trying to help them make their way in the world, and this garnered media attention.
For the Lost Boys, their situation is disorienting and quite depressing. Many people who grew up in the FLDS grew up in compounds and were taught that they should view the outside world with distrust. They may receive minimal education and skills and are repeatedly told they will not go to heaven if they leave the FLDS and fail to take at least three brides.
As the lost boys are thrust out into the outside world, they must contend with the trauma of leaving their families forever, while also dealing with the fact that they were summarily ousted by the religion they were raised in. Since many lack the basic skills needed to survive, they struggle to make a living. Some men expelled from Mormon sects later become activists, speaking out against conditions in fundamentalist sects and supporting others who wish to leave the church, or who are exiled from it.
In some cases, the lost boys have complained to law enforcement about conditions inside the fundamentalist compounds, citing child abuse and other violations of the law. Reports of illegal situations have sometimes triggered law enforcement investigations or raids, causing further deterioration in relations between FLDS groups and the outside world. In essence, it creates a sort of vicious circle where law enforcement raids are used to promote the idea that the outside world is dangerous and unreliable.
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