2003 and the stories of why Elizabeth ran away and just how far her 'rule of the roost' father was prepared to go. Right or wrong this comment would surely have you banned from all American forums.
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THURSDAY, MARCH 27
"As my coworkers and I sat around discussing the massive wrongness of the whole Elizabeth Smart kidnapping, the potential truth dawned on me in a blaze of Mormonity," writes Autumn. "It's no secret that Elizabeth Smart's father has bandied about plans to enter politics. [Suppose] young Elizabeth, thought to be the picture of what a Mormon girl should be, got pregnant. Ed Smart knows that nothing hurts a campaign more than a pregnant 14-year-old Mormon, so in a stroke of brilliance, he arranges a 'kidnap.' Not only will he get Elizabeth out of the public eye, he'll win TONS of publicity and sympathy votes. Elizabeth disappears but is kept fairly close to home for the majority of her nine-month (!) ordeal. Her burgeoning pregnancy is hidden beneath burqa-like clothing. When the time comes for her to deliver, she's taken to San Diego, where chances of her recognition are far less likely than in Salt Lake City. She recovers for a month or two, then miracle of miracles, she's returned to the loving arms of her family. Photos show her with a rounder face and a glow typically associated with maternal hormones. Her dad said it himself: 'She left us a young lady and returned a woman.'"
Comment from 2009
