"He told me I wasn't welcome," Steed said. "And on the way out he said: 'Just to let you know, when the final devastation comes, you will be destroyed.' I believed it completely. If you are told your whole life the Earth is flat, what else would you believe?"
Many of the exiled boys express affection for their hometowns, but seldom for the FLDS.
"It wasn't so bad until I got some knowledge of the world and saw how they treated us," said John Jessop, 16, who said he was thrown out two years ago. "I would definitely go live there again with my family. It's a great place, but I want no part of the religion."
Once children are expelled, the FLDS forbids parents from visiting them, and violating the rule can result in eviction from their church-owned homes, say state authorities and former town residents. Many parents sever all ties to their sons.
In some cases, families outside the communities have unofficially adopted the boys.
That's what happened to Gideon. A Mormon couple, Stacha and Neil Glauser of St. George, took him in.
"Taking Gideon was an impulsive thing," said Stacha Glauser, a 47-year-old hairdresser with two other teenagers. "I just couldn't stand seeing a kid kicked out into the streets."
As a child, she heard strange stories about the polygamous towns, stories of men with dozens of wives, hundreds of children and homes the size of barns.
According to Gideon, he is one of 71 children born to his father, 73-year-old Dan Barlow, and his father's eight wives.
The Barlows were among Colorado City's first settlers and have served as political leaders and lawmen. Gideon's father was mayor.
But last year Jeffs called a meeting. He announced that Dan Barlow and 20 other men were being expelled. His reasons were never fully explained.
Then he "reassigned" their wives and children to other men, say local authorities and witnesses.
"Warren said, 'All who agree with the decision stand up,' and I stood up," Gideon said. "I stood because I was scared. My dad left that day."
Suddenly, Gideon had a new father -- one who he said didn't like him listening to music, wearing short-sleeved shirts and mingling with girls. The pressure built. His mother made a pile of his CDs and shirts to toss out. Finally, he said, Jeffs gave the order for him to leave.
When Gideon called his exiled father in St. George for help, he was rebuffed.
