On Nov. 1, social media influencer April Orgill opened up to over 2 million YouTube and 120K Instagram followers about growing up on a Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints polygamist compound in the 1980s and ’90s. The revelation was given via the “April and Davey Podcast” that is hosted by her and her husband, Davey Orgill.

Unlike what many have been accustomed to with these types of revelations in recent years, Orgill spoke about what life was like as a member of the FLDS church prior to the reign of leader, Warren Jeffs, who is currently serving a prison sentence of life plus 20 years for aggravated sexual assault of a child under age 14 and sexual assault of a child under age 17.

The podcast includes an episode with her husband, Davey Orgill and a follow-up episode with her mother, Hannah Weis, clarifying some things and adding to the conversation. April Orgill said opening up to the public was done for two reasons: To help her subscribers/followers differentiate between the FLDS faith and her current faith in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as to offer support to current and former FLDS members whom she credits for much of who she is today.

“I grew up in West Jordan, and attended an FLDS-run school called Alta Academy,” she said. “We wore homemade pioneer-like dresses, kept our hair long, and wore it in braids.”

But unlike many in the compound, Orgill and her siblings were allowed by their mother, who was single due to a divorce when Orgill was 5 years old, to change out of those clothes when they got home.

“We were what you would call an inactive FLDS family,” Orgill said. “My mom was single, and remained in the church because it’s what she knew. She was also being supported as a single mother of six kids. We’d come home and change out of our dresses into play clothes, which was frowned upon by church leaders.”

Being in the world and not of the world, however, is a fundamental teaching of the FLDS faith, and Orgill said there were times when she and her family would be reprimanded for being seen in public in worldly clothes. She recalled a time in the fourth grade when she was called to see Warren Jeffs, the principal at the time, for such behavior.

“I remember after being seen at the store wearing ordinary clothes, I was called up to Warren Jeffs’ office,” she said. “I didn’t wear tights under my dress that day, and thought that was why I was in trouble. When I got there, Warren Jeffs asked if it was true that I was seen in the grocery store in worldly clothes, and then he gave me a lecture. I remember feeling very uncomfortable, and I’m not sure if it was because I was in trouble or another reason I wasn’t aware of.”

According to Orgill, there would be several more lectures that Jeffs gave to students, not just about dress, but about how to view the opposite sex.

“Each day, we would have what was called morning class, and Warren Jeffs would say things like, ‘Girls treat boys like they are snakes. Boys treat girls like they are poisonous snakes,’ and we’d have to take notes on this,” she said. “The end of the world was predicted nearly every year, and if it didn’t come, it was because of our unfaithfulness.”

It was meetings and lectures like these that Orgill said led to what she believes was a culture of fear and control for many years to come in the FLDS community. Even so, she noted many good things that came from growing up around many of the people there.

“I remember my fifth grade teacher was really kind,” she said. “She noticed that I was getting in trouble for not having long enough dresses or tights to wear under my dress, so she made me some clothes. I really liked her.”

The education Orgill received at Alta Academy was really good, she said, and prepared her for her eventual entry into public school when her family was excommunicated.

“When I was in eighth grade in the mid-1990s, things were changing in the church,” she said. “Members were being told to sell their homes and move down to Colorado City, and my mom decided not to. Because of this, we were excommunicated.”

While Orgill acknowledged that her insider-outsider perspective may be seen by some as a bit skewed, she said it was this viewpoint that allowed her and her family to not only leave, but to be able to decipher for themselves what good they wanted to take from the FLDS church and community moving forward.

“I attended a local public high school, and actually began taking missionary discussions from Church of Jesus Christ missionaries,” Orgill said. “I remember reading the Book of Mormon when I was little, and gaining a testimony of it, but being confused and uneasy about the other FLDS teachings. When I took the missionary discussions, my testimony of the Book of Mormon grew and I was eventually baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

There were other teachings Orgill took from growing up on the FLDS compound that have helped to sustain her throughout her life.

“The FLDS people live a very self-sustaining life, and we learned it,” she said. “We learned to cook and sew, among other things. My mom was a very good seamstress, and passed that down to us. My mom was even able to use her sewing skills to support me and my siblings growing up.”

And then, there’s hair: One thing FLDS women are known for is their long hair, and now, Orgill has her own successful “Hair 101 with April” YouTube tutorial channel.

Orgill recognizes that she is fortunate to have escaped a situation that many have found extremely difficult to do so. She said she has family members and friends who have experienced tragedies and heartache in recent years, and continues to hear horror stories that are hard for her to believe based on her own experiences. Even so, she says she believes them and wants to help.

“The FLDS people are some of the best people I know,” she said. “You can’t judge people just by a corrupt leader. I want those who are still members to know that they are loved, and those who have left, that there is support.”

Orgill’s entire podcast includes three episodes, and are published on Davey Orgill’s YouTube Channel.