Two neighboring towns on the Arizona-Utah border that once served as a haven for a polygamous religious sect have entered a new era.

A polygamist leader in Arizona has been sentenced to 50 years in prison.

Growing numbers of people are flocking to U.S. churches that center their practice around a psychedelic tea known as ayahuasca.

Authorities say the leader of a small polygamous group near the Arizona-Utah border had taken at least 20 wives and punished followers who didn't treat him as a prophet.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a short statement Tuesday expressing sympathy for the victims, while pointing out they didn't belong to the mainstream church. The Mexican community is one of a handful of Mormon splinter groups who still practice plural marriage. The Utah-based church in recent years has been more open about how polygamy was a key part of its history. In 2015, it included a small exhibit about polygamy in its revamped history museum in Salt Lake City. When Jeffs' stories were generating attention, church officials argued that people should only call members of the mainstream church Mormons and avoid the term "fundamentalist Mormon," Reeve said.