The Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church will protest Elizabeth Edwards' funeral this Saturday, the hate group announced in a press statement today. Westboro Baptist, best known for picketing military funerals and anything they associate with the "homosexual agenda," didn't provide a reason for the protest (the press release was titled "God Hates Elizabeth Edwards") but said that they plan to crash the public service in Raleigh, N.C. Staffers at the Edenton Street United Methodist Church told the Washington Post that they're aware of the protest and are taking measures in anticipation of the group's arrival. Elizabeth Edwards died on Tuesday after a six-year battle with cancer. She will be buried in a private ceremony next to her son Wade, who was killed in a car crash in 1996.

The Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church will protest Elizabeth Edwards' funeral this Saturday, the hate group announced in a press statement today. Westboro Baptist, best known for picketing military funerals and anything they associate with the "homosexual agenda," didn't provide a reason for the protest (the press release was titled "God Hates Elizabeth Edwards") but said that they plan to crash the public service in Raleigh, N.C. Staffers at the Edenton Street United Methodist Church told the Washington Post that they're aware of the protest and are taking measures in anticipation of the group's arrival. Elizabeth Edwards died on Tuesday after a six-year battle with cancer. She will be buried in a private ceremony next to her son Wade, who was killed in a car crash in 1996.

My family doesn’t have much in common with the Edwards family. My parents were mild mannered professors who avoided the spotlight. And though my dad was once head of the German Department, he was never a Senator. Nor, for that matter, did he ever run for President. And sure, there may have been a fight or two along the way, but my parents never separated. There was no highly publicized affair. Or any affair, for that matter.

But tonight, my heart goes out to the Edwards clan for the things my family does have in common with them—the things that all families have in common with them. Love and mortality.


Like Elizabeth Edwards, my father died of cancer. He passed in 2002, just days before Thanksgiving. And also like Elizabeth Edwards, Dad’s doctors advised him shortly before his death that more treatment would not make a bit of difference. My dad still fought valiantly, though. And he was very much part of every single moment that he possibly could be right to the end. Like the evening we made martinis in his hospital room—a no-no for sure, but the nighttime nurse let it slide. He died the next morning in his bed on the 7th-floor.

Every year during the holiday season my thoughts turn to my father even more often than they had in the months prior. And this year was no exception, only my thoughts have also turned to someone else. My sister. She died of cancer in the middle of October. She, too, was told that chemotherapy was no longer an option. Like Elizabeth Edwards, my sister had school-aged children. Her daughter is a senior in high school.

The pain of losing my father and that of losing my sister were similar. Only I felt them in different capacities, once as a son, and this most recent time as a brother. And a dad. It was hard to explain to my daughter. She had never really dealt with death before, except once, and she was a lot younger then. She didn’t know my sister very well, but she cried, nonetheless.

I did, too.

But looking back, in both cases, my family was lucky. In both cases, like the Edwards family, we got a chance to say goodbye. And through those goodbyes, we learned, as painful as it was, that there was much magic in the melancholy, great beauty in the struggle. Which is why I think my dad and sister both fought the way they did. Not for them. But for us. So we could feel that magic and see that beauty. They died with dignity. And they died with love.

No, you’re not familiar with my family. Not like you are the Edwards family, John and Elizabeth and their four children, Cate, Emma, Jack and, of course, Wade, who died in an automobile accident in 1996. The Osbornes have never been on TV. At least not my Osbornes. We never even really watched all that much TV. But we’re a lot like the Edwards family. And we’re a lot like your family, too.

Because it doesn’t matter how big your family is. Or how small. How wealthy it is. Or how poor. How well known or obscure. Every family knows love. And no family can escape mortality.

Tonight, I hope and pray that the Edwards family is in as much peace as possible. And I hope they derive a similar beauty out of Elizabeth’s passing as we did the passing of my dad and my sister.

I also hope they know that there are countless of Americans who are grief stricken alongside of them. Because no matter how dissimilar we all are, everyone knows what love feels like. And none of us live forever.

Nor do the people we love.

My family doesn’t have much in common with the Edwards family. My parents were mild mannered professors who avoided the spotlight. And though my dad was once head of the German Department, he was never a Senator. Nor, for that matter, did he ever run for President. And sure, there may have been a fight or two along the way, but my parents never separated. There was no highly publicized affair. Or any affair, for that matter.

But tonight, my heart goes out to the Edwards clan for the things my family does have in common with them—the things that all families have in common with them. Love and mortality.


Like Elizabeth Edwards, my father died of cancer. He passed in 2002, just days before Thanksgiving. And also like Elizabeth Edwards, Dad’s doctors advised him shortly before his death that more treatment would not make a bit of difference. My dad still fought valiantly, though. And he was very much part of every single moment that he possibly could be right to the end. Like the evening we made martinis in his hospital room—a no-no for sure, but the nighttime nurse let it slide. He died the next morning in his bed on the 7th-floor.

Every year during the holiday season my thoughts turn to my father even more often than they had in the months prior. And this year was no exception, only my thoughts have also turned to someone else. My sister. She died of cancer in the middle of October. She, too, was told that chemotherapy was no longer an option. Like Elizabeth Edwards, my sister had school-aged children. Her daughter is a senior in high school.

The pain of losing my father and that of losing my sister were similar. Only I felt them in different capacities, once as a son, and this most recent time as a brother. And a dad. It was hard to explain to my daughter. She had never really dealt with death before, except once, and she was a lot younger then. She didn’t know my sister very well, but she cried, nonetheless.

I did, too.

But looking back, in both cases, my family was lucky. In both cases, like the Edwards family, we got a chance to say goodbye. And through those goodbyes, we learned, as painful as it was, that there was much magic in the melancholy, great beauty in the struggle. Which is why I think my dad and sister both fought the way they did. Not for them. But for us. So we could feel that magic and see that beauty. They died with dignity. And they died with love.

No, you’re not familiar with my family. Not like you are the Edwards family, John and Elizabeth and their four children, Cate, Emma, Jack and, of course, Wade, who died in an automobile accident in 1996. The Osbornes have never been on TV. At least not my Osbornes. We never even really watched all that much TV. But we’re a lot like the Edwards family. And we’re a lot like your family, too.

Because it doesn’t matter how big your family is. Or how small. How wealthy it is. Or how poor. How well known or obscure. Every family knows love. And no family can escape mortality.

Tonight, I hope and pray that the Edwards family is in as much peace as possible. And I hope they derive a similar beauty out of Elizabeth’s passing as we did the passing of my dad and my sister.

I also hope they know that there are countless of Americans who are grief stricken alongside of them. Because no matter how dissimilar we all are, everyone knows what love feels like. And none of us live forever.

Nor do the people we love.

Elizabeth Edwards will be facing her final days before she is consumed by cancer.

It all started with breast cancer - a cancer that thousands of women are diagnosed with each year. However, Edwards' life of "bad news" didn't begin there. Many people don't know that Elizabeth Edwards lost a son in a tragic car accident . Her life certainly didn't get any easier after that.
Elizabeth and her husband, former Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards had three children, two of whom came much later in life (Elizabeth was 48, 50 respectively). When Elizabeth was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, it was right when things were getting big for Senator Edwards' career. After the Kerry-Edwards ticket lost to Bush-Cheney, Edwards continued campaigning, in hopes of seeing the White House in his political future. However, Elizabeth still had cancer.

Elizabeth went through chemotherapy, something that is very hard for anyone to endure. While many believed that Elizabeth's cancer was in remission, it actually spread. She spent the next six years of her life battling the disease while still working as a mom, an advocate, and a wife to a man who cheated on her with Rielle Hunter and fathered her baby. All the while, Elizabeth kept going. She seemed to remain positive; to give people hope, however, cancer was consuming her.

We have now learned that doctors no longer want to treat Elizabeth's cancer, which has spread further. Yahoo News! reports that Elizabeth is "gravely ill" and likely only has a few months, if not weeks left to live.

Elizabeth yearned for a life that every woman yearns for. She wanted to be a happily married mother, with a successful husband who only had eyes for her. She wanted to see what life had to offer other than death, pain, and suffering. She wanted to share her hopes and joys with anyone who would listen. Elizabeth, 61, was straddled with a lot of stress and some might suggest that it was the stress that caused the cancer to spread. The loss of a child, the infidelity of a husband, knowing each day that you wake up could be more bad news. Elizabeth has been so strong through everything and she has shown us that getting out of bed each morning is surviving. She survived. And now with death close by, Edwards is finally getting the rest that she has needed. With her family by her side, there are no treatments, no scandals, no speeches, and the bad news has quietly left the room.

Elizabeth Edwards will be facing her final days before she is consumed by cancer.

It all started with breast cancer - a cancer that thousands of women are diagnosed with each year. However, Edwards' life of "bad news" didn't begin there. Many people don't know that Elizabeth Edwards lost a son in a tragic car accident . Her life certainly didn't get any easier after that.
Elizabeth and her husband, former Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards had three children, two of whom came much later in life (Elizabeth was 48, 50 respectively). When Elizabeth was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, it was right when things were getting big for Senator Edwards' career. After the Kerry-Edwards ticket lost to Bush-Cheney, Edwards continued campaigning, in hopes of seeing the White House in his political future. However, Elizabeth still had cancer.

Elizabeth went through chemotherapy, something that is very hard for anyone to endure. While many believed that Elizabeth's cancer was in remission, it actually spread. She spent the next six years of her life battling the disease while still working as a mom, an advocate, and a wife to a man who cheated on her with Rielle Hunter and fathered her baby. All the while, Elizabeth kept going. She seemed to remain positive; to give people hope, however, cancer was consuming her.

We have now learned that doctors no longer want to treat Elizabeth's cancer, which has spread further. Yahoo News! reports that Elizabeth is "gravely ill" and likely only has a few months, if not weeks left to live.

Elizabeth yearned for a life that every woman yearns for. She wanted to be a happily married mother, with a successful husband who only had eyes for her. She wanted to see what life had to offer other than death, pain, and suffering. She wanted to share her hopes and joys with anyone who would listen. Elizabeth, 61, was straddled with a lot of stress and some might suggest that it was the stress that caused the cancer to spread. The loss of a child, the infidelity of a husband, knowing each day that you wake up could be more bad news. Elizabeth has been so strong through everything and she has shown us that getting out of bed each morning is surviving. She survived. And now with death close by, Edwards is finally getting the rest that she has needed. With her family by her side, there are no treatments, no scandals, no speeches, and the bad news has quietly left the room.

Elizabeth Edwards is seriously ill and doctors say further treatment for her cancer would be unproductive.

The family issued a statement Monday that revealed her doctors' diagnosis. It said she is resting at home with family and friends.

The wife of former presidential candidate John Edwards posted on her Facebook page that she can't express the love and gratitude she feels to those who've supported and inspired her. She wrote "the days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered."

A family friend tells CNN that she was told last week that any additional cancer treatment was futile. Her prognosis was described as a matter of weeks.

Elizabeth Edwards is the wife of former Senator and presidential candidate John Edwards.

The family friend said that she is being treated for symptoms and is not in pain. They said "she has prepared for this". They said that John is at the house along with their children. Elizabeth's brother and sister are also there.

Elizabeth Edwards was diagnosed with breast cancer in the closing days of the 2004 campaign. Four years later she went in for what she thought was another routine mammogram.

"They found something on the same side where I'd had the mastectomy," she said during a speech in Greensboro last October. She said that doctors also found a tiny spot on her liver.

When the cancer resurfaced, John Edwards was beginning his run from the Democratic presidential nomination in 2007. The couple decided to move forward and not let the illness derail the campaign.

The illness had then spread to her bones and doctors said it was no longer curable, but treatable.

"Metastatic breast cancer is considered incurable, but it is also considered treatable and controllable," said Lisa Carey, Elizabeth's oncologist in a 2007 interview. "We don't know what's going to happen with Mrs. Edwards, but we do know there are very effective therapies."

Statistics from the American Cancer Society indicate that women initially diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer have a 1 in 4 chance of surviving after five years.

Elizabeth and John Edwards separated in January of this year. They had been married since 1977.

FULL STATEMENT FROM ELIZABETH EDWARDS

You all know that I have been sustained throughout my life by three saving graces - my family, my friends, and a faith in the power of resilience and hope. These graces have carried me through difficult times and they have brought more joy to the good times than I ever could have imagined.

The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that. And, yes, there are certainly times when we aren't able to muster as much strength and patience as we would like. It's called being human. But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious. And for that I am grateful.

It isn't possible to put into words the love and gratitude I feel to everyone who has and continues to support and inspire me every day. To you I simply say: you know.


With love,

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Edwards is seriously ill and doctors say further treatment for her cancer would be unproductive.

The family issued a statement Monday that revealed her doctors' diagnosis. It said she is resting at home with family and friends.

The wife of former presidential candidate John Edwards posted on her Facebook page that she can't express the love and gratitude she feels to those who've supported and inspired her. She wrote "the days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered."

A family friend tells CNN that she was told last week that any additional cancer treatment was futile. Her prognosis was described as a matter of weeks.

Elizabeth Edwards is the wife of former Senator and presidential candidate John Edwards.

The family friend said that she is being treated for symptoms and is not in pain. They said "she has prepared for this". They said that John is at the house along with their children. Elizabeth's brother and sister are also there.

Elizabeth Edwards was diagnosed with breast cancer in the closing days of the 2004 campaign. Four years later she went in for what she thought was another routine mammogram.

"They found something on the same side where I'd had the mastectomy," she said during a speech in Greensboro last October. She said that doctors also found a tiny spot on her liver.

When the cancer resurfaced, John Edwards was beginning his run from the Democratic presidential nomination in 2007. The couple decided to move forward and not let the illness derail the campaign.

The illness had then spread to her bones and doctors said it was no longer curable, but treatable.

"Metastatic breast cancer is considered incurable, but it is also considered treatable and controllable," said Lisa Carey, Elizabeth's oncologist in a 2007 interview. "We don't know what's going to happen with Mrs. Edwards, but we do know there are very effective therapies."

Statistics from the American Cancer Society indicate that women initially diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer have a 1 in 4 chance of surviving after five years.

Elizabeth and John Edwards separated in January of this year. They had been married since 1977.

FULL STATEMENT FROM ELIZABETH EDWARDS

You all know that I have been sustained throughout my life by three saving graces - my family, my friends, and a faith in the power of resilience and hope. These graces have carried me through difficult times and they have brought more joy to the good times than I ever could have imagined.

The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that. And, yes, there are certainly times when we aren't able to muster as much strength and patience as we would like. It's called being human. But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious. And for that I am grateful.

It isn't possible to put into words the love and gratitude I feel to everyone who has and continues to support and inspire me every day. To you I simply say: you know.


With love,

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Edwards announced Monday that her cancer has taken a turn for the worse and has now spread to her liver.
Edwards, 61, the estranged wife of former presidential candidate John Edwards, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004. Now, with cancer in her liver, her doctors have advised her not to undergo any more anti-cancer treatments, according to a family statement.

"For them to say that she is not strong enough to benefit from further treatment, that says to me that her disease is far advanced and she is facing the end of her life," says Ira Byock, director of palliative medicine at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, who has no personal knowledge of Edwards' case.

Doctors say it's hard to predict how long someone in Edwards' situation will survive, especially without knowing details of her case.

But patients in this condition rarely live past six to 12 months, says Hal Burstein, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

On average, breast cancer patients survive about three to four years after their cancer first metastasizes, Burstein says. It has been three years since Edwards revealed that her breast cancer has spread to her bones, in 2007.

Although early breast tumors are usually curable, and doctors have made great strides in prolonging the lives of women with advanced disease, metastatic breast cancer is not considered curable, Burstein says.

Chemotherapy can keep the disease at bay for a long time, though. Most women with advanced breast cancers undergo five or six different lines of chemotherapy, Burstein says.

Doctors also can treat liver metastases with chemo, which can keep cancer under control for some time, says breast cancer expert Sandra Swain, medical director of the Washington Cancer Institute at Washington Hospital Center.

Eventually, however, women may become so weakened by disease that chemo is no longer likely to help, Byock says.

In many cases, patients actually live longer if they stop actively treating their cancer and focus on palliative care to relieve symptoms, Byock says, because chemo takes such a heavy toll on the body.

"There are lots of chemotherapies and late-stage treatments," Byock says. "But people have to be strong enough to benefit from them.. .. If a person is just weak from the ravages of an illness, it makes no sense to put them through those invasive procedures."

Edwards "may well live longer by conserving her energy and celebrating her very full and remarkable life," Byock says.

Thanks to pain relievers, living — or even dying — with a liver metastasis isn't necessarily painful, says Charles Loprinzi, an expert in breast cancer at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. "With proper care and attention, it shouldn't be a painful process," Loprinzi says.

Around the country, many cancer survivors say they sympathize with Edwards' plight and have appreciated her courage and grace.

"I hope she enjoys the best possible life in the time she has," says Jody Schoger, a breast cancer survivor in The Woodlands, Texas. "When someone in the breast cancer community relapses, we all feel it. I'm seeing many survivors responding on Twitter to the news. I feel terrible for her children and hope they are surrounded with love and caring by their friends and family."

Byock, who says he met Edwards briefly in 2007, when she and her husband visited Dartmouth, describes her as "a class act."

Elizabeth Edwards announced Monday that her cancer has taken a turn for the worse and has now spread to her liver.
Edwards, 61, the estranged wife of former presidential candidate John Edwards, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004. Now, with cancer in her liver, her doctors have advised her not to undergo any more anti-cancer treatments, according to a family statement.

"For them to say that she is not strong enough to benefit from further treatment, that says to me that her disease is far advanced and she is facing the end of her life," says Ira Byock, director of palliative medicine at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, who has no personal knowledge of Edwards' case.

Doctors say it's hard to predict how long someone in Edwards' situation will survive, especially without knowing details of her case.

But patients in this condition rarely live past six to 12 months, says Hal Burstein, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

On average, breast cancer patients survive about three to four years after their cancer first metastasizes, Burstein says. It has been three years since Edwards revealed that her breast cancer has spread to her bones, in 2007.

Although early breast tumors are usually curable, and doctors have made great strides in prolonging the lives of women with advanced disease, metastatic breast cancer is not considered curable, Burstein says.

Chemotherapy can keep the disease at bay for a long time, though. Most women with advanced breast cancers undergo five or six different lines of chemotherapy, Burstein says.

Doctors also can treat liver metastases with chemo, which can keep cancer under control for some time, says breast cancer expert Sandra Swain, medical director of the Washington Cancer Institute at Washington Hospital Center.

Eventually, however, women may become so weakened by disease that chemo is no longer likely to help, Byock says.

In many cases, patients actually live longer if they stop actively treating their cancer and focus on palliative care to relieve symptoms, Byock says, because chemo takes such a heavy toll on the body.

"There are lots of chemotherapies and late-stage treatments," Byock says. "But people have to be strong enough to benefit from them.. .. If a person is just weak from the ravages of an illness, it makes no sense to put them through those invasive procedures."

Edwards "may well live longer by conserving her energy and celebrating her very full and remarkable life," Byock says.

Thanks to pain relievers, living — or even dying — with a liver metastasis isn't necessarily painful, says Charles Loprinzi, an expert in breast cancer at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. "With proper care and attention, it shouldn't be a painful process," Loprinzi says.

Around the country, many cancer survivors say they sympathize with Edwards' plight and have appreciated her courage and grace.

"I hope she enjoys the best possible life in the time she has," says Jody Schoger, a breast cancer survivor in The Woodlands, Texas. "When someone in the breast cancer community relapses, we all feel it. I'm seeing many survivors responding on Twitter to the news. I feel terrible for her children and hope they are surrounded with love and caring by their friends and family."

Byock, who says he met Edwards briefly in 2007, when she and her husband visited Dartmouth, describes her as "a class act."

Elizabeth Smart remembers not being able to make out the threat, only the feel of a cold knife at her neck.

As the then-14-year-old lay in bed alongside her baby sister, the man repeated: "Don't make a sound. Get out of bed and come with me, or I will kill you and your family." She was his hostage, he told her.

"I was shocked. I thought I was having a nightmare. It was just indescribable fear," Smart, now 23, told jurors Monday on the first day of testimony in the federal trial of Brian David Mitchell, the man accused of kidnapping her in June 2002.

Smart was due back on the witness stand on Tuesday,

That night eight years ago, they fled up the hills above her home, with Smart in her red pajamas and tennis shoes, and the knife to her back.

Her younger sister — a baby blanket wrapped around her head and neck — rushed to their mother, telling of the kidnapping.

"It was utter terror," their mother, Lois Smart, testified earlier Monday. "It was the worst feeling, knowing that I didn't know where my child was. I was helpless."

Nine months later, motorists spotted Elizabeth Smart walking in a Salt Lake City suburb with Mitchell.

His attorneys did not dispute the facts of the abduction. But during opening statements, they said the prosecution's allegation that he was a calculating person who planned the kidnapping was wrong.

Known as a homeless street preacher named "Immanuel," Mitchell was influenced by a worsening mental illness and religious beliefs that made him think he was doing what God wanted, his attorneys said.

Mitchell, who has a long graying beard to the middle of his chest and hair to the middle of his back, was again removed from the courtroom Monday for singing hymns, so he's watching and listening from a holding cell.

Smart's mother testified that she and her children ran into Mitchell downtown and that she offered him a job doing handyman work at the family's home. One of her sons encouraged her to give him money, she said.

"He looked like a clean-cut, well-kept man that was down on his luck," she said. "I gave him $5."

Later, the family hired Mitchell to help fix a leaky roof, Lois Smart said. It was the only job he did for the family.

"I do remember having a conversation with him, hoping that he would do more work. He seemed fine," she said.

Elizabeth Smart described how Mitchell came into her bedroom. She had left a kitchen window open because her mother had burned potatoes for dinner.

"I remember him saying that I have a knife to your neck, don't make a sound, get out of bed and come with me or I will kill you and your family," she said.

Smart said she got up and he grabbed her arm, and took her into a closet. He stopped her when she reached for slippers and told her to wear tennis shoes.

After leaving the house, Smart said, they hiked three to five hours up a dry streambed and over a mountain to a campsite. As they made their way, the man shed the stocking he used to cover his face. And she remembered him as the carpenter.

"The name Immanuel just came to me," Smart said.

At the campsite, Mitchell's now-estranged wife, Wanda Eileen Barzee, embraced Smart, took her into a tent, sat her down on a bucket and washed her feet.

Barzee also told her to take off her pajamas and underwear and put on a robe or "she would have the defendant come in and rip them off," she said.

Smart said Mitchell entered the tent wearing a similar robe and married them by twisting lines from a Mormon religious rites into a marriage ceremony, known a sealing.

"He said, 'What I seal on this earth will be sealed to me in the hereafter and I take you to be my wife,'" she said, adding that she screamed and he threatened to put duct tape across her mouth.

"He proceeded to fight me to the ground and force the robes up," Smart said quietly, pausing, "where he raped me."

"I begged him not to. I did everything I could to stop him. I pleaded with him not to touch me, but it didn't work."

Mitchell shackled her ankle to a heavy metal cable, which was attached to a cable strung between two trees, making it impossible for her to flee, she said. She was tethered for about six weeks, despite promising Mitchell that she would not run away.

Lois Smart said she was awakened by daughter Mary Katherine, who was 9 at the time and slept with Elizabeth. With the baby blanket wrapped around her head, she looked like "a scared rabbit," her mother said.

"She said a man has taken Elizabeth with a gun and that we won't find her. He took her either for ransom or hostage," Lois Smart recalled Mary Katherine, now 18, saying.

Lois Smart said she went to the kitchen and immediately noticed the window was open and the screen was cut in a U-shape.

"My heart sank," she said. Then, she yelled to her husband, Ed: "Call 911. She's gone.'"

The morning after the kidnapping, Smart said she cried and Mitchell explained to her that he had been planning the abduction since first meeting the family. "He said that I was very lucky, that I had been called by God to be his wife," she said.

Then, she said, she decided to try to survive. "No matter what it took, I was going to live," she said.

Elizabeth Smart is serving a French mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but plans to resume her music studies at Brigham Young University next year.

Mitchell, 57, faces life in prison if he is convicted of kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor across state lines with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. He is accused of taking Smart to California.

A parallel state case, where he is charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault, stalled after he was twice deemed incompetent to stand trial. A state judge declined to order forced psychiatric treatment.

Elizabeth Smart remembers not being able to make out the threat, only the feel of a cold knife at her neck.

As the then-14-year-old lay in bed alongside her baby sister, the man repeated: "Don't make a sound. Get out of bed and come with me, or I will kill you and your family." She was his hostage, he told her.

"I was shocked. I thought I was having a nightmare. It was just indescribable fear," Smart, now 23, told jurors Monday on the first day of testimony in the federal trial of Brian David Mitchell, the man accused of kidnapping her in June 2002.

Smart was due back on the witness stand on Tuesday,

That night eight years ago, they fled up the hills above her home, with Smart in her red pajamas and tennis shoes, and the knife to her back.

Her younger sister — a baby blanket wrapped around her head and neck — rushed to their mother, telling of the kidnapping.

"It was utter terror," their mother, Lois Smart, testified earlier Monday. "It was the worst feeling, knowing that I didn't know where my child was. I was helpless."

Nine months later, motorists spotted Elizabeth Smart walking in a Salt Lake City suburb with Mitchell.

His attorneys did not dispute the facts of the abduction. But during opening statements, they said the prosecution's allegation that he was a calculating person who planned the kidnapping was wrong.

Known as a homeless street preacher named "Immanuel," Mitchell was influenced by a worsening mental illness and religious beliefs that made him think he was doing what God wanted, his attorneys said.

Mitchell, who has a long graying beard to the middle of his chest and hair to the middle of his back, was again removed from the courtroom Monday for singing hymns, so he's watching and listening from a holding cell.

Smart's mother testified that she and her children ran into Mitchell downtown and that she offered him a job doing handyman work at the family's home. One of her sons encouraged her to give him money, she said.

"He looked like a clean-cut, well-kept man that was down on his luck," she said. "I gave him $5."

Later, the family hired Mitchell to help fix a leaky roof, Lois Smart said. It was the only job he did for the family.

"I do remember having a conversation with him, hoping that he would do more work. He seemed fine," she said.

Elizabeth Smart described how Mitchell came into her bedroom. She had left a kitchen window open because her mother had burned potatoes for dinner.

"I remember him saying that I have a knife to your neck, don't make a sound, get out of bed and come with me or I will kill you and your family," she said.

Smart said she got up and he grabbed her arm, and took her into a closet. He stopped her when she reached for slippers and told her to wear tennis shoes.

After leaving the house, Smart said, they hiked three to five hours up a dry streambed and over a mountain to a campsite. As they made their way, the man shed the stocking he used to cover his face. And she remembered him as the carpenter.

"The name Immanuel just came to me," Smart said.

At the campsite, Mitchell's now-estranged wife, Wanda Eileen Barzee, embraced Smart, took her into a tent, sat her down on a bucket and washed her feet.

Barzee also told her to take off her pajamas and underwear and put on a robe or "she would have the defendant come in and rip them off," she said.

Smart said Mitchell entered the tent wearing a similar robe and married them by twisting lines from a Mormon religious rites into a marriage ceremony, known a sealing.

"He said, 'What I seal on this earth will be sealed to me in the hereafter and I take you to be my wife,'" she said, adding that she screamed and he threatened to put duct tape across her mouth.

"He proceeded to fight me to the ground and force the robes up," Smart said quietly, pausing, "where he raped me."

"I begged him not to. I did everything I could to stop him. I pleaded with him not to touch me, but it didn't work."

Mitchell shackled her ankle to a heavy metal cable, which was attached to a cable strung between two trees, making it impossible for her to flee, she said. She was tethered for about six weeks, despite promising Mitchell that she would not run away.

Lois Smart said she was awakened by daughter Mary Katherine, who was 9 at the time and slept with Elizabeth. With the baby blanket wrapped around her head, she looked like "a scared rabbit," her mother said.

"She said a man has taken Elizabeth with a gun and that we won't find her. He took her either for ransom or hostage," Lois Smart recalled Mary Katherine, now 18, saying.

Lois Smart said she went to the kitchen and immediately noticed the window was open and the screen was cut in a U-shape.

"My heart sank," she said. Then, she yelled to her husband, Ed: "Call 911. She's gone.'"

The morning after the kidnapping, Smart said she cried and Mitchell explained to her that he had been planning the abduction since first meeting the family. "He said that I was very lucky, that I had been called by God to be his wife," she said.

Then, she said, she decided to try to survive. "No matter what it took, I was going to live," she said.

Elizabeth Smart is serving a French mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but plans to resume her music studies at Brigham Young University next year.

Mitchell, 57, faces life in prison if he is convicted of kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor across state lines with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. He is accused of taking Smart to California.

A parallel state case, where he is charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault, stalled after he was twice deemed incompetent to stand trial. A state judge declined to order forced psychiatric treatment.

Elizabeth Smart took the stand today against the man accused of kidnapping and raping her, recounting in a calm voice how Brian David Mitchell allegedly woke her up on the morning of June 5, 2002, with a knife to her throat. He said, “Come with me or I will kill you and your family,” Smart said, adding, “I thought I was having a nightmare. It was indescribable fear.” After Mitchell and Smart met up with Mitchell’s wife Wanda Barzee, they performed a ceremony “sealing” Smart and Mitchell, CNN reports.
Though Smart begged to be released, “he said he knew exactly what he was doing and he understood the consequences of his actions,” she said. She also testified about the alleged rape, remembering that she told Mitchell she “was just a little girl—that I hadn't even started my period yet.” She tried to fight him off, “but a 14-year-old girl against a grown man doesn't even out so much,” she said. Her younger sister and mother also took the stand today.

Elizabeth Smart took the stand today against the man accused of kidnapping and raping her, recounting in a calm voice how Brian David Mitchell allegedly woke her up on the morning of June 5, 2002, with a knife to her throat. He said, “Come with me or I will kill you and your family,” Smart said, adding, “I thought I was having a nightmare. It was indescribable fear.” After Mitchell and Smart met up with Mitchell’s wife Wanda Barzee, they performed a ceremony “sealing” Smart and Mitchell, CNN reports.
Though Smart begged to be released, “he said he knew exactly what he was doing and he understood the consequences of his actions,” she said. She also testified about the alleged rape, remembering that she told Mitchell she “was just a little girl—that I hadn't even started my period yet.” She tried to fight him off, “but a 14-year-old girl against a grown man doesn't even out so much,” she said. Her younger sister and mother also took the stand today.

Today starts the first day after a long wait in the Elizabeth Smart case. Jury selection begins in the federal trial of the man who is accused of kidnapping Smart eight years ago.

Brian David Mitchell is accused of slicing through a kitchen window screen and taking the 14-year-old girl in the middle of the night. Fortunately, Smart was rescued nine months later.

Mitchell was indicted in March 2008 on federal charges of kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor across state lines. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in a federal prison.

Today starts the first day after a long wait in the Elizabeth Smart case. Jury selection begins in the federal trial of the man who is accused of kidnapping Smart eight years ago.

Brian David Mitchell is accused of slicing through a kitchen window screen and taking the 14-year-old girl in the middle of the night. Fortunately, Smart was rescued nine months later.

Mitchell was indicted in March 2008 on federal charges of kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor across state lines. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in a federal prison.

Who is Elizabeth Olsen and where have those Olsen twins been hiding her? Well, it turns out that Mary-Kate and Ashley's little sis Elizabeth has been in the public eye from a young age, we just never paid her much attention. Which is odd, given how much she resembles her famous sisters. Now the 21-year-old is set to star in a movie and should gain public attention with her own success.

Elizabeth Olsen Set to Star in Indie Flick

According to Reuters, Elizabeth Olsen (also known as Lizzie Olsen) has just finished shooting "Peace, Love and Misunderstanding," where she plays Jane Fonda's character's granddaughter, Zoe. During filming, Fonda noted on her blog that "when her face is seen on the screen in this movie it'll be hard for her not to do more films."

Turns out Fonda is right, as Olsen is set to star in the indie film "Martha Marcy May Marlene." This Sundance-developed film follows Martha as she escapes a cult and moves in with her older sister.

Since the Olsen twins haven't had major acting roles in years (although Mary-Kate has a small, but pivitol role in next year's "Beastly"), it looks like Elizabeth may have the limelight largely to herself.

Elizabeth Olsen Had Bit Parts in Twin's Movies

Far from hiding their younger sister from the public eye, the Olsen twins have actually let her have small roles in their movies. According to IMDb, Elizabeth Olsen has appeared in at least five "The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley" films from 1993 to 1996. One of these is "The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley:The Case of the Mystery Cruise" (1995). She played herself (Lizzie Olsen) in these films.

Olsen also played 'girl in car' in Mary Kate and Ashley's 1994 television movie "How the West Was Fun."

Further Proof the Olsen Twins Weren't Hiding Elizabeth

There is even more proof, despite the shock of Elizabeth's existence, that the twins weren't stashing her away. Their fashion line "The Row" has a spin-off called "Elizabeth + James." Both are names of their younger siblings.

Who is Elizabeth Olsen and where have those Olsen twins been hiding her? Well, it turns out that Mary-Kate and Ashley's little sis Elizabeth has been in the public eye from a young age, we just never paid her much attention. Which is odd, given how much she resembles her famous sisters. Now the 21-year-old is set to star in a movie and should gain public attention with her own success.

Elizabeth Olsen Set to Star in Indie Flick

According to Reuters, Elizabeth Olsen (also known as Lizzie Olsen) has just finished shooting "Peace, Love and Misunderstanding," where she plays Jane Fonda's character's granddaughter, Zoe. During filming, Fonda noted on her blog that "when her face is seen on the screen in this movie it'll be hard for her not to do more films."

Turns out Fonda is right, as Olsen is set to star in the indie film "Martha Marcy May Marlene." This Sundance-developed film follows Martha as she escapes a cult and moves in with her older sister.

Since the Olsen twins haven't had major acting roles in years (although Mary-Kate has a small, but pivitol role in next year's "Beastly"), it looks like Elizabeth may have the limelight largely to herself.

Elizabeth Olsen Had Bit Parts in Twin's Movies

Far from hiding their younger sister from the public eye, the Olsen twins have actually let her have small roles in their movies. According to IMDb, Elizabeth Olsen has appeared in at least five "The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley" films from 1993 to 1996. One of these is "The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley:The Case of the Mystery Cruise" (1995). She played herself (Lizzie Olsen) in these films.

Olsen also played 'girl in car' in Mary Kate and Ashley's 1994 television movie "How the West Was Fun."

Further Proof the Olsen Twins Weren't Hiding Elizabeth

There is even more proof, despite the shock of Elizabeth's existence, that the twins weren't stashing her away. Their fashion line "The Row" has a spin-off called "Elizabeth + James." Both are names of their younger siblings.

Elizabeth Taylor is set to marry for the ninth time, to a man 30 years her junior, according to reports.

PHOTOS: Taylor's long line of husbands

US showbiz websites report that the 78-year-old screen legend is engaged to a 49-year-old talent agent by the name of Jason Winters.

But sources say the couple, understood to have been together for almost three years, are keeping the news to themselves for now.

A representative for Taylor declined to confirm the status of her relationship, but told Access Hollywood: "It is well known and documented that they have been together for some time". The star of 1958's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and 1963's has made no secret about her feelings for Winters, once telling a US gossip columnist that he was "one of the most wonderful men I’ve ever known, that’s why I love him."

If news of the engagement is true, Winters will be following in several pairs of footsteps.

Taylor has been married eight times before, twice to the late actor Richard Burton.

She was last married to construction worker Larry Fortensky. But after a lavish ceremony at Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch in 1991, the pair split five years later.

The Oscar-winning actress was first married in 1950 to hotel heir Conrad Hilton, the great-uncle of socialite Paris Hilton.

Her exes are: Hilton (1950-51), Michael Wilding (1952-57), Mike Todd (1957-58), Eddie Fisher (1959-64), Burton (1964-74 and again 1975-76), John Warner (1976-82) and Fortensky (1991-96).

Taylor has suffered from poor health in recent years as a result of her lifelong battle with scoliosis, a curvature of the spine.

Elizabeth Taylor is set to marry for the ninth time, to a man 30 years her junior, according to reports.

PHOTOS: Taylor's long line of husbands

US showbiz websites report that the 78-year-old screen legend is engaged to a 49-year-old talent agent by the name of Jason Winters.

But sources say the couple, understood to have been together for almost three years, are keeping the news to themselves for now.

A representative for Taylor declined to confirm the status of her relationship, but told Access Hollywood: "It is well known and documented that they have been together for some time". The star of 1958's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and 1963's has made no secret about her feelings for Winters, once telling a US gossip columnist that he was "one of the most wonderful men I’ve ever known, that’s why I love him."

If news of the engagement is true, Winters will be following in several pairs of footsteps.

Taylor has been married eight times before, twice to the late actor Richard Burton.

She was last married to construction worker Larry Fortensky. But after a lavish ceremony at Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch in 1991, the pair split five years later.

The Oscar-winning actress was first married in 1950 to hotel heir Conrad Hilton, the great-uncle of socialite Paris Hilton.

Her exes are: Hilton (1950-51), Michael Wilding (1952-57), Mike Todd (1957-58), Eddie Fisher (1959-64), Burton (1964-74 and again 1975-76), John Warner (1976-82) and Fortensky (1991-96).

Taylor has suffered from poor health in recent years as a result of her lifelong battle with scoliosis, a curvature of the spine.