Mormon fundamentalism is a belief in the validity of selected fundamental aspects of Mormonism as taught and practiced in the nineteenth century, particularly during the administrations of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and John Taylor, the first three presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mormon fundamentalists seek to uphold tenets and practices no longer held by mainstream Mormons. The principle most often associated with Mormon fundamentalism is plural marriage, a form of polygyny first taught in the Latter Day Saint movement by the movement's founder, Smith. A second and closely associated principle is that of the United Order, a form of egalitarian communalism. Mormon fundamentalists believe that these and other principles were wrongly abandoned or changed by the LDS Church in its efforts to become reconciled with mainstream American society. Today, the LDS Church excommunicates any of its members who practice plural marriage or who otherwise closely associate themselves with Mormon fundamentalist practices.
Warren Steed Jeffs is an American cult leader who is serving a life sentence in Texas for child sexual assault following two convictions in 2011. He is the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a polygamous cult based in Arizona. The FLDS Church was founded in the early-20th century when its founders deemed the renunciation of polygamy by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be apostate; there is no affiliation between the FLDS Church and the LDS Church.
Ervil Morrell LeBaron was the leader of a polygamous Mormon fundamentalist group who ordered the killings of many of his opponents, both within his own sect and in rival polygamous groups, using the religious doctrine of blood atonement to justify the murders. He was sentenced to life in prison for orchestrating the murder of an opponent, and died there in 1981.
Le Baron, le Baron, or LeBaron may refer to:
The God Makers IIis a documentary-styled film produced by Ed Decker and Jeremiah Films in 1993. The film, a sequel to Decker’s earlier film The God Makers, is intended to be an exposé of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Rulon Clark Allred was an American homeopath and chiropractor in Salt Lake City and the leader of what is now the Apostolic United Brethren, a breakaway sect of polygamous Mormon fundamentalists in Utah, Colorado, and Arizona, United States. He was murdered on the orders of Ervil LeBaron, the head of a rival polygamous sect.
The Righteous Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as The Righteous Branch, The Branch Church, The Peterson Group and Christ's Church, is a fundamentalist Mormon sect of the Latter Day Saint movement. It is based in Iron County, Utah.
The history of the Latter Day Saint movement includes numerous instances of violence. Mormons faced significant persecution in the early 19th century, including instances of forced displacement and mob violence in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. Notably, the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith, was shot and killed alongside his brother, Hyrum Smith, in Carthage, Illinois in 1844, while Smith was in jail awaiting trial on charges of treason and inciting a riot.
Owen Arthur Allred was the leader of the Apostolic United Brethren, a Mormon fundamentalist polygamist group centered in Bluffdale, Utah. He came to this position following the murder of his brother Rulon Allred on orders of rival polygamist leader Ervil LeBaron, in 1977.
The Church of the Firstborn is a grouping of competing factions of a Mormon fundamentalist religious lineage inherited, adherents believe, by a polygamous family community that had settled in Chihuahua, Mexico, by Alma Dayer LeBaron Sr. by 1924.
Joel Franklin LeBaron was a Mormon fundamentalist leader in northern Mexico. He was murdered by a member or members of a rival church which was headed by his brother Ervil LeBaron.
Dorothy Allred Solomon is an American author and educator committed to informing people about the pros and cons of polygamous lifestyles.
Irene Spencer was an American author and a widow of Verlan LeBaron, brother of former prophet Joel LeBaron of the Church of the Firstborn of the Fulness of Times, a fundamentalist Mormon offshoot.
Rena Chynoweth is an American former Mormon fundamentalist who shot Rulon C. Allred dead in 1977. Acquitted of murder in a criminal trial, Chynoweth later admitted to killing Allred.
The Church of the Lamb of God was a violent Latter Day Saint fringe group founded by Ervil LeBaron that was responsible for dozens of deaths over two decades. After Ervil’s death, his cult splintered into multiple factions, which were run by Daniel Ben Jordan and several of Ervil’s teenage sons. There ensued a bloody battle as they vied for power, each claiming to be Ervil’s true successor.
William Heber LeBaron is a convicted murderer who once led the cult Church of the Lamb of God.
Daniel Ben Jordan was an American Mormon fundamentalist. He was a follower of Joel LeBaron, until his brother Ervil LeBaron formed the splinter group The Church of the Lamb of God.
The 4 O'Clock murders was a coordinated shooting of four people at the same time on June 6, 1988, at three locations in Texas led by Mormon fundamentalist leader Heber LeBaron of the Church of the Firstborn. Heber was the successor as church leader to Ervil LeBaron of the similarly named Church of the First Born of the Lamb of God. Ervil had previously orchestrated the murder of several others he perceived as apostates. Authorities say the religious organizations were responsible for over 20 deaths over several decades.
