Church of the First Born of the Lamb of God

When Joseph Smith founded the Latter Day Saint movement, Benjamin F. Johnson was one of his earliest followers. Johnson followed the church's original teachings and practiced polygamy, taking multiple wives. When the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints renounced polygamy, Johnson and his family, like many Mormon fundamentalists, continued the practice. In 1924, Johnson's grandson, Alma Dayer LeBaron, Sr. moved his family to Mexico, where the government showed no interest in prosecuting polygamists, settling near Colonia Juárez, Chihuahua. Alma believed that Johnson was the rightful successor to Smith, and that Johnson had appointed Alma to follow him. After Alma's death in 1951, several of his sons claimed to be his true successor. In 1955, his son Joel founded The Church of the Firstborn of the Fulness of Times and named himself as president. His brother Ervil became second-in-command, with full authority over their new settlement, known as Colonia LeBaron. A third brother, Verlan, also held a high position in the church. By 1967, tensions were rising between Joel and Ervil. Joel rejected Ervil's advocacy for the return of the former Mormon principle of blood atonement, which required that a sinner must have their blood shed in order for them to earn a place in heaven, effectively requiring a death penalty. The brothers also argued about the fate of their second Mexican colony, a ranch known as Los Molinos, in Baja California; Joel intended the land to support future church recruits, while Ervil wanted to develop the land as a resort. ==Foundation and fratricide==

By the late 1960s, Ervil began preaching against Joel, accusing his brother of crimes against their faith. To Ervil's surprise, Joel's followers did not flock to his side; instead they advocated for Ervil's arrest. He was convicted of planning the murder, but freed a year later by a Mexican appellate court. During his imprisonment, Ervil continued to release pamphlets and books insisting that he was the Mormon One Mighty and Strong and that, as God's representative on earth, he could decide who should die for their sins. Ervil began to focus executing his brother Verlan, who Joel's followers had elected as their new leader. Fearing for his life, Verlan went into hiding. On December 26, 1974, in an effort to flush him out, Ervil's underage thirteenth wife Rena Chynoweth and her brothers Mark and Duane raided Los Molinos. The party threw firebombs at houses and shot at residents, killing two young men and injuring thirteen. They failed in their primary goal; Verlan had just moved his families out of his church's colony to Nicaragua. Ervil was arrested for masterminding the raid, but was released due to lack of evidence. Increasingly upset by the violence, Noemi Zarate, a wife of Bud Chynoweth (father of two of Ervil's wives), threatened to leave Ervil's church and go to the police. On Ervil's orders, his tenth wife Vonda White drove Zarate into the desert and killed her. Her body has never been found. ==1975-1980==

Following his release from prison, Ervil moved part of his family to San Diego, California. Ervil wrote letters to and visited many polygamist leaders, threatening their lives if they did not switch their allegiance to his church and tithe accordingly. The book also contained a list of who should succeed Ervil as leader of the Church of the Lamb of God. Ervil died in jail in August 15, 1981. His brother Verlan died in a car crash in Mexico several days later. ==Arturo LeBaron==

Ervil's book had named his eldest son, Arturo, as his immediate successor. Under Arturo, the Church of the Lamb of God openly embraced the criminal enterprises that they had previously dabbled in, specifically auto theft. As a result, Ervil's wife Lorna Chynoweth became disillusioned and decided to leave the church; on Arturo's orders, she was killed by her son Andrew. Another of Ervil's followers, Leo Evoniuk, also claimed to have been given the authority to lead the church. After a months-long dispute, the men agreed to meet to resolve their differences. At that meeting, Arturo was murdered, most likely by followers Gamaliel and Raul Rios. During Arturo's reign, some of the group's adherents, including Rena Chynoweth and her two children, drifted away. Her brothers, Mark and Duane, and their mother Thelma moved to Texas. Jordan moved his family to Utah. ==Heber LeBaron==

After Arturo's death, leadership of the Church of the Lamb of God fell to the next son on Ervil's list, 20-year-old Heber LeBaron. At this point, the church consisted primarily of Ervil's surviving wives, their children, and Ervil's stepchildren. Heber revived the policy of blood atonement, and over the next few years followers took revenge on those they blamed for Arturo's death. Gamaliel and Raul Rios were murdered, and their two sisters, who had been married to Ervil, disappeared. A few weeks later, Heber and four of his siblings were arrested in Arizona for auto theft. Shortly after, Aaron and two others were arrested in Chicago and charged with having false identification. Richard eventually pled guilty to his role in the so-called 4 O'Clock murders and agreed to testify against his siblings. Heber, Patricia and Barlow were convicted. Aaron and Jacqueline Tarsa LeBaron were indicted for helping plan the murders but couldn't be found. Six of the younger LeBaron children, aged 12–18, were placed in separate foster homes in Utah. Authorities hoped that by separating them and showing them a normal life, the children could be deprogrammed and end the cycle of violence. All of the children disappeared from their foster homes on a single night at the end of September 1989. == Notes ==

• Janet Bennion (2004). Desert Patriarchy: Mormon and Mennonite Communities in the Chihuahua Valley (Tucson: University of Arizona Press) • Ben Bradlee Jr. and Dale Van Atta (1981). Prophet of Blood: The Untold Story of Ervil Lebaron and the Lambs of God (New York: Putnam), • Jesse Hyde (Host) (2022). "Deliver Us From Ervil" [Audio Podcast]. In iHeart. Novel. https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-deliver-us-from-ervil-96084334/