Daughters of the Cult (Lebaron Cult Documentary)

[Anonymous]

I recently finished watching this documentary that details the Ervil Lebaron cult and murders in the 1970’s and 80’s.

I am pretty wary of people that see themselves as a prophet of God because it so often leads to horrific abuse of power. I am thankful that our particular brighamite faction of Mormonism 1) Does not have a bloodline succession for the role of prophet. I have observed repeatedly the powerplays for succession in these dynastic FLDS groups that look too much like Game of Thrones. It makes me appreciate our no intrigue succession plan. 2) It also makes me thankful that our brand of Mormonism is lead by the Q15. In theory, the prophet can receive any revelation but in practice it seems that the Q15 must sign off or at least not object to new initiatives. This helps to moderate the prophetic role and reduce any wild swings as the mainstream LDS church goes from one prophet to another.

The documentary was well done. I especially liked how it focused on the harm that was done to the survivors of the cult and especially Ervil’s own children. It avoided making the show all about Ervil (whom the media of the era dubbed “Mormon Manson”) – which can be difficult to do sometimes. They interviewed lots of people that were personally involved. When they needed a general narrator to move the story forward and connect the dots, they used Lindsay Hansen Park who they credited as a Mormon Historian. Lindsay is connected to Feminist Mormon Housewives, the Year of Polygamy project, and Sunstone Education Foundation. While I’m not sure that she has a classic historian training in the vein of Richard Bushman, she was very well versed on the events and certainly has spent enough time immersed in Mormon polygamist offshoot studies.

In summary, the prophetic mantle is ripe for abuse and almost nobody escaped without significant trauma.

[Author]

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