Intro to LeBaron Groups

When discussing Mormon Fundamentalism, most people—especially members of the LDS Church—immediately think of the FLDS or AUB (Apostolic United Brethren). These groups largely trace their origin back to the authority line popularized by Lorin Woolley. However, there is a fascinating and often misunderstood branch of fundamentalism that descends from a completely different line of authority: the LeBarons. As a helpful overview of this distinctive lineage, we spoke with Jacob Vidrine of the Church of the Firstborn, sometimes colloquially referred to as Ross LeBaron-ites.

The LeBaron Divide: Ross vs. Ervil

The name LeBaron often carries a dark stigma, primarily due to the terrible acts committed by Ervil LeBaron, who was a murderer and died in jail. It is important to note that Vidrine is not associated with Ervil’s group6….

The LeBaron family, descending from patriarch Alma Dayer LeBaron Sr. (“Dayer”), primarily split into two main groups:

1. The Mexico LeBarons: Started by younger son Joel LeBaron in 1955 as the “Church of the Firstborn of the Fullness of Times.” Joel’s church grew significantly before the violent schism with Ervil.
2. The Ross LeBaron Line (Church of the Firstborn): Ross LeBaron, the second oldest son, separated and spent his ministry largely in the Utah area, minimizing affiliation with the strife and violence that occurred down in Mexico. Ross’s movement is the one Jacob Vidrine is associated with.

Authority: Woolley’s 1886 Revelation vs. The LeBaron Lineage

Approximately 80% to 90% of fundamentalists trace their priesthood authority back to the Lorin Woolley story. This claim rests on the assertion that John Taylor received a revelation in 1886 confirming that plural marriage should never be removed from the earth, after which he set apart men (including Woolley) to keep the practice alive.

Historically, however, the LeBarons and Kingstons maintain a distinct authority claim. The LeBaron claim is deemed by some to be “the most peculiar out of any fundamentalist claim”, as it bypasses the 1886 revelation entirely and goes straight back to the Nauvoo era through Benjamin F. Johnson.

Johnson Connection & Birthright

Benjamin F. Johnson was a close friend of Joseph Smith and was one of the men added to the Council of 50 in March 1844. Johnson was heavily invested in the secretive Nauvoo doctrines and claimed that Joseph Smith taught him about plural marriage, the endowment, garments, and the second anointing. Crucially, Johnson claimed that Joseph Smith authorized him “to teach this to others when I’m was led to when I’m led to do” by the Holy Spirit.

Alma Dayer LeBaron, the patriarch of the LeBaron family, was Benjamin F. Johnson’s grandson. Family tradition holds that Johnson conferred upon Dayer a patriarchal blessing in the mid-1890s, appointing him to the “birthright of Joseph Smith” to preside over the family. Near his death (1905), Johnson allegedly charged Dayer to carry on the kingdom and conferred all the priesthood authority that Johnson had received from Joseph Smith.

Alma Dayer LeBaron was secretive about this authority claim for much of his life (earning him the nickname “The Silent Prophet” by his daughter.) However, his son, Ross LeBaron, claimed that in 1950, his father conferred upon him “all the keys, rights, and authority of the patriarchal order of priesthood,” which Ross understood to be the temple keys restored by Moses, Elias, and Elijah in Kirtland.

Highest Order of Priesthood: Nauvoo Temple Authority

The entire foundation of the LeBaron claim rests on the idea that Joseph Smith established a higher order of priesthood in Nauvoo that operates independently of the mainstream church structure.

Joseph Smith taught that this higher authority was the “fullness of the priesthood” or the “highest order of the Melchizedek Priesthood”. This fullness, Joseph and Brigham Young taught, was the authority required “to be a king and a priest”.

This authority was conferred through select temple ordinances and included the sealing power.

• The Second Anointing and Sealing Power: Joseph was conferring the authority of being a king and a priest in the temple ordinances, though later the apostles changed this to be merely preparatory. For fundamentalists, if a person receives the second anointing and the sealing power, “excommunication just doesn’t matter” because it is a “higher authority”.
• The Council of 50: The LeBaron focus on Benjamin F. Johnson ties directly to the Council of 50, which was organized by Joseph Smith shortly before his death. While some historians argue it was only a political body, critics and members like William Smith argued that the Council of 50 was ordained as kings and priests, constituting authority that “no tribunal in the church could control”.

The authority claim for the Church of the Firstborn is therefore rooted in this secretive, independent, and higher-level authority that they believe Joseph Smith conferred outside of the church’s main organizational structure, passing from Joseph Smith to Benjamin F. Johnson, and eventually down to the LeBaron family.

Three Lines of Fundamentalist Authority

The LeBarons, along with the Kingston group, represent authority claims that are separate from this dominant Woolley line. While the Kingstons claim a “new dispensation” or visitation by messengers to confer authority, the LeBarons trace their authority back to Benjamin F. Johnson and the Nauvoo era, which often sounds like “probably the most peculiar out of any fundamentalist claim.”

Peculiar Priesthood Claim: Nauvoo Roots & Council of 50

To understand the LeBaron claim, one must examine the “higher orders of priesthood” introduced by Joseph Smith during the Nauvoo period.

This higher authority was often referred to as the fullness of the priesthood or the highest order of the Melchizedek Priesthood, which entailed being ordained a king and a priest. This authority was conferred through temple ordinances administered to select close followers, initially in the Anointed Quorum (or Holy Order) and later related to the Council of 50.

Key points regarding this Nauvoo priesthood include:

• Authority Above the Church: Some interpretations of this higher priesthood held that it constituted an authority that “no tribunal in the church could control.” Heber C. Kimball noted that there were “more than 30 men who have got higher authority” than Sidney Rigdon, a member of the First Presidency.
• Independent Sealing Power: Joseph Smith’s brother, William Smith, claimed that because of his ordinations as a priest and king, he held “as many sealing keys as could possibly belong to Brigham Young.” This concept suggests that individuals with this “fullness” received the sealing power and could exercise it independent of the presiding keyholder, a view that contrasts with the one-man doctrine articulated by Brigham Young.
• The Council of 50: Joseph Smith organized this body shortly before his death. While often viewed as a political body, historical sources suggest it was intended to be a presiding priesthood/governmental body. Benjamin F. Johnson, the link in the LeBaron lineage, was one of the men added to the Council of 50 in March 1844.

From Johnson to LeBaron

The LeBaron authority is rooted in the claims of Benjamin F. Johnson, who was a close friend of Joseph Smith. Johnson claimed that Joseph taught him about plural marriage, endowments, garments, and the second anointing, and authorized him “to teach it to others when I’m led to when I’m led to do so.” Johnson emphasized in his later writings that he was the “last living original member of the Council of 50.”

Alma Dayer LeBaron Sr. (often called Dayer) was a grandson of Benjamin F. Johnson. The LeBaron family tradition claims that in the mid-1890s, Johnson gave Dayer a patriarchal blessing appointing him to be the birthright of Joseph Smith to hold a special family position. The family claims that Johnson charged Dayer to carry on the kingdom and conferred upon him all the priesthood authority that Johnson himself had received from Joseph Smith.

LeBaron Succession Crisis

Alma Dayer LeBaron Sr. spent most of his life in Mexico, trying to establish a colony and living plural marriage after being excommunicated from the LDS Church. He maintained a distinct priesthood claim but kept it secretive for much of his life.

Upon Dayer’s death (c. 1951), the LeBaron family faced a succession crisis, similar to the tension seen in the Nauvoo period or the contemporaneous split happening in the Woolley group.

Dayer had several sons who became prominent, notably:

1. Benjamin F. LeBaron (Ben): The oldest son, initially ordained by Dayer, began to suffer from mental episodes and claimed to be “the one mighty and strong.” Dayer’s hesitation about Ben’s mental state made him cautious about teaching the other children about his authority claim.
2. Ross Wesley LeBaron (Ross): The second oldest son, who spent most of his life and ministry in Utah. Ross’s group is known as the Church of the Firstborn. Ross claimed that his father conferred upon him the keys and authority of the patriarchal order of priesthood in 1950, which Ross understood to be the keys restored by Moses, Elias, and Elijah. Ross was given a commission to carry on the patriarchal work, with the guidance that the “honor is in the work, not the title.”
3. Joel LeBaron: A younger son who founded the Church of the Firstborn of the Fullness of Times in Mexico in 1955. After Dayer’s death, Joel (along with his younger brother Ervil) initially affiliated with the Woolley/AUB line before establishing his own church.
4. Ervil LeBaron: Known for violence, murder, and having a “hit list”. He split off from Joel’s church in the 1970s and called his faction the Church of the Lamb of God. The violence associated with Ervil has attached significant stigma to the name LeBaron.

Because Alma Dayer LeBaron Sr. died without clearly appointing a successor, the LeBarons broke into different factions, each claiming the authority Dayer had passed down. Ross’s specific brand of LeBaronism focuses on the direct transfer of temple keys and the charge to continue the patriarchal work in Utah, separate from the tragedies and violence that plagued the Mexico-based groups.

Roots of LeBaron Authority: Nauvoo Priesthood

To understand the LeBaron claim, one must examine the higher orders of priesthood introduced by Joseph Smith in Nauvoo. This era saw the introduction of new temple rituals, doctrines pertaining to godhood, and work for the dead. Central to this was the concept of the “fullness of the priesthood” or “highest order of the Melchizedek Priesthood,” associated with making men and women kings and priests and queens and priestesses.

Joseph Smith taught that this authority derived from keys restored in the Kirtland Temple by Moses, Elias, and Elijah. Statements from the time suggest that those who received this highest authority—such as the second anointing—held the potential to restore the entire church and kingdom, possessing power to officiate in any office from the lowest to the highest. This higher authority was sometimes referred to as patriarchal priesthood.

This higher order was perceived as priesthood above the church. During the trial of Sidney Rigdon, for example, Heber C. Kimball stated that Rigdon, despite being a member of the First Presidency, did not hold the same “higher authority” possessed by more than 30 other men. This higher authority may have referred to members of the Anointed Quorum or the Council of Fifty.

Council of Fifty & Sealing Power

The Council of Fifty, established in the last months before Joseph Smith’s death, was intended to be the political kingdom of God on earth, functioning as a literal government. However, historical sources suggest it was viewed by many, including Lyman Wight and critical “Brewster-ites,” as a presiding priesthood body that held authority no church tribunal could control. Brigham Young himself stated that the Council of Fifty would be the “governing and presiding body of this kingdom,” defying anyone to draw a dividing line between its spiritual and temporal affairs.

This Council of Fifty was also the setting for Joseph Smith’s “last charge” speech, where he is traditionally recorded as rolling the responsibility of establishing the kingdom onto the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. However, some accounts, including a statement from Brigham Young in the 1845 Council of Fifty minutes, corrected the notion that the charge was solely to the Twelve, asserting that it was a charge to the entire Council of Fifty to “bear off the kingdom to all the world.”

Benjamin F Johnson: The Claim Holder

The LeBaron authority traces directly to a specific member of the Council of Fifty and an intimate friend of Joseph Smith: Benjamin F Johnson.

Johnson was among the men added to the Council of Fifty on March 26, 1844, during a meeting where Joseph Smith “continued his instructions on heavenly matter[s].” Johnson was also the last living original member of the Council of Fifty, a fact he repeatedly emphasized in his later writings. Johnson was taught by Joseph Smith about temple ordinances, plural marriage, endowments, garments, and the second anointing from the beginning.

Crucially, Johnson claimed that Joseph Smith authorized him “to teach this to others when I was led to do so.” In a 1903 letter to the First Presidency, Johnson referred to other things that Joseph taught to us in this council that I am not at liberty to write, emphasizing that Joseph had told him: Benjamin, those things that have been committed to you, you are authorized to commit them to others when you are led to do so by the… Holy Spirit. Johnson was claiming exclusive secret knowledge and independent authority stemming from his temple experience and Joseph Smith’s charge.

LeBaron Lineage: Dayer’s Claim

The distinct LeBaron fundamentalist claim arises because Alma Dayer LeBaron Sr. (Dayer), the family patriarch, was Benjamin F. Johnson’s grandson.

Dayer received a patriarchal blessing from Johnson in the mid-1890s when Dayer was about ten years old, which family tradition holds appointed him to be the birthright of Joseph Smith. This connection was bolstered by the family tradition that the LeBarons were spiritually Joseph Smith’s posterity, drawing on the Nauvoo/early Utah concept of leverite marriage where children born after a sealing to Joseph would be considered his eternal seed. The blessing record itself mentioned holding the “birthright in… thy father’s house,” using the exact verbiage John Taylor had used for appointing family birthrights in the Nauvoo Temple.

According to the LeBaron family, Johnson charged Dayer near his death (1903–1905) to “carry on the kingdom” and conferred upon him all the priesthood that Johnson had received from Joseph Smith. Dayer spent his life attempting to establish a colony in Mexico and entered plural marriage in the 1920s, which led to his excommunication from the LDS Church.

Dayer was generally secretive about his authority claim, often referred to by his daughter as “The Silent Prophet.” However, antagonist witnesses, such as Margarito Bautista, recalled Dayer speaking of receiving a special authority claim as early as 1910–1913, only five years after Johnson’s death.

LeBaron Succession Crisis: Utah vs. Mexico

Dayer’s secrecy contributed to a succession crisis upon his death around 1951, mirroring the succession crisis that followed Joseph Smith’s death. Dayer had been hesitant to appoint a successor, stating he could not do so unless the Holy Ghost directed him.

The two most prominent sons in the authority claim were Benjamin (Ben), the oldest, and Ross Wesley LeBaron (the second oldest.) Unfortunately, Ben suffered from mental illness after being ordained by his father, claiming to be “the one mighty and strong”8788. Dayer’s reluctance to teach his younger children about his claim was partially linked to Ben’s mental demise.

The crisis culminated with the three primary contenders:

1. Ben (oldest): Sketchy claims of receiving a blessing on Dayer’s deathbed, though sources indicate Dayer was coerced and barely able to communicate due to his failing health.
2. Joel LeBaron (younger son): Joel started the main “Church of the Firstborn of the Fullness of Times” in Mexico in 1955, but his claim was initially vague, based on Dayer saying the “birthright is yours if I don’t give it to one of the other boys.”
3. Ross Wesley LeBaron (second oldest): Ross, who primarily lived in Utah, asserted his claim based on a 1950 patriarchal blessing from Dayer that conferred upon him “all the keys rights and authority of the patriarchal order of priesthood” (the keys restored in Kirtland.) Ross was not formally appointed the “successor” or given the “birthright.” Instead, he received a revelation instructing him to ask his father for a commission to carry on the patriarchal work, with the principle that “the honor is in the work, not the title.” Ross subsequently founded his own group, the Church of the Firstborn, in Utah in 1955.

The unique authority claim of the Ross LeBaron line, and the Church of the Firstborn today, rests on this direct, non-Woolley lineage stemming from Joseph Smith’s highest priesthood orders in Nauvoo, passed through Benjamin F. Johnson, and ultimately commissioned to Ross Wesley LeBaron to carry on the patriarchal work of the kingdom.

What do you think of these claims?