Prophet of Blood: The Untold Story of Ervil Lebaron and the Lambs of God

by Ben Bradlee Jr., Dale Van Atta

Discusses Ervil LeBaron and his renegade, polygamous Mormon sect, The Church of the Lamb of God, and their nightmarish violence and systematic murder of rivals, cult defectors, and troublemakers

Genres: True Crime, Religion, Nonfiction, History, Polygamy, Crime, Cult Classics

350 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1981

About the author

Ben Bradlee, Jr., spent 25 years at the Boston Globe as a reporter and editor, overseeing as deputy managing editor, among many critically acclaimed stories, the Globe's Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. Bradlee has three children. He and his wife Janice live outside Boston.

Son of Ben Bradlee.

Reviews

[Sue Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be jaw-dropping. The story of Lebaron and his corner of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints (FLDS) polygamist Mormon world is jaw-dropping. The level of detail the authors provide - both are very informed about the topic - paints a vivid picture. The story about the UFO chase and Simon's stalking and murder make me ask, why had someone not already made a movie out of this stuff? One reason, of course, is that the people involved are violent, deadly and manage to mostly evade the law. This book ends with Ervil's death in 1981, but his cult murder spree continued for years after that.

The book is densely written with dozens if not hundreds of characters, so I sympathize with the reviewer who found it not to their taste. I had already been reading some of the newer, first-hand accounts of FLDS life by FLDS women, so I was pretty motivated to get the backstory. Even then I had to sketch out a map of who all the characters were and borrow the book from the library a couple of times to finish it. If you want a detailed account of an almost unbelievable historical scandal written by really solid journalists, this is your book.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading both The Sound of Gravel and The Polygamist's Daughter, I couldn't help but read this next. Wow. This hard-hitting, journalistic account of Ervil LeBaron and the Lambs of God "group" is bone chilling. Alone, the tales of murder and deceit are despicable. But - taken with the other two memoirs I've raff of family members, daughters, it's so much worse yet. I've recently learned that two odd Ervil's wives have written books, too, but I think it's time to take a break.

[Stefanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading The Sound of Gravel I was equal parts fascinated and horrified by the Cult - I mean, Church of the Firstborn. This was a fascinating look at the origins of that group and Ervil's spin-off cult, the Lambs of God. It's terrifying how much power this man wielded and how much evil he wrought. My biggest complaint is that the authors jump from event to event in order to make them more dramatic, but I had a really hard time figuring out the timeline, because one chapter would end in 1975 and the next chapter would start in 1970. It would have been nice to have a timeline and list of characters, at the very least. When your subject has somewhere between 12 and 14 wives, it's really hard to remember who everyone is.

[Maria Armada · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating look a bizarre cult that not many people have heard of or know about. I highly reccomend this book to anyone interested in reading about cults,relegious fanatics, or mind control. (I'll throw the odd religious serial killers in there too.) Anyone who read the new book "Shattered Dreams: My Life as Polygamist's Wife" by Irene Spencer would be stunned to learn about the "real LeBaron" cult that Irene lived in since that aspect is so downplayed in her own book. It will shed an entirely new light on her own book.

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was on my list of books to read for a long time. I tracked it down and checked it out from the library. I just could not finish it. It did not hold my interest.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good reporting, but the type is too smaller and there are TOO MANY NAMES to keep track of. The book really needed a Cast of Characters, or maybe a couple of family trees.

[BLUF Listens · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a detailed book regarding the genesis and history of a Mormon polygamist church, referred to as the Firstborners; its violent cult spinoff, the Lambs of God; and the leader of the Lambs, Ervil LeBaron. The book was published in 1981, and this church cult’s violence continued at least until the 2010s.

Discrimination and violence against Regular Mormons in the US are described, as well as discriminatory and violent acts by Regular Mormons against others, including Firstborners.

Likewise, murders by the Lambs of God are mentioned, directed by Ervil LeBaron. Ervil’s personality apparently changes over time. He ends up being a selfish con man who enjoys power and exhibits sociopathic behaviors..

The book relays unflattering historic events and convenient prophecies made by Cult Mormon and Regular Mormon “prophets”. The authors include interesting justifications for polygamy made by Regular Mormons, Cult Mormons, and Jack Mormons. The basis for Erval's polygamy, however, is lust and his desire for power.

This long book was available through an interlibrary loan—it was not available as an e-book or audiobook. The used book price was prohibitive. Finally, I found the voice-enabled copy through Open Library. The Voice-enabled copy is useful since there is no abridged edition, unfortunately. Using the OL Reader to listen was problematic and frustrating—it ain’t Audible and it ain’t Alexa reading a Kindle book.

This was Bradlee's 2d book and Van Atta's 1st book, although the latter does not claim it on his website (as of 1/20/2024).

[Ashley Harold · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally got to read this, and it did not disappoint! After reading the Sound of Gravel, I fell head-first into the LeBaron rabbit hole. I have read every memoir I could find, along with The 4 o'clock Murders, and finally, Under the Banner of Heaven (not LeBaron focused, but they are mentioned). This book felt impossible to find, but thanks to a librarian friend, I was able to borrow it from a library in another state. It is full of earlier life information about the brothers and more insights into Ervil than I've read in other books. I once read somewhere that the 4 o'clock Murders pick up where this leaves off, and it is eerily true. The 4 O'clock Murders gives some earlier information, but nothing like the amount found in The Prophet of Blood. How this book ends gave me chills knowing what was to come. It is information forward, so it's not really a page turner, but extremely informative and a must-read for anyone else in the rabbit hole.

[Jo Besser · Rating 2 out of 5]

Prophet of Blood I felt tied up some of the loose ends that I had about the FLDS. Since there were many things I didn't understand, and wanted to. It also explains a lot of how Warren Jeffs came to be the Prophet of the FLDS.

However, I felt this book was too much. It felt like the author was trying to fill in all the details, often over explaining things. I often times had to go back a few pages and read what was going on. It felt like the story, or the point the author was trying to make was lost in the over explaining of things.

I felt I had a better understanding of the FLDS. However I felt the point of this story was lost in the details.

[Stormy Rothkamm-Hambrice · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very thorough account of the reign of terror of Erivil LeBaron. It was sometimes hard to follow but there were so many necessary details. A great follow up to this book would be The Polygamists Daughter written by his daughter, Anna LeBaron. Written through the eyes of a child growing up and ultimately escaping from the cult that her father ruled over.

[Joane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good read - I thought I knew a lot about Mormonism and Polygamy but this was very eye opening on what a cult these off-shoots of Mormonism (polygamists) are. It explains a lot how these cults begin and brainwash their people by using religion to achieve power, money and perversion. Pretty sad in this day and age.

[Mike Worley · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 solid stars, one of the best nonfiction crime stories, well written.

[Michelle Ewing · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and well-researched book, but, like another reviewer said, could have benefited from a family tree graphic, character list and timeline. Also, some of the writing didn't age well. (This was published in 1981, so keep that in mind while reading.)

[Sharon Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of print book that tells of the reign of terror that Ervil LeBaron caused in Mexico, Utah , and elsewhere. All of this epic was caused from power seeking individuals who wanted to be the Prophet of the Church of the Lamb of God. Anyone who crossedErvi LeBaron would be killed, including his own brother and daughter.

[JenRaye]

I found myself really struggling with this one--writing style, I think. Finally had to put it down. Won't finish.

[Linda Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whatever you do, do not become a plig!!