During that conference Verlan was ordained as the president of the church with Siegfried Widmar and Bruce Wakeham as his counselors. And he was soon thereafter ordained the patriarch, the second grand head of priesthood, replacing Ervil.
The intensity of the situation weighed heavily on Joel. Verlan also felt terrible when he was given the office of patriarch. He knew how much it meant to Ervil, and to be stripped of such an exalted office was simply a catastrophe. However, Verlan believed God was in control and he’d have to carry on despite Ervil’s removal.
Now we hoped a new phase of progress and harmony would begin. But we didn’t realize that behind Ervil’s facade of humility and acceptance laid resentments of volcanic proportions. Neither Joel nor Verlan had any inclination to believe that their brother was planning to retaliate.
Instead of harmonizing with Joel and the church leaders, Ervil began to recruit Joel’s converts. Dan Jordan was soon fully backing him.
MANY OF US RECALLED the history of Ervil’s religious activities. First he was a missionary for the Mormon LDS Church, then he followed his brother Ben. At that time, Alma had helped Ervil distribute an article that Ervil had written for Ben. It read in part,
Let it be known to every nation, tongue, and people unto whom these words come, that God the eternal Father, by the power of the Holy Ghost, has given us a sure knowledge, that our brother, Benjamin Teasdale LeBaron is . . . the Prophet unto whom all the nations of the earth must listen to in order to establish world peace and that by his word the kingdom of God will be established upon the earth. We declare this solemnly in the name of Jesus Christ and do not lie, God being our witness. This we prophesy by the power of the Holy Ghost and in the name of Jesus Christ.
Later, in Uncle Rulon’s organization, Ervil was baptized by Margarito Bautista and given priesthood.
Then he used the scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants’ section eighty-five to prove his point when he decided his brother Joel was God’s anointed servant, the One Mighty and Strong. He also declared that their father had conferred the same blessing on Joel that had been conferred on Joseph Smith.
Ervil explained that one holding this office would never lead the people astray because the priesthood, which constitutes the highest office, is called the Right of the Firstborn, which means the right to stand in the stead of the Firstborn in his absence, the Firstborn being Christ. In other words, this is the authority over all things pertaining to the Kingdom of God on earth.
While Ervil upheld Joel in the authority of the first and highest office, he himself was pleased to hold the second office of patriarch.
It’s true, Ervil helped write the pamphlet Priesthood Expounded to prove Joel’s claim. He was the spiritual engine that drove the church in its infancy. Joel and Ervil seemed to be in harmony throughout most of those years as they worked diligently to establish the new church. But now he was singing a different tune.
I’d always felt that something sinister lay beneath Ervil’s fervent quest for glory. Obsessed with his lust for power, he seemed to separate himself from Joel, and, while speaking to other members, not only did he disparage Joel, he denied the doctrinal claims they both had professed to believe.
Priesthood Expounded, speaking of the first grand head, states,
Only one man on the earth at a time is given the office that Moses held. The Lord in all ages has promised by oath and covenant to sustain the man acting in that office. The man acting as mouthpiece to the whole human family, who stands as God to the people, will not lead them astray (32).
The second office is described: “This grand self-perpetuating Patriarchal office rightfully holds the keys of all the spiritual blessings . . . to act in concert with, yet subordinate, to the office Moses held” (15).
In reference to the One Mighty and Strong mentioned in section eighty-five of the Doctrine and Covenants, Ervil completely denied that Joel was to stand as God to the people as he had previously claimed.
He continued to deride, ridicule, and discredit Joel, hoping to undermine his position. Being obsessed with his own importance, he lashed out continually at church members, spewing words of hate toward his brother, threatening to blood atone him. So, Ervil, filled with disappointment, hatred, and bitterness over being dethroned, devised plans to completely undermine Joel and take over the Church of the Firstborn.
First, determined to catapult himself to the top of the heap, he made the ridiculous claim that he had received the patriarchal office from his father eight years prior to Joel’s receiving the first grand head office. He twisted and denounced the very scriptures that he’d formerly presented to the world. Ervil began his campaign of terror, not only in his writings, but in almost every conversation with Joel’s flock.
I was sickened when he spent an hour with me, insisting that I comprehend the civil law. He warned that as soon as the people were sufficiently taught the law, they’d be executed if they broke any part of it. Shocked, I asked, “What law?”
He scoffed at my seeming ignorance. “All those who break the Sabbath, those who refuse to live the United Order, liars, those who commit adultery, those who will not pay tithing, and”—he smiled cunningly—“all those who uphold false prophets.”
I winced because in my heart I knew he was referring to Joel, Verlan, all the fundamentalist groups, and the LDS Mormons. I wondered, Is anyone safe? He spewed out his flattery, insisting I was an elect lady. Then he shared a recent revelation that only he and I were supposed to be privy to. “God wants you to be a military leader in my army of women. With your determination and intelligence,” he gushed, “you can accomplish anything.”
I declined, hoping I wasn’t marked for death by my refusal. Shaken, I hurried home to my children.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Soon Ervil tried to convince Earl Jensen’s third wife, Lawreve, to abandon Earl and marry him. The Lord had spoken to him when he noticed her long golden hair, her smile, and her confident demeanor that so impressed him. On the one hand, he demanded obedience from all, yet he hated a woman’s docile spirit. Lawreve was a challenge to any man, tall, lanky, beautiful, and very devoted to Earl.
In Earl’s absence from Colonia LeBaron Ervil went to his house on the pretext of preaching the gospel. He greeted the first two wives, Carol and Maudie, as they worked, caring for all their children. He asked for privacy with Lawreve in Earl’s office, where he spent hours convincing her that she absolutely had to leave Earl and marry him. He repeatedly told her that she was committing spiritual adultery by continuing her marital duties with her undeserving husband. Ervil prodded, begged, and threatened Lawreve day after day, hour after hour, until he had her completely under his control. Ervil claimed that every command, wish, suggestion, threat, and warning came directly from God to him.
Lawreve was exhausted and completely depressed after each agonizing session. Ervil would turn on his hypnotic powers full throttle, reiterating his usual line, telling her that it hurt him as much as it did her. And that he also ached for Earl, but that God sees the clear picture. He explained that she had made eternal covenants with him before the foundations of this world. He told her it was God’s will, not his, and that God wanted obedience from them both. But Lawreve was not convinced. However, she went to California for a while and Ervil went to Los Molinos.
As president of the church, Verlan felt it necessary to confront Ervil in Los Molinos. He did not want to ruffle his feathers, but the recent scandal had to be squelched. Ervil, the “great lawgiver” was brazenly breaking his own rules again. Through coercion, he was trying to convince Lawreve to marry him, but no one had forgiven Ervil for his earlier indiscretion when he had secretly stolen Nephi Marston’s wife Anna Mae, and Ralph Barlow’s wife Rosemary.
Now Verlan’s responsibility was to confront his brother, making sure he waited the requisite six months. Joel himself had come up with the rule after Ervil had stolen Anna Mae. He wanted to make sure that no one would marry someone else’s wife without suf
ficient time for both to agree to the divorce. Six months seemed ample time for a possible reconciliation. Verlan tactfully stated that Ervil would not be allowed to marry Earl’s wife unless he kept the rule.
Verlan had never crossed Ervil before. He knew him well enough to know that doing so would cause nothing but trouble. Ervil, being four years Verlan’s senior, had always asserted control over him, and his recent demotion as patriarch was definitely a thorn in Ervil’s flesh.
Ervil tried to defend his position, stating that he was exempt from the law because he was living on a celestial level, and only those who had sex on their minds had to wait. He basically told Verlan to mind his own business, that no one was going to dictate how he’d live his life.
“Well, if you’re going to be hardheaded and have your own way, then I have no recourse but to excommunicate you from the church,” said Verlan. It was at that time that Ervil began to plot Verlan’s death.
Ervil, still trying to convince Lawreve to marry him, told her that his brother Joel had received the same confirmation from God, that she should leave Earl and marry him. He claimed God had made a special visit to Joel to make sure that Lawreve acted immediately according to Ervil’s wishes.
Tearfully distraught, and very skeptical, Lawreve had to know for herself, so she contacted the prophet himself.
Joel blew up, emphatically stating that Ervil was lying. He had no idea that Ervil was trying to steal another man’s wife again. Joel demanded that Lawreve contact her husband and return to her home at once. Earl retrieved his wife and insisted that she avoid Ervil at all costs.
Earl naturally began to investigate all of Ervil’s antics, trying to establish a sense of harmony among all concerned. But when Ervil received the news about Earl’s investigation, he again went to God. Supposedly the Lord, in his supreme wisdom, revealed how to settle the problem.
Ervil ordered two eighteen-year-old members to hunt Earl down and execute him. The frightened teens, fearing for their own lives if they declined, asked Ervil how to go about it. Ervil smiled menacingly. “God’s speaking to me now. He’s ordered you boys to use hot lead and cold steel.”
“You mean we’ll have to shoot him?” they asked, now nearly paralyzed with fear.
“Exactly,” he ordered. “Go now, and don’t return until the job is done.”
But the boys, more frightened of killing than of Ervil’s consequences if they did not do the wicked deed, fled to Las Vegas to find work and concealment. Luckily for Ervil, that order to kill was not known until much later.
DETERMINED TO DESTROY the one who had threatened him with excommunication, Ervil rationalized that the Bible was the word of God, and he scanned its pages almost daily. He sought, then used the word of the Lord to justify his ruthless tactics. He read in Deuteronomy,
If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is like your own soul should lure you secretly, let us go serve other gods which you have not known . . . you shall not consent to him or listen to him, neither shall your eyes pity him, neither shall you spare, neither shall you hide him. But ye shall surely kill him. Your hand shall be first upon him to put him to death. (13:6–9)
Now that Verlan had taken over the office of patriarch and the presidency of the Church of the Firstborn, Ervil was convinced that this passage in Deuteronomy applied to Verlan, because by not bowing down to God and continuing to follow Joel’s teachings surely Verlan was following a false god.
So, on various occasions, Ervil made it known on no uncertain terms that as soon as the Lord gave the go-ahead the sword of justice would cut down both Verlan and Joel.
NEOMI ZARATE CAME to Los Molinos from southern Mexico with her parents and siblings. She arrived in a large truck with sixty other new converts who came expecting to be counted among those awaiting Christ’s return. Neomi’s husband had stayed behind in Mexico City, but he intended to join her at a later date.
Neomi pleaded with me to give her work. She offered to clean house, wash clothes, or do anything that might provide her an income to support her three children. Trying to survive with my own thirteen children was a feat in itself, but I hired her on the condition that I could pay her with wheat, beans, and produce that I had acquired from nearby farms. I was pleased to have her work for me, and I gave her the task of doing my ironing.
When I’d met Neomi on the day she arrived, her infectious smile cheered us all. Now, I noticed she was silent and somber. When I asked if she was doing all right or if she was sad because she was away from her husband, she burst into tears. “Ervil has convinced my parents that my husband is not worthy of me. He is Catholic; therefore, they feel he can’t exalt me.”
I comforted her, suggesting that soon her husband would join her or maybe send money for her to return to him. She cried all the harder. “My parents believe Ervil is a prophet of God. They want me to follow his counsel.”
“What’s that?” I inquired.
She could barely get the words out. “Ervil wants me to marry Bud Chynoweth. I told him I was already married and that I love my husband. Ervil said he had already released me from my vows and that I belong to Bud for all eternity.”
I watched the tears stream down her face as she tried to iron a shirt. “Don’t listen to Ervil,” I said. “Listen to yourself. It’s your life. Do what’s in your heart. Don’t let him talk you into doing anything that’s against your own conscience.”
While she continued to iron, I went directly to Joel and told him of Ervil’s intentions for Neomi to be taken from her absent husband and become Bud’s second wife.
Joel emphatically told me, “No way is Ervil going to perform that marriage! I want you to give him a personal message from me, if I don’t see him. You tell Ervil that he is not to marry that girl to Bud. If she divorces her present husband, she still has six months before anyone else can marry her.” (My experience here was also used in Prophet of Blood, p. 174.)
I hurried home to join Neomi so Ervil would not discover that I had gone over his head to Joel.
Just then, we both heard a car drive up. From her position, Neomi could see through the window. “It’s Ervil,” she said fearfully.
Ervil didn’t bother to knock. When he saw Neomi in tears, he immediately suspected she had revealed her fate to me. His iciness ticked me off, especially when he ignored my presence in my own home, speaking only to Neomi. “Come with me!” he demanded.
Shaking nervously, Neomi handed me the shirt she was ironing and started to walk away.
In her defense I challenged Ervil. “She’s working for me right now, so you’ll have to talk to her some other time.”
Ervil’s face flushed with anger. He grabbed her arm. “She’s going with me now.” Then he changed his approach and tried to cajole me into accepting his authority. His fake smile disgusted me. “This young lady is going to marry Bud because he needs a plural wife. You know he’s too intimidated to court these Lamanite women, so I found one for him.”
I cut in angrily, “You know darn well she is another man’s wife.”
He waved dismissively. “Her marriage was a farce. When a woman is not sealed under the holy covenant by the true priesthood, then the union is not valid.”
“Look at her,” I scolded. “She’s in tears. She told me she doesn’t want to marry someone else. She loves her husband!”
Neomi stood quietly. She didn’t understand a word of English, but she knew we were engaged in a heated argument.
So to assert a higher authority, I delivered Joel’s message to Ervil. Of course, Ervil completely ignored Joel’s six-month policy; he wanted to perform the marriage of Neomi to Bud that same day!
Ervil held Neomi’s arm tightly and led her out to his car despite my protests. Once she was seated in the passenger seat, he closed her door and came around to his side. He opened the car door, leaning on it momentarily as he spoke. “Just mind your own business. I have told you repeatedly not to interfere w
ith my doings.” He squeezed his long body into the driver’s seat, started the car, and drove away.
I was sickened by the situation. Not only was Neomi being coerced into marrying Bud, but the two wouldn’t be able to communicate; they didn’t even know each other’s language.
That’s when I realized that Ervil had become a law unto himself and would do whatever he pleased.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Venomous reports quickly circulated throughout Zion. Ervil became the ambassador of hate. He vilified Joel, stating that he was a fallen prophet. His disparaging remarks were intended to persuade other members to join his camp.
To destroy Joel’s credibility, Ervil asked unsuspecting members for large sums of money. He conned them by stating that Joel had personally asked him to procure loans that Joel would promptly repay. Those duped were not only shocked, but greatly offended when they asked Joel why he hadn’t returned their money as promised. Joel was sickened by Ervil’s deceitful manipulation. He wondered how Ervil could possibly treat him, his elder brother, in such a despicable manner.
Ervil’s right-hand man, Dan Jordan, joined in spreading Ervil’s ridiculous claims of priesthood and of being the true prophet. Several people reported that Ervil had made statements that any man who opposed him would be blood atoned.
Finally on August 8, 1971, during our general conference, it was announced that both Ervil and Dan were excommunicated from the Church of the Firstborn.
Ervil’s excommunication meant nothing to him; he didn’t even attend the court. Instead he retaliated by incorporating a church of his own, the Lambs of God. In Ervil’s struggle, he gained the support of three families: the Chynoweths, the Rioses, and the Jordans. Two of the Chynoweth brothers, Mark and Duane, became Ervil’s commandos, while the third brother, Victor, financed the group. Their mother, Thelma, who worshipped the ground Ervil walked on, was their matriarch. Ervil felt Thelma’s and Lorna’s ingrained worldly views might disrupt his plans, and, fearing Thelma would discontinue supporting her daughter financially if she knew of his latest scheme, he concealed his intentions to marry Teresa and Yolanda Rios, who became his eleventh and twelfth wives. The sisters were both in their early teens, dark Lamanite maidens who had joined the work, moving to the colony from Puebla, Mexico. Ervil wasn’t well acquainted with either of the girls, but he knew they were both sisters to Nephi Marston’s wife Dalila (one of those he had given to Nephi to replace Anna Mae). Ervil had convinced their father that it would be an honor to have LeBaron blood circulating through his grandchildren’s veins. If both girls were as obedient and determined as their brother Raul, they could be useful after all.
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