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Polygamy's Modern Prisoners
In 1984, Beth Cooke met Tom Green at a Sunday school meeting. Despite warnings about him, they quickly married. Within a year, Green had set his sights on Cooke's thirteen-year-old daughter Linda Kunz, marrying her in Mexico and impregnating her before she turned fourteen. Though Cooke later left Green, she defended her daughter's marriage, comparing polygamy to other modern relationships and arguing against "nineteenth-century morals."
Prosecutor David Leavitt saw Green differently-as a predator who "preyed on little girls." Green was convicted of bigamy and criminal nonsupport in 2001, receiving five years in prison. A year later, he was found guilty of child rape for his relationship with Linda but received only a concurrent five-year sentence, disappointing many who felt justice wasn't served.
Mormon Fundamentalists have formed unlikely alliances with the ACLU and gay-rights activists claiming religious persecution, despite FLDS doctrine condemning homosexuality as punishable by death. Meanwhile, radical feminists have allied with the anti-feminist LDS Church to prosecute polygamists.
The isolated community of Colorado City demonstrates the pattern of abuse within fundamentalist groups. In April 2002, Mayor Dan Barlow's son was charged with molesting five daughters but received only a suspended sentence after four daughters refused to testify. Former member Debbie Palmer explained that victims face intense pressure not to testify, being told they'll "go straight to hell."
As the millennium approached, Prophet Rulon Jeffs predicted apocalypse and the faithful being "lifted up" while everyone else perished. This led to many teenage girls being married to older men to "save" them. When nothing happened in 2000, Rulon blamed his followers' insufficient obedience, which apostate DeLoy Bateman calls a "win-win situation" for controlling people.
These modern polygamist communities represent the living legacy of early Mormon teachings-communities where religious authority trumps civil law, and where women and children often suffer under the banner of divine mandate.
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From Revelation to Empire: Joseph Smith's America
Joseph Smith emerged during America's Second Great Awakening, a period of intense religious revival. At thirteen, he became fascinated by Sally Chase's "peep stone" that supposedly allowed her to see hidden things. Soon after, Joseph discovered his own white stone and became a professional "scryer" (diviner), charging fees to find buried treasure. This career led to his 1826 trial and conviction for being "a disorderly person and an imposter."
In autumn 1823, seventeen-year-old Joseph claimed an angel named Moroni revealed golden plates buried on a nearby hill. After several years of preparation, including marrying Emma Hale against her father's wishes, Joseph finally obtained the plates in September 1827. Using magical "interpreters" and his peep stone, Joseph translated the text with various scribes, completing the work at an astonishing pace of 3,500 words daily. The manuscript became The Book of Mormon, published in 5,000 copies after Martin Harris sold his farm to finance the $3,000 printing cost.
On April 6, 1830, Joseph formally established the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His followers embraced his claim that Mormonism was "the only true and living church" and that The Book of Mormon provided essential updates to biblical scripture. Most compelling was Joseph's teaching that God continually revealed new truths through ongoing revelations, empowering believers to prepare for Christ's imminent Second Coming in America.
Joseph began winning converts even before publication, establishing a church that quickly grew from fifty members to over a thousand within a year. Though critics point to numerous historical anachronisms and lack of archaeological evidence supporting the narrative, such criticism misses the point. Like all religious texts, The Book of Mormon's power lies in its narrative force and symbolic meaning, not historical accuracy. Its American setting, promise of direct divine communication, and clear moral framework explaining the origins of Native Americans resonated deeply with 19th century Americans.
This foundation of personal revelation and direct communication with God would later provide the theological justification for fundamentalists like the Laffertys to claim divine authority for their most extreme actions.
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When God Speaks: The Power of Personal Revelation
In a remote Utah valley farmhouse, Robert Crossfield-also known as the Prophet Onias-studies The Second Book of Commandments, a collection of 205 divine revelations he claims to have received since 1961. Unlike more extreme fundamentalists, Crossfield's brand of Mormon Fundamentalism rejects violence and coercion, particularly regarding plural marriage, which he believes must be initiated by women, not men.
Born to an impoverished Alberta farmer in 1929, Crossfield converted to Mormonism after reading The Book of Mormon during a nine-month tuberculosis confinement. Following the book's promise that sincere readers would receive divine confirmation of its truth, he experienced what he believed was the Holy Ghost's testimony. He became a devout Mormon, married in the Edmonton Temple, and worked as an accountant.
In March 1961, while working at McLeod Mercantile in Spruce Grove, Alberta, Crossfield heard "the still small voice of the Lord" revealing he had been chosen as God's prophet. His first revelation affirmed the doctrine of plural marriage. Months later, after moving to Creston, British Columbia to manage a farmer's cooperative, Crossfield discovered a nearby fundamentalist Mormon community following Prophet LeRoy Johnson. Attending their prayer meetings, he immediately felt a connection with these "polygs" as kindred spirits.
From Mormonism's beginning, Joseph Smith emphasized personal revelation, but quickly realized this threatened his authority. In 1830, he announced that only he could "receive commandments and revelations," but many Saints continued receiving personal revelations anyway, explaining why some two hundred schismatic Mormon sects have formed since then.
This doctrine of personal revelation would prove crucial in the Lafferty case. Dan Lafferty was introduced to Onias's School of the Prophets by Bernard Brady, a Dream Mine stockholder impressed by Onias's arrival, which seemed to fulfill John Koyle's prophecy about a "lightly complected man with white hair from the North." This organization aimed to restore forsaken Mormon principles: plural marriage, the Adam-God doctrine, and white racial supremacy. Most distinctively, Onias taught followers how to receive divine revelations-a practice common in Joseph's day but abandoned by the modern church.
Years later, Brady would express profound regret for having introduced Dan Lafferty to Onias, saying with visible emotion, "Looking back on it now, it's unfortunate that I was the catalyst who brought Bob and the Laffertys together. But it happened."
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The Path to Violence: The Lafferty Brothers' Descent
Dan Lafferty grew up with five brothers and two sisters on a four-acre farm outside Salem, Utah. His father, Watson Lafferty Sr., was a WWII veteran who became a chiropractor and barber with extreme right-wing politics. Though Dan describes his father as loving, Watson was a violent disciplinarian who beat his children and wife Claudine, sometimes forcing the children to witness their mother's punishment. He once clubbed the family dog to death with a baseball bat and distrusted conventional medicine, nearly causing his daughter's death when he refused hospital treatment for her burst appendix.
Despite this brutality, Dan adored his father and considered him an excellent role model. After serving a two-year Mormon mission in Scotland, Dan married Matilda Loomis, a divorced mother of two daughters. They moved to California where Dan attended chiropractic college and became intrigued by plural marriage after discovering most members of their LDS ward had polygamous ancestry.
Upon returning to Utah County, Dan researched Mormon polygamy and discovered "The Peace Maker," a 51-page tract published in 1842 with Joseph Smith listed as printer. This document provided biblical justification for polygamy and female subjugation, claiming wives were husbands' property like "manservants" or "oxen."
Dan immediately applied these principles to his household. He forbade Matilda from driving, handling money, or speaking to outsiders without him present. She had to wear dresses constantly. He pulled their children from school, banned outside medical care, delivered their fifth child at home himself, and turned off utilities. When Matilda disobeyed, he "spanked" her in front of family members, threatening to expel her from the marriage without her children. Most alarmingly, Dan announced his intention to take plural wives, beginning with Matilda's own eldest daughter-his stepdaughter.
Meanwhile, Ron Lafferty's financial situation worsened during recession. Dan convinced Ron that material possessions were unimportant and that Ron had a higher calling as a missionary for fundamentalist teachings. Dan even promised Ron would become the next president and prophet of the LDS Church.
After his conversion, Ron dramatically changed his treatment of his wife Dianna, demanding she follow The Peace Maker's rules. This represented a complete reversal from his previous behavior, transforming him from "one of the nicest men" to "one of the meanest men" Dianna's friend had ever known.
Unlike the other Lafferty wives who submitted, Brenda Wright Lafferty stood firm. Intelligent, articulate and assertive, she refused to go along with her husband Allen's demands and encouraged the other wives to stand up for themselves. The Lafferty brothers came to despise Brenda for her defiance and theological knowledge, with Ron once berating her so harshly at a family meeting that she left in tears.
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Divine Murder: The Revelation and Its Aftermath
When Ron received his "removal revelation" commanding the deaths of Brenda Lafferty, her baby daughter, Chloe Low, and Richard Stowe, he first showed it to Dan, who advised him to "make sure it's from God." A subsequent revelation designated Ron as "the mouth of God" and Dan as "the arm of God," meaning Dan would do the actual killing. The brothers found scriptural justification in the Book of Mormon story of Nephi beheading Laban.
When Ron presented the revelation to the School of the Prophets on April 5, only Ron, Dan, and Watson voted to accept it as divine; the other members rejected it completely. Bernard Brady was so concerned he filed a notarized affidavit documenting his fears, though he never alerted police or warned the potential victims.
On Pioneer Day, July 24, the Lafferty brothers arrived at Allen and Brenda's duplex to carry out Ron's revelation. When Brenda answered, she refused to let Dan use the phone. Following what he described as divine guidance, Dan forced his way inside, wrestled Brenda to the ground, and pinned her while Ron entered.
As their accomplices Knapp and Carnes waited in the car, they heard violent sounds from inside-Ron beating Brenda, calling her names, and Brenda pleading, "Don't hurt my baby!" After Ron bloodied Brenda's face with his fists, Dan strangled her with a vacuum cleaner cord before proceeding to fifteen-month-old Erica's room. There, Dan slashed the baby's throat so deeply he nearly decapitated her, calmly explaining later that he "closed his eyes" during the act and believed "she didn't suffer." He then returned to cut Brenda's throat.
Throughout the brutal murders, Dan remained eerily calm, believing he was fulfilling God's will. Afterward, the brothers proceeded to Chloe Low's home but found no one there. They eventually fled to Reno, where they were arrested on August 7.
During Ron's trial, expert testimony focused on whether his religious beliefs indicated mental illness. Dr. Gardner explained that Ron's narcissistic personality disorder was characterized by grandiosity and lack of empathy. Gardner noted that many religious founders could be diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder, as virtually anyone who claims to communicate with God is considered mentally unbalanced to some degree.
Despite these insights, the prosecution argued that being narcissistic and devoutly religious didn't make Ron legally insane. After four weeks of testimony, the jury convicted Ron of first-degree murder. When sentenced to death, Ron chose firing squad over lethal injection, saying "I've already had the lethal injection of Mormonism... I'll take the firing squad."
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The Enduring Power of Belief
Today, Dan Lafferty believes humanity is fundamentally divided into "children of God" and "children of the devil." His theology centers around Christ gathering His children and promising them a "thousand-year party" after enduring 6,000 years of "hell-on-earth." Dan believes he is Elijah, designated to announce Christ's return, which will be heralded by "the moon shining from noon until nine."
Most Mormon Fundamentalists share Dan's belief in imminent Armageddon. In Colorado City, Warren Jeffs (who succeeded his father "Uncle Rulon" as prophet) saw the 9/11 attacks as "a magnificent portent." The mainstream LDS Church maintains "the hour is nigh" but remains vague about specific timing for the Apocalypse.
Meanwhile, the church continues its explosive growth, with sociologist Rodney Stark projecting nearly 300 million members by century's end. Harold Bloom predicted that within sixty years governing the United States will become "impossible without Mormon cooperation." He further prophesied that when the LDS Church gains sufficient political leverage, it might reinstate polygamy.
However, this seems unlikely as today's LDS Church differs greatly from its 19th-century incarnation. Modern Mormondom is guided more by businessmen than publicists, with annual revenues exceeding $6 billion. For nearly a century, the church has been trending "slowly but relentlessly toward the humdrum normality of middle America."
Yet this mainstreaming creates an irony-as the LDS Church becomes less peculiar, fundamentalist groups increasingly attract converts from within Mormonism itself. Communities like Colorado City and Bountiful appeal to fervent Saints who yearn for the all-consuming passion of Joseph Smith's original vision.
From a city park at the edge of Colorado City-Hildale, DeLoy Bateman, an apostate from the FLDS Church, reflects on his religious journey. Though he's rejected the church's teachings, he acknowledges the deep psychological hold religion maintains. He explains the comfort the religion provides: "It makes life simple. Nothing makes you feel better than doing what the prophet commands." Following the prophet's guidance absolves believers of responsibility for their actions-even for refusing to repay debts or committing violence.
Looking out across the epic sweep of desert, DeLoy offers a surprising admission: "People within the religion-people who live here in Colorado City-are probably happier, on the whole, than people on the outside." Then he adds thoughtfully, "But some things in life are more important than being happy. Like being free to think for yourself."
In this final observation lies the heart of Krakauer's exploration: the tension between the comfort of certainty that religion provides and the freedom of thought that it sometimes requires us to surrender. The Lafferty brothers represent the extreme endpoint of a belief system that values divine revelation over human reason-a cautionary tale about what can happen when faith becomes unmoored from morality, when the voice of God drowns out the voice of conscience.
