Certificate of Proxy Sealing to Ross LeBaron, n.d.

Titled Certification of Marriage in the Holy Order of God – Patriarchal, this certificate was intended to serve as a record of marital sealings performed by proxy . It was supposed to list the name of the deceased woman being sealed to Ross LeBaron, the officiator and the person acting as proxy. It interestingly includesContinueContinue reading “Certificate of Proxy Sealing to Ross LeBaron, n.d.”

The LeBaron Family and The Patriarchal Keys

“It is true that the LeBaron Brothers have committed a lot of crimes, but so did the sons of Jacob”, wrote Ross LeBaron a few years after the death of his brother Ervil [1]. In Ross LeBaron’s perspective, even in the worst actions taken by his brother, the LeBarons would fit the ancient Israelite narrativeContinueContinue reading “The LeBaron Family and The Patriarchal Keys”

Thelma Cox LeBaron in the News, 1949

After divorcing Ross Wesley LeBaron in 1948, Thelma Elena Cox LeBaron made some headlines looking for a new husband. “Mrs. LeBaron would like to get a new husband to help support the home and her children so she can find some time to paint”, stated a front page report in the Salt Lake Telegram, inContinueContinue reading “Thelma Cox LeBaron in the News, 1949”

Ross LeBaron: the Three Periods of Mormonism

For Ross Wesley LeBaron, the history of Mormonism could be divided into three periods of 60 years each. He believed to be living during the last period, presided by “the LeBaron keys’, holding the same priesthood that existed during the days of Adam. In this excerpt of his radio show on KSXX, from the lateContinueContinue reading “Ross LeBaron: the Three Periods of Mormonism”

Was Ross LeBaron a Mormon Fundamentalist?

“I have been associated with the Fundamentalists since 1936” – Ross Wesley LeBaron wrote to Fundamentalist leader Margarito Bautista in December 1958 – “but have stood a hundred percent on my own feet.”[1] Almost 27 years later, LeBaron would give a more detailed – and probably more honest – account of his early association withContinueContinue reading “Was Ross LeBaron a Mormon Fundamentalist?”

Ross LeBaron: Priesthood Expounded, 1985

Priesthood Expounded is the last tract published by Ross LeBaron during his lifetime. It contains, among other themes, his views on the different orders of the priesthood, his belief in the Adam-God doctrine and reincarnation, as well as an explanation of the coming of Elijah to the Nauvoo temple, an event LeBaron believed was essentialContinueContinue reading “Ross LeBaron: Priesthood Expounded, 1985”

Ross LeBaron: Letter to J. Marion Hammon, 1958

On 17 December 1958, Ross Wesley LeBaron wrote a letter to J. Marion Hammon condemning the path taken by the Mormon Fundamentalist Priesthood Council: Whenever an organization casts out the thinkers of its membership, and only keeps the “yes men” and “blind followers”, it soon comes to an end. LeBaron is referring above to anContinueContinue reading “Ross LeBaron: Letter to J. Marion Hammon, 1958”

Mormon Fundamentalism and the Sealing Keys of Hyrum Smith

Ross W. LeBaron claimed to have “the patriarchal keys of the lineage of the Prophet Joseph”. He considered his heirship to the Mormon Prophet “the highest title of birth, and the second order of priesthood,” as he stated to Joseph White Musser in 1951. Lebaron believed the Mormon Fundamentalist movement, on the other hand, operated underContinueContinue reading “Mormon Fundamentalism and the Sealing Keys of Hyrum Smith”

Ross LeBaron: Letter to Margarito Bautista, 1958

“Lehi was evidently the first-born of Manasseh; for he followed the patriarchal pattern[,]” wrote Ross LeBaron about the Book of Mormon patriarch. “His youngest son held the right of the first-born (evidently of the tribe of Manasseh). Lehi was patriarch to a new world, Jacob priest, and Nephi King.” A Mormon Fundamentalist, Margarito Bautista hadContinueContinue reading “Ross LeBaron: Letter to Margarito Bautista, 1958”

Ross LeBaron: Open Letter to Francis M. Darter, 1968

Francis M. Darter (1881-1968) was a prolific Mormon Fundamentalist writer. Among the beliefs he espoused was Pyramidology, which proposed that the Great Pyramid of Giza was a “Bible in stone”, setting dates, through its measures, for the most important events in human history. Such beliefs seem to have been influential on Ross W. LeBaron, as theContinueContinue reading “Ross LeBaron: Open Letter to Francis M. Darter, 1968”