1950s were a tumultuous time for Mormon polygamists. Not only did police jail many for polygamy, but there were Mormon Fundamentalist Schisms. Many groups including Joseph Musser and the LeBaron families split apart. Jacob Vidrine of the Church of the Firstborn gives more details. Check out our conversation…
Don’t miss our other conversations with Jacob: https://gospeltangents.com/people/jacob-vidrine
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Dramatic 1955 Schism that Defined the LeBaron Legacy
The history of Mormon fundamentalism is filled with contested authority claims, but few are as immediate and dramatic as the split that occurred between Ross and Joel LeBaron in the mid-1950s. This schism not only severed the nascent Church of the Firstborn into two distinct movements but also cemented radically different interpretations of priesthood authority that traced back to Nauvoo.
From Mexico to Utah: Quest for the Kingdom
Following the death of their father, Alma Dayer LeBaron (Dayer), who had claimed a unique authority line through Benjamin F. Johnson, the family faced a succession crisis. Joel LeBaron and his brothers (including Verlin and Floren) were primarily based in Mexico and had initially affiliated themselves with the Allred Group (AUB), which was the Salt Lake-based faction of the larger Woolley fundamentalist movement after the 1950s split.
In 1955, Joel and his brothers traveled to Utah specifically to request funding from the Allred Council to establish a United Order in Mexico. While staying in Utah, they interacted with their brother, Ross Wesley LeBaron, the second oldest son, who had been ministering separately in the Utah area.
Ross’s Vision: The Higher Church
Ross had received a commission from his father in 1950 to carry on the “patriarchal work”. His theology provided a unique perspective in the fundamentalist landscape, teaching that the Church of the Firstborn was not merely a holding pattern for the “out-of-order” LDS Church, but rather a “higher church above the Church of Jesus Christ”. Ross argued that the goal was not to “fall back into the church” but to “advance into the church of the firstborn,” emphasizing the higher principles of the patriarchal order restored by Moses, Elias, and Elijah in the Kirtland Temple.
Ross converted his visiting brothers, Joel and Floren, “back to believing in their father’s authority line” and the patriarchal priesthood. Excited, the brothers decided to formally organize a new church5.
The September Organization and Contested Authority
On September 21, 1955, Ross, Joel, and Floren gathered for an organizational meeting that established the Church of the Firstborn of the Fullness of Times. The minutes of this meeting articulated the specific authority lineage claimed by the family: Joseph Smith passed patriarchal keys to Benjamin F. Johnson, who passed them to Alma LeBaron (Dayer), who conferred them on his sons.
In this initial organization:
- Ross Wesley LeBaron was sustained as the head patriarch, holding the keys and calling received from their father. Ross emphasized that “the honor is in the work, not the title,” focusing on the substance of the calling rather than merely claiming specific offices.
- Joel LeBaron was ordained to the office of president of the Church of the Firstborn of the Fullness of Times.
- Floren LeBaron was set apart as a counselor.
Ross claimed he ordained both Joel and Floren as patriarchs1012. However, this unity was fleeting.
Joel’s Claim to the One Mighty and Strong
Within approximately a week of the organization, Joel decided to split from Ross. Joel sought a higher, incontrovertible claim to authority to override Ross’s position as the patriarch holding the keys.
Joel traveled up Farmington Canyon and claimed to receive a revelation or a theophany. He claimed that “no fewer than… 17 or 18 different past prophets” appeared to him on the mountain.
Crucially, these messengers allegedly appointed Joel as “the one mighty and strong”.
This claim directly targeted Ross’s earlier teachings; Ross had claimed the birthright of Joseph Smith and described his own work as merely “preparatory work until the one mighty and strong came”. By claiming this specific title, Joel effectively trumped Ross’s foundational claim and secured his own undisputed position as the highest authority.
The dramatic revelation led to a swift separation, with Ross remaining in Utah and Joel returning to Mexico, where he would successfully grow his branch of the Church of the Firstborn of the Fullness of Times to several thousand members, emphasizing a restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ structure (complete with a Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and a High Council), rather than Ross’s focus on the higher patriarchal order.
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In essence, the split between Ross and Joel LeBaron illustrates a fundamental tension in fundamentalist authority: the conflict between inheriting authority (Ross, the Birthright, the Patriarchal Keys) versus receiving new, definitive revelation (Joel, the Theophany, the One Mighty and Strong).
Don’t miss our other conversations with Jacob: https://gospeltangents.com/people/jacob-vidrine
Copyright © 2025
Gospel Tangents
All Rights Reserved
Except for book reviews, no content may be reproduced without written permission
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