I’m excited to introduce Jacob Vidrine, a member of Church of the Firstborn. This is a group that is part of the LeBaron fundamentalist group. Jacob is a human encyclopedia of Mormn fundamentalism, and we’re going to dive deep into how the LeBaron group cross-pollinates with other fundamentalist groups. Check it out!
0:00 Intro LeBaron Family
4:16 Lorin Woolley Authority Claims
15:20 Kingston & LeBaron Claims
19:18 High Priest Apostles
21:05 Sidney Rigdon Trial
23:53 2nd Anointing-Patriarchal Succession
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When discussing Mormon Fundamentalism, most people—especially members of the LDS Church—immediately think of the FLDS or AUB (Apostolic United Brethren). These groups largely trace their origin back to the authority line popularized by Lorin Woolley. However, there is a fascinating and often misunderstood branch of fundamentalism that descends from a completely different line of authority: the LeBarons. As a helpful overview of this distinctive lineage, we spoke with Jacob Vidrine of the Church of the Firstborn, sometimes colloquially referred to as Ross LeBaron-ites.
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The LeBaron Divide: Ross vs. Ervil
The name LeBaron often carries a dark stigma, primarily due to the terrible acts committed by Ervil LeBaron, who was a murderer and died in jail. It is important to note that Vidrine is not associated with Ervil’s group6….
The LeBaron family, descending from patriarch Alma Dayer LeBaron Sr. (“Dayer”), primarily split into two main groups:
- The Mexico LeBarons: Started by younger son Joel LeBaron in 1955 as the “Church of the Firstborn of the Fullness of Times.” Joel’s church grew significantly before the violent schism with Ervil.
- The Ross LeBaron Line (Church of the Firstborn): Ross LeBaron, the second oldest son, separated and spent his ministry largely in the Utah area, minimizing affiliation with the strife and violence that occurred down in Mexico. Ross’s movement is the one Jacob Vidrine is associated with.
Authority: Woolley’s 1886 Revelation vs. The LeBaron Lineage
Approximately 80% to 90% of fundamentalists trace their priesthood authority back to the Lorin Woolley story. This claim rests on the assertion that John Taylor received a revelation in 1886 confirming that plural marriage should never be removed from the earth, after which he set apart men (including Woolley) to keep the practice alive.
Historically, however, the LeBarons and Kingstons maintain a distinct authority claim. The LeBaron claim is deemed by some to be “the most peculiar out of any fundamentalist claim”, as it bypasses the 1886 revelation entirely and goes straight back to the Nauvoo era through Benjamin F. Johnson.
Johnson Connection & Birthright
Benjamin F. Johnson was a close friend of Joseph Smith and was one of the men added to the Council of 50 in March 1844. Johnson was heavily invested in the secretive Nauvoo doctrines and claimed that Joseph Smith taught him about plural marriage, the endowment, garments, and the second anointing. Crucially, Johnson claimed that Joseph Smith authorized him “to teach this to others when I’m was led to when I’m led to do” by the Holy Spirit.
Alma Dayer LeBaron, the patriarch of the LeBaron family, was Benjamin F. Johnson’s grandson. Family tradition holds that Johnson conferred upon Dayer a patriarchal blessing in the mid-1890s, appointing him to the “birthright of Joseph Smith” to preside over the family. Near his death (1905), Johnson allegedly charged Dayer to carry on the kingdom and conferred all the priesthood authority that Johnson had received from Joseph Smith.
Alma Dayer LeBaron was secretive about this authority claim for much of his life (earning him the nickname “The Silent Prophet” by his daughter.) However, his son, Ross LeBaron, claimed that in 1950, his father conferred upon him “all the keys, rights, and authority of the patriarchal order of priesthood,” which Ross understood to be the temple keys restored by Moses, Elias, and Elijah in Kirtland.
Highest Order of Priesthood: Nauvoo Temple Authority
The entire foundation of the LeBaron claim rests on the idea that Joseph Smith established a higher order of priesthood in Nauvoo that operates independently of the mainstream church structure.
Joseph Smith taught that this higher authority was the “fullness of the priesthood” or the “highest order of the Melchizedek Priesthood”. This fullness, Joseph and Brigham Young taught, was the authority required “to be a king and a priest”.
This authority was conferred through select temple ordinances and included the sealing power.
- The Second Anointing and Sealing Power: Joseph was conferring the authority of being a king and a priest in the temple ordinances, though later the apostles changed this to be merely preparatory. For fundamentalists, if a person receives the second anointing and the sealing power, “excommunication just doesn’t matter” because it is a “higher authority”.
- The Council of 50: The LeBaron focus on Benjamin F. Johnson ties directly to the Council of 50, which was organized by Joseph Smith shortly before his death. While some historians argue it was only a political body, critics and members like William Smith argued that the Council of 50 was ordained as kings and priests, constituting authority that “no tribunal in the church could control”.
The authority claim for the Church of the Firstborn is therefore rooted in this secretive, independent, and higher-level authority that they believe Joseph Smith conferred outside of the church’s main organizational structure, passing from Joseph Smith to Benjamin F. Johnson, and eventually down to the LeBaron family.
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Copyright © 2025
Gospel Tangents
All Rights Reserved
Except for book reviews, no content may be reproduced without written permission.
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