Let’s look into the unique authority claims of the Church of the Firstborn, also often referred to by the term Ross LeBaron-ite. They claim authority through the Council of 50 in Nauvoo! This group represents an interesting fundamentalist branch because its line of authority is distinct from the majority of other fundamentalist groups, such as the FLDS and AUB, who primarily trace their authority through the Lorin Woolley story.

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Most Mormon fundamentalists—around 80% to 90%—trace their priesthood origin story back to the Lorin Woolley story. This story holds that John Taylor received an 1886 revelation telling him that plural marriage was never to be taken from the earth, leading him to set apart men (including Woolley) to keep the practice alive separate from the church911.

The LeBarons, along with the Kingston group, represent authority claims that are separate from this dominant Woolley line. While the Kingstons claim a “new dispensation” or visitation by messengers to confer authority, the LeBarons trace their authority back to Benjamin F. Johnson and the Nauvoo era, which often sounds like “probably the most peculiar out of any fundamentalist claim.”

To understand the LeBaron claim, one must examine the “higher orders of priesthood” introduced by Joseph Smith during the Nauvoo period.

This higher authority was often referred to as the fullness of the priesthood or the highest order of the Melchizedek Priesthood, which entailed being ordained a king and a priest. This authority was conferred through temple ordinances administered to select close followers, initially in the Anointed Quorum (or Holy Order) and later related to the Council of 50.

The LeBaron authority is rooted in the claims of Benjamin F. Johnson, who was a close friend of Joseph Smith. Johnson claimed that Joseph taught him about plural marriage, endowments, garments, and the second anointing, and authorized him “to teach it to others when I’m led to when I’m led to do so.” Johnson emphasized in his later writings that he was the “last living original member of the Council of 50.”

Alma Dayer LeBaron Sr. (often called Dayer) was a grandson of Benjamin F. Johnson. The LeBaron family tradition claims that in the mid-1890s, Johnson gave Dayer a patriarchal blessing appointing him to be the birthright of Joseph Smith to hold a special family position. The family claims that Johnson charged Dayer to carry on the kingdom and conferred upon him all the priesthood authority that Johnson himself had received from Joseph Smith.

Alma Dayer LeBaron Sr. spent most of his life in Mexico, trying to establish a colony and living plural marriage after being excommunicated from the LDS Church. He maintained a distinct priesthood claim but kept it secretive for much of his life.

Upon Dayer’s death (c. 1951), the LeBaron family faced a succession crisis, similar to the tension seen in the Nauvoo period or the contemporaneous split happening in the Woolley group.

Dayer had several sons who became prominent, notably:

Because Alma Dayer LeBaron Sr. died without clearly appointing a successor, the LeBarons broke into different factions, each claiming the authority Dayer had passed down. Ross’s specific brand of LeBaronism focuses on the direct transfer of temple keys and the charge to continue the patriarchal work in Utah, separate from the tragedies and violence that plagued the Mexico-based groups.

What do you think of these claims?

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Gospel Tangents

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Except for book reviews, no content may be reproduced without written permission