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Only Polygamy in Heaven? (Jacob Vidrine 5 of 8)

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Will there be polygamy in heaven? We’re diving into Ross LeBaron story with Jacob Vidrine of the Church of the Firstborn. I’ll also ask Jacob if polygamy a requirement for the Celestial Kingdom. Will it be monogamy or polygamy in heaven? His answer surprised me! We discuss Law of Adoption & the Manifesto ending polygamy in the LDS Church as well. Check out our conversation…

0:00 1st Successor: Ross LeBaron

13:57 Law of Adoption
22:03 Requirement for Polygamy in Heaven?
28:59 Manifesto

Don’t miss our other conversations with Jacob: https://gospeltangents.com/people/jacob-vidrine

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Gospel Tangents

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

Nauvoo Foundation: Priesthood Above Church

To understand the LeBaron claim, one must look back to Nauvoo Mormonism, where Joseph Smith introduced the concept of higher orders of priesthood. This “highest order of the Melchizedek Priesthood” was often referred to as the “fullness of the priesthood” and involved making men and women “kings and priests” in temple ordinances.

Associated with this was the Council of 50, which Joseph Smith established just months before his death as the “literal government” or “political kingdom of God on the earth.” Historical evidence suggests that the Council of 50 was intended to be a presiding priesthood body that held authority no church tribunal could control.

Benjamin F. Johnson was one of the men added to the Council of 50 on March 26, 1844, just before Joseph Smith’s death. Johnson was a close friend of Joseph Smith and was taught directly about plural marriage, endowments, garments, and the Second Anointing. Johnson later asserted that he was authorized by Joseph Smith “to teach this to others when I’m was led to do so.”

After the Council of 50 ceased meeting (it became defunct after 1885/1911 when Joseph F. Smith denied the request to reconvene it), Johnson emphasized that he was the last living original member of the Council of 50.

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Transmission of the Birthright

The LeBaron authority claim rests on Johnson passing this special, secret Nauvoo authority—which included the Fullness of the Priesthood and involvement in the Kingdom of God structure—to his grandson, Alma Dayer LeBaron (Dayer.)

This transfer of keys was unusual because it bypassed Dayer’s own father, Benjamin Franklin LeBaron. The LeBaron family justified this by drawing analogies to the Old Testament, such as Jacob appointing Ephraim the birthright over his older brother Manasseh.

The lineage runs: Joseph Smith à  Benjamin F. Johnson à Alma Dayer LeBaron.

The family tradition holds that in the mid-1890s, when Dayer was about 10 years old, Johnson gave him a patriarchal blessing appointing him to hold the “birthright of Joseph Smith.” This “birthright” concept relates to special blessings given in the Nauvoo Temple, granting “special authority to authorize the temple… work for the dead” within a family context. Before Johnson died (around 1905), he reportedly charged Dayer to “carry on the kingdom” and conferred upon him all the priesthood that Johnson had received from Joseph Smith.

Dayer spent the remainder of his life establishing his family and practicing plural marriage in Mexico, having been excommunicated from the LDS Church. Because he was secretive about his authority claim, Dayer was sometimes called the “silent prophet” or “quiet heir of the kingdom.”

LeBaron Split: Ross’s Unique Theology

Following Dayer’s death in the early 1950s without naming a clear successor, a succession crisis ensued, leading to major schisms among his sons: Ben (who was mentally unwell), Ross Wesley LeBaron (second oldest), and Joel LeBaron (a younger son.)

Ross, who operated primarily in Utah, built his claim on a commission received from Dayer in 1950 to carry on the “patriarchal work.” Ross emphasized a cosmology that directly reflected the Nauvoo concepts:

  1. Patriarchal Priesthood as Highest Authority: Ross taught that the Church of the Firstborn was a higher church above the Church of Jesus Christ. This was the priesthood restored by Moses, Elias, and Elijah in the Kirtland Temple.
  2. Dissemination of Authority: Unlike the Woolley line, which concentrated power in a central “Council of Friends,” Ross’s theology focused on giving this highest authority (patriarchal keys) to many worthy men for their own family spheres, acting as a check and balance against the concentration of power.
  3. Emphasis on Work over Title: Ross received a revelation that affirmed, “the honor is in the work, not the title,” which distinguished his ministry from other fundamentalists focused solely on claiming specific offices.

    4. The distinct nature of this lineage—tracing independent temple and kingdom authority through a Council of 50 member rather than through the apostolic line—is why LeBaronism remains a peculiar and historically fascinating branch of Mormon fundamentalism.

    Status of Monogamists in Celestial Kingdom

    Historically, leaders whose teachings form the basis of fundamentalist theology (such as Brigham Young and Lyman Wight) taught that monogamous people can go to the celestial kingdom.

    • Faithfulness, Not Numbers: The primary factor for achieving the celestial kingdom is how faithful you are to the gospel, not simply the number of wives one possesses.
    • A “Gallon Measure”: When questioned about whether a man could be exalted without plural wives, Brigham Young reportedly responded using an analogy: “you can’t put a gallon and a pint measure, but both can be made filled full.” He concluded that “If a man is faithful with one wife, he may grow to be a gallon measure.”
    • Requirement of Acceptance: The view held by those attempting to harmonize these teachings is that a faithful monogamist must accept plural marriage in their faith as being a true principle in order to qualify for the celestial kingdom.
      • Polygamy in Heaven: Attaining the Highest Glory and Godhood

      While a monogamist can achieve the celestial kingdom, the practice of plural marriage is tied to the highest level of exaltation and becoming a God.

      • Greater Glory: Polygamists are understood to attain a greater glory in the celestial kingdom.
      • The Law of Godhood: The perspective is that if “we do not live the same law that our heavenly father lives then we cannot go where he is,” suggesting that plural marriage is part of the law of Godhood. Therefore, in order to be a god, you will have to eventually practice polygamy.
      • Priesthood Authority: The doctrine of John Taylor maintained that a man living a “lower law cannot preside over a man living a higher law.” The fulfillment of the “celestial law” (including plural marriage) is seen as a “stepping stone to exaltation” and to the “responsibility of godhood.”
      • Degrees of Glory (Specific Cosmologies): Within some fundamentalist cosmologies (like that articulated by Ross LeBaron, derived partially from Lorin Woolley), the degrees of the celestial kingdom are associated with plural marriage. One specific cosmology suggested that attaining the highest degree of the celestial kingdom might require seven or more wives, the middle degree five, and the bottom degree three. However, Ross LeBaron viewed these as “celestial patterns that aren’t necessarily attained on earth.”

        • In summary, fundamentalist theology generally holds that acceptance of plural marriage as a true principle is essential for celestial glory, and its eventual practice is considered necessary for the greatest glory and achieving Godhood. Ross LeBaron’s particular theology, however, often took plural marriage for granted and focused more heavily on the patriarchal priesthood and keys necessary for the “higher church” (the Church of the Firstborn.)

        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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