"Daughters of the Cult," a five-part docuseries available on Hulu and produced by ABC News Studios, delves into the lives of the family and followers of Ervil LeBaron, a notorious religious extremist and polygamist. Nicknamed the "Mormon Manson," LeBaron had over a dozen wives and numerous children. He used his splinter sect to create a militarized group to achieve his objectives, often clashing with other fundamentalist leaders. The series features interviews with several of LeBaron's children, who discuss their unique childhood, evading the FBI, their views on polygamy, and their indoctrination from a young age to adhere to their father's teachings and leadership.
“I was 13 years old the day I escaped my father’s cult. A violent, polygamist cult.” And as a reenactment of this moment appears, we’re introduced to Anna LeBaron, who speaks alongside her sister Celia LeBaron.
By the early 20th century, the mainstream Mormon church had disavowed polygamy, yet some fundamentalist groups still adhered to the practice and established communities in Mexico. Among them were Ervin LeBaron and his brothers Joel and Verlan, who, in the late 1960s, founded a rudimentary colony in Chihuahua. Joel served as the prophet of The Church of the First Born of the Fullness of Times, a sect that celebrated plural marriage, while Ervin played a key role in attracting followers and managing finances. However, Ervin's ambitions for greater authority and financial control led him to break away and form his own faction, The Church of the Lamb of God, declaring himself the sole prophet.
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