Prophet of Blood cover

Prophet of Blood

by Ben Bradlee, Jr.

This is a detailed book regarding the genesis and history of a church cult, the Firstborners, its violent spinnoff, the Lambs of God, and leader of the Lambs, Ervil LeBaron. It was published in 1981, and this church cult violence continues at least until the 2010s. Discrimination and violence against Regular (Old) Mormons in the US are described, as well as discriminatory and violent acts by Regular Mormons against others, including Firstborners. Likewise, murders by the Lambs of God are mentioned, directed by Ervil LeBaron. Ervil’s personality apparently changes over time. He ends up being a selfish con man who enjoys power and exhibits sociopathic tendencies. The book relays unflattering historic events and convenient prophecies made by Cult Mormon and Regular Mormon “prophets”. The authors detail interesting justifications for polygamy made by Regular Mormons, Cult Mormons, and Jack Mormons. The basis for Erval's polygamy, however, is lust and his desire for power. This book was only available through an interlibrary loan—it was not available as an e-book or audiobook. The used book price was prohibitive. Finally, I found the voice-enabled copy through Open Library. The Voice copy is useful since there is no abridged edition, unfortunately. This was Bradlee's 2d book and Van Atta's 1st book, although the latter does not claim it on his website (as of 1/20/2024).

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?