Here lies Sister Leslie Lee.

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

— Matthew 5:9 (King James Version)

This is genuinely the funniest ask I have ever fucking received, holy fuck.

THE CULT REVIEW, episode one — The School of Prophets.

The School of Prophets were a polygamous Mormon cult formed in the 1980s, and were considered to be a more fundamentalist sect of Mormonism, one that had broken away from the more mainstream beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (abbreviated as LDS).

The School of Prophets and its fundamentalist ideology was born from what most modern Mormons would consider to be ‘extremist and radical’ religious takes on Mormonism. The polygamous cult was founded by self-professed religious prophet Ron Lafferty, who was joined by his five biological brothers.

Both Ron and a brother of his, Dan Lafferty, held religious beliefs that the LDS perceived as an evolvement into radicalism, especially with their insistence on wanting the church to return to the now-banned practice of polygamy. As a result of their perceived threat to the church, in 1983, the two Lafferty brothers were ex-communicated. This would ultimately aid their motivation in wanting to form a new ‘true’ Mormon sect that would follow their fundamentalist values in just the way that they wanted it to be followed.

A NOTE FROM LESLIE’S LENS: Devil’s advocate moment from me, I fear. I think it is important to provide a counter-perspective rooted in that of the Mormon culture… Now, don’t get me wrong, the School was certainly active and focused on their practice of polygamy. But with that being said, I can also guarantee that most people who read into the cult world and take in the literature will just naturally come to refer to most polygamous religions as cults due to the spiritual and almost ritualistic nature of religious polygamy… but anyway, I digress! I would not agree with the assessment, however, that the School was… entirely a polygamous cult. That is not the foundation of their entire Mormon tradition. Polygamy does not give a clear confirmation about a person’s moral compass. And I would confidently argue that this was not the entire center of the School’s religious ideology. Their center was fundamental Mormonism.

Similar to the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints (abbreviated as the FLDS — perhaps I will do an episode dedicated to that cult as well… I was obsessed with them for some time), the School of Prophets was known for adhering to the core beliefs of Mormon fundamentalism where religious ideologies are entirely rooted within early 19th-century traditions and practices of Mormonism.

In my research on the School, I really did try to find some sort of picture, some sort of book or text to give you all in regards to their practices but… I was honestly unable to procure any religious documents that they may have followed personally within their sect. It was a bit tricky to piece everything together to be honest, mainly because this particular Mormon cult is what you would consider to be a hidden cult.

Bearing in mind my fragmented knowledge that I am choosing to blame on having had less time to research… bulleted below are some very basic core beliefs generally held by Mormon fundamentalists. I have framed these beliefs, however, specifically from the lens of the School of Prophets:

In 1890, the Mormon church bans plural marriage, or polygamy, from Mormon practice — this was done per The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Fundamentalist mormons such as the Lafferty’s, however, believe in continuing the practice of polygamy. The School of Prophets was formed with this understanding in place between the five brothers; however, three of the brothers were already married, and none of their wives were interested in a co-wife dynamic.

Allen Lafferty, one of the married brothers was married to a woman named Brenda. She was, from what I can understand, the worst cult member a leader could want to be inviting inside of their practice. She was college-educated, an outspoken woman, and arguably, a bit more sensible than the other wives. These traits, especially when present in a woman, are just not admired in that patriarchal dynamic, sad it is to many. And with her natural willingness to protect, Brenda told the other girls, “There are options. You have choices.” Ron and Dan’s wives were, of course, going to leave the co-marriage… I expected it. And… they did. But Brenda stayed with Allen.

GIRL……..? I will never fucking understand why she stayed within the School. So crazy to me! Potentially… the worst Mormon co-wife a self-proclaimed religious prophet could want in his sect? What I mean to say is that Ron hateddddd Brenda. Remember this for later.

Mormons (generally speaking) believe that God communicates directly with members of the church in what they call revelations. So, anyone can receive a revelation from God about any personal matter and this revelation is meant to guide you on your life path. According to the LDS, however, revelations having to do specifically with the church will only ever come through religious prophets. Well, Ron Lafferty believed with his entire mind that he was indeed a prophet and his brothers, naturally, all agreed with him.

Let’s fast forward a year, but just keep all of this stuff in mind, okay? In 1984, Ron Lafferty revealed to his brothers what should’ve been a startling revelation that he was claiming to have received from God. This was the following revelation that, based on reporting from ABC4 News, Ron had scrawled down onto paper with nothing but a pencil:

“Thus sayeth the Lord unto my servants the prophets. It is my will and commandment that ye remove the following individuals in order that my work might go forward for they truly have become obstacles in my path and I will not allow my work to be stopped.” / “First, thy brother's wife, Brenda, and her baby, then Chloe Low and then Richard Stowe. And it is my will that they be removed in rapid succession and that an example be made of them in order that others might see the fate of those who fight against the true saints of God.”

This is why hidden cults are veryyyyy fascinating to me. Finding out about a hidden cult is — if you can actually believe it — kind of not supposed to happen. So whenever you do find out… it usually means they. fucked. up. Bad. Something went wrong, someone snapped, the religious psychosis had finally become all-consuming to the point of non-containment.

After revealing his revelation, everyone was just immediately convinced that God was truly telling them to murder 4 people. Mind you, two of these people were Brenda Lafferty, Allen Lafferty’s wife and their baby daughter. Yes, I shit you not, the baby mentioned in the crazed writing of his holy vision is that of Erica Lafferty, who was only 15-months-old in 1984.

The craziest part about all of this for me personally is that, ALLEN LAFFERTY NEVER TOLD HIS WIFE ABOUT THE REVELATION… and he said it was because he ‘didn’t want her to worry.’ He literally testified in court, during his brother’s trial, who murdered his own wife and baby, that he would have done it himself if it had been him because that was what God was telling them to do. It was actually fucking crazy to read about Allen who was literally just helping plan the murder of his own fucking wife and BABY like it was a normal Tuesday. Mormons, man…

Pictured below is the adult victim, Brenda Lafferty:

While there is more I could add to all of this, I kind of just wanted to touch upon the gist of this not-so-hidden cult. And as you can expect from most radical religious leaders, when given a taste of power and having something a reality that is easier to accept, they will attempt to conform everyone’s reality to it at any cost. Ron Lafferty had taken his grandiose ideas — ones likely created from his long-suffered religious psychosis and schizophrenic tendencies — and had finally brought them into reality.

And yes, the Lafferty’s did act as their own attorneys… This is not a joke.

And bam!

That’s how you end a cult within a year, kids!

Now, obviously, Ron and Dan were charged. (I am not sure if Allen received any charges for being complicit in it or..?) I’m sure you can find out about Dan’s sentences, and potentially Allen’s, on the old Google search engine. I do know, however, that Ron was sentenced to life in prison and died there sometime in like 2019 from reports of ‘natural causes.’

I do want to touch upon at least one trial so… provided below are a few images I gathered from a Utah state appellate district court file for a 1991 Ron Lafferty trial. I mainly focused on the parts that stuck out to me the most. I believe this specific trial was in regard to his mental competency in being able to accept a plea deal/understand his own sentence? I didn’t want to read all 94 pages, so don’t quote me on that, but the document is — as all my sources are — hyperlinked! <3

Yeah, the necro content is not for everyone but.

I was a church girl for many years by my own choice, mostly as a young child/teenger. The things I experienced with the church were… likely a contribution to my specific fascinations.

That is very interesting to hear. A profound insight. Hm.

I struggle with my connection to God… I cope in ways that are blasphemous. Seems to be the easiest thing to understand, I guess. Much to think about!