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Cult Insanity
A Memoir of Polygamy, Prophets, and Blood Atonement
by Irene Spencer
ISBN: 978-0-446-53819-0

Spencer’s Cult Insanity is a follow-up to her previous memoir Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist’s Wife and focuses primarily on the events centering around the foundation of the Mormon Fundamentalist sect known as the Church of the Firstborn of the Fullness of Times, the subsequent splintering of Ervil LeBaron and his followers, the formation of the cult known as the Church of the Lamb of God, and the “blood atonement” murders carried out by order of Ervil LeBaron. It is not necessary to read Shattered Dreams before reading Cult Insanity in order to understand everything that goes on in this memoir, although it certainly wouldn’t hurt, as Spencer takes the time to educate her readers on the principles of Fundamentalist Mormonism and how her faithfulness to this religion would lead her to become the second wife of Verlan LeBaron.

By the second chapter it becomes clear to the reader that the author herself still wonders how she could have remained with the LeBaron’s as she did. Each chapter is rich with the author’s emotions. Spencer looks back over this harrowing and uncertain time period and recounts the events as they unfolded around her as well as filling in the gaps that time has provided answers for. As a plural wife, Spencer recalls the times she spent in abject poverty trying to raise her brood of thirteen children in a foreign country with a poor understanding of the language while sharing her husband with his other wives and children all the while living with the threat of death hanging over their heads. Spencer’s struggle with her conflicting thoughts and wavering faith in Fundamentalist Mormonism; the gut-wrenching loneliness she felt as she longed for a husband who was in hiding from his own brother; and the spine-numbing fear she lived in as she constantly fretted over her and her childrens’ lives as well as their day to day survival serve to add another dimension to this frightening tale of a madman and his reign of blood and terror.

Despite how riveting this story was I couldn’t help but notice some problems that detracted from the overall enjoyment of the book. The is no real continuity in the relaying of events. For example, the author initially speaks of the events that occurred when she first arrived at Colonia LeBaron and then jumps forward a few years and continues on for a bit. The author then begins relaying events that occur at a much later date, even mentioning people readers have not been introduced to, before returning once again to events set in the early days of the Church of the Firstborn. The author does not do this once or twice either, Spencer repeatedly jumps around recalling events and tying them together without any real regard for a working time line. Which left me at times wondering just how the events fit together.

There are also a large number of people to keep track of as well, which combined with the jumping around, can make keeping track of all the happenings and numerous players rather difficult. I honestly found myself having to keep track of the names mentioned on a notepad so that I could remember who was married to who, who followed whom, who defected from the Church and when, which kids were whose kids and from what marriages, and so forth. Some of the confusion was alleviated upon reaching the epilogue, where a quick timeline of the violent crimes carried out by Ervil and his followers was provided. Also provided was a list of Ervil’s wives and children, however, since Ervil’s wives and children only make up a fraction of the players in this story it didn’t provide too much clarification. A map is also provided at the beginning of the book which will prove beneficial for those unfamiliar with the South West.

Ultimately I found the book to be highly engaging and addictive, I simply could not put the book down for prolonged periods of time. I would highly recommend that anyone with an interest in religious crimes, cults, and true crime, pick this book up. Despite it’s faults it is an excellent read and provides a riveting first-hand insight into the Mormon fundamentalist cult known as the Church of the Firstborn of the Fullness of Times, the birth of the murderous offshoot cult Church of the Lamb of God led by Ervil LeBaron, and the assassinations in the name of blood atonement that occurred as a result.

Joana’s Rating: (3 out of 5 stars)

Special thanks to Anna Balasi of Hachette Book Group for providing a copy for review.