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.

Politics, abortion, homosexuality, and religion – the four main topics that can turn the most pleasant of conversations into a heated debate. It doesn’t matter if the parties involved all share near-identical views of the topic at hand or they each support a different view, the truth is these topics are sensitive and will always stir up a passionate discussion. As a result, it is not exactly uncommon to see people take one of two routes when it comes to presenting their argument. One, provide an overwhelming amount of rambling points that will stir up the audience’s passions in an attempt to force the “truth” down their throats, or two, speak above the audience in a manner that conveys the speaker’s obvious intellectual “superiority” thereby ensuring that those that disagree will not voice their thoughts for fear of sounding just plain stupid.

If you’ve ever sat through a debate, or even just had the basic Introduction to Philosophy course in college, you’ve seen both of these commonly used methodologies used and subsequently found both parties utterly lacking. There is of course another way to present your argument, and that’s the preferred method of presenting clear key points that are supported by factual information and not circular arguments.

McLeod does not waste the reader’s time by filling the pages with dry and verbose swill that serves no point except to give the reader the impression that the author is a little too full of himself. Nor does the author ramble on in an incoherent manner that leaves readers wondering when the author will get to the point. In short, McLeod is concise and to the point in his delivery. The author takes common preconceptions of religions, with an emphasis on Christianity, merrily points out their idiosyncrasies and fallacies, before spelling it all out in a manner that will make any person with a shred of common sense rethink their positions.

That is not to say that Then Man Created God is not without faults. Truth be told, it’s got several. One aspect that truly irked me was the near-complete lack of sources and citations. I am the sort of person who likes to see arguments and points backed up with data. The author, when pointing out hypocrisies or failings of holy texts, is very careful to cite the passages from the bible and that is the extent of his evidence. McLeod brings up numerous theories, mentions studies and findings in passing and yet he provides no sources to help support his otherwise well-thought out arguments for the behavior of man and the need for a God. For example, in the beginning of the book McLeod opens up by pointing out early man’s need for an explanation for why things are and how the thought of a superior being brought comfort to early man.

As a former Anthropology student this makes complete sense to me. I’ve honestly lost track of the texts I’ve read discussing early man’s behaviors, the tools they made, the effigies they worshiped, and so forth. I don’t need to see a source because I don’t need to see the evidence for myself. But what about those who do not have such a background? What about those who have doubts and would like to conduct further research themselves? The difference between science and religion is simple; religion is based on a suspension of logic where as science is built upon hypothesis, experimentation, and building data. As a result, by not providing the very basic of sources, McLeod leaves plenty wiggle room for those looking desperately to poke holes in an otherwise solid argument.

Another aspect that detracts from the value of McLeod’s argument is the unmitigated zeal with which he delivers his argument and attacks religion. It is always a thrill to read the work of a writer who truly believes in his or her subject and who writes with passion. However, a good deal of McLeod’s jabs and humorous comments toe the line between witty repartee and the insult slinging of a schoolyard bully and he never truly reigns himself in. Now, had the author delivered his stance in a more (dare I say it?) mature fashion, then his argument would have carried a great deal more weight. As it is, because author broadly generalizes all religious followers and their religions instead of tackling it by section a great deal of credibility is lost. It becomes very hard to take McLeod seriously when one gets a mental image of the author sticking his tongue out at the religious and calling them names while reading the book.

I have little doubt that a good deal of people will find this book to be highly insulting. This amusing book provides no valuable content for religious proponents looking to build counter-arguments nor does it provide credible material for opponents to back up their stance either. In short, it’s an amusing read to be taken with a grain of salt, and is the equivalent of watching an episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. It’s bound to offend half of its audience, amuse the other half, and can never be taken seriously.

Joana’s Review: (2 out of 5 stars)