Dan Lafferty, a Modern Elijah!

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="043fd5a3.jpg"> <div> <B>Polygamy Versus Common Sense</B><B> </B></div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Polygamy Versus Common Sense"><U> Home</U></A><B>  </B>  <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Infamous Polygamists"><U>Essays</U></A>    <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="John Llewellyn Biography"><U>John Llewellyn Biography</U></A><B>  </B><A HREF="id36.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Infamous Polygamists"><U><I><B>Infamous Polygamists</B></I></U></A></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="044d2b03.jpg"> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B>Dan Lafferty -Modern Elijah</B></I></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I><B>Dan Lafferty, a Modern Elijah!</B></I></div> <bR> <div> Dan Lafferty is serving a life sentence in the Utah State Prison for murder. Like Brian David Mitchell, Dan is a product of the Mormon Fundamentalist Subculture. Both Mitchell and Lafferty are zealots - by that I mean they submerged themselves into Mormon doctrine and the Mormon concept of the "holy spirit," which is suppose to be a preternatural prompting synonymous with revelation. What Mormons interpret as revelation, non Mormons call inspiration or intuition. Psychologists call it "self fulfilled prophecy." </div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="232" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ROWS" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 264 WIDTH="220"><div> <B>Dan Lafferty - Self Portarait<IMG SRC="05ed6ef0.jpg" border=0 width="214" height="239" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <B>   </B>In Mormonism, each member, upon baptism and confirmation, is entitled to the "Gift of the Holy Ghost" as a source of enlightenment and as a personal guide throughout life. This is not the same as the Spirit of God or the Spirit of Christ which is suppose to emanate from God [Christ] throughout the universe. Nevertheless, Mormons can be inspired by either or all spirit. According to Mormonism, Joseph Smith sits in the office of Holy Ghost, the third member of the deity that presides over this earth. [The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.]</div> <bR> <div> Acting upon the spirit Brian David Mitchell kidnapped Elizabeth Smart, made her his wife, and landed in jail. Dan Lafferty, acting upon the prompting of the spirit, slit the throats of a mother and her sixteen-month old baby girl.</div> <bR> <div> From a human behavioral point of view there is much to be learned about the effects of Mormonism upon latent zealot personalities. Mitchell is awaiting trial and it may be sometime before the public has the opportunity of looking into his mind. However, in Lafferty’s case, Dan is more than willing to discuss his relationship with God, his crime, and his background which led to the gruesome death of a mother and her infant daughter.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> A Road That Led To Murder</div> <bR> <div> The Lafferty's were ardent members of the LDS Church. Dan served an honorable mission and accepted with enthusiasm all of his church callings. In other words, Dan’s life was conditioned by Mormon doctrine and tradition. He trusted and obeyed without question the instructions of his priesthood leaders as if they were angels sent by God.</div> <bR> <div> Dan married, had children and became a chiropractic physician. From a church prospective he and his family were archetypal Mormons - the salt of earth. But that all changed when Dan submitted to the priestly influence of his older brother, Ron Lafferty.</div> <div> Ron, like hundreds of latent zealot Mormons before him, became enthralled with the mysteries of Mormonism. The flame that burned inside Ron soon roared to life in Dan. Together they worked their way through the forbidden labyrinth of arcane doctrines and practices conjured by Joseph Smith and resurrected by contemporary fundamentalists. </div> <bR> <div> They joined the tax revolt movement which led to their becoming acquainted with many Mormon fundamentalists. They cavorted with the late Alex Joseph who after learning the ropes from Rulon Allred, started up his own group. They hob-knobbed with John Bryant who also splintered off from the Allred Group, making sexual intercourse a part his esoteric, Mormon endowment.* </div> <bR> <div> They attended meetings presided over by Owen Allred and became friends and avid readers of the many books and pamphlets published by Anne Wilde and Ogden Kraut. With each contact they learned the incorrigible mind-set ways of the fundamentalists and like stalwart Mormons, applied them to their lives. The epiphany of their adventure came when they attended a facsimile of Joseph Smith’s "School of the Prophets," taught by a Canadian named Bob Crossfield. It was there they learned to receive and accept revelation. And it was then that the mysteries of Mormonism became central in their lives, pushing everything else of value aside - their wives, children, jobs and reputations.</div> <bR> <div> Like Joseph Smith, Lorin Woolley, Jim Harmston and dozens of Fundamentalist Mormons who proceeded him, Ron started to build a following, beginning with those closest to him, his brothers. The men seemed to go along but the women were rebellious, especially when it came to polygamy. One woman in particular, the twenty-five year old wife of a younger brother, was a constant thorn. Ron received a revelation that the thorn must be blood-atoned. The spirit confirmed to Dan that the rebellious woman must die. She was wrestled to the floor. Ron handed Dan the knife and Dan slit her throat. The deed done, Dan next slit the throat of the child.</div> <bR> <div> I asked Dan, why the child? He explained that the human race is composed of "wheat and tares." The mother and baby were "tares," beyond salvation, destined for perdition, so they were no big loss. It was the first time I had heard of Calvinism finding its way into Mormon thought, but why not, Mormonism is an amalgamation of many religions.</div> <bR> <div> Dan claims he still receives revelation. Curious, I asked him how it happens. He said, "There is no voice, no visual images, but there is an overwhelming compulsion that is more clear and strong than any voice or image."</div> <bR> <div> Twenty years have passed since the spirit instructed Dan to commit murder. Today, Ron sits on death row in an isolated cell like a bearded, demented hermit in a cave - unrepentant, seething with hate. Dan too is unrepentant, holding fast to the claim that God wanted the mother and child killed. The only reason Dan is not on death row is due to the pity of a lady juror who refused to give Dan the death penalty.</div> <bR> <div> Dan seems to have adjusted amicably to prison life seeing God’s hand in his macabre circumstance. His resignation and patience are remarkable for he believes himself to be the ancient biblical prophet, Elijah, as he waits for Jesus to come unlock the prison doors. He shares a cell with Mark Hoffman and passes the time reading, writing letters or working on one of his many first-rate drawings. He is still a deeply religious man but in a peculiar, anti-conventional, earthy way. His beard, coiffured into a knotted queue, reaches to his belly button. Both arms from the elbow to the wrist are tattooed, the predominate theme being marijuana leaves. Dan seems to have replaced the celestial illusion with a terrestrial reality.</div> <bR> <div> Since my initial interview with Dan in the year 2000, we have been corresponding on a regular basis. The many letters I have received are from an intelligent, talented, compassionate man - not an unrepentant murderer. I have often thought, what a waste of human energy and have pondered many times the facts and events that led to the senseless death of a mother and child, and the imprisonment of a zealot who allowed the dark side of Mormonism to rule his life. </div> <bR> <div> I have come to conclude that men choose religion and become fanatics in an effort to conquer doubt, powerlessness and uncertainty by the unqualified submission and obedience to a dominant power outside the self - in Dan’s case it was Mormonism. Mormonism offers certainty of salvation, not by free will or even faith, but by submission and obedience. In that respect, Mormonism has a lot in common with Islam.</div> <bR> <div> Free agency in Mormonism is a misnomer. Free agency in Mormonism means freedom to avail oneself to the bizarre rituals of Mormonism that are indispensable to one’s salvation. Free agency in Mormonism means the freedom to be oppressed by an unscrupulous priesthood. The greatest sin in Mormonism is rejection of priesthood (church) authority.</div> <bR> <div> Take a good look at Dan Lafferty and ask, how culpable is Mormonism in turning a faithful Christian into a zealot and murderer? How culpable is Mormonism in the senseless slaughter of a beautiful young lady and her adorable daughter, simply because the mother opposed the polygamy orientated authority of her brother-in-law? Ask a Utah historian, not an LDS Church historian, how many lives have been sacrificed since 1847 because the victims did not submit to Mormon authority.</div> <bR> <div>  The Utah Territory under the iron fist of Brigham Young was as wild and wooly as Dodge City, Tombstone, Virginia City or any other place in the wild west. During the decade of the Reformation, the 1850's, the Utah Territory was a dangerous place for gentiles.** The trails leading in and out of the Utah Territory were littered with the corpses of men who were coincidently considered enemies of Brigham Young and the Church. Strangely, only the murder of gentiles and apostates went unsolved. </div> <bR> <div> There is an unmistakable link between the past and the present Mormon fundamentalists. Dan Lafferty is not a Mormon anomaly. He is merely one of many zealots resorting to violence, a pattern that goes back to when Orrin Porter Rockwell attempted to assassinate Governor Boggs of Missouri. </div> <bR> <div> A classic example of Mormon arrogance and bloodlust in the name of the Lord is the 1862 murder of rival a prophet, Joseph Morris, by Colonel Robert Burton one of Brigham Young’s loyal Danites. Brigham had made Burton a Sheriff as well as a colonel which gave Burton the illusion of legitimacy.</div> <bR> <div> Joseph Morris had enticed a following by convincing them he was receiving revelations that called Brigham to repentance for sins against the people. He established a community on the Weber River. Morris’ flock, called Morrisites, practiced total consecration and when they gathered up their property were accused of stealing from the Church, an accusation that was never proved. A compliant was made before a Mormon magistrate who issued a warrant that was served by a Mormon Danite.</div> <bR> <div> The Morrisite community was surrounded. Morris sent up a white flag. Ignoring the flag, a cannon ball was shot into a crowd killing two women. R. T. Burton then rode into the community with his posse where Morris was pointed out. He approached Morris on horse back and demanded that he "surrender in the name of the Lord," not the law of the land, but in the name of the Lord. No one was fooled, it was quite obvious that Burton’s lord was Brigham Young.</div> <bR> <div> Morris asked to speak to the people. Burton told him to go ahead, but before Morris could utter a word, Burton pulled his pistol and shot him in the head. "There’s your prophet," yelled Burton. "What do you think of your prophet now?"</div> <bR> <div> A woman threw herself on Morris’ body and Burton promptly shot her also. Years later when the gentiles gained a semblance of control in Salt Lake City, Burton was accused of Morris’ murder, but was never convicted. The Mormons still dominated Utah judiciary.***</div> <bR> <div> Brigham Young publicly taught the doctrine of Blood Atonement.**** this doctrine of death was as real as the doctrine of Plural Marriage. Both doctrines are still part of the fundamentalist subculture, but the leaders are careful with whom they confide. I once sat in a AUB [Allred] Seventies Quorum when a quorum leader stated that Blood Atonement was a correct and valid doctrine. The quorum leaders at the time were Shem Jessop and Ron Allred.. Both of these men have been made apostles by Owen A. Allred. It is presumed that God, or the spirit, inspired Owen to make these two men apostles. But to an intelligent observer, these two men were not placed on AUB’s apostolic council because of their piety, or Christ like attributes, but because of their fanaticism and loyalty to Owen Allred and his successor, J. LaMoine Jenson. </div> <bR> <div> Dan Lafferty is gruesome evidence that Blood Atonement or the pious taking of human life is still a real doctrine among fundamentalists, and Dan and Ron are not alone. Ervil LeBaron was responsible for the murder of dozens of men and women including his wives, sons and daughters - further evidence that among fundamentalists, fealty to authority trumps even love of one’s children. LeBaron was convicted of the murder of the late Rulon C. Allred, who like Joseph Morris, was a rival prophet. And then there are the Swapp boys that stood off local law enforcement and the FBI in the little town of Marion near Kamas, Utah.</div> <div> It is considered politically incorrect to connect Dan Lafferty, Ervil, Robert T. Burton or Orrin Porter Rockwell with Mormonism, or the LDS Church. Likewise, it is politically incorrect and unfair to remind the Mormons of the arcane and medieval doctrine of Blood Atonement. </div> <bR> <div> Due to liberal interpretations of the First Amendment almost anything, no matter how remote or vague, is protected as religion, like the use of peyote. It is okay to believe and teach polygamy and blood atonement but its not okay to practice it - or is it? Polygamy is against the law, however, the message sent by law enforcement is if you are a practicing polygamist, don’t flaunt it, don’t force it on under-aged girls - keep it in the shadows and we won't bother you. Polygamy is treated politically like homosexuals are treated in the Army. The Attorney General says "its about abuse not religion." But how do you separate the two when the religion not only permits, but in many cases, encourages abuse.</div> <bR> <div> Fundamentalist Mormons are agitated with the orthodox LDS Church for dropping by the wayside those doctrines that were abusive and anti-American. Now that the LDS Church is an economic and politically powerful corporation we are expected to overlook the fact that it was once a hostile, abusive theology. We Americans are a forgiving lot, prone towards giving the other guy the benefit of the doubt. Because there are millions and millions of Muslims who control a good portion of the world’s oil production, we ignore the obvious connection between Islam and Islamic terrorism. </div> <bR> <div> The benign Muslims do not speak out against the barbaric acts of Islamic terrorists, just as the LDS Church does not speak out against the abusive acts of Mormon fundamentalists. And to go one step further, the liberal American element has succeeded on many fronts to make it "bad form" to question John Kerry’s self-imposed Viet Nam medals. Unfortunately, for many Americans, and America, it is image that counts, not substance. We have a tendency to judge a man’s competence by his political correctness and how well he can find fault in his opponents.</div> <bR> <div> *Incorporating sexual intercourse into Christian religious rituals or as a form of worship is not a new phenomena. Read <I>The Da Vinci Code, </I>by Dan Brown, or research "Shekinah." So why should it be surprising that polygamists should profane the endowment with ritualistic sexual intercourse. For an interesting read and introduction to the Shekinah see: <I>The Woman Who Laughed At God, </I>and <I>The Harlot By The Side Of The Road, </I>by Jonathan Kirsch.</div> <bR> <div> ** There is plenty of documentation of murder and misdeeds in the Utah Territory during the reign of Brigham Young, but you won't find it in the Deseret Book Stores, or any other LDS bookstore. The best historical account of both the good and the bad of nineteenth-century Mormonism is <I>The Rocky Mountain Saints </I>by T.B.H. Stenhouse. A companion book is <I>An English Woman In Utah, </I>by Mrs. T.B.H. Stenhouse, also published as, <I>Tell It All, </I>which includes more illustrations.</div> <bR> <div> *** The most complete account of the Morrisite incident is found in <I>The Rocky Mountain Saints. </I></div> <bR> <div> <I>**** </I>Look up Blood Atonement in the Journal of Discourses and read how ruthless and blood thirsty Brigham and his apostles were towards apostates and gentiles. This same mind-set exists among many Mormon fundamentalists. There is no question in my mind that if the fundamentalist leaders today thought they could get away with it,<I> </I>morticians in Utah and Arizona would experience a surge of new business. </div> <bR> <div> In the last twenty years, Dan Lafferty has mellowed out. He is no longer a Mormon zealot, or for that matter, a Mormon thinker. Even though he has not repented, and maintains rather timidly that he is Elijah,* which I suspect are defense delusion to preserve his sanity, if he were released from prison it is doubtful he would be a threat to society. However, there is no way society can forgive him for what he did, and he knows it. Nevertheless, in many respects he is a victim too - of the extreme side of Mormonism. </div> <div> It may be that Dan had a predisposition towards turning into a zealot, but had he been a Baptist zealot, would he have committed murder? I doubt it. What if he were a Muslim in Iraq, would he be a terrorist? Probably. A zealot is an extremist with narrow focus. What if Dan were a physiologist and his focus was on cancer research? See what I mean? Mormonism wasted Dan, and the two souls he murdered. Would Dan have turned out to be a murderer in spite of Mormonism, not unless the object of his focus permitted murder. Mormonism in the hands of a man with the predisposition of Dan is like a bottle of whiskey in the hands of a latent alcoholic. So what does this all mean - that with the availability of Mormonism, like Islam, it is just a matter of time before there emerges another Dan, another Ervil, another Brian David Mitchell.</div> <bR> <div> * It is the role of Elijah to "turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers." Malachi 4:6</div> <bR> <div> I asked Dan if he would like to submit an essay. He wrote back with the following essay.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B>How Would Jesus Vote?</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I>An Essay by: "Elijah" AKA Dan Lafferty 10-9-04</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>I recently heard that question asked by someone campaigning for National Republican Party and since I consider myself something of an expert on Jesus, as his special witness preparing the way for his return, I thought I should perhaps answer that question.</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>As espoused and rightly so, by the locally predominant religion, Jesus is the champion of free-agency or autonomy, therefore to help determine who Jesus would vote for we must measure each issue against that principle.</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>First lets take Gay Marriage, one of he divisive issues that separate the candidates. Would Jesus favor, "forbidding homosexuals pursuing their happiness?" </I></div> <bR> <div> <I>Not only would he not favor such a coercive measure, he despises those who try to impose their personal morals upon others thru the force of law!</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>Would Jesus vote in favor of abortion?</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>Yes, not only does a woman’s autonomy supercede that of a fetus or embryo, life doesn’t begin until the baby takes it’s first breath of life, contrary to much speculation; and this is Jesus’ concise position: "A woman has as much right to have an abortion as she does to have a tumor removed if she discovers that she has cancer; and similarly it would be good to have it removed as soon as possible because the longer she waits the more complicated it becomes."</I></div> <bR> <div> By using this scale to weigh each issue you can answer that question: How would Jesus vote? - proof positive that Elijah must first come and prepare for His return. (D&C Sec. 2; Mal. 4:5-6)</div> <bR> <div> Keep in mind that Dan’s essay may be influenced by twenty years of incarceration.</div> <bR> <div> Over the years, Dan had sent me several of his drawings. I asked his permission to post a few of them on the "photo gallery," which he authorized. You will notice that the full moon is predominate in his drawings. But what you can’t see is a message cleverly hidden in one of the drawings: "The moon will shine from noon ‘til nine." I asked Dan what the message meant? He wrote back:</div> <div> The moon that is predominant in my pictures kind of came about by coincidence originally but then I felt it was significant to continue it because of the revelation "the moon will shine from noon ‘til nine" that I received which I didn’t understand at first but came to realize after while is the <I>sign of the son of man </I>that will play into my identifying Christ; similar to how Elias (John The Baptist) was told the sign by which he would identify Christ at his first advent. So the moon has become somewhat symbolic in my pictures because the noon was mentioned in that revelation I received.</div> <bR> <div> You will also notice in Dan’s drawings, sometimes obvious, sometimes obscured, a marijuana leaf. I asked Dan what it meant:</div> <div> The marijuana leaf is symbolic because it represents <I>the tree of life </I>that will be very important I believe in helping the children of Christ come across the great gulf from worshiping the devil as they do in organized religion to have their hearts turned to their fathers, <I>The Champion of Free Agency.</I> </div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arrus BT" >Contact me at:  </FONT><A HREF="mailto:webmaster@polygamyversuscommonsense.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:webmaster@polygamyversuscommonsen"><U>webmaster@polygamyversuscommonsense.com</U></A> .                                                                            <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arrus BT" ><B>Copyright 2004 John R. Llewellyn and Power Link ISP, Inc. 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