
Cult Insanity
A Memoir of Polygamy, Prophets, and Blood Atonement
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Narrated by:
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Laural Merlington
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By:
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Irene Spencer
About this listen
In Cult Insanity, Spencer reveals the outrageous behavior of her brother-in-law Ervil---a self-proclaimed prophet who determined he was called to set the house of God in order---and how he terrorized their colony. Claiming to be God's avenger and to have a license to kill in the name of God, Ervil ordered the murders of friends and family members, eliminating all those who challenged his authority. Cult Insanity is a riveting, terrifying memoir of polygamist life under the tyranny of a madman.
©2009 Irene Spencer (P)2009 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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Story
In this personal account, Lilia Tarawa exposes the shocking secrets of the cult, with its rigid rules and oppressive control of women. She describes her fear when her family questioned Gloriavale's beliefs and practices. When her parents fled with their children, Lilia was forced to make a desperate choice: to stay or to leave. No matter what she chose, she would lose people she loved.
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I found the documentaries, etc. more interesting
- By NMwritergal on 11-26-24
By: Lilia Tarawa
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Stolen Innocence
- My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs
- By: Elissa Wall, Lisa Pulitzer
- Narrated by: Renée Raudman
- Length: 15 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
In September 2007, Elissa Wall, the star witness against polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs, gave captivating testimony of how Jeffs forced her to marry her first cousin at age 14. This harrowing account proved to be the most compelling evidence against Jeffs, showing the harsh realities of this closed community and the lengths to which Jeffs went in order to control the sect's women. Now, in this courageous memoir, Wall tells the incredible story of how she emerged from the confines of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints and helped bring one of America's most notorious criminals to justice.
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Chris from Cedar City, UT USA
- By Christine on 06-14-08
By: Elissa Wall, and others
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Not a Proper Child
- By: Elizabeth Sheppard, Nicky Nicholls
- Narrated by: Julia Franklin
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Left as a newborn in a box outside Stoke City Football ground, her grandparents took her into their home. But instead of finding a sanctuary, Nicky was subjected to horrific sexual abuse throughout her childhood. In 1951, when Nicky was six years old, her glamorous-looking estranged mother arrived on the doorstep to 'rescue' her. But Nicky's hopes of a safe and loving family were very soon smashed, and her world became darker still.
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Very Raw
- By Jessica on 04-14-25
By: Elizabeth Sheppard, and others
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The Doomsday Mother
- Lori Vallow, Chad Daybell, and the End of an American Family
- By: John Glatt
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
At first, the residents of Kauai Beach Resort took little notice of their new neighbors. The glamorous blonde and her tall husband fit the image of the ritzy gated community. The couple seemed to keep to themselves - until the police knocked on their door with a search warrant. Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell had fled to Hawaii in the midst of being investigated for the disappearance of Lori's children back in Idaho - Tylee and JJ - who hadn't been seen alive in five months.
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Miserable narration
- By Lildixie on 02-01-22
By: John Glatt
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The Polygamist’s Daughter
- A Memoir
- By: Anna LeBaron, Leslie Wilson - contributor
- Narrated by: Anna LeBaron
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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"My father had more than 50 children." So begins the haunting memoir of Anna LeBaron, daughter of the notorious polygamist and murderer Ervil LeBaron. With her father wanted by the FBI for killing anyone who tried to leave his cult - a radical branch of Mormonism - Anna and her siblings were constantly on the run with the other sister-wives. Often starving and always desperate, the children lived in terror. Even though there were dozens of them together, Anna always felt alone.
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Bait and Switch
- By A. C. on 04-25-17
By: Anna LeBaron, and others
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Breaking Free
- How I Escaped Polygamy, the FLDS Cult, and My Father, Warren Jeffs
- By: Rachel Jeffs
- Narrated by: Rachel Jeffs
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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In this searing memoir of survival in the spirit of Stolen Innocence, the daughter of Warren Jeffs, the self-proclaimed Prophet of the FLDS Church, takes you deep inside the secretive polygamist Mormon fundamentalist cult run by her family and how she escaped it. Born into the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Rachel Jeffs was raised in a strict patriarchal culture defined by subordinate sister wives and men they must obey.
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Heart breaking addition to the FLDS cult story
- By Abby Martin on 12-10-17
By: Rachel Jeffs
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Secrets and Wives
- The Hidden World of Mormon Polygamy
- By: Sanjiv Bhattacharya
- Narrated by: Sanjiv Bhattacharya
- Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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What do we really know about modern practicing polygamists - not fictional ones like the Henrickson family on HBO’s Big Love? We’ve seen the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the news, the underage brides in pioneer dresses on a Texas ranch. But the FLDS is just one of many groups that have broken with mainstream Mormonism to follow those parts of Joseph Smith’s doctrine disavowed by the LDS Church. Gaining unprecedented access to these communities, journalist Sanjiv Bhattacharya reveals a shadow country....
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Great stories (+), religious amateur hour (-)
- By Douglas on 09-26-13
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Triumph
- Life after the Cult - a Survivor's Lessons
- By: Carolyn Jessop, Laura Palmer
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2003, Carolyn Jessop, a lifelong member of the extremist Mormon sect the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), gathered up her eight children, including her profoundly disabled four-year-old son, and escaped in the middle of the night to freedom. After detailing the shocking conditions of FLDS and her harrowing flight in her memoir, Escape, Carolyn reveled in her newfound identity as a bestselling author, a devoted mom, and a loving companion to the wonderful man in her life. She thought she had put her past firmly behind her.
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Helped me to look at the raid differently.
- By Karen on 10-19-12
By: Carolyn Jessop, and others
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This Time Next Year We'll Be Laughing
- A Memoir
- By: Jacqueline Winspear
- Narrated by: Jacqueline Winspear
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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After 16 novels, Jacqueline Winspear has taken the bold step of turning to memoir, revealing the hardships and joys of her family history. Both shockingly frank and deftly restrained, her story tackles the difficult, poignant, and fascinating family accounts of her paternal grandfather’s shell shock; her mother’s evacuation from London during the Blitz; and her soft-spoken animal-loving father’s torturous assignment to an explosives team during WWII.
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A Vivd Look at the Life of Jackie Winspear
- By Dr. Janet Bobby on 01-10-21
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Mormonism
- What Everyone Needs to Know
- By: Terryl Givens
- Narrated by: James Anderson Foster
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Covering the origins, history, and modern challenges of the church, Mormonism: What Everyone Needs to Know offers listeners a brief, authoritative guide to one of the fastest growing faith groups of the 21st century.
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Enjoyed
- By Daniel on 11-16-20
By: Terryl Givens
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Destroying Their God
- How I Fought My Evil Half-Brother to Save My Children
- By: Wallace Jeffs, Shauna Packer, Sherry Taylor
- Narrated by: Erik Johnson
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1991, Wallace Jeffs was coerced to become an FLDS polygamist. In 2011, Wallace rebelled against the sect, and the FBI helped him reclaim his kidnapped children. Then an "accident" put Wallace into a 45-day coma. Growing up as half-brother to future Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saint prophet Warren Jeffs, Wallace tried to follow FLDS teachings.... As his prophet-brother increasingly manipulated him, Wallace started hearing about FLDS atrocities.... Wallace defied the prophet and soon ended up in a coma.
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Interesting from the very beginning until the end
- By Shandor on 05-09-23
By: Wallace Jeffs, and others
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The Witness Wore Red
- The 19th Wife Who Brought Polygamous Cult Leaders to Justice
- By: Rebecca Musser, M. Bridget Cook
- Narrated by: Rebecca Musser
- Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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The revealing and inspiring memoir of a woman forced into polygamous marriage in FLDS Church and her brave struggle to protect others from the same fate. Rebecca Musser grew up in fear, concealing her family's polygamous lifestyle from the "dangerous" outside world. Covered head-to-toe in strict, modest clothing, she received a rigorous education at Alta Academy, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' school headed by Warren Jeffs.
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Compelling and emotional read
- By Briley on 10-08-13
By: Rebecca Musser, and others
True Believers?
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Why do they do it?
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Narrator problems
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I don’t think I’ll ever understand the mind of those who come out of cults and talk about all of the horrible and sometimes illegal things they’ve done; especially religious cults. Even Irene Spencer used a narrative device to make you feel like Joel and Verlan were good guys. Spoiler they weren’t. Did anyone else find it funny that evil is in Ervil’s name? Just me. Ah well, sometimes I do have an inappropriate sense of humor. Helps me cope with our ridiculous world.
Quick question at large: If “thou shalt not worship false idols” what the heck happens to those who are claiming to be the false idols? I wondered that for a good portion of the book and have a feeling that without deep diving into religion, I’ll never know. Also, odds are there’s a different answer depending on the religion you’re consulting. *Note I know there’s a whole thing in the Bible saying you’ll be punished basically down through family lineage. Do we think that’s why so many LeBarons died or can we hold them accountable to their own actions?
If you’re interested in cults, I would recommend Cult Insanity with a caveat. Don’t let it be your first cult book. Maybe start elsewhere.
WTF
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Any additional comments?
I didn't think this sequel was quite as enticing as the first but I would highly recommend them both! Irene seems to be an amazing lady that has conquered and acquired much throughout her life and her story needs to be shared. This series really opened my eyes to Polygamy. I am LDS and these books gave me an interesting perspective as to how their religion differed from ours and I am so glad that I read them!A must read!
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What made the experience of listening to Cult Insanity the most enjoyable?
I enjoyed the narration. Listened to her read the first book & I enjoyed her voice & inflexion in reading. It never ceases to amaze me that perfectly "sane" people could believe in this movement & follow these prophets & beliefs.What does Laural Merlington bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
I can listen much easier than reading (when I fall asleep).Not as goon as Shatter Dreams, but still good!
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Couldn’t stop listening
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Buckle up or find something else
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The narrator pronounced Moroni, Deseret News and Zion incorrectly, there may have been some others but it distracted from the reading.
The utter chaos
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A book too far!
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