Today in Crime History: Killer Cult Leader Jeffrey Don Lundgren is Born

[onager]

Kirtland, Ohio, April 17, 1989: Lundgren orders 12 members of his splinter Mormon cult to kill Dennis Avery, his wife Cheryl, and their 3 daughters, aged 15, 13 and 7.

Lundgren was executed by lethal injection in October 2006.

Many people still wonder why twelve intelligent, religious individuals chose to follow a prophet whose bizarre revelations finally led them to the gruesome murder of a family of five fellow members...

Giving as one possible answer, the article quoted Sandra Tanner, great-great granddaughter of Brigham Young and a former Mormon, as saying: "Once you accept that the man you are following speaks for God, then you are left at his mercy.... When you give that kind of authority to a man, you are also open to the possibility of abuse."

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/mass/lundgren/index_1.html

[rug]

1. You're right. This is crime history.

And this is the Religion Group.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1201

Maybe you can swap for this one.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1201223

[onager]

2. Crime history with a religious background

Also see "The Vatican."

Maybe you can post all the stuff you think is relevant to "religion," and I'll do the same.

Now go ahead and get the last word...

[xfundy]

3. I noticed

that at least one of Brigham Young's descendants figured out the game. Good for her.

[struggle4progress]

4. Well, that was a sad story. But there have been about 400 000 homicides in the US

Last edited Sat May 4, 2013, 06:58 PM - Edit history (1)

since Lundgren's followers killed the five Avery family members; perhaps 4000 of those deaths occurred in mass murders

Mass killings occur in USA once every two weeks
Homicides and mass killings in the United States, 2006-10
About every two weeks in the United States, four or more people (not including the killer) die in a mass killing. Some get little media attention. As frequent as they are, however, mass killings make up only about 1% of the roughly 15,000 people murdered in the U.S. each year.

[struggle4progress]

5. Since you seem to have posted a picture from Jonestown, this might interest you:

Jonestown Audiotape Primary Project : Transcripts
Summary prepared by Fielding M. McGehee, III. If you use this material, please credit The Jonestown Institute. Thank you.
Tape Number : Q 622

... Jones: Well, I’m really heart and mind with you. I’m uh, you know, an agnostic ... Off the record, I don’t believe in any loving God. Our people, I would say, are ninety percent atheist. Uh, we— we think Jesus Christ was a swinger ...

Jones: Well, thank you for the feedback, ‘cause, I must say, I felt somewhat hypocritical for the last years as I became uh, an atheist, uh, I have become uh, you— you feel uh, tainted, uh, by being in the church situation. But of course, everyone knows where I’m at. My bishop knows that I’m an atheist ...

Jones: Now, that— that— there— there are a lot of closet atheists in the church ...

Jones: ... We calculated— the head of our entire church, who’s very friendly to our program, said that he must have spent twenty thousand dollars traveling around, hoping to get my denomination to remove me, because I was so uh, atheistic ...

http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/AboutJonestown/Tapes/Tapes/TapeTranscripts/Q622.html

[dimbear]

6. A very original concept. Although Jones presented himself as a Christian,

demonstrated faith healings (which he faked) and the like, sold blessed photographs and paraphernalia, etc. he wasn't what he claimed at all.

Do you imagine he is the first to use that strategy?

[struggle4progress]

7. I really don't have much opinion there except to suspect folk like Jones

are habitual manipulative liars