01x06 - Revelation

Episode transcripts for the TV show "Under the Banner of Heaven". Aired: April 28, 2022.*
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Mini-series inspired by the true crime bestseller by Jon Krakauer, follows the events that led to the 1984 m*rder of Brenda Wright Lafferty and her baby daughter in a suburb in the Salt Lake Valley.
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01x06 - Revelation

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♪♪ ♪♪

And he b*at
Ron's dog to death with it.

God said, "Man shall not
live on bread alone,"

but He didn't say nothin'
'bout peaches.

Seems like she dipped
into her end-of-days stash.

- Well, if her sons
have holed up here with her,

they left a light footprint.

They're staying outside.

Right out there.

You saw how Sam was living.

All her boys need
is tree cover to survive.

If you can rule out
the rest of the house,

I'll take care of her.

Then we go look
out there together.

- Yeah.
- Yeah?

- Yeah.

- Sister Lafferty,
when's the last time

you saw your son Ron?

- Seldom...

Since Father passed last year.

Ronnie took it hard.
- So you felt responsible?

- What do you mean,
"responsible"?

What's he mean, Brother Brady?

- Uh, uh, uh,
responsible, uh, meaning...

Well, you know,

I wouldn't wanna put words
in anybody's mouth.

- Meaning guilty.

Mr. Brady shared with me
that Ron denied his father care

that could've saved his life.

- They're lies.

Stop it. Stop it. Stop it!

Stop it.

Brother Brady,
you've eaten at my table,

and I've held you in prayer.

You know this is a loving home.

- It was... it wa...
it was a very loving home.

Yes, you see?

My hea... my heart's torn open.

You've taken my sons from me,

but if they were here,
you would see their innocence

in the way Heavenly Father
resides in them.

And Brenda would tell you.

She would.

Rest her soul.

♪♪ ♪♪

Follow me.

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪

Don't touch anything.

Stay right there. Don't move.

Just there.

This is where
your school met, huh?

- Yeah. Welcome.

Give us the room, please.

Thank you.

Sit down.

So I wanna know why
you didn't contradict her

when she said
this was a loving home.

You afraid of her?

Or are you afraid of who
she might rat you out to?

Look, it... it...

it must be tough to picture now

with your officers up there
yankin' floorboards,

but I'm telling ya,
whenever the school came here,

I was met
with a positive spirit.

- Even after Ron
m*rder*d his own father?

- I would... I wouldn't...
I wouldn't call that m*rder.

- That's exactly
what you called it.

- Brother...

when men of faith
say that they feel

the burning of the bosom
by the Holy Spirit,

I... I was raised
to believe them.

- If they told me
their bosom was burning

to let someone die,
I'd do my own praying.

- Well, you are very wise,
Brother.

Look, I did the same.

I did the same.

You know, I didn't think
it was right, but...

but if the Spirit
is telling them one thing

and me the opposite,

how do we know which one's it?

They never
covered that in my ward.

And there are examples
of God's k*lling orders

all over our scriptures,
all over.

When you were cuffed

and you were facing charges

back at the station,
you called it m*rder.

Now you're here...

and it's all...
it's all just God's command.

No, you're just
using scripture,

whatever scripture
you wanna use,

moment to moment
to save your own skin.

- The rules
are the rules, Brother.

You can't...

- I tell you
not to touch anything?

So after Ron
let his father die,

is that when he started
cutting throats?

- Ron did not know
where to turn.

He, uh, went on, uh...

well, he called it
his "Journey of Truth."

He was seeking
a pure Mormonism,

one that his wife
might come back to.

So he headed west to Oregon,
uh, looking for John Bryant.

Hey, I'm looking
for Brother Bryant.

I wrote to him.
Am I in the right place?

♪♪ ♪♪

- Welcome, Brother.
- Hi, hey!

Come on in, yeah, yeah.

Hey!

Careful!

- You... you cut this?

- Bryant was an acolyte
of Rulon Allred,

the, um, polygamist
who was assassinated

for being too liberal.

So Bryant started
his own community in Nevada

and then Oregon,

a... a very loving place.

Polygamy.

Wine.

Ron had an awakening there.

- We'll be done eating dinner

by the time you finish,
Brother.

- The last time I cooked,
it was...

I was a missionary, okay?
- Here, here.

- So you go.
- Here.

Like this.

Just like that.

Lean into it. Yeah?

There you go. See?

- It's splitting.

- You learned something new.

♪♪ ♪♪

- No... no, thanks.
Not for me. Thanks.

- No?

Put our prophet
in historical context.

He wrote the Word of Wisdom
during the Temperance Movement.

He had to suggest going easy.

But he did it "not by
commandment or constraint."

The Lord gives us wine
to gladden the heart.

It's natural.

Spiritual.

See?

Here, you do not ever
have to do a thing

that you do not wish to.

- No, it's wonderful.

This is how I always
thought faith should feel.

I miss my wife.

It...

we've been fighting,
and I just...

think I know that she feels...

there's such peace here.

If she... if she could...
if she could see this,

if she could feel this...

- Jesus came to me
with revelations,

commanding me to build an order
in preparation for my role

as His One Mighty and Strong

to put His church
to rights, Brother.

Your wife will experience

the holiness
you found here too.

The love.

Ron...

may I baptize you?

Ron Lafferty,

having been commissioned
of Jesus Christ

and by the authority of the
true Melchizedek priesthood,

I bless you
that you may find peace

and purpose
as a servant of our order.

And I baptize you
in the name of the Father,

the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Amen.

So he came back,

only to find his home emptied.

So he came back here.

♪♪ ♪♪

My eldest brother.

Wow, um...

what a surprise.

You're back.

♪♪ ♪♪

Did you find what you were
looking for in Oregon?

No, it...
it's just the beginning.

It's the beginning.

I might go to Canada,
to Bountiful, 'cause it's a...

- it's a journey...
- Yes, yes.

- That I'm on.
- Yes.

So you're leaving us again?

- She's gone,
and my kids are gone.

- Ron, uh... hold... hold on.

Let me see what's down here.

Ron, hold on, hold on.

Is the product of
a compromised, corrupt, and...

double-crossed institution.

We call for a restoration
of holy principles.

- Ron.
- Hey!

- Welcome back.
I missed you.

- Interesting things going on.

- Quite an operation, huh?

These are our pamphlets.

They're warnings to the church.
It's cool, right?

We're sending
a warning to the church.

- And what is this?
- Revelations.

Revelations delivered
by this man here, Bob,

the Prophet Onias.

- I've waited a long time
to meet you.

- Heavy.

What are you doing, Brady?

You're writing down
all his words.

- I'm just transcribing...
- What are you, a secretary?

- No, it's not like that, Ron.
I'm not a...

- I'm not a secretary.
- No?

Aren't we all
the Lord's secretaries?

Your brothers have helped me
to do in two weeks

what would've taken me
months alone:

send a warning to apostles,
bishops,

stake presidents worldwide.

- A warning? What about?

- They must restore
plural marriage.

- Oh.
- Restore the restriction

of priesthood to white men.

Our doctrine states that Satan
founded the Black race

when he taught Cain to place
his seed into the beasts.

These truths can't be changed
just to satisfy

the whims of public opinion,

which is exactly what
the church is trying to do.

- He's got all the answers,
huh?

- I received a calling
to restore a school

for His work.

- This guy? He's your prophet?

- Onias is simply
guiding us in your absence.

That's all.

Onias, would you tell Ron
about your revelation?

Yes.

Before meeting your brothers,

the Lord told me
that He had singled out six

to help build a city of refuge
for His last days.

I believe that you
and your brothers...

are those six.

- Ron. Hey, hey, hey.

- Calm down.
- He's a salesman.

Yeah.

Yeah, a pimp.

I think you should get lost.

Did Onias
leave willingly?

Uh, Onias

asked all of us to, uh,
accompany him to his mine,

uh, including Ron, but...

Ron insisted
that they go alone.

Unless your aim is to end me,

a rest, Ron?

If we slow our pace...
my lungs...

- Okay.
- Yeah, they're not the same

since the tuberculosis at 19.

The Dream Mine.

The product
of a bishop's revelation

100 years ago.

In the bishop's dream,
the Angel Moroni

flew with him 1,000 feet
down into the Earth

until they reached
a 3-foot capstone

covering an extraordinary
treasure:

caverns of white quartz
with roofs of gold.

- Yeah, some dream there, Bob.
- Indeed.

Mining's gone on here
ever since,

since his vision.

Slow and costly labor.

The Lord commanded me to build
a city of refuge

here beneath His mine,

but His mine will not
yield its treasure

until the One Mighty and Strong

appears with the
scepter of power in his hand.

- Is that you?

- No, not me.

My job is to teach him
when he arrives.

Ron?

- Mm?

- Who do you think
our One may be?

- I don't know.
Why don't you go ask

that prophet up in Oregon,
Bryant?

'Cause he says he's the One.

- Is that why
you went to meet him?

Are you looking for our One
as well?

If you scale every mountain,

cross every ocean, desert,

you'll still never find him,

for how can you find
what was never lost to you?

What you've had with you
your entire life?

You.

Ron...

I believe that you
may be our One.

Oh, yeah.

You know,
I've heard that before.

Yeah, and it's not true.

You know what's true?
I have no...

No church, no wife,
no kids, no...

home.

I'm as useless as your mine.

- God takes what you love
so you cannot turn back.

Who can deny that we're
in a time of great need,

that we are in His last days?

But if you are His One,

He will open this mine

for us to provide
for the construction

of a temple in New Jerusalem.

And you will rebuild
your family,

for when they learn
how blessed you are,

Dianna will run back
to your side

with more love in her heart
than you have ever known.

♪♪ ♪♪

- How... how could...
how can...

how can you know that?

- I will teach you...

To hear the still,
small voice of God,

which whispereth
and pierceth all things.

A voice to make
your bones quake.

I will teach you
to receive His revelations,

revelations that we will bring

before our
School of the Prophets

for their approval.

And in this way,
we may confirm that...

you, Ron,

are our One.

♪♪ ♪♪

H...

It was on
my home computer...

U...

That Ron worked out
his early revelations.

S...

But, uh...
but I am telling you,

all he wanted,
more than anything,

was his wife back, his family.

Pyre to the carport. Over.

I don't see Mother Theresa
in there

sawing off a shotgun herself.

- I got a feeling
she knows who did, though.

I think your skill set
may be better suited

to Sister Lafferty.

- A little vinegar.

- Yeah.

Come on, you think
she didn't know

what they were up to

or where they are now?

She's the den mom to this troop
of demented Boy Scouts.

- How dare you let
this dark-skinned Lamanite

speak to me in this way?

- I see a mark on you as well.

Your granddaughter's blood.

- Remove this man,
Brother Pyre.

- A judge has given his okay
for his presence here.

- Well, do you not answer
to our judge in heaven first?

No?

Then you're no saint.

I don't much care
if you think the devil himself

wrote Utah laws.

You live here,

Utah law applies to you.

- See what happens
if you chain me.

I'll tell you what'll happen.

You'll go to prison
on accessory charges

so when all your sons
get put to death,

you won't even be allowed
in the gallery

to say your farewells.

Why'd you blame my boys
for this evil?

Why not the two with them?

- Two?

Who are you talking about?

- You mean Prophet Onias?

- Sister Lafferty,
if there were

two other men with your boys...

Why not tell us who they were
and clear your family's name?

♪♪ ♪♪

Tell me this:
did they have beards?

♪♪ ♪♪

All right.

Okay.

You want us
to leave you in peace?

So...

you'll give us names.

- One called himself Chip.

And the other
called himself Ricky.

I didn't care to know
anything more.

It's the truth.

I swear on my salvation.

Ricky and Chip...
those names ring a bell?

20s, long hair, not LDS.

Doreen said
they were unwashed

and smelled like skunk.

You think Dan and Ron
would've been hanging out

with a couple of potheads?

- Well, I... after Oregon? Maybe.

- Update the APB.

And Onias...
if we go to his Dream Mine,

could we find Ron and Dan
up there?

- Maybe.
- Surveillance. Chip.

- Should we expect to be
fired upon, Mr. Brady?

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪

Betty, if you have time

before you and Daddy head back,

can you run me and Erica
to the pediatrician real quick?

Forget it, Betty.
He's here.

You're okay.

It's okay, you're just gonna go
in here for a second.

Where were you, Allen?
Where were you?

Were you up the mountain?

Were you down
on your knees again,

praying to your brother's
make-believe messiah?

Please, we have to go
to the doctor.

Every minute, I worry,
could her fever get too high?

Is it an infection?
And even when you're here,

- I feel so alone.
- I just need some time

to figure out which path
we should be on.

- What is there to figure out?
Your brothers are wrong.

- How... how... how do you know?
How could you possibly know?

- Look at how their lives
turned out.

- Can you just shut up?
Just shut up for once.

- I will not!

And I will not watch you
get excommunicated, too,

because of their idiotic...
- I said shut up!

- I'm sorry.
Brenda, Brenda, Brenda.

Please.
- No.

Please, Brenda.

Hey.

- You okay?
- Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

- Hi, honey.

Hey, sweetie.

Time to go visit
the doctor, Erica.

- Keep you company while the
girls are at the doctor, Allen?

Yeah? Good.

Ah, there we go. There we go.

♪♪ Where the eagles cry ♪♪

♪♪ On a mountain high ♪♪

♪♪ Love lift us up
where we belong ♪♪

It's okay to listen to popular
music sometimes, right?

Don't you think?

♪♪ Up where
the clear winds blow ♪♪

- I... I suppose so, sir. Yes.

- You know, sometimes, uh,

being a Mormon
is like guesswork.

Heavenly Father's gift
of personal revelation.

A lot of responsibility,
you know?

That's something
I-I take very seriously, sir.

- Yeah.

Yeah, but something
I've seen as a bishop,

sometimes our...

sometimes our
more serious members

get the most carried away.

- I... I just
want to live precisely

by the example of Joseph Smith

so I can be with your daughter
forever, sir.

Oh, is that it?

You're not living in
a covered wagon, now, are you?

- No, sir.

You're not getting
tarred and feathered

wherever you go, right?

- Well, no.
- Well...

so living precisely
like Joseph Smith,

that's gonna be
a challenge nowadays.

But...look at the amazing thing

Heavenly Father did for us,
right?

Provided a religion
to weather the changing world.

Hmm? D&C 56:4.

You know what that is?

"I, the Lord, command and
revoke, as it seemeth Me good."

Command and revoke.

Revoke how, Allen?

By "the voice of My servants
whom I've appointed

to lead My people."

And that's what's funny about
so-called fundamentalists.

If they wanna be so literal,

wouldn't they follow
the doctrine

that the church must evolve?
Hmm?

How about a chocolate?

♪♪ Where the eagles cry ♪♪

♪♪ On a mountain high ♪♪

"Hot drinks are not
for the body or the belly."

"Hot drinks" refers generally
to caffeine,

and chocolate has caffeine.

- Yeah, chocolate has caffeine.

It's got a little caffeine.

You're right.

But most Mormons I know
eat chocolate.

I'll tell you something,
growing up,

Brenda loved Hershey's syrup.

How about you?

Think you might be able
to enjoy a chocolate milk

now and then?

♪♪ No time to cry ♪♪

- You look like a cherry
cordial kinda man to me,

So I'm gonna give you
this one right here,

this one in the middle.

Take that.

♪♪ Love lift us up ♪♪

♪♪ Where we belong ♪♪

Take it.

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ Where the eagles cry ♪♪

♪♪ On a mountain high ♪♪

- Gotta do a cheers, right?

Cheers.

Come on.

♪♪ Far from the world we know ♪♪

♪♪ Where the clear winds blow ♪♪

♪♪ Love lift us up ♪♪

♪♪ Where we belong ♪♪

♪♪ Where the eagles cry ♪♪

- Temperature coming down?

- Yeah.

I'm going to Missoula.

Real good broadcasting market.

Grandma and Grandpa can help
with Erica while I'm at work.

- What do you mean, "going"?

- No, but this is how
it started with Dianna.

An... an evil presence
is in his family.

And what if Allen's
caught it too?

They scare me, Betty.

And Allen's the baby boy.

I mean, he...
he worships his brothers.

I just hate to see
the Lord testing you like this.

Brenda, you made an eternal vow
before Heavenly Father

in a temple.

You have a responsibility now
to make this work.

You have to take this
to the church first.

You know that.

They may say it's time
to throw in the towel.

Or they may help you resolve
your differences with Allen.

♪♪ ♪♪

You can't blame
yourself for this.

I would've done the same thing,

I would've said the same thing.

I would've guided her
back to the church too.

- If I'd known how powerful
the Lafferty name was in Utah,

who all would line up
in their defense...

Stop her! Stop her!

- Oh, sh**t. Sorry.
- Stop her!

- She's trying to k*ll me!
- Mom.

- She's trying to k*ll me!
- Hey, Mom. Hey, hey, hey.

- Josie, Josie...
- Ah!

- I am so sorry.
- Hey, hey, hey.

It's all right.
- Uh, we were just

trying to do the bath.
- Oh, sure, yeah.

That's fine. It's all right.
- Oh, no!

- Mom...
- I... I'm just trying to...

I'll take her.

- Ow!
- Mom! Mom! Mom, no! No.

Hey, look at me. Hey, no.

You okay?
- I can take her.

No, it's okay.
I got her. I'm sorry.

Why don't you take the girls
to the store?

- There you go.
- I'm a cat.

- Hey, you're not a cat.
You're my mom.

Hey.

Okay.

Wanna sit down?

Hi.
- Should we go?

- No, it's fine. Sorry.
- It's okay.

- This is Jim, and this is...
this is Betty.

- Jim. Betty.
- And they're from, um...

they're from Twin Falls, Idaho.
- Oh.

- Yeah.

- Do you think
us Utah Mormons, uh,

have... have sticks
up our you-know-what?

- No.
If anyone thinks that,

it's just, uh, we're jealous

because you get to live here
in Zion.

You know?
- Well, aren't you a cutie?

- Here you go, Mom.
- Oh.

- Sister Wright, I assure you
that the Lafferty name

does not have
any power over me.

- So tell me,
why did they do this?

- I don't have
all the facts yet.

But I can tell you
that the Laffertys,

they saw your sister as
a very, very powerful person...

And a formidable obstacle.

- We wrote each other.
Constantly.

She told me every detail
of her life,

every little thing on her mind.

- It must feel like
a violation,

handing over letters
that Brenda wrote only for you.

- What will you do if these
letters cause trouble

for people even more powerful
than the Laffertys?

If somebody above
even the police

tell you to make this
disappear?

- I'm only beholden
to your sister.

I won't be deterred,
not by anybody.

I... I swear to you.

♪♪ ♪♪

intention is of the devil.

Well, no one's being
contentious, Mom.

You know, when Becca
took off my dress,

the devil said, "Pinch her!"

And I did.

- You wanna tip back?
I can rinse your hair.

I think the devil
made me do it.

He's testing me
before I can join your father.

- He needs to know my worth.

So give me your blessing.

- Mom...

Heavenly Father already knows
how worthy you are.

- We're home.
- Okay, I gotta...

I gotta put the kids to bed,
and I've gotta...

so let's tip back.
- Oh, no!

- Let's tip back.
- No.

Okay, okay.

Okay.

Josie Ann Pyre...

Having been commissioned
of Jesus Christ

and by the authority of
the Melchizedek priesthood...

I bless you...

I bless you so that
you may hear the Holy Spirit

and find peace.

I gave my mom a bath,
I put the girls to bed,

and I started reading Brenda's
first dang letter,

and then I passed out.

- Everybody needs sleep.

Call came in from the 7-Eleven
on East State Street.

Clerk witnessed a bearded man

stuffing pork rinds
down his pants.

- East State?
That's near me and Becca.

We gotta find Onias ASAP.

We have to track
Doreen's pair of evil ones.

We got Dan and Ron, and now
we got a 7-Eleven shoplifter?

We don't have the men.

- Send Morris on 7-Eleven.

I'll take Onias
and the Dream Mines.

- Alone?

- Divide and conquer, Brother.

- I faked a blessing
for my mom last night...

Just so that she would
rinse her hair out.

It's pretty easy.

I used to love Pioneer Day.

Ooh, it was my favorite day
of the year when I was a boy.

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪

Covered wagon rides, rodeo.

♪♪ ♪♪

Did... did Brigham Young
just lie to his saints

just like I did last night...

To drive 'em out
of the American territory

just so he could marry as...
as many wives as he wanted...

Without fear of prosecution?

♪♪ ♪♪

Dear Betty,
I took your advice

and wrote to the highest
office short of the Prophet.

The General Authorities

and a member
of the Quorum of the Seventy

agreed to meet with us.

Guess my comms major
was good for something.

My husband's brothers
are his heroes,

so when they say
they're receiving revelations,

he listens.

To be clear, Allen hasn't acted
on anything,

but, um...

evil thoughts are the things
which defile a man, so...

- Brigham Young gave the key
whereby a revelation is true:

"If it comes from God,

"it will cause an increase
of love and appreciation

for the brethren."

This is a sign
Satan cannot duplicate.

Has there been
an increase in love

when your brothers act
on their revelations?

I... I just...
I find it hard to believe

that Brigham thought
revelations would always

increase love and appreciation.

Why is that hard to believe?

- How about Mountain Meadows?

I mean, I doubt love
and appreciation sprang forth

when he was ordered to...

140 men, women, and children
ex*cuted,

but that's what God commanded,
so he did it.

- We are not here to discuss
ancient history, Brother.

We are here...
- Ancient history?

This is barely 100 years ago.

We're talking about the founder
of our university,

the man who's honored
with statues all around town.

- We are here
to discuss your family.

- I just... I...
I need to understand.

Are only some of Brigham's
revelations true?

And if so, which ones?

- We are to follow
today's prophet.

Healing the problem
of your wife

begins with choosing
to do that.

- You think I'm gonna choose
marital advice from...

from people who can't
reconcile their history

with what they claim
to believe?

You sit before a body of men

authorized to be the Lord's
representatives on Earth today.

- Joseph Smith says
we all have the gift

of personal revelation.

What my brothers say
isn't full of half the holes

and contradictions...
- Two of your brothers

have been excommunicated
already.

- Yeah, and now they're free
of this fraud.

Come on, Brenda. Let's go.

Brenda.

- Sister, feel assured,

you will be rewarded in heaven
for your courage.

- I, um...

I am so grateful to you all.

But I feel,

as do others, there is...

There is not a thing
that can stop Allen

and his brothers now.

And I... I can't wait
for this to grow worse.

I appeal to you...

To grant a divorce.

- Sister...

would you allow us to give you
a priesthood blessing

and appeal to Heavenly Father?

Sister Brenda Lafferty,

by the power of
the holy Melchizedek priesthood

which we hold

and as a representative
of Jesus Christ

on this Earth,

we, the Elders of Israel,

pronounce a blessing
upon thy head.

The Lord acknowledges you
as a chosen daughter of Zion,

and you are hereby directed

to not abandon thy husband.

Heavenly Father calls you.

Because of thy righteousness,

thou hath been chosen
to shepherd the Lafferty family

back to the fold.

Not only Allen...
every Lafferty.

Verily,
their eternal salvation

is in thy hands.

He will prepareth a way
for you to accomplish

that which He hath commanded.

We bless you with strength
in this sacred calling

in the name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Did you know that?

That the church gave her
that calling

that pitted her
against Ron and Dan?

You didn't ask her
what happened in that room

after you left her in there?

I stopped coming home
for dinner.

I knew then, without a doubt,

that our church
is built on lies.

Lies upon lies.

But I thought Brenda
would leave me

if I spoke such words aloud,

so, uh... so I lost sight
of my wife.

And you're... you're right.

I... I do carry blame.

If... if I had been
a more attentive husband...

I...

I could've stopped all this.

I...

I could've stopped it.

- I'm not gonna...
I'm not gonna charge you

with any crime, Allen.

I'm releasing you.
You're free to go.

- You must despise me.

- No.

You got anyone
you can stay with?

I... um...

Is... is my mother's house
under investigation now too?

Well, who in Utah
will have me, then?

The apostate son.

I'm sorry if this
sounds wrong at all.

I'm struck
by the sensation that...

you might be the only person
in the world I can talk to,

who might understand me.

Can I please stay here?

Just for... for one more night?

I'm...

I'm afraid
of being alone out there.

- Yeah.

At the Dream Mine.

Talked to a guy who owns
a service station here.

Says old Onias buys gasoline
by the barrel from him.

Thinks he may have a trailer

hidden on the west side
of the mountain,

down below the mine.

Bill, do you need backup?

Nah, don't worry about me.

I make friends
everywhere I go.

What do you have?

- Uh, I think Dianna may be in
more trouble than we thought.

The latest letter from Brenda
to Betty basically saying

that the church put Brenda
on a collision course

with Ron and Dan.

Dear Betty, Allen's brothers

have their wives churning
butter and baking bread now,

saying they defiled
their homes with store-bought,

so I'm buying them all
Sara Lee and butter

to remind them they don't have
to live like this.

Because if Sam or Robin think
they might lose their wives,

maybe they'll start
to see things clearly again.

The church
even sent missionaries

from Salt Lake to help.

After all our sisters
have been through,

I thought it'd be nice
if a couple hunks

reminded them
of His true church.

- Sister Lafferty,
the restored Gospel

can reach any Gentile if
they're among the Lord's elect.

It needs no bells and whistles.

- Sure, um, but the people
you're going to be talking to

aren't really Gentiles.

They're Mormons

exploring some
obsolete practices

that we modern Mormons
wouldn't even think to do

in our wildest dreams.

You know, um, multiple wives,
marrying children,

picking fights
with the government.

Maybe just invite our sisters
to embrace modern life.

I mean, God wants us
to shop, right?

- Capitalism is part
of Heavenly Father's plan

to help the church prosper
in the latter days.

- And He needs every one of us

to build His kingdom on Earth,
doesn't He?

- Uh, big gates move
on small hinges.

That's a good one.

Okay, well,
here are their addresses.

And remember,
don't talk to the men.

And if our sisters
start saying things

that don't sound LDS,

maybe just remind them
that they're facing

eternal separation
from their families.

But don't...
don't be a downer about it.

Unfortunately, the sweet
missionaries' efforts

with Sara and Lisa weren't as,
well, fruitful as I'd hoped,

so I had to double my efforts.

Ron got wind of it
that it came from Brenda

and it came from Dianna,

and they sent Matilda
as a messenger,

knocking on the door,
giving a not-so-veiled thr*at.

- Hi.

Gosh, Erica's gotten big.

- Oh, I know.
She's a good eater.

Come in. Dianna's here too.

- No, I... I... I can't.

- If you're worried
Dan will see us, come in.

We're making Kool-Aid.
- I'm not worried about Dan.

I still have faith
in my husband.

- Oh, I see.

- You've been fornicating,
meddling in holy work,

trying to buy our sisters back
into a corrupt church

with store-bought butter.

- We just wanna
get back to how...

- Have you heard
of blood atonement?

- No.

- Me neither.

Isn't that funny?

- I'm not sure.

- A wife who alienates
her husband from her children

could be risking her life.

Dan says that there are
some sins

that can only be redeemed
through the shedding of blood.

That... that's all.

- Dan said that to you?

Are... are you
asking me for help?

- No, I'm saying that we must
put personal feelings aside

and obey the Lord.

A wife who alienates
her husband from her children

risks her life.

♪♪ ♪♪

That's when the Lows
and Brenda kind of teamed up

and started to smuggle
Dianna out of Dodge.

We ask this
through Jesus Christ.

- Amen.
- Amen.

♪♪ ♪♪

- I've been thinking
what my life would be like

if I hadn't followed Ron
into the church.

It's just...

it's brought so much pain
to my children.

I think...

I think I'm losing
my testimony.

- Oh, Dianna. Please don't.

For now, I need you
to put your faith in me.

- Brenda, you're not safe here.

- I'm going to put an end
to this wickedness.

It is my calling.

Write to tell me you're okay,
yeah?

Remember, no...
no return address.

♪♪ ♪♪

All right!

We're ready.

Oh, these poor women.

You think Brenda knew
where Dianna was headed?

Well, the Lows said
that Brenda was the only one

that Dianna told.

It's possible Ron could've
gotten it out of Brenda

before they did what they did
to her and her baby,

in which case, Ron...

You know.

In which case, Ron may have
already found Dianna.

- Allen. Allen, sorry.

I, um...
I have to make decisions now

about where I allocate my men,

and I don't wanna waste
resources or time,

so tell me,

after Dianna left,
is there any way

that Ron simply
just let her go?

No, no.

She, uh...

he wouldn't move on from her.

Ever.

You okay?

Yep.

Just, um, visions...

visions have... have, uh,
come knocking and, um...

Dark visions and, um...

I... I don't know. I don't know.

Sorry, I don't know what this...

Who... who's behind this
new voice in my head, but, um,

it's pretty, uh... it's a pretty
significant distraction.

Sorry.

It's not new.

And it's not
a distraction either.

It's what happens when
you're taught your whole life

that you need God to guide you.

It's frightening...

Being alone with your own mind.

- How have you managed...
managed this?

- I tried to defeat the church,

in my own mind,

see what kind of person
was left behind.

I read our history.

All of it.

All of that
personal revelation,

it seems to me that it's just

men listening to their own
selfish desires

and calling it God

so they can justify...

Anything.

♪♪ ♪♪

- Yeah.
- I have a book.

It's red.

Bright red.

So I put a, uh...

a woodworking textbook cover
on it

so Brenda would never find it.

It tells the...
a truer story of our people.

Our history, our church.

- Okay.

- I imagine you have it
in your evidence now.

- I do.

♪♪ ♪♪

Thanks.

♪♪ ♪♪

Thus saith the Lord:

D...

I...

A...

N...

N...

A.

"Thus saith the Lord:
take pen in hand

and write the things
which I command."

"This unto
my maidservant Dianna.

"Thou art a chosen daughter,

"but My wrath is kindled
against thee

"because of thy rebelliousness
against thy husband.

"If thou wilt repent,

"I will greatly bless thee.

Otherwise I will remove thee
from thy place."

"Amen."

♪♪ ♪♪

I ask of you all

to listen to the still,
small voice

and ask of His wisdom.

Are these
Heavenly Father's words?

Listen, listen.

Now, let's vote.

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪

Ron.

These words are not your own.

These are
Heavenly Father's words.

You, Ron...

are our One.

♪♪ ♪♪

The One.

♪♪ ♪♪

I have a book. It's red.

You have it
in your evidence now.

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪

It is enough.

♪♪ ♪♪

From this valley,
we will never run.

And if they attempt
to throw us over again,

in the name of God,

we will lift the sword
and slay them!

♪♪ ♪♪

This is where I said, um,

was the gentleman planning
on paying for his merchandise?

Polite, you know.
- Sure.

- Is that a screwdriver?
- Yes, sir.

- You think
it's Jacob Lafferty?

It looks just like him.
- Yeah.

You catch his direction?
- The neighborhood there, sir.

♪♪ ♪♪

- That's... that's where
my home is, my kids.

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪

You wanna turn
that headlamp off

and state your name, sir?

- They sent a Lamanite?

I see.

The faithful call me
Prophet Onias.

You may call me Bob.

- You mind putting
that skull cr*cker

down on the ground for me, Bob?

- My hammer
is for the Lord's work.

Terrible what happened
to the woman and her child.

But I do understand that m*rder
runs in your people's blood.

Must seem ordinary to you.

If you'd like to talk more,

you'll have to do so
in my home,

provided you leave the g*n
in the car.

♪♪ ♪♪

Oh!

- Did you have nightmares?

- I'm struggling, honey.

Can you pray with me?

Babe, can you do that?

- Yeah.

Yeah, of course.

Um...

Our dear Heavenly...
Heavenly Father,

I come to Thee
in grateful prayer.

I, um...

I thank Thee.

So sorry, honey.

I love you,

but I can't struggle
through this with you.

I need you
to do something for us.

I need you
to bear your testimony

before our congregation.

I need our girls
to see and hear

that their sweet father,

our priesthood holder,

that he still believes.

- Okay.

Yeah, okay.

Okay.

- Come to bed.
- I will, yeah.

♪♪ ♪♪
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