church. Former FLDS member Robert Richter reported to the Phoenix New Times that in his sermons, Jeffs repeatedly alluded to blood atonement for serious sins such as murder and adultery. Richter also claims that he was asked to design a thermostat for a high temperature furnace that would be capable of destroying DNA evidence if such "atonements" were to take place. Ervil LeBaron and the Church of the Lamb of God Ervil LeBaron, the leader and prophet of the Church of the Lamb of God, initiated a series of killings that ultimately resulted in his being sentenced to life in prison. Before his death in prison, LeBaron wrote a document he called The Book of the New Covenants. This document listed a number of people who had been disloyal and "deserved to die." Copies of this list fell into the hands of LeBaron's followers, who proceeded to administer what they called "blood atonement" to the individuals listed. One of LeBaron's daughters, Lillian Chynoweth, related an account of some of these killings in the film The God Makers II. Chynoweth discussed the murder of her husband, her brother-in-law and his 8-year-old daughter by her half brothers on 27 June, the 144th anniversary of the death of Joseph Smith. She stated that their names were “on the list to be atoned for” because her father believed that they were “traitors to God’s cause.” Not explicitly named in the film, this list was Ervil LeBaron's ‘‘The Book of the New Covenants’’. Chynoweth added that if anything happened to her, the “Mormon” church would be responsible. Shortly after the interview, according to the film, she was found dead in her home from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. References to "blood atonement" in modern works A number of modern authors refer to "blood atonement," usually in association with "Danites." These references often appear in works that are critical of the LDS Church, and rumors of "Danites" practicing some form of "blood atonement" often play a significant role in these accounts. In her book Leaving the Saints, Martha Beck postulates the existence of a "Danite" band "disposing" of people who opposed Brigham Young: Brigham Young formalized and anointed these assassins as the Danites, whose mission included espionage, the suppression of information, and quietly, permanently disposing of people who threatened the Mormon prophet or the Latter-day Saint organization. Again, not many Mormons know this detail of Church history,