Prophets of Doom: Immanuel and Rachel David and "The David Family Cult"

In the late 1960s, Charles Longo changed his name to Immanuel David and after being excommunicated from the LDS Church, began his own cult called "The David Family." The consequences would be tragic

Depiction of “The David Family”

Background

In August 1978, Rachel David (born Margit Birgitta Ericsson), a member of the Salt Lake City, Utah-based cult ‘The David Family’ and wife to cult leader and founder Immanuel David (born Charles Longo), made the unfathomable decision to murder all of her children by throwing them off the roof of a hotel building before jumping to her own death.

To understand the events that led to this tragic outcome, it is necessary to look back at the founding of the cult and the backgrounds of the individuals involved.

August 4, 1978 article from The Salt Lake Tribune

Early Years

Charles Bruce Longo was born in 1938 to parents Frank Longo, a doctor, and Luzan Elizabeth, an Episcopalian homemaker. Neither of his parents were ‘overly religious’ with Frank being a lapsed Catholic, although the family did attend the local Episcopal Church every Sunday.

Charles was an altar boy who had a penchant for tall tales. Still, these tall tales would be told so convincingly that even as a young boy, he could fool adults. - He would routinely create excuses as to why he was late for school.

A family member had broken a leg, or he was chased for miles by a rabid dog. Each time, his teachers believed him. In an early window into his manipulative tendencies, one time, when he was five years old, he convinced a police officer to give him some money as he said he had run away from home due to his mother's neglect. The officer felt bad for him and gave him some money.

However, Charles then used the money to take a cab to his uncle's house.

August 13, 1978 article from the Anderson Independent Mail

In 1956, Charles graduated from high school, and at age 17, he joined the Marine Corps and trained as a paratrooper at Fort Brag. While there, Charles met a group of Mormon soldiers.

Intrigued by the stories of their faith, Charles began to attend their church and, by the age of 19, had fully converted to Mormonism. His mother said he became ‘fanatical’ and his new belief ‘changed him so much,’ even his old friends said Charles changed.

Some changes were good, like his giving up smoking and drinking, but some of the changes were seen as more problematic. Charles began to carry around the Book of Mormon and would constantly quote from it. He was even able to recite the book from memory and would preach its teachings rather forcefully; despite this, he became a full-time preacher in the LDS Church.

A few years later, Charles went on to Brigham Young University and majored in Spanish and Political Science, and it was here that he met 21-year-old Margit Birgitta Ericsson, who was also Mormon.

Margit dropped out of school to marry Charles, and soon after their marriage, the couple had two children. Charles graduated, and the pair had another child. This is also when Charles first met Sterling Peacock, Gil Hibben, and Paul Chapman while studying karate near the Salt Lake City studio that they owned.

(The Olympian)

Revelations and Delusions

One day, Charles told the men that he had a vision, that God appeared to him and told him he would be a prominent member of the LDS Church - but it didn’t stop there. Charles and his “visions” continued.

He would announce more and more revelations, much to the annoyance of the other church members; he even went as far as to tell people that they should donate ten percent of their wages to him rather than the church.

By 1969, the LDS Church has excommunicated Charles.

Despite his excommunication, Charles continued to believe he was a prophet of the Lord. His family and friends, Peacock, Hibben, and Chapman, followed him. They all began living in a small compound in Manti, in central Utah.