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The Church of the Firstborn (or the "LeBarón family") is a grouping of competing factions of a Mormon fundamentalist religious lineage inherited, adherents believe, by a polygamous, former Latter-day Saint family community that had settled in Chihuahua, Mexico, by Alma Dayer LeBaron Sr. by 1924. Factions accepting leadership succession by some of Dayer senior's sons self-describe as members of the Church of the Firstborn without a legally formalized organization. What became over time the most substantial faction is that of Church of the Firstborn of the Fulness of Times, often shortened as the Church of the Firstborn, which was founded in September 1955 by three of Alma's sons, Joel, R. Wesley, and Floren LeBaron. Since its founding, the order's most notable enclave has been within the jurisdiction of Galeana Municipality, Chihuahua. The LeBarons christened the LeBaron ranch Colonia Le Barón in the 1950s. Especially in more recent years, it is a minor segment of the order that engages in the practice of polygamy. A substantial fraction of residents residing on and nearby order members' landholdings at Colonia LeBaron are not affiliated with the order, many of them identifying themselves on census reports as Roman Catholic and most of the remainder as evangélico (Protestant). A community that has inter-married but separate beliefs to Colonia Le Barón 's is a three-hour drive away in rancho La Mora, 150 full-time residents strong, in Sonora.
