Leo Mercier

Leo Mercier (alt. "Mercer") was one of two men that William Branham referred to as his "tape boys",[1] two homosexual men[2] that Branham entrusted for safekeeping and distribution of over a thousand audio recordings of sermons recorded from 1947 to 1965 that were collectively called "the Message".  Along with Gene Goad, Leo Mercer traveled with Branham to record and sell the sermons,[3] for pleasure on hunting trips,[4] and to private business meetings as the men planned their strategy of editing, revising,[5] selling,[6] and distributing the sermons.

Learn more about Leo Mercier and the "Park" commune in the book The Serpent's Tail by Deb Daulton Thibodeau.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1956635904 

William Branham appointed Leo to be the leader[7] and the central figure at "the Park", a commune in Prescott, AZ, that became infamous after a killing spree by Keith Loker, one of the members of the sect.[8]  Children in the commune were brutally beaten by multiple elders under Leo's command,[9], some bleeding through their underwear,[10] while others were stripped naked and forced to march around the compound.[11]  Some children were mutilated or molested, also naked, and forced to run the camps with sand forced into their rectums.[12]  In severe cases of abuse, elders stood over children, alternating the lashes between men.[13]

You will stay here tonight. In the morning you will be stripped naked and you will march the roads until our Lord Jesus forgives you. Do not move. The Lord will show me if you do.
- Leo Mercier.[14]

Branham claimed that around 1955, the two men researched some of his prophecies that they found to be questionable.  Though their findings were never discussed, after being presented to William Branham, the two men were given full control of Branham's recording and distribution. Branham often joked that they had "formed a little F.B.I."[15] Their findings appear to have had an impact on Branham's stage persona, however; Branham allowed Mercier "and many of them" to "revise" Branham's prophecies.  In 1960, Branham admitted that Mercer "and many of them" would be doing so while reading the version of his "1933 Prophecies" that he claimed to have been written in 1932.

I’d like to read you a prophecy that was given. I got on… And may…By the way, Mr. Mercier and many of them are going to take some of these old prophecies, and dig them out, and revise them a little, or bring them up to date, and put them in papers. I’d like to read some things that I’d like for you to—to…This one, first. I’d like to read something to you. “1932.” Listen to this. “As I was on my way, or as I was getting ready to go on my way to church this morning, it came to pass that I fell into a vision.
Branham, William. 1960, Nov 13. Condemnation By Representation (60-1113)

Those who knew Leo and Gene personally were aware that the two men were homosexual, which many in the cult following believed to be an unpardonable sin. While other homosexual men in the cult following would have been ex-communicated for their sexual orientation, because of their rank and close relationship with William Branham, Leo and Gene were permitted to both high-ranking positions as "keepers of the 'Message'" in the cult and eventually leadership roles.

Lee Vayle, who Branham appointed as his public relations expert,[16] described the strange issue that their homosexuality presented in a cult that practiced indoctrinated homophobia.  According to Vayle, the problem in the "Message" cult was widespread, and warned members that the aids virus would soon be spreading throughout.

I believe it was about 1956 and no later, that Leo and Gene, Leo Mercier and Gene Goad, God told Bro. Branham to hire them; two homosexuals. So I want you to get the drift of what I'm saying. This, what I'm talking about here, where God made Himself known, and through a Prophet, is where men turned back and the homosexuals were standing right there to take over. And you're going to see more and more of it, and you're going to see more and more corruption, and you're going to see more and more people dying from AIDS.[17]  
Lee Vayle, Godhead P19, July 1, 2000 

In approximately 1961, Mercier and Goad started the cult commune in the Pine Lawn Trailer Court on W. Gurley in Prescott, AZ. Families from West Virginia, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Georgia, Kansas, and Canada migrated west to live in the commune. Many of the families were interrelated through marriage. In 1964, William Branham dedicated the commune, nicknaming it "Little Goshen", referring to the land given to the Children of Israel by the Pharoah before leaving in the Exodus. Though making the comparison with a spiritual reference, Branham never publicly stated who represented the "Pharoah".

Brother Leo, Brother Gene and pilgrims, I—I deem this one of the grand privileges that I’ve had, to come here to see for myself what you have here on these grounds. It’s a…I have been blessed as I moved across the little creek there, and see this court. And I…One time when Brother Leo was making tapes, and I told him that surely there was something greater in life for him than to make tape. And, course, tape-making is something that we must do, but it’s blessed us, but there is something else. We’re all cut out for different things to do.  And to come here this morning and look, this fine little Jerusalem setting out here, little, what I called, it Goshen, I believe, when we come over this morning. Remember, Goshen was one of the places that they worshipped, one of the first places the tent was pitched. And to meet old friends, and—and new, and to have this time allotted to us, I just…It seems like that—that you just don’t want to leave. There’s just something that wants to hold you. I can see why you people would want to stay here. See? It’s something that grips you.
Branham, William. 1964, May 31. The Oddball (64-0531)

According to government documents, Mercer became more authoritative after Branham's death in 1965.  He began employing various forms of punishment, from "shunning" members of the commune to physical and sexual abuse.  Children were marched around the communes military-style and were physically beaten if caught talking during a march or not properly tying their shoes.  Girls were punished by cutting their hair, which the cult believed to be an unforgivable "sin".  Boys punished were forced to wear girls' clothing.  Evidence collected by the police investigation confirmed that children were sexually abused.[18]  Some families were forced to live separately, while others were forced to work as Mercer's personal servants.

Education was devalued in the cult, based upon William Branham's doctrinal statements against education. Many children dropped out of school, yet were forced to marry and have children at age 18. Also following Branham's doctrinal teaching, children were taught that those outside of the cult following were "atomic fodder", and would all die while those in the cult following would be saved.[19]

The commune's abuse was not limited to the children, however.  Mercer held authority over men, women, and children in the group, and even controlled the sexual relations between husbands and wives in the commune. Former members of the group describe enforced abstinence for weeks at a time, and government record confirms forced sexual relations between men and women in the commune.  Grown men who refused were beaten.

Mercer forced Danny and Mark to live with different families for about three years. Shortly before defendant’s birth, the elder boys left the park to live with their father. Roger Loker was perceived as homosexual by church members. He was beaten so that he would have marital relations with Marietta, leading to the conception of defendant and his older sister Hannah. When defendant was between 18 and 30 months old, Marietta would leave him at home alone for an hour at a time to run errands for Mercer. Defendant did not speak, except perhaps to say “mama,” until he was three years old. Mercer ordered Marietta to whip and slap him because “he was being stubborn.”
2008, Jul 28. People vs. Loker.