S5 E3 - The Alpha

Summary

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American Nightmares: Gardens of Evil – Inside the Zion Society Cult

Season 5, Episode 3: "The Alpha"

Host: Aaron Mason, Gamut Podcast Network
Date: February 17, 2026

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Episode Overview

This chilling episode delves into the inner workings of the Zion Society cult, focusing on how vulnerable individuals, particularly women, were lured, coerced, and abused under the control of its enigmatic leader, Arvin Shreve, and his ruthless lieutenant, "Carla." Through a mix of survivor testimony, interviews, and detailed narrative, the episode traces the story of Erin Anderson’s entrapment in the cult, the manipulation of children and families, and the power dynamics that made Zion Society uniquely dangerous—even among secretive American cults.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Erin Anderson’s Journey Into the Cult

• Recruitment through Vulnerability:
  Erin, a survivor, describes being befriended and emotionally (and eventually physically) cared for by cult women at a time when she was in an abusive marriage and newly pregnant with a high-risk child ([03:58]).

  “After having come from abuse my whole life, I think I would have responded to anyone who showed any kind of compassion or kindness to me. And that’s pretty much what I did. I didn’t question it at all.” — Erin Anderson ([04:21])

• Grooming and ‘Love Bombing’:
  Carla and other women provided practical and emotional support—inviting Erin over under the pretense of making maternity dresses and offering companionship ([05:47]).
• Cutting Family Ties:
  As Erin was drawn in, the cult manipulated her perception of her real family, convincing her that her aunt’s efforts to help were actually betrayals, thus isolating her completely ([11:27], [11:50]).

  “They said, do you see how your choice was right? How your family turned on you and now they are in support of your husband?...with just a twist, the truth is a lie, and vice versa. The culture...became my family, where my family became the enemy.” — Erin Anderson ([11:50])

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2. Manipulation Tactics and Cult Structure

• Staged Spiritual Indoctrination:
  Using familiar Latter Day Saints doctrine, Arvin’s teachings were couched in scripture-like materials, making them more palatable. Carla, as his enforcer, would introduce these stages of indoctrination and ensure compliance ([29:49]–[35:00]).
• Control Through Ritual and Fear:
  “Carla” served as gatekeeper to Arvin, enacting rules and punishments, from enforcing humiliating practices (e.g., mandatory weigh-ins, shaming rituals) to orchestrating who would have sexual relations with Arvin ([26:12]–[27:28]):

  "She was the orchestrator and kind of the, like the policeman in a way...You got it from her, you didn’t get it from Arvin directly." — Andrea, Survivor ([27:06])

• Hierarchy and Ruthlessness:
  Carla’s ambition and strict adherence to Arvin’s “teachings” made her his most important lieutenant, displacing even Arvin’s legal wife. She became the chief recruiter and was instrumental in escalating both the cult’s reach and its abusive practices ([60:08]).

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3. Family Devastation – Jeff Peterson’s Story

• Breaking Apart Families:
  Jeff Peterson recounts how his wife, once under Arvin and Carla’s influence, became estranged and ultimately abducted their children to join the cult ("cleaned the house out. Furniture is gone. Kids are gone. Everything... Everything but my clothes." — Jeff Peterson [54:15]).
• The Price of Custody:
  Describing deeply painful custody battles, Jeff recalls paying $10,000 to get half his children back—his children had effectively become bargaining chips, revealing how far cult loyalty replaced natural parental bonds ([57:48], [58:04]).

  “They don’t really want the kids. So I gave them ten grand. But she didn’t relinquish all the kids. Ten grand only bought half of them. There were still two who their mother kept with her in Northwood. A daughter and a boy she was still pregnant with.” — Jeff Peterson ([58:04])

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4. Origins and Contradictions of Ogden, Utah & Arvin Shreve

• Historical Context:
  Aaron Mason draws a parallel between Ogden’s duality—a conservative, religious city with an underbelly of vice—and Arvin Shreve’s double life, presenting as a respected gardener and religious teacher while nurturing sinister parallel ambitions ([35:43]–[47:37]).
• Arvin’s Rise:
  Noted for his skill as a public speaker and gardener, Arvin concealed predatory tendencies, eventually excommunicated for polygamist teachings. He utilized his authority and charisma to attract, manipulate, and control followers ([45:09]–[47:37]).

  “He was very eloquent, very good speaker. People are like that. They trap people, you know?... It’s all about power and money. That’s all it was.” — Jeff Peterson ([53:10])

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5. Escalation to Systemic Sexual Abuse

• “Sister Council” Teachings & Sexual Coercion:
  Survivors recount how indoctrination led to the cult’s sexual exploitation doctrine. “Sister Councils” justified multi-partner relationships and group sexual activity, heavily regulated by Arvin and Carla. Resistance was punished with isolation, manipulation, and threats ([64:41]–[66:12]).
• Carla’s Perversion of Power:
  Carla not only enforced Arvin’s rules but began acting independently, trafficking children—including her own—to outsiders for sexual abuse ([62:43], [63:09]).

  “I really do not believe that initially Arvin was aware that Carla was taking and trafficking the children to men in the community.” — Detective Mike King ([62:47]) “Carla rented out some of the Zion Society children, including her own daughter, for sex with adult men.” — Aaron Mason ([63:09])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Isolation and Control:

  “For every situation that would arise that seemed strange, or you might question they would have a logical explanation for what took place so that you wouldn’t question anything.” — Erin Anderson ([11:50])

• Cult Mentality and Religious Manipulation:

  “In order to qualify for forgiveness in this area, it is necessary that you begin doing so immediately...You must forsake anything that isn’t in line with Arvin’s teachings. Only then will you begin to recognize the difference between Zion and Babylon.” — Carla (voice actor) ([32:57]–[33:31])

• On Shunning as Discipline:

  “If you didn’t comply to the rules, you were very shunned from the rest of the group until you made amends for what you did.” — Erin Anderson ([66:05])

• The Price of Safety:

  “If all she had to do is pretend to believe all this stuff, perhaps that was a small price to pay for safety and stability for her and her children.” — Aaron Mason ([35:43])

• On Carla’s Ambition and Ruthlessness:

  “She ends up being number two under Arvin. Arvin’s wife wasn’t even number two. She’s running the show.” — Jeff Peterson ([60:08])

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Key Timestamps

• Erin Anderson’s recruitment and cutting family ties: [03:58]–[12:38]
• Introduction to Jeff Peterson and his wife’s indoctrination: [16:13]–[24:44]
• Exploration of Ogden’s dual nature and Arvin’s background: [35:43]–[47:37]
• Power dynamics: Carla’s role, structure of the cult: [25:12]–[35:43], [60:08]–[62:43]
• Revelation of Carla’s trafficking and sexual exploitation of children: [62:43]–[64:41]
• Erin’s direct encounter with Arvin & sexual coercion: [64:39]–[66:12]

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Conclusion

Episode 3 exposes how a socially outwardly idyllic community could harbor systemic abuse and manipulation, made possible by calculated recruitment, enforced isolation, and corrupt religious authority. Through the gripping stories of survivors like Erin Anderson and Jeff Peterson, we understand the devastating reach of cult dynamics—how kindness masks intent, how doctrine becomes a weapon, and how power, once consolidated, feeds ruthlessness. The episode ends with Erin trapped deeper inside, her options shrinking, setting the stage for further revelations in the next installment.

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If you or someone you know is experiencing sexual violence, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE or visit rainn.org. Both services are free, confidential, and available 24/7.

Transcript

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[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Nightmares support is available 24. 7 with VRBocare. We're here day or night, ready whenever you need help, because a great trip starts with the right support. Some of the subject matter in this podcast is difficult, including sexual abuse of adults and children. While the more graphic details will be left out, the specifics can be triggering. Please take care when listening.

[Jeff Peterson]

She wanted to be the top, and she didn't care who she hurt or what she did to get there. Obviously to walk away from all those kids. I don't know how she could do that. I mean, what's more important in life? Certainly not what she did.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Back in the summer of 1991, detectives Mike King and Dave Lucas had several interviews with a woman we're calling Erin Anderson. And those conversations were recorded. I have the transcripts, but you won't hear them because the cassette tapes were destroyed in the decades after the case closed and the statutes of limitations expired. It's a common practice when it comes to storing evidence. There is, however, one recording of Aaron's voice I can play for you.

[Erin Anderson (Cult Survivor)]

I know many of you probably asking yourself, who in their right mind would ever get involved in anything like this?

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

That's the real Aaron.

[Erin Anderson (Cult Survivor)]

And the answer is, is just that none of us were in our right mind when we were coerced into there. I mean, it seemed that they were just like any other predator out there, preying on the weak or the abused, the vulnerable. And if somebody is in that state of mind, they're not thinking clearly, they're not seeing things clearly.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

This audio is from a presentation she later gave to an audience of law enforcement where she shared some of her experiences inside the Zion Society. She offered them insights into how people can get caught up in cults and what to look for to identify these dangerous groups.

[Erin Anderson (Cult Survivor)]

Children or people of any kind that are abused. Their self esteem is so low and that's one of their controlling factors. If your self esteem is low, we have more control over you.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

In episode two, Aaron's aunt Judy shared her experiences about the time Aaron moved in with members of the cult. But we didn't hear what things were like from the inside. Now, through a combination of her own voice and her words read by a voice actor, you'll hear Aaron's side of the story.

[Erin Anderson (Cult Survivor)]

At the time that I went out there, that I joined, I was in a horribly abusive marriage and I had just found out that I was pregnant in a high risk pregnancy. I lost five children. I had five miscarriages prior to that, and I was afraid that if I stayed with my husband, I was going to lose another.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Erin was afraid both for herself and her unborn child.

[Erin Anderson (Cult Survivor)]

After having come from abuse. My whole life, I think I would have responded to anyone who showed any kind of compassion or kindness to me. And that's pretty much what I did. I didn't question it at all. I just.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Over a period of several weeks, the person we're calling Carla and a small handful of other women began frequenting the beauty salon where Erin worked, owned by her aunt Judy. They befriended Erin and eventually invited her to come by their homes and hang out.

[Erin Anderson (Cult Survivor)]

I agreed to go over there, we had a nice dinner and I met some of the people in the neighborhood. The female members, who didn't have other family members within the group or friends within the group, had also suffered similar abusive backgrounds, either by their husbands or by their parents or simply by their husbands keeping them subservient. So I thought that was kind of interesting.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

One day Carla offered to give Erin a ride to take her daughter to school.

[Erin Anderson (Cult Survivor)]

So I went with her and I just started blurting out everything that I was facing with my husband, with my pregnancy. And although my whole family was aware of my situation, they were either unwilling or unable to offer me any kind of help.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

So Carla offered her support and invited Erin to come talk with the group on Friday night, they'd have snacks and she could pick out fabrics for the women to make her some maternity dresses. It was both the emotional and practical help Erin was desperate for.

[Voice Actor for Erin Anderson]

I was there for three or four hours that evening.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

These are Erin's words read by a voice actor.

[Voice Actor for Erin Anderson]

We ate chips and hot sauce. We talked, and we looked through pattern books and material swatches to make maternity dresses. I was two and a half months pregnant at the time and had a pain in my right side. I don't remember the medical term, but it's when blood surges through the vessel too fast and it causes a great deal of pain. Karla said she was a masseuse and offered to give me a massage. So we just went into the bedroom, and all the other girls came in, too. I took off my jeans, so I just had my panties and my bra and my top on. And I laid down on the bed, and while Carla massaged me, we all just talked. It was kind of like a slumber party. Everybody was just sitting around talking.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

With the pain in her side alleviated, she put her jeans back on. The evening was wrapping up, but before it did, the women sat Erin down and wanted to talk about her marriage and make her a proposition.

[Erin Anderson (Cult Survivor)]

They said, we'd really like to help you. We have come from similar situations in our marriage, and we're going to offer you and your daughter to come and stay with us.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

She had a lot of thinking to do.

[Voice Actor for Erin Anderson]

Before I left, Carla gave me a copy of the Book of Mormon and encouraged me to start reading it. So I took it. And that night when I got home, I read a little bit and said a prayer.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

As I've mentioned before, religious cults and extremists often employ the same insidious recruitment strategy. They introduce themselves by way of a familiar belief system, so it feels initially like everyone's on the same team, but they hold back. They're more radical ideas, the ones that would be rejected at first blush. Until they've got you deeper into the woods, it's lying by omission. Carla knew Aaron belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, so she used the Book of Mormon as a way to lower Aaron's defenses and build false trust. The next day, Aaron went to work. It was a Saturday, and it was slow. She and her Aunt Judy spent most of it playing card games. When Erin came home that evening, her husband, who we're calling Mark, was there. She tried to share with him her experiences from the night before and of reading the Book of Mormon. She'd been given and how it made her feel.

[Voice Actor for Erin Anderson]

But Mark was familiar with these women, and when he found out they had given it to me, he didn't want anything to do with it. He didn't want to read it. He wouldn't even look at it because those women had given it to me.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

The following day, Sunday, Erin went to church with her daughter and not Mark. Afterwards, she met with a church leader called a bishop, whom she and Mark had met with before to discuss their relationship issues.

[Voice Actor for Erin Anderson]

We talked some more about Mark. He told me that as a bishop, he was not supposed to advise anybody to get a divorce or to stay married. But then he spoke personally. He said that after interviewing him, his personal opinion was that Mark would never change. When I got home, Mark was there. I told him I had things to do and that I didn't have time to talk with him. And he left. I sat down for 15 minutes and then took my daughter and got in my car. I was supposed to go out to Carla's for a final fitting, and on my way there, I made my decision.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Erin decided she was going to leave her husband.

[Voice Actor for Erin Anderson]

I didn't call in advance to tell them I was coming, so I stopped at Harmon's.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Harmon's is a grocery store chain in Utah. Aaron stopped to use a payphone. Remember, this was the early 90s. Not many people had mobile phones in those days.

[Voice Actor for Erin Anderson]

And to avoid any problems, I guess I left the car at Harmon's so Mark wouldn't know where I was, and they came to pick me up. I told them about my decision and asked if I could stay, and they said yes.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Erin and her daughter stayed at one of the Zion Society houses that first night. She hadn't brought any belongings with her clothes and such. So the next day, Monday, Erin didn't go to work at Aunt Judy's salon. Instead, she, Carla and another woman went to go get her things from her home and to withdraw her daughter from the elementary school she'd been attending. While they were out, they stopped by a hotel spa where another one of the Zion Society women worked.

[Voice Actor for Erin Anderson]

I don't remember why we stopped there, but a phone call came saying that the police were at the home and that my aunt had tried to kidnap my daughter and that my husband was there and to please come home. I did talk to a police officer on the phone, and that's what he had told me. Please come home.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Aunt Judy had come looking for Erin and her daughter. So Carla and the women headed back to Northwood. As a quick aside, the police would later Ask Aaron about all this, specifically her relationship with her Aunt Judy at the time. Had there been any issues between them that might have kept Aaron from wanting to go back to her and stay in the culture?

[Podcast Sponsor Host]

No.

[Voice Actor for Erin Anderson]

The only thing I expressed to anyone was to Carla. I told her, each time my husband and I had split up, Judy would set us both down and we'd work things out and get back together.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Erin wasn't upset with her aunt. She just hadn't talked about her marital issues with her, because every time she did, Judy would end up convincing Aaron to reconcile with her husband. Judy had known rocky times in her own relationship, and she had seen what was possible when two people were willing to put in the work.

[Voice Actor for Erin Anderson]

But this time, I didn't even want to try and was afraid that if I stayed with Judy, it would happen again.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

As they pulled into the neighborhood, Erin saw Judy and Judy's daughter sitting on the curb.

[Voice Actor for Erin Anderson]

Carla told me, don't even look at them and don't talk to them.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

They quickly ushered her inside one of the homes. Erin ignoring Aunt Judy as she called out to her. Arvin Shreve, the leader of the Zion Society, who she had only met that morning, was inside waiting for her.

[Voice Actor for Erin Anderson]

A police officer came in and asked me what had happened. I told him I'd left my husband and wanted to come live here. He went outside and came back in and said, your aunt has asked for your key to her shop. You're fired. And that was it.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

As she looked through the window at the scene outside, Arvin and Carla came up from behind and stood on either side of her.

[Erin Anderson (Cult Survivor)]

They said, do you see how your choice was right? How your family turned on you and now they are in support of your husband? And it made sense to me at that time. I couldn't piece together what was going on. For every situation that would arise that seemed strange, or you might question they would have a logical explanation for what took place so that you wouldn't question anything. My aunt was not kidnapping my daughter. She was there and I was gone. And she asked to take my daughter out for ice cream while waiting for me to return. So you see, with just a twist, the truth is a lie, and vice versa. The culture, the group, so to speak, became my family, where my family became the enemy.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

I'm Aaron Mason. This is Gardens of Evil inside the Zion Society Cult Episode 3 the Alpha.

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[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

So far in our story. Aaron Anderson moved in with the Zion Society in the winter of 1990. She was there for nearly a year and a half. Then in the summer of 1991, she fled the cult, reunited with her Aunt Judy, and walked into the Ogden Municipal Building where she first introduced herself to Detective Mike King. Now, there's someone else I need you to meet, someone who is critical to our story from here on. It's the man we're calling Jeff Peterson. I briefly mentioned him in the last episode. Aunt Judy met Jeff we while she was struggling to find people to help her get Aaron out of the cult. He was trying to get two of his children back from his ex wife who a few years earlier took them with her when she ran off and joined the Zion Society. Now bear with me here. I need to go back a bit because the relationship between Jeff and his ex wife is an important one to understand. It hadn't always been so contentious, but in fact, like most relationships, things were pretty good in the beginning. They met in the early 1970s while Jeff and one of his friends were cruising down Main street in his hometown, 25 miles north of Ogden.

[Jeff Peterson]

I was in my Camaro, 68, still got it.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Jeff was 22 and you know, we

[Jeff Peterson]

saw these girls and we wanted a date.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

He got his date and the two began a relationship. Since she still lived with her family, Jeff got a look into what his new girlfriend's home life was like. Her family was Mormon and Latter Day Saints have something called Family Home Evening. It's usually on Monday nights and there's typically some prayer and maybe some singing or just catching up on each other's lives that week. It's time set aside to get together and strengthen family bonds and have a good time. One of the most popular things to do at family Home evenings is play games. Jeff's new girlfriend had spent her whole childhood playing weekly games with her family, but it was by no means a good time.

[Jeff Peterson]

Her dad, who's passed away, he always had to win at the games, so he had to make sure the kids knew that he was in charge and he was kind of brutal to them and they had to tow a line. Of course they always had to go to church because her dad, it was church first and family never. But there wasn't anything with the family other than family home evening, which was mandated by the church. But then he dominated it. He made sure that those kids all knew that he was better than them always. And her, her thing was that she wanted to be better than him.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Jeff remembers feeling like he was treated better than any of the five children. That his former father in law only intimidated his own family.

[Jeff Peterson]

I probably got along with him better than any of his kids did.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Jeff's ex wife grew up constantly seeking her father's approval. As a child, she went to church regularly, and when she entered her teen years, she became obsessed with being more spiritual. She would read scriptures and pray excessively. She was critical of her friends and told them they needed to repent for their bad behavior. And when they didn't do that, she would report them to church leaders. Jeff met his girlfriend when she was 17, and maybe it was his rebel vibe or chill demeanor, but for whatever reason, she began to pull back on the more sanctimonious aspects of her spirituality.

[Jeff Peterson]

I come from a broken home and they were super religious, and so her dad obviously did not want me around his daughter, which sometimes that doesn't work. It did the opposite. So if he was mellow, you know, maybe it wouldn't have happened. But basically he ran us off.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

They'd only been dating for about three

[Jeff Peterson]

months, so we eloped.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Did you guys want to start a family right away?

[Jeff Peterson]

Yeah, we didn't have a choice.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

What do you mean?

[Jeff Peterson]

That wedding night must have been awesome because there was nothing before we come home pregnant. Dang.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Jeff says that while they dated, they respected the rules of her religion regarding premarital sex. But his new wife got pregnant right away. On their honeymoon, the young couple moved into a home in the small city of Willard, about 20 miles north of Ogden. For several years, Jeff worked while his wife stayed home and raised their growing family. Was she happy, do you think?

[Jeff Peterson]

Well, I thought so until things went sour. But everything was just fairly normal, I think, you know, until the neighbors started talking to her about weird stuff.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Their neighbors were a family called the Olsens.

[Jeff Peterson]

It was real, real friendly. We had good relationship and everything seemed to be fine. And I didn't actually know where this whole thing was headed.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

It was the mid-1980s, and as she became friends with the Olson's, Jeff's wife would come home Talking about weird stuff, as he put it. Something called pyramid power and the healing properties of crystals, which she claimed to have seen in action at gatherings. At the Olsens, she began wearing skirts and dresses exclusively. She lost touch with her old friends. Her demeanor changed, too. She became more critical and judgmental, reporting anyone she saw as sinning to an LDS church leader called a bishop, just like she did in her zealous teen years.

[Jeff Peterson]

I'm kind of wild. I mean, I got my race car, I'm doing burnouts in the front of my house. I'm one wheelies down the street. Nobody cares. I'm friends with everybody.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Despite his high octane antics, the neighbors all liked Jeff. Sure, he was a little wild, but he was a good guy. His wife, on the other hand, was beginning to wear out her welcome.

[Jeff Peterson]

And I get called in the bishop's office that she's calling people names and she's not getting along with the other women in the church. So we ended up having to move. She wanted to leave.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

But before they made any moves, Jeff's wife wanted him to come with her to see a man the Olsons had introduced her to, a friend of theirs in Ogden named Arvin Shreve. Jeff was headed straight into the lion's den, supporting her.

[Jeff Peterson]

I did. I went and met him.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

They drove down to Ogden and entered the Northwood subdivision through the only street in or out and pulled up to one of the handful of homes with the immaculately kept gardens where a kindly older man was waiting for them.

[Jeff Peterson]

He's like 5, 10 or something, a little chubby, looks like a grandpa, you know, pleasant looking.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

But Jeff had no idea who he was dealing with or how much danger he and his family were in. All he knew was that his wife was going through something changing. And apparently this Arvin was at the center of it all.

[Jeff Peterson]

I'm sitting on a couch and there was a couple between us, and she was at one end, I was at the other. And Arvin's talking to us, and I'm listening, and I look over at her and I thought, yeah, she's gone. I could tell that he had connected with her. Then it went haywire real fast. I mean, we're talking. Within months, this whole thing went to crap.

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[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

In the early to mid-1980s, the nascent days of the Zion Society, Arvin was more social and seen more often than he would be as the years progressed. As the cult grew, he became more and more secluded. By the time Aaron Anderson joined the group, six or so years after Jeff and his wife had their sit down with him, she says access to Arvin was controlled by one person in particular.

[Erin Anderson (Cult Survivor)]

You didn't have the opportunity to associate with Arvin very much, which I think led to a mysterious sense. If anyone wanted to go see Arvin, they would have to clear it through, and she would screen your purpose for being there and allow you or not allow you to see him.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

What we're going to focus on now is the person whose real name I had to censor out in that clip. She has children who don't want to be identified, so we've been referring to her as Carla. You could almost compare the power structure of the Zion Society to the wizard of Oz in a way. You had Arvin the great and powerful, who was kept hidden behind a curtain of false power and spectacle.

[Erin Anderson (Cult Survivor)]

And he held himself in a way that almost like you were in the presence of a president or a God. You know, you were very careful in how you acted, your mannerisms, and what you said.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

And then there was the one you were really afraid of, the wicked witch.

[Andrea (Zion Society Survivor)]

I was terrified of her.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

That's Andrea, one of the Zion Society survivors you met in Episode two.

[Andrea (Zion Society Survivor)]

I was as terrified almost, if not more so, of her than of Arven for a lot of reasons. She was just kind of a scary woman. Very intense, but petite and focused and

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

driven, determined and singularly focused. Obsessed with power and ruthless enough to do whatever it took to get it. Carla was Arvin's lieutenant, and she commanded the other women in the cult to do his bidding.

[Andrea (Zion Society Survivor)]

She always seemed like she was above the rest of us. So Carla was like, in my mind, like as good as Arvin. And the reason she was scarier is because she was the one that would come and drag you on the scale if you hadn't weighed in in a few days. So she was involved in the shaming.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

More on that later.

[Andrea (Zion Society Survivor)]

She was the one that would call you when it was your turn to come have sex with Arvin and come spend the night with him. So like she was the orchestrator and kind of the, like the policeman in a way, if you hadn't weighed in or somehow you were failing in some way that they could supposedly measure. You got it from her, you didn't get it from Arven directly.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Carla was Arvin's chief enabler and basically designed and operated the machinations that turned a small perverted group into an efficient and horrific enterprise of abuse. Remember, Carla was the one who initially arrived at Aunt Judy's salon to deliver the G strings Judy had ordered. Carla was the one who gave Erin the ride where she divulged her marriage troubles. Carla was the one who initiated the love bombing and invited Aaron to their homes for her movies and to make maternity dresses. And Carla was the devil on Aaron's shoulder, whispering lies about Aunt Judy and as she was fighting to keep her niece out of the group's clutches. By the time Erin Anderson moved in with the Zion Society, Carla's authority was well established. In Erin's early days with the cult, she only spoke with Arvin a few times. He had arranged for her to use the group's attorney to initiate her divorce proceedings and they met periodically about that. Carla was the face of the day to day operations. After Aaron had been living with them for a few weeks, Carla came to her bedroom and dropped off a printed stack of Arvin's religious ramblings, which she instructed Aaron to read. The writings sounded like scripture intentionally. They were filled with Christian and LDS imagery so they'd feel legitimate to someone who had read the Bible or or the Book of Mormon. But remember, that was a tactic to wrap Arvin's ideas in a cloak of familiarity. A spoonful of sugar as it were. In reality, he had taken those established religious principles, ideas he knew and could argue for very well and perverted them to meet his own twisted desires. As she read through the material, Erin learned that not only did Arvind consider himself a prophet, but he claimed to have played a major role in pre earth life. As a note here, the Latter Day Saints believe in a concept called premortal existence, which is basically the idea that people live as spirits, not only in the afterlife, but before birth as well. So in this pre life existence, Arvind claimed to have been an instructor to everyone who has ever been born or preparing their spirit for life on earth. Then, similar to what he had told Ron and Jackie Van Beekum in their living room 10 years earlier, but leaving out the salacious stuff and volumes of pornography that seem to have spooked them Off. Arvin explained, after one third of the people in heaven rebelled against God, he sent those mutinous, mostly male souls to hell, which meant there were going to be many more women walking around Earth than men. Arvin was therefore appointed to assemble those women into family units, and if they live a sufficiently spiritual life, then they would all be ushered into the afterlife where they would reign as gods. The term Zion means different things to different people, but generally it's a term for a holy place or the kingdom of heaven. Arvin claimed his group was divinely inspired, the only ones truly living out the will of the Almighty. It was the kingdom of God on earth, Zion, and He was its ruler. Erin finished reading the treatise and spent the next day or so thinking about what her role was in all of this. She didn't believe anything Arven had written, but she was in pretty deep. She knew enough not to offend the people providing her and her daughter housing and paying for her divorce. A few days later, Carla returned to Aaron's room with good news. Arvin had instructed her to teach Aaron the qualifications for becoming a member of the Zion Society. The next portion of the story comes from a book Mike King wrote in 2021 about his experiences during and after this case, called Deceived An Investigative Memoir of the Zion Society Cult. Carla's lines will be read by a voice actor.

[Carla (Cult Lieutenant - voice actor)]

The blessings derived from the society are real. It's not an abstract theory or experiment or some hope for future possibility. It's reality. Now a Zion Society has been established by memory.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Carla introduced the three elements the cult used to define Zion.

[Carla (Cult Lieutenant - voice actor)]

Element number one. Zion is a people who are pure in heart and who are totally committed to doing God's will. They have a desire to constantly change their lives to ever higher levels of righteous living, and they commune personally with God. Number two. Zion is a place of order, cleanliness and beauty. Their homes are pleasant, orderly and clean. Their yards and gardens are well maintained, beautiful and productive. And lastly, element number three, Zion is a condition where there is peace, unity and love.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Carla then handed Aaron several papers titled the Qualifications for a Zion Society. She opened the three ring binder and instructed Aaron to follow along as she explained the steps that were necessary to change oneself. Carla grew very serious as she explained the first step called Lift the Condemnation.

[Carla (Cult Lieutenant - voice actor)]

Aaron, we know you have not read all the material you have been given, and you have not shared the doctrines of the Zion Society with those you have come in contact with. In order to qualify for forgiveness in this area, it is necessary that you

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

begin doing so immediately, Aaron said nothing. Next, Carla told her that she must become born of God.

[Carla (Cult Lieutenant - voice actor)]

It is necessary that you become alive to spiritual things. You must forsake anything that isn't in line with Arvin's teachings. Only then will you begin to recognize the difference between Zion and Babylon.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Carla made sure Aaron knew Zion and Babylon were codenames used by God when he spoke of good and evil.

[Carla (Cult Lieutenant - voice actor)]

Because you obviously don't have a clear picture of the differences between Zion and Babylon, you will never understand when you are making bad choices. That's why you need to do everything we tell you.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Carla then skimmed over several steps that confused Aaron. She tried to ask questions, but Carla slyly evaded them. The lesson ended with preparing for the days of tribulation, which meant making preparations for the end of the world and finally establishing a Zion level home, which Aaron was told meant keeping a home of order and beauty.

[Carla (Cult Lieutenant - voice actor)]

Now, Aaron, you must follow four steps in order to bring about change in yourself. Those steps are illustrate, separate, elevate and conquer. The Lord finds a way to illustrate certain truths in your heart. He has already separated you from your associates and environment. Now you can be elevated to a higher level of understanding and conduct and will be qualified to conquer the work the Lord desires of you if you obey the things of Arvin teaches.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Then Carla became more somber.

[Carla (Cult Lieutenant - voice actor)]

Remember, Zion is a condition we know of no one who ever qualified for Zion without these truths. Think about what I've just taught you, Aaron. Pray about it.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

She paused for a moment, and then

[Carla (Cult Lieutenant - voice actor)]

she added, and now you must also pray about who your eternal companion should be.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Carla closed her binder and promptly left the room. Here is Erin now.

[Erin Anderson (Cult Survivor)]

Up to that point, I didn't know anything about a cult. They had explained to me that they lived well, first of all that they were divorced women who lived next to each other in a community that sought to take care of each other to ensure that everyone was safe and. And happy. So when I went out there, we had the dinner, I. I was introduced to a number of the people that lived there, and they were very, very nice.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

But things were changing. Overwhelmed by Carla and Arvin's gibberish, Erin frantically began reassessing her options. She knew she couldn't go back to her husband, especially after filing for divorce. And she had been convinced that Aunt Judy, who was basically her only family at that point, was the enemy. Erin was now dealing with two major concerns. She needed a safe space to see this high risk pregnancy through. And she didn't want to lose custody of her six year old daughter. Staying in the group might be the only way to keep them all together and out of debt. And so far, her new friends, although peculiar, seemed to care about her and her situation. So after some thought, Erin came to a conclusion. If all she had to do is pretend to believe all this stuff, perhaps that was a small price to pay for safety and stability for her and her children. Her only path, it seemed, was to fall in line with the group and its leader, who appeared to wield incredible and unchecked authority over everyone in it. But who was this mysterious man? Arvin Shreve? One of the unusual things about this story is where it takes place. Most polygamous cults you hear about operate in rural, isolated areas, set apart from the societies they renounce and the laws they don't want to live by. But 40 miles north of Salt Lake City, in a valley at the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains, lies the city of Ogden, Utah. Ogden is where Arvin Shreve was born and more or less spent his entire life, and where his Zion Society cult operated in a small, quiet suburban neighborhood known as Northwood. So why was a man like Arvin able to thrive there in plain sight? To me, there's a fascinating parallel between Arvin and Ogden. Each have in them deeply ingrained a contradictory dual nature. Each of them a coin with two very different sides. And I want to talk for a few minutes about the origins of both. In 1847, a group of Mormon pioneers bought some land east of the Great Salt Lake and created the first settlement by people of European descent in what would later become the state of Utah. Unsurprisingly, religion was at the core of life in the small village, which had become a corporate, quiet little community of quite conservative Latter Day Saints. That is, until the railroad came to town. From the New York Daily Herald, May 10, 1869. Promontory Point, Utah.

[Podcast Sponsor Host]

The last spike of the Pacific Railroad was driven today at 5.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Less than three decades after the pioneers settled the area, America's first transcontinental railroad was completed. The ceremonial golden spike driven into the ground just a few miles north at a place called Promontory Point. As the closest population center, Ogden became a major junction point, bringing tens of thousands of travelers to town. The small Mormon community of around 1500 people doubled its population in that first year. And by 1890, 20 years after the final spike was pounded, 10,000 more moved to Junction City, as it was nicknamed now the shipping, manufacturing and finance capital of Utah. Passengers poured in from all over and brought with them Some drastic changes. The area surrounding the train station was taken over by the seedier side of society, Specifically the infamous 25th street, which became lined with bars, brothels and betting halls. The there were opium dens, corrupt cops, and shootouts in the street. It was truly the Wild West. Here's one example of just how wild it got. In 1916, a woman named Fanny Dawson ran what was called the murder company out of a hotel room on 25th Street. Fanny's accomplice would scope out the saloons and casinos and find somebody who'd won big or even just looked like they might have some cat cash. And they'd get an invite up to Fanny's room. And once there, they would be poisoned and robbed. She did this a lot, by the way. During alcohol Prohibition in the 1920s, Ogden became well known for its speakeasies. Residents today love to tell the tale of bootleg booze kingpin Al Capone and his visit from Chicago. According to the story, Capone took one look around 25th street and said, quote, this town is too rough even for me. And he got right back on the train. Despite this concentrated culture of vice, many of Ogden's residents were still conservative, churchgoing Latter Day Saints. All the sinful activities downtown were completely antithetical to their way of life, and for decades, they stayed on their side of the tracks, so to speak. By 1930, Ogden stood in stark contrast with itself. On one hand, it was an oasis for a group of deeply religious pilgrims who looked to practice their faith in a community isolated from the harmful influences of the outside world, safe and secluded. But on the other hand, Ogden was overflowing with. With temptations. A blocks long bacchanal shot right through its center, offering every manner of earthly pleasure. A place without scruples, with no hesitation to satisfy any carnal urge, no matter how depraved. It was a place of both righteousness and debauchery, of piety and perversion. And it was at the height of these contradictions that on March 1, 1930, Arnold and Lavon Shreve had their fourth child, a son named Arvin. Arvind described his childhood as a happy one. He attended Weber High School, where he was an excellent student and served on the school's LDS Seminary council. Initially shy and reserved, Arvin joined the school's debate team and flourished. He was both intelligent and naturally gifted, winning numerous debate competitions, speech and essay contests, and eventually the coveted position of student body president. Even as a teenager, Arvin was a charismatic speaker with a natural persuasive ability outside academia. He was often invited to different clubs and associations around the state, frequently speaking on the subject of conservation. Nature was very important to him. After graduating Weber high school in 1948, he attended nearby Weber College on a debate scholarship and continued to win awards in competitions all throughout the United States. The 1950 U.S. census listed 20 year old Arvin's occupation as landscape gardener at City Park. An article from the Standard examiner newspaper dated that same year, July 31, 1950, is the earliest story I can find of many about Arvin the landscaper. That winter, Arvin, as devoted young Latter Day Saints do, went on a mission for his church. His was to South America, which ended up being the only significant time he would ever spend outside of Utah. Only a few months after returning home, Arvin got married on September 22, 1953. Arvin was 23 and his wife Joan was a year younger at 22. A few months into his marriage, Arvin got a job with the county and City Parks Department where he designed many of the beautiful parks and gardens around Ogden, including the courthouse and municipal building that Detective Mike King and County Attorney Reed Richards would later occupy. Many who worked in government and law enforcement in those buildings knew Arvin, and he was beloved in the community, not only because of his mild manner and amiable personality, but also because of his impressive work. And it was impressive. Arvind was a perfectionist, and he hated the mostly hodgepodge mixes of various flowers and shrubs that were planted over the years. So he transformed these areas into multiple tableaus of seasonal flora, all working in aesthetic harmony. It was beautiful. Another examiner article from August 9, 1955 says the as every home gardener knows,

[Arvin Shreve (Narrator reading newspaper excerpts)]

a plant takes a lot of attention before it rounds out with green leaves and blossoms. Multiply that by 22,000 and you have an idea of the work involved in developing and maintaining the City county gardens. Virtually every flower must be handled individually.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

And then there was this line.

[Arvin Shreve (Narrator reading newspaper excerpts)]

The gardens now compare favorably with many of the larger parks in California.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Just three weeks earlier, on July 17, Disneyland had its grand opening in Anaheim, California. It was an international media event with a live television special seen by 90 million people and hosted by a 44 year old actor you may have heard of named Ronald Reagan here on the Lake of Tomorrowland. I have two customers right here, Bonita Granville and Jack Rather.

[Erin Anderson (Cult Survivor)]

Hi Ronnie.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Hi Ronnie, how are you? Arvin's work was being directly compared to the gardens at Disneyland. A master horticulturalist, he cross bred flowers for specific color combinations and raised rare temperamental plants that weren't even sold commercially, and that no one before him was able to grow. According to yet another standard examiner article about him, this one from March 17, 1957, Arvin even experimented growing plants by shocking them with electricity.

[Arvin Shreve (Narrator reading newspaper excerpts)]

Arvin Shreve said the electronics angle in gardening is strictly in the experimental stage, but already there is evidence a shot of electricity makes many plants stronger. He explained that a hot wire from the spark plug of an idling car engine is held on the plant for one minute. The electrical shock results in faster growth, a stronger stem, and better plant tissue.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Meanwhile, Arvin was very active in his church and became a very popular teacher, applying the public speaking skills he developed in school to the lessons he taught. He was so popular that people asked him to start a religious study group during the week, which he did, and which often filled to overflowing. There would be lines out the door of people wanting to hear Arvind speak. But then things began to veer off course. If you remember, in episode one, Ron and Jackie Van Beekum first moved to the Northwood subdivision and Arvind's son mentioned that his dad had been excommunicated.

[Dutch Pets Sponsor Host]

He just said, my dad, just so

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

you know, has been excommunicated.

[Dutch Pets Sponsor Host]

But there's reasons behind it. He can explain it to you.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

When Ron asked Arvin about it, Arvin minimized it, saying he could rejoin if he wanted and not saying why he got kicked out. Here is why he got kicked out. Polygamy was practiced as a tenet of the faith in the early days of the Mormon church. In the 1890s, the territory of Utah, as it was known then, wanted to join the United States, but the federal government had laws against multiple wives. So the Latter Day Saints Church officially banned the practice of plural marriage and began to excommunicate those involved as early as 1904. To this day, polygamy is not tolerated in the LDS Church. As someone who is largely unfamiliar with that religion and has never lived in Utah, I didn't know that. It seems like there are dozens of Mormon wives type shows on tv, but the church's official website is clear about this. An excerpt reads as Polygamous groups and individuals in and around Utah often cause

[Jeff Peterson]

confusion for casual observers.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Polygamists and polygamist organizations have no affiliation whatsoever with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, despite the fact that the term Mormon, widely understood to

[Jeff Peterson]

be a nickname for Latter Day Saints,

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

is sometimes misleadingly applied to them. But Arvin was very pro polygamy and had studied it extensively. So when he had an audience eager to hear him at his popular weekly study group. He relished the opportunity to share his thoughts on the subject. However, as his enthusiasm grew, attendees began to get concerned about some of the things he was saying. So they reported him to church authorities. Arvin was called into a meeting and asked to explain himself since they knew he knew what he was teaching, so was not in line with the church's doctrine. Realizing his church membership was at stake, Arvind acquiesced. But it was only to escape the heat. He kept preaching his message in secret to anyone who would listen. But word that he was continuing his lectures on polygamy eventually got back to the clergy and Arvin was brought in a second time. Only now Arvin didn't play nice. Defiantly, he announced he no longer believed in Jesus Christ and the church he'd belonged to all his life. The council had no choice. Arvin was officially excommunicated. That happened in the late 1960s. I don't know when he started. It could have been while he was teaching Sunday school and holding Bible studies. But at some point, Arvin began secretly soliciting sex workers in Salt Lake City, 40 minutes south. Presumably so he wouldn't be seen by anyone in his community. After all, he had an image to maintain. One of the sex workers Arvin saw we'll refer to as Dana. Dana was around 20 when 50 year old Arvin met with her over the course of a few years in the early 80s. In police reports she said Arvin was kind, gentle, caring and that he never swore. And then she described him in perhaps the best way I've heard anyone describe him. That he reminded her of, quote, a bad Mr. Rogers figure. Dana said sometimes he would just talk about sex for hours and then pay her and leave. Other times he mentioned going to high school football games and that he liked to turn around in the bleachers to look up girls skirts. He frequently asked her to bring a younger 14 to 16 year old girl with her to both engage in sexual activity with him, which she never did. Dana also said that Arvin would often talk about being sexually abused by his aunt. On several occasions when he was around eight years old, he told her he enjoyed the encounters. She later told police she estimated that during her five years as a sex worker she had encounters with roughly 2,000 men and that she remembered three of them because of their unusual sexual requests. Arvin was one of those three men. And it happened that one of their rendezvous was interrupted by the Salt Lake City Police Department's vice squad. And they were both arrested. Although he would claim dozens of spiritual wives during his life, his wife Joan, would remain by Arvin's side as his only legal one. Through these dalliances with sex workers throughout the Zion society, throughout everything, Arvin always had an answer. And after his arrest, he played a hand that would become one of his favorites, the appeal to authority. That's when someone accepts something as true without questioning it. Just because an authority figure says it's true. He told his wife that God had instructed him to experiment with these women. I don't want to do this, he said, but I cannot offend God. Jeff Peterson had gone along with his then wife, at her insistence, to meet a man named Arvin Shreve.

[Jeff Peterson]

He's very eloquent, very good speaker. People are like that. They trap people, you know? And I thought, oh, you son of a bitch. That's what I thought.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Did you get a sense of that right away?

[Jeff Peterson]

Yeah, I thought he was a crook. It's all about him. It's money. It's all about power and money. That's all it was. Power and money. No one wanted to rule the roost. Everybody come in. I'll save you. I'll save you. I'll make you whole. I can save you. Just come in. Join our group. Bring your money. Yeah.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Due to his wife's increasing friction with their neighbors, the couple moved back to Jeff's hometown.

[Jeff Peterson]

And we were only in that house for. For a month or two. And then she comes to me and she says, we need to move to North Ogden. I said, why? And she says, well, join that group, and I'm not willing to. She said, well, Arvin's going to give you his daughter. She's 17, first, second wife. And I'm, like, not doing it.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Things were getting tense around the house.

[Jeff Peterson]

We had basically kind of a fight over it. We didn't fight a lot, but we had an understanding that we were not getting along. And I went with a friend of mine. I went to do some bike riding over a weekend, and I needed some time to think and stuff. And I told my friend what was going on. We come back, and she'd cleaned the house out. Furniture is gone. Kids are gone. Everything, everything, Everything but my clothes. So they came down, that group came down and got all the furniture and left.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

What's going through your mind?

[Jeff Peterson]

I cried. I just cried.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

As Jeff stood in his empty house, still reeling from the shock of it all, there was one thought in his head.

[Jeff Peterson]

Custody of the children.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Keep in mind he wasn't aware of the abuse that was happening in the cult, but it was, he knew it wasn't an environment he wanted his children to live in. So he hired an attorney to attempt to get temporary custody of his kids.

[Jeff Peterson]

We're going to court. My lawyer tells me, just sit there, don't say anything.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Jeff starts to burn white hot as his soon to be ex wife starts reeling off a list of things. She wants a new dishwasher, a new washer and dryer, a new car, this, that, and she wants $250 in monthly support for each of their four children. That's the equivalent of about $750 per child in 20, 25 or $3,000 a month.

[Jeff Peterson]

I'm like getting out of my chair and the lawyer said, don't, just be quiet, don't say anything, don't. And you know, well, I need to know. Don't. Just, just be quiet. And they get down to the end. The judge says she's got temporary custody because the women always get it. And she gets none of the stuff she asked for. And then child support, she got $75 for all of them. So she got nothing. Nothing. I'm glad I didn't say anything. So my lawyer says, he says, you got your checkbook with you? And he says, write her a check for 75 bucks when you walk out, hand it to her. Why? Just do it. So we did. And she hands me back another paper and it's got the address of where the apartment is that she'd gotten. She says, that's where the furniture is. Come get it and pick the kids up because they're not going to pay for them. So she relinquished the kids to me right then. So I went and picked the furniture up, picked the kids up, took them home.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

So roughly two weeks after Jeff came home to an empty house, he's now got temporary custody of his kids. But it's only temporary. Jeff's fight for his children still has a major part to play in our story. He's gonna have to have another court date to settle the issue permanently. If you'll remember, at the end of the last episode, after Erin reunited with her Aunt Judy, Judy told her she'd agreed to give a deposition, an official statement to the courts in support of Jeff. She was doing that as part of his permanent custody case. But outside the courthouse on this day, the day he got temporary custody, Jeff's wife made him an offer.

[Jeff Peterson]

And she says, well, you know, if you'll just give us $10,000, we can just settle this now. And you can have the kids. Because that's all they wanted anyways, the money. They don't really want the kids. So I gave him ten grand.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

But she didn't relinquish all the kids. Ten grand, only bought half of them. There were still two who their mother kept with her in Northwood. A daughter and a boy she was still pregnant with.

[Dutch Pets Sponsor Host]

My understanding is, yes, he paid that money.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Detective Mike King.

[Dutch Pets Sponsor Host]

And he also, as part of that, had to sign a legal document saying that he wouldn't discuss the case with anyone else. And he took what he could get and then continued his battle to try to get the other children. He wasn't writing off any of his children and saying, yeah, that's great, you keep some, I'll keep some. He wanted all of the children free from what was going on and what he sensed was going on. And that's the reason why he hired that private investigator.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

We'll hear that story in the next episode. But for now, if you're wondering how a mother could fall so far down the rabbit hole as to ransom her children back to their own father, Jeff believes he knows why it's all her dad.

[Jeff Peterson]

It is just he is so over dominating. Maybe she thinks maybe in order for her to get his love, she's got to be more. I don't know. I don't know what her head was thinking, but it was all religion. It was all about making sure that she could show him that she was as good or better than him. She wanted to be the top. She didn't care who she hurt or what she did to get there. Obviously, to walk away from all those kids. I don't know how she could do that. I mean, what's more important in life?

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

A childhood spent trying to prove herself to her father and an obsession to become better than everyone else, no matter the cost, had taken Jeff's wife past the point of no return. Her father had created a monster. And one that would go on to flourish under the paternal pretense of the Zion Society.

[Jeff Peterson]

She ends up being number two under Arvin. Arvin's wife wasn't even number two. She's running the show.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

But we've already met Arvin's number two. The lieutenant. The one everyone was terrified of. The wicked witch. The woman Jeff Peterson is fighting to get his kids back from is Carla. The Zion Society couldn't have been as large as it was or hurt as many people as it hurt without Carla. Her obsession with being the best, the most holy, the apple of Arvin's Eye blinded her to everything else, even her own children. It's a legacy marked by ruthlessness and cruelty. Mike King's investigation revealed. During her six years in the cult, Carla rose quickly through the ranks, becoming not only a spiritual wife in Arvin's sister council, but the most important important. Arven's actual legal wife of 40 years was cast aside. She still lived in the cult and supported her husband, but faded into the background. Carla was the one who slept in his bed at night. Carla became Arvin's mouthpiece, delivering his so called divinely inspired instructions to the group. Carla became the enforcer and relished in disciplining and chastising others as if it was a tangible reminder to her that she was better than them. Carla became a co author of Arvin's pseudo religious and pornographic teaching materials like the Sexual Way of Life. And Carla took the lead in seeking out vulnerable young women, becoming the cult's primary recruiter. She even became powerful enough to enact her own rules, like women couldn't leave the neighborhood alone only in groups of two or three. Or in an effort to purge the group from any earthly thing, as she put it, members had to sell all of their jewelry, including wedding rings, and give that money to Arvin. They also had to burn every photograph of themselves or their families. Mike King says that in most cults, while some followers are put in positions of authority, there is almost always a hierarchy that ultimately points back to the leader.

[Dutch Pets Sponsor Host]

Carla, on paper, would always follow the chain of command, But I think secretly or behind the scenes, Carla was trying to carve her own path.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

So much so that she would sometimes go behind Arvin's back.

[Dutch Pets Sponsor Host]

I really do not believe that initially Arvin was aware that Carla was taking and trafficking the children to men in the community.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

You heard that right. Carla rented out some of the Zion Society children, including her own daughter, for sex with adult men.

[Dutch Pets Sponsor Host]

Arvind probably wouldn't have wanted to take that kind of risk, but Carla's narcissism and Carla's desire for power and control kind of stepped over the bounds and beyond what was reasonable in order to continue to assess that power.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Erin was in her room in the winter of 1990, shortly after moving in with the cult. It had been a few days since Carla had told her all about the Zion Society's belief systems and instructed her to pray for who her eternal companion might be. Things had been going pretty well so far. Her efforts to play along and show a cooperative face to the other members of the group had resulted in a welcome benefit. As the other women gained more trust in her, they showed Aaron more and more support and kindness, something she hadn't felt for a long time. It wasn't just becoming easier. It was starting to feel good. But she was still trying to sort out the companion situation in her mind when Carla entered her room. She sat down on the bed beside Aaron and asked if she wanted her to massage her side, and Aaron said, okay. After a couple minutes, Carla asked, have you been praying about who your Eternal Companion is supposed to be? Aaron, aware of how things operated in the Zion Society, knew there was only one right answer.

[Voice Actor for Erin Anderson]

Is it Arven?

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Carla leapt up, thrilled with the good news that Aaron had been listening to the right spirit. She leaned into the hall and shouted for someone to go get Arvin. And after a minute or two, he entered the room.

[Voice Actor for Erin Anderson]

And while Carla was still massaging my legs, Arvin knelt down at the side of the bed and grabbed a hold of my hand. And I never said anything to him. Carla just looked at him and said, she knows. And then he started talking about how beautiful I was. And then he. He lifted up my shirt and started rubbing my chest under my bra while Carla encouraged him. Isn't she pretty? She said. And then after a few seconds, he started to move his hand down to my panties. But when he tried to lift them up, I got really tight. I just stiffened up and started to cry. He said, is this bothering you? And I said, yes. And he stopped.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

Arvin slowly got up and left. Aaron was frozen. Carla was enraged. You've offended your master, you've offended your God, she said. And then she stormed out of the room. For several days after, Aaron was all but invisible to the others in the group, they seemed to go out of their way to avoid her. If they had to speak to her, it was as short and as curt as possible. Erin said she was being punished.

[Erin Anderson (Cult Survivor)]

If you didn't comply to the rules, you were very shunned from the rest of the group until you made amends for what you did.

[Aaron Mason (Narrator)]

After a few days of this shunning, Arvin returned to her room, this time to pray for her that if she diligently prepared herself, she could be filled with the Spirit and complete her Sister Council training. And once she did that, she could qualify for eternal blessings by his side in heaven. And then he left the room while Carla and several women entered. It was time to teach Aaron the error of her ways and have her join them in the next level of spirituality. And like it had been rehearsed, they broke out a felt board and stuck word strips and pornographic pictures to it. They had a binder full of pictures and teachings all about Arven's ideas of the Sister Council. One man pleasuring many women and the women pleasuring one another. Aaron felt sick. She was beginning to see the full picture. This wasn't just a group with strange religious beliefs. She could suffer that with a smile for its benefits. No, this was a sex cult. They were there, all of them, to service Arvin's sexual desires. Aaron pushed back. She began to challenge the women, but it was no use. They each, Carla in particular, would respond by regurgitating some of Arven's quasi religious babble until Erin was just drowning in it. But she put up a pretty good fight. It got tense until finally Carla looked directly into Aaron's eyes and told her firmly that these things were not to be questioned. They had been given to Arvin directly from God. And then suddenly her whole demeanor changed. On cue, tears welled up in Carla's eyes as she declared it was time for Aaron to be taught the spiritual expression of Sister Love. She sat back in her chair and glared at Aaron as if she were waiting for her to jump up to her feet and shout Hallelujah. But as quickly as she became overjoyed, Carla shifted back to threatening. She warned Aaron never to tell anyone about Sister Councils, plural marriages, or the special permission the women had received to have relationships with each other. The Sister Program must never be revealed to those in the world, Carla said. It seemed like Aaron, whether she liked it or not, was in. It was no longer just about keeping a roof over her and her children's heads. Now there was a real threat that if she crossed Carla, someone could get hurt. What if the punishments escalated to more than just shunning? What if Carla felt wronged and as a consequence decided to take Aaron's daughter and prostitute her out? Was that a possibility? Erin wasn't about to find out. She was going to fall in line. And until the day she calls her Aunt Judy, nearly a year and a half later, she'll fall deeper into the Zion Society, becoming more and more isolated from the outside world and participating in the nightmare that was day to day life in the cult. A nightmare that neither Jeff Peterson, Aunt Judy, Detective Mike King, or anyone outside of the group fully comprehends at this point. In fact, we've barely scratched the surface ourselves. Erin is stuck, imprisoned with her young daughter and her infant son. And there are others, powerless to escape. Two of Jeff's kids, both survivors. You've heard from Amber and Andrea dozens of children held captive in a world of abuse, helpless. Who is going to save them? Back in Aaron's room, she sat stunned by what Carla and the women had just told her, and by the revelation that this wasn't just a quirky group of religious divorcees. This was something much more sinister. Carla then closed the three ring binder full of pornographic images and cheerfully announced, that's enough for tonight. Now let's play a game we call Rape in the Dark. If you or someone you know is experiencing sexual violence, contact the Rape, Abuse and Incest national [e-mail] that's R A I N N.org or call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE. Both services are free, confidential and available 247 gardens of inside the Zion Society Cult was written, narrated and audio produced by Me, Aaron Mason. Original music by Alison Leighton Brown. The voice actors featured in this episode are Laura Scott, Ariel Dennis, Colleen o', Brien, Aaron Granillo, and Mike Severs. No generative AI was used in the writing or production of of this podcast. Gardens of Evil is based on the book An Investigative Memoir of the Zion Society Cult by Michael R. King, available at profilingevil.com on Amazon or IngramSpark. Mike donates all of his proceeds from the book and this podcast to fund child advocacy efforts and criminal justice scholarships. Check out Mike's podcast Profiling Evil, where he explores unsolved criminal cases from around the world and dives deep into the minds of predators. Find profiling evil on YouTube or wherever you get podcasts. Executive producers John Goforth and Jeremy Sinan. Gardens of Evil is a production of the Gamut Podcast Network.