Paul Lafontaine - Mistakes were made
“These are quotes that you don't hear sometimes because they don't want to admit that God had to correct the prophet or he made many mistakes.”
— Paul LaFontaine, "Christ's Compassion Revealed To Jonah" — Literal Life Church, August 11, 2021 [1:03:29] [Watch ▶]
Context
LaFontaine directly says other ministers "don't want to admit" that Branham made "many mistakes" — acknowledging active suppression of this fact within the movement.
“He's flesh like we are, he's a human being like we are. Oh, if I preach that in some message ranks here this morning I'd be blackballed, probably my life threatened. But I don't deify a man that was born in sin, shaped in iniquity.”
— Paul LaFontaine, "Going After the Lost" — Literal Life Church, January 6, 2019 [41:35] [Watch ▶]
Context
LaFontaine admits he would be "blackballed, probably my life threatened" in other Message churches for saying Branham was just a man — inadvertently confirming the authoritarian culture.
“The other side of it will be that everybody needs to conform to a code without the Holy Ghost. Well we're all afraid of that because why is that — that's a cult, that's cultish. So that's the other extreme and brother Branham says the devil is always trying to take us to extremes. We don't want extremes, we want balance. A lot of us are scared to the extreme of becoming cultists where everybody conforms to one cold code. It's a communistic thing isn't it, that's why we hate it so much.”
— Paul LaFontaine, "Blessed Families, Part 9" — Literal Life Church, April 8, 2015 [24:14] [Watch ▶]
Context
A sitting Message pastor calling forced conformity within the movement "cultish" — essentially describing what many Message churches practice.
“More often now than ever, it's right close to us, that we are looked down on as being too extreme, that we're looked down as being cultish. I knew the world made fun of certain things that we believed years ago, but now to be made fun of or looked at funny by our own in the message ranks — I didn't think that would happen. I knew the world made fun of leading our girls to be keepers at home like the Bible says, and to love their husbands and to obey their husbands. But to be looked down on by someone of their own rank, sometimes in the message...”
— Paul LaFontaine, "Blessed Families, Part 11" — Literal Life Church, April 22, 2015 [44:04] [Watch ▶]
Context
LaFontaine admits the "cultish" label is now coming from within the Message itself — not just outside critics.
Analysis
When sitting Message pastors use the words "cult" and "cultish" to describe behavior within their own movement, the external criticism gains internal validation. Gerald Hughes even quotes Branham's own definition — "a church that keeps you from fellowship with other brethren" — which ironically describes many Message churches that:
- Forbid members from attending other Message congregations
- Shun those who leave or question
- Require conformity to specific dress codes and behavioral standards
- Threaten spiritual consequences for questioning the pastor
LaFontaine's admission that the "cultish" accusation is now coming from within Message ranks — not just outside critics — is particularly significant.
Why This Matters
When the movement's own pastors use the word "cult" to describe their churches — and can only defend themselves by saying "we're not ALL like that" — the external characterization has been validated from within.
Footnotes