John W. Bryant

John W. Bryant (born 1946) is an American Mormon fundamentalist. He was the founder and first leader of a sect that is today known as the Church of the New Covenant in Christ now headquartered near Salem, Oregon.

Conversion to Mormonism In 1964, Bryant was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). As a member of the LDS Church, he served as a missionary in Japan. In 1975, he founded a church as the Church of Christ Patriarchal, which later was renamed the Evangelical Church of Christ. According to sources, sect members had sexual relations during the group's temple ceremonies. In 1981, the group lost the Fair Haven Ranch when they were unable to keep up on mortgage payments. Bryant's own experience of being "born again" after his move to Salem prompted him to change the name of his church from the "Evangelical Church of Christ" to the "Church of the New Covenant in Christ". Bryant abandoned teaching plural marriage, vowed to take no more wives, and reoriented his family life away from its previous patriarchal structure. However, Bryant remained married to his wives in an attempt to prevent the break-up of his family.