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Christ Brotherhood, Inc. was a UFO religious group founded on December 16, 1956 in
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,
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by Wallace C. Halsey. Halsey claimed that during his sleep, he channeled messages from extraterrestrials who warned of the impending destruction of the world and the gathering of a remnant of humanity to be saved. Halsey described Christ Brotherhood, Inc. as a non-profit religious educational organization founded with the goal of "bringing greater understanding to all mankind." According to Halsey, the organization comprised members of 52 different religious denominations.


Construction of Rocky Mountain complex

Halsey led at least some members of the group to Cache Valley, Utah, where they began construction of a compound intended to include underground bomb shelters in the mountains east of Smithfield City in the summer of 1961. The location in Smithfield's Main Canyon was selected due to the identification of the
Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
as a place of safety by
Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...
, the founding prophet of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...
and other
Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...
churches. The shelter complex was intended to house approximately 1000 persons and was intended, according to Halsey, "for the safety of anyone who can get there in case of enemy attack," with no charge for admission or special permission required for entry. Halsey also stated the Brotherhood bought heavy equipment and cleared roads to the site, which rested on 45-acres purchased from S. Ivan Nilson. It was estimated an excavation of 30,000 square feet would be required to build the intended complex, which Halsey intended to furnish with bomb-proof facilities for food storage, medical supplies, sanitation systems, and radio transmission equipment. Ray Barnes, who was appointed to supervise the excavation, noted the plans called for three or four concussion pockets to help attenuate shock force from a
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, as well as a robust filtration system to reduce exposure to radioactive fallout. Plans for the complex also called for a 100,000 gallon cistern for water storage, which the Brotherhood hoped would be supplemented by a
spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...
they hoped to discover during the excavation process. Halsey planned to construct 100 small cabins at the site to provide housing outside the fallout shelter. Also in 1961, two unnamed members of the Brotherhood selected a site for similar shelter complex at Aspen, Colorado, which would be linked to the Utah site by radio equipment. The Utah shelter was not completed, but the Brotherhood did construct several homes and a small church on the property.


Leader's disappearance and group's disintegration

The brotherhood apparently lost cohesion following Halsey's disappearance as a passenger on a small aircraft flight from Utah to Nevada in March 1963. Despite an extensive air search and attempts by Halsey's UFO religion associates to solve the mystery using extraterrestrial assistance, the plane remained unfound for 13 years, until a lost deer hunter stumbled across the wreckage (including the bodies of Halsey and pilot Harry Cleveland Ross, Jr., a former mayor of
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and a business associate of Halsey) on a rugged mountainside near
St. George, Utah St. George is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Utah, United States. Located in southwestern Utah on the Arizona border, it is the principal city of the St. George Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The city lies in the northe ...
.{{Cite news , last=O'Reilly , first=Richard , date=November 3, 1976 , title=Remains of Ex-Seal Beach Mayor Found at Crash Site , page=164 , work=The Los Angeles Times , url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/8879479/wallace-carey-halsey-found/ , access-date= July 22, 2022 Some of Halsey's teachings to the Brotherhood were documented in ''Cosmic End-Time Secrets'', a volume published posthumously in 1965 that included the messages purportedly channeled from extraterrestrial life forms to Halsey.


References

UFO religions UFO-related phenomena Religious organizations based in the United States Religious organizations established in 1956