Part I  http://open.salon.com/blog/lifehalflived/2009/04/18/seven_years_from_her_virginity

Part II http://open.salon.com/blog/lifehalflived/2009/04/25/my_first_day_with_the_cult_and_how_i_got_there 

(OK, get your eyes off the girls butt and read my post.)

When you hear the word cult what do you think about? Spiked kool-aid? Ten women in long dresses married to one man? A complex stocked with firearms?
Probably.
I used the word cult in the last post and got a lot of attention because there's nothing like a good four letter word to get views. However, I’m not going to use the term again for a while because I don’t want you to see those images but, rather, how what seems like a good thing can slowly develop into these abusive relationships by indoctrination and control.

So, Let The Indoctrination Begin

When I awakened the first morning it was to see everyone sitting or walking around reading their Bibles or staring at 3x5 cards on which they had written verses to be memorized. Everyone was still just as nice as they had been the night before. After a late morning breakfast they started to prepare for witnessing.
Mark 16:15  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

Laura and I were asked if we would like to go with them and eagerly accepted. It was explained that the disciples went out two by two so we were each paired up with one of the sisters. We spent the day tagging along as they talked to people at a big park. Many of these people looking bewildered as they bowed their heads and repeated the words fed to them.

Mark 6:7 And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;

‘The purpose of witnessing is like in the church when the preacher does the altar call. You talk to a person and ask them if they are going to heaven because if they aren’t sure then you can help them be sure by just saying the sinner’s prayer. “Jesus come into my heart and save me from my sins.”
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
John 3;16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

When we got back home everyone gathered around and proudly gave testimonies of all the souls saved that day.
Daniel 12:3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

Sometime that day it was explained to us the plan for God’s True Church.
Matt 4:19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Luke 14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
Acts 2:44-45 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
Acts 4:32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

I eagerly accepted these concepts and asked if I could join the team. Faith informed me that they were going to be leaving for Montreal, Canada within the next week or so and it would be better if we met them there. I knew that if I went back home that would be it and I would never find a way to get to Canada. I had spent everything I had on this trip to Miami.
I explained and asked them to let me stay and go with the team. Laura left to go back to Tennesse and I became one of the sisters.

A day or so later one of the sisters found me teary-eyed as I was a bit homesick. She explained to me how God felt about this kind of behavior and please take note because this one is important.
Matt 10:34-37 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Luke 9:62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
2Peter2:20-22 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

I was seeing the scripture in a way never presented to me before. How could I doubt what I was being told as everything was backed up with a verse from God’s Word, the Holy Bible. I was given verses to memorize, two each day, chosen because they supported the doctrines of the group.

For the trip to Canada I was sent on a road team lead by Artie, Claudia, an old missionary women who we called Aunt Mary and her husband whose name I don't remember. One of the girls, Linda, as well as Artie and Claudia had been with the team since they formed in Huntington Beach, California and Aunt Mary was an old friend of David Berg.

We traveled in a car and Aunt Mary’s truck camper stopping for a few days in Tampa and a week or so in the beautiful mountains of New York. A preacher and his wife had a church in the lower level of a large house and they lived upstairs. It was here that I learned one of the ways to know God’s will.

Aunt Mary had told me that if you have a question for God you can pray and ask your question then open your Bible and, if you believe that He will speak to you, take whatever verse you open to as your answer. After one of the preacher’s meetings I sat with Aunt Mary as she talked to an elderly woman who seemed to be in great distress. I asked God to give me a message for the woman and opened my Bible. Whatever the verse was seemed to apply so I told them that God had given me a verse for her. They both seemed to be very impressed and praised God. Coud I really hear from God? Well, they said if you believe and I wanted to believe.

Hearing from God is an interesting subject which I think deserves an article of its own. (My mind goes to an episode of WKRP when Johnny Fever thinks he is hearing from God and that God is telling him to become a golf pro. I loved that show.)

Later, Aunt Mary told me about the Holy Spirit and prayed with me to receive the Baptism of the Spirit complete with speaking in tongues.
Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

I enjoyed helping Claudia take care of her baby. She had won my heart when she gave me one of her two long dresses. She gave me the prettiest one.
Linda was a big help to me and I enjoyed her company very much. She played guitar and sang and was always cheerful. Our paths would cross many times in the next few years.
We eventually arrived at our destination, a beautiful camp in the Laurentian  Mountains outside of Montreal. It was the middle of the night when we got there and one of the girls was still up making banana bread. At this point there were 30 or 40 of us and it takes a lot of food to feed that many people. She, too, was one of the most cordial, kind people I had ever met. We ate and then made our way up the road from the main house to the girls and boys dorms.

This article has gotten too long and, if you’re still reading, you’re probably wondering when I’ll get to the point. The point is this. You can make almost anything sound as if God Almighty willed it from the foundations of the earth if you piece together enough Bible verses.