This is the fifth part of a story of my early life spent in a religious cult.

I realize now how abusive and manipulative the leader was from the beginning but that summer in Canada I thought I had literally gone to a heavenly place. 

Being a small town girl I was fascinated by the other members of the group from all over the country and from every economic and cultural background. In those days we seemed to all be in love with the Lord and into loving one another unconditionally.

We were going to change the world. We were a Revolution for Jesus.

This was the summer when I saw the aurora borealis for the first time. I sang on stage with some excellent musicians and singers. I was becoming an expert on the Bible. It was the most interesting time of my life so far.

David Berg's mother had given a prophecy warning of a great confusion which was to come. Quoted here in part: "And be not deceived by the Great Society, for it will come to travail and then bring forth the Great Confusion! Be prepared! Even now, the skies are red, red with warning, and black, black with clouds gathering for the Great Confusion which is almost upon you!"

Like his mother, he felt that he was God's prophet for the end-time and we were soon convinced. After all, this made him special and us special and everyone wants to be special, right?

We had to spread this warning by passing out tracts with this message followed by scriptures added by David Berg regarding the end-time. We would also march in red sackcloth carrying wooden staffs. Sometimes wooden yokes were added, for effect, symbolizing bondage. Both the bondage which would come upon a godless nation and our own bondage to the work of God.

Toward the end of summer most of the people who had gathered in Canada had again hit the road and headed south, marching in red sackcloth in several large cities and witnessing at Woodstock. I was part of a small team left in Montreal. 

Things got really strange there. The leader started getting lots of prophecies and hearing from the lord. One day he had us all show up downstairs wearing sackcloth with nothing underneath. The robes were basically just draped over our bodies with a hole for the head and the sides were open. When I showed up as ordered he was amazed. Here was the little church girl naked as the day she was born draped in scratchy red-dyed burlap. I had learned enough to know that you did what the leaders told you because they were closer to God and were watching for your soul.

We did what we called vigils where we would dress in red sackcloth this time with clothes underneath and march single file down the streets carrying staffs and signs with end-time messages written on them. 

One day the guy who was leading the vigil was told by Miguel who was in charge not to go down a certain street. He had been told by the police that if they saw us there again we would go to jail.

I guess he hadn't learned the lesson of listening to your leaders as well as I because, where did we go? Why, straight down that street, of course. I was stunned as the police showed up and held us while the transport came to haul us off to jail. 

The women's facility was actually a very nice place for a jail. There was a big communal room with TV's, radios, games and a small kitchen for snacks. It wasn't until we were placed in our seperate cells for the night that I started to cry. I couldn't let the other girl who was with me see me crying because this was a time to celebrate. We were being persecuted and jailed for Jesus. She and I were in cells next to each other and recited scriptures until we fell asleep.

The following day the man who owned the camp at Laurentide got us out of jail.

On the day of the first snowfall the summer of '69 we left Canada to join the others on the road.

This is a picture of all of us at Camp Laurentide outside the dining hall. I am on the back row, fourth from the right. David Berg is the guy in the front row wearing sunglasses.

Below is a video showing pictures from the early days of the group in Huntington Beach before I joined, us marching in vigils and at the ranch in Texas which I'll get to eventually. The song is "Cry of Revolution" which was written by a couple of guys in the group.