Many memories came back to me today as I watched the Montel Williams show in which he featured former child members of the cult The Family. I know this program shocked many people because halfway during the program a teacher got up and made his class leave because he felt the program was inappropriate. I think this teacher did his classroom a disservice. It’s important to learn about child pedophiles and how cults have these children captured, and use them in what ever sick way they want to. Montel was apologetic to the three women who were willing to expose their past publicly. He was crying as he apologized. People don’t realize what courage it took for these women to come forward and say the terrible things that happened to them as a child. The world needs to understand the sick minds of someone who would abuse a child.
I was seduced into this group by the method they called Flirty Fishing. I fell deeply in love with my seducer and we married. What followed were several years of mental and physical abuse as he tried to manipulate my mind and make me a robot willing to do anything that was prophesied by Moses David the leader of The Family. We did not have children which makes me more fortunate than others. As I read the publications every month put out by The Family I became more shocked and disturbed with the graphic descriptions of adults having sex with children. The final explosion in my marriage occurred over an article published by The Family describing the heir apparent having sex at three years of age with his two year old sister (one of the women who were on the show today). Between that and my husband’s constant infidelity I reached the end.
Even though I left The Family I felt isolated from the world even though I was in it. For ten years I did what I had to do to survive, but had no personal friends. I didn’t know how to relate to people after my time with The Family. I did not tell people that I had been in a religious cult because they would not understand what that really meant, being brainwashed without realizing it.
Three years ago I started writing my book “Heavenly Seduction,” about my experience with The Family. For the year that it took to write I went through mental hell remembering everything that I had buried for so many years. Many people would think that it resolved issues for me by writing my book, but it really didn’t, a part of me was permanently changed by my time with the cult. Writing my book made me observe my life more closely and see the pattern that led me to succumb to distorted teachings. I definitely understand myself more now and could never be misled again. Why I wrote my book was to let the world know about The Family, and what cults do to individuals.
I hope that today’s Montel Williams show opened up many people’s eyes to the lies promoted by The Family. Those of us who have survived know that these women today spoke the truth.
