Ex LC Kid, Now a Practicing Jew (Testimony)

[Yehoshua97]

Hello everyone. I was raised in the LC, and am now a practicing Jew, and an ethnic Jew. I found Hashem through the Torah in my current life, but when I was a young adult the LC pushed me away from faith, for years. I was forced to attend the Summer School of Truth in NC, where I witnessed and experienced some major discomforts brought on by "elders". I'll list them:

1. A young boy had a violent seizure during a verse recital meeting. No one moved to help him, and no one called an ambulance, and most of all, he was at the front of the auditorium, in the midst of reciting. They just prayed, claiming satan was trying to sabotage the weekend.

2. I was forced to "prophecy" due to being severely physically disabled, which apparently meant that God had surely spoken to me. I was 12, and there were hundreds in the room. I had "elders" pressuring me under their breath to speak. Mixed with a large part of the weekend pertaining to absolute claims for the end times (one of our elders once said the world would end in 2017-2020), this was a horrific experience.

I have more to tell, but this is fine for now. I pray this might resolve some of the questions people have in regards to heavy criticism.

[Nell]

Hello everyone. I was raised in the LC, and am now a practicing Jew, and an ethnic Jew. I found Hashem through the Torah in my current life, but when I was a young adult the LC pushed me away from faith, for years. I was forced to attend the Summer School of Truth in NC, where I witnessed and experienced some major discomforts brought on by "elders". I'll list them:

1. A young boy had a violent seizure during a verse recital meeting. No one moved to help him, and no one called an ambulance, and most of all, he was at the front of the auditorium, in the midst of reciting. They just prayed, claiming satan was trying to sabotage the weekend.

2. I was forced to "prophecy" due to being severely physically disabled, which apparently meant that God had surely spoken to me. I was 12, and there were hundreds in the room. I had "elders" pressuring me under their breath to speak. Mixed with a large part of the weekend pertaining to absolute claims for the end times (one of our elders once said the world would end in 2017-2020), this was a horrific experience.

I have more to tell, but this is fine for now. I pray this might resolve some of the questions people have in regards to heavy criticism.

Yehoshua97,

This is stunning and criminal behavior. This is the behavior of men without souls. I pray that you one day heal from being used for show by these wolves in sheep’s clothing. How great is this darkness…the epitome of spiritual abuse.

Thank you for sharing this with us. I’m praying for you.

Nell

[Yehoshua97]

Yehoshua97,

This is stunning and criminal behavior. This is the behavior of men without souls. I pray that you one day heal from being used for show by these wolves in sheep’s clothing. How great is this darkness…the epitome of spiritual abuse.

Thank you for sharing this with us. I’m praying for you.

Nell
Nell,

Such compassion, thank you! I am healed from that experience. It was over a decade ago, and God had His own way of bringing me back, through pride in my roots. For the first time, Abraham's God felt like my own.

But I have a feeling in my heart that I should share, and warn others about a potentially quite dark underbelly of this movement. Specifically, I'm frightened and concerned for the thousands of children who yearly are forced to attend the Summer School of Truth. I have personally witnessed "Saints" tearing up a book of Mormon, force kids to harass college students to convert, deny a mother's request for protection against a violent husband (stating bluntly that it was an overreaction and to let "emotions settle", though this abuse had lasted for decades prior).

I hope this may help any who suffer as a result of this movement.

[Trapped]

Nell,

Such compassion, thank you! I am healed from that experience. It was over a decade ago, and God had His own way of bringing me back, through pride in my roots. For the first time, Abraham's God felt like my own.

But I have a feeling in my heart that I should share, and warn others about a potentially quite dark underbelly of this movement. Specifically, I'm frightened and concerned for the thousands of children who yearly are forced to attend the Summer School of Truth. I have personally witnessed "Saints" tearing up a book of Mormon, force kids to harass college students to convert, deny a mother's request for protection against a violent husband (stating bluntly that it was an overreaction and to let "emotions settle", though this abuse had lasted for decades prior).

I hope this may help any who suffer as a result of this movement.

Yehoshua97,

Welcome, and thank you for sharing your experiences of the appalling behavior that goes on in the local church. The damage done to human lives by the leadership of the local church against victims of abuse because none of them will take the time to understand abuse is one of the things that weighs most heavily on me. Sadly, the truth may be that some of them DO comprehend abuse, but protecting the lie of the ministry is still more important to them than protecting the sheep. I think there are probably many wives who have collapsed inside by the leadership's shaming of them to remain in an abusive marriage situation.

I'm thankful to hear you are healed, and am thankful that you feel to share and warn others.

Trapped