Rocky

Note that the CNN story is from six years ago this month. And yes, Warren Jeffs is a VERY bad character.

Warren Jeffs, the leader of the polygamist sect Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, was convicted in 2011 for the sexual assault of underage girls. Who Is Warren Jeffs?

Payday is Tuesday night.

Abstract This exploratory study aims to examine the perceptions that 101 self-identified Spanish former members of diverse abusive groups have of their past group and their reasons for leaving it, as well as the psychological distress they experienced following their exit. In addition, we compare the participants’ responses according to their methods of exiting the group and according to whether or not they received any assistance from cult-awareness organizations. Most of our participants walked away from the group following a period of personal reflection, without any external intervention, and they considered their own disillusionment as the main factor that led to their disaffiliation. Our results showed no differences between those participants who received support from cult-awareness associations and those who did not; nor did they show any differences, in terms of their motives for leaving, their perceptions of psychological abuse in their former groups, or their reported level of psychological distress, between those participants who walked away from the group and those who left after an outside intervention. Key words: Cults; New religious movements; Cult disaffiliation; Method of exit The study of cults, new religious movements, or psychologically manipulative groups, as they have come to be labeled, has acquired increasing relevance as society grows more and more concerned with the behavior of some of these groups. Various dramatic events, such as the “group immolations” associated with cults, even though they are not exactly representative of the social problem in question, have given rise to media coverage that is more or less proportional to the magnitude of the event. The bewilderment caused by these occasional deeds promotes the search for explanations as to how certain persons can go so far as to lose their lives or to threaten those of others for supposed “moral imperatives” dictated by a leader or group. (more) [...] Leaving a cult is a matter that has received little attention and is probably the least understood question related to the phenomenon (Wright, 1987). Empirical studies are few, which tends to limit most works to a reiteration of the few findings actually made between 1980 and 1990. At the same time, the literature is dominated by theoretical contributions of sociologists of religion, while very few studies have been carried out from a psychological perspective.

Has it ever occurred to you to do the searching and bring what you find to what you try to say so that you can be more clear?

Do you want to grow in your relationship with God? Do you want to see His power at work greater in your life? Do you want to expand your capacity to love God and others? I'm so EXCITED about finding the answers to these questions. Oh, wait, they didn't promise the answers, they just identified their target marks for the latest con. Do you think anyone might conjure up any data to support claims twi will actually provide credible answers to those questions?

Well, I don't know how credible (or not) Skyrider's OP for this thread may be, but I do see a pattern here that is most likely related. Old wine in new wineskins? Or is it new wine in old wineskins? Does it matter? We (at GSC) apparently aren't the only ones being monitored. The link above promotes the Young Adult Rock which they have scheduled for three days next August! Must be foundational class grads (or guests thereof), between the ages of 18 and 35 (inclusive), and pay a registration fee of $100 (plus, apparently processing fees). Oh boy! I can't wait... (oh, probably most of us here at gsc are outside of the required age range)

Well... how about that!

Are you sure about that? My understanding is he delivered very young, pretty packages, not limited to the winter solstice festival.

I was neither impressed nor trying to impress anyone about him. Just posting what I easily found.

Slavit sells books on Amazon. And teaches, apparently Humanities. As well as running a home fellowship. And may have taught at a Rock of Ages clone in Montana over the 4th of July weekend. Btw, some others from the R and R group are also listed as teachers at the Montana Rock of Ages clone festival.

I certainly don't think any of them are, but hey, I've been away from them for more than 30 years, so what do I know? OTOH, I think what our friend Bolshevik posted about "hoovering" has plenty of merit. IF any of them, especially those who escaped with the R and R gang have any regrets about leaving, they could be SUCKED right back into the cult. If some of them have not established much of an alternative social network, or found a way to make a living, they could be vulnerable.

According to Dr. Peter A Olsson, a psychiatrist and the author of Malignant Pied Pipers of Our Time, the origin (false) myth is typical of malignant narcissists who start cults. Olsson suggests these myths arise out of what he calls "dark epiphanies" in the lives of the cult leader.

Yeah, they can't plausibly deny it if they put it in writing.

A helpful resource directly on point. Thanks Bolshie

Why it's almost like knowing that the love of money is the root of all evil!

I'm confident you're correct. The seven primary subjects of the book were all high-profile and responsible for significant casualties (deaths). Nevertheless, it's obvious former followers of Wierwille will recognize him in the pages of this 174 page (not counting notes, bibliography and index) book.

I now have my own copy of this book in front of me on my desk. I checked the index, neither Wierwille nor TWI are cited in the book.

Robert Greene's book, The Art of Seduction, seems to be directly related to how and why we ALL get conned and so many (apparently increasing numbers in contemporary times) became/become vulnerable to cults. Critical thinking skills can be helpful, but I wonder how often (and how easily) seduction can overcome critical thinking. Greene has also written books on Human Nature and Laws of Power.

Looks like Frank Z didn't like us criticizing his interview. It's still available on YouTube. https://youtu.be/yN8r0r7JVns

That is, the text posted by Allan is glaringly (and dangerously) incorrect, yes.

And I'm confident you know that's obviously NOT the subject of this discussion.

Tzaia posted this obit in another forum.

Thanks for the link. We had already heard that he had passed.