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"And a Man's Foes Shall Be They of His Own Household" - Jesus
It is a great joy to witness to the truth of the Teachings that instructed me in silence while I went through one of the worst tragedies in my life - an attempted deprogramming.
In 1978, at the age of twenty-two, my life was just beginning both professionally and spiritually. I was a senior at the University of California at Santa Barbara. One evening in April, I attended a lecture on campus about the effects of drugs, alcohol, nicotine and sugar, sponsored by the Summit Lighthouse Santa Barbara Teaching Center. I had learned of the lecture by reading a small two-line advertisement in the school newspaper at lunch that same day. Since I was practicing hatha yoga at the time, I was interested in finding out more about the physical side effects of these substances, which surrounded me at school.
As I walked into the 250-seat theater-style auditorium right on time at 7 p.m., I was startled to see that there was only one other person that had come to hear the lecture. I sat down hesitantly and waited to see if the lecture was going to be canceled due to lack of interest. Much to my astonishment, the speaker began his presentation and spoke as though the room were filled with people.
He was clean-cut, casually dressed and had a sincere and humble tone of voice. I was impressed by his well-documented facts, and I could identify with the personal experiences he shared about drugs, diet and healthy living. I felt obliged to stay through to the end because he really had his heart in his subject - and because, after an hour, I was the only one left in the audience.
Unlike other seminars I had attended, where I felt like someone was trying to sell me something, I knew this speaker was there because he had a genuine concern for people. His desire was to share information and offer another perspective. Besides presenting facts on the physical consequences of eating too much sugar, smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol, he opened my eyes to the potential impact these substances could have on my soul.
The interesting part about the whole evening was what happened to me when I returned to my dorm room. As I prepared to go to bed, I was overcome with a feeling akin to a religious conversion experience. I was profoundly moved by something deep within my soul and I sat on my bed and cried. However, I could not understand it because I did not consider myself to be a religious person.
The weeks following this experience, I rarely thought about that beautiful night until the morning of Easter Sunday. One of my daily rituals was to get up before dawn and run three to five miles on the beach since I lived so close and it was always peaceful. After running for a half-hour on a very clear blue-sky morning, totally oblivious to the fact that it was Easter morning, I started to get my second wind and was really feeling great as I rounded a cove heading East. The moment I turned the corner, I was headed directly into the brilliant sun just coming up over the mountains behind Santa Barbara.
Within moments I began experiencing a sudden weakening of my legs and had to slow down to a walk. I found myself caught in a rapture of an intense electric feeling in my soul and body. I ended up walking and watching the sun with tears of bliss streaming down my cheeks. My attention was firmly placed on everything that the sun represented as God. I was seriously beginning to wonder if God was trying to speak to me, given the two soul-moving events in one month.
Since I was into the yoga scene and was enamored with Eastern values and philosophy, I began reading every book I could find on the saints of India. Later that summer, I was sitting in a laundromat waiting for my clothes to dry when I glanced at a poster announcing a two-day weekend retreat on "Higher Consciousness" sponsored by the Summit Lighthouse Santa Barbara Teaching Center. If it had not been for the fact that I was completely engrossed in reading Autobiography of a Yogi at the time and wanting to know more, I might not have decided to attend. It was that September retreat in Santa Barbara that effectively introduced me to the Teachings of the Ascended Masters.
Afterward, I began reading Summit Lighthouse books - one right after another. As a neophyte to the Teachings with only the printed word to enlighten me, I was excited to find that these books struck a deep and profound chord in my soul. I began to give the rosary in My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord! every morning, and during the fall of 1978 I completed reading The Chela and the Path, Climb the Highest Mountain, The Human Aura and The Great White Brotherhood.
In October, I attended The Touch of Shiva conference at Camelot, the 240-acre headquarters of Church Universal and Triumphant, located in the Santa Monica Mountains near Malibu. Needless to say, I was awestruck as I experienced the meaning of "living sacred fire" through Mother's delivery on the teachings of Lord Shiva. I remember the simple truth that was given: "The becoming of Shiva is the very essence of life itself."
Having recognized so much hope and vision for humanity contained in the Teachings of the Ascended Masters, I developed a fiery zeal to tell everyone I knew about the greatest discovery anyone would ever want to make in a lifetime. I was not standing on the corner proselytizing, but I did introduce all of my yoga friends to the Chief Indian Guru of the Himalayas, El Morya.
As Christmas 1978 approached, I was preparing to graduate from the University of California with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical and environmental engineering. Four years earlier, I had graduated from high school as class valedictorian. Now, after four years of intense study, I had a thirst to understand more spiritual matters, so I made plans to attend Summit University - a twelve-week retreat to be held at Camelot - in January 1979. I thought it would be the perfect transition into my professional career.
The Jonestown People's Temple tragedy, which was to occur on November 18, 1978, would soon be influencing the minds of many - especially parents who had children involved in anything other than the mainline Christian orthodoxy. It was just prior to this event that Stanley Petrowski, a former member of Church Universal and Triumphant who had been dismissed from the Church in 1973, visited my parents.
I believe he was assisted by an anti-cult group called the Spiritual Counterfeits Project and/or the Cult Awareness Network (formerly known as the Citizens Freedom Foundation). I later discovered that the people in these groups helped spur my parents to plot a kidnapping and to subject me to a psychological terror I would never have dreamed possible in the land of the free.
The visit by Petrowski and his associates was tape-recorded and later played to me when I was home for Thanksgiving. On the tape, Petrowski alleged that Mark and Mother participated in demonic rages and false prophecy. He continued with a litany of the Christian fundamentalists' philosophy about "cults" and by the end of the meeting had everyone crying and praying for me - which was also recorded.
Since I take a scientific approach to life, I wanted to see for myself the truth or error of these allegations before I drew any conclusions on the matter. After all, my only association with the Church headquarters had been at a week-end conference in October, attended by thousands of other people. I had read some of the teachings in my apartment at college and attended the campus lecture back in April but, other than that, my only contact with the Church had been through the Santa Barbara Teaching Center. I had not even met Mother at the time. So I figured the best thing to do was to go to Summit University, where I could personally meet Mother and ask her about all these allegations and experience firsthand the day-to-day community life.
I am sure it was my decision not to postpone my going to Summit University right after graduation in January that led my gullible parents to pay three deprogrammers and two or three bodyguards to participate in my kidnapping eight days before Christmas. In fact, the deception that led me to get into a van to go out to dinner with my father and sister was done in the name of Christmas.
The phone rang Sunday morning, December 17. To my surprise, it was my father, inviting me to dinner. He said, "I'm in town with your sister and her boyfriend. We wanted to deliver some Christmas presents to you since you're not coming home for Christmas."
It seemed odd, but I thought such an innocuous event as going out to dinner certainly would be appropriate since they had traveled to see me and bring me gifts. I simply could not have fathomed what was going to take place as I got into my sister's boyfriend's van to go to dinner.
After we had driven three hundred yards from my driveway, my sister's boyfriend slammed on the brakes in the middle of the street and two men I had never met before jumped into the back of the van, where I was sitting with my father and sister. My sister then moved to the front seat and the two men blocked my exit. Startled, I demanded: "What is going on?"
One of the men looked like he had come right out of the Marines. He was stocky and well-built - not someone I would want to fool around with. His accomplice was only slightly less intimidating. He seemed gruff and immovable.
They said, "We're going to take you to see some people that just want to talk." I said, "I am not interested and I am going to return to my apartment." But I could see that that would be impossible - the van was speeding ahead and there was no way out.
One of the bodyguards shouted at me, "Sit down and shut up!" I blurted back, "Every one of you in this van will be responsible for taking me against my free will!"
They proceeded to drive for three hours straight to a Holiday Inn in San Bernardino, playing rock music the whole way. I asked them to turn it off but they refused. They knew that the Church taught that rock music was detrimental to the psyche, and I believe their intent was to disorient me during the drive.
I sat in silence for the entire trip - scared, confused and outraged that my own parents had betrayed our sacred trust as a family. I had been kidnapped at the age of twenty-two, after having lived on my own for four years. I was not even a Church member and had not attended Summit University.
When we arrived at the motel, one of the two bodyguards said, "You can cooperate and walk quietly into Room 235 or else we will carry you in." I said, "I'm a man of peace and I don't want you to touch me."
My parents had rented three motel rooms in a row. Room 235 was the middle room. A few moments after my arrival, three men professing to be spiritual counsellors were in the room with my father, armed with file folders and Bibles. The two bodyguards in the room positioned themselves between me and the only exit. One of them warned, "Don't give us any trouble." I demanded, "Why am I here and what do you want from me?"
Instead of answering, they gave me aliases and began questioning and challenging every aspect of my beliefs, my thoughts and my personal life. Here is just a sampling of their browbeating:
They asked: "Do you pray to Elizabeth Clare Prophet as God?"
I said: "No. Nothing I have seen or read leads me to believe that she professes to be God and that I must pray to her as such."
Another question: "Do you realize that your vegetarian diet and your meditation and chanting are destroying your reasoning ability and making you vulnerable to brainwashing?"
My answer: "I have been a vegetarian for at least a year and I have never felt better or more alert. My form of prayer is no more harmful than yours."
They also asked: "Do you realize your soul is in grave danger by not believing that Jesus Christ is the only Son of God?"
I responded: "Jesus knows my heart and I love him, but I will not deny the Christ in the saints who have become immortal."
I have no concrete proof that Stanley Petrowski was in the room, but one of the deprogrammers slipped and called the man who was leading the session "Stan." I participated somewhat cordially in the conversation, hoping that once we were done discussing all the issues thoroughly, we could conclude and I could return to my apartment.
I discovered that I could control the direction of the dialogue to some degree by asking provocative questions that kept them busy frantically thumbing through their Bibles for passages to quote to me. This also allowed me time to think of other questions to pose and to avoid being on the defensive.
I asked such questions as: Where in the Bible does it say we are not reincarnated? What did Jesus mean when he said that we would do greater things than he? Why in the first chapter of John does it talk about the power to become the Sons of God? In the Book of Revelation, who are the hundred and forty and four thousand? What will happen on the day of the rapture? Why can't we pray to God's angels? They quoted me verse after verse but none of their answers made much sense. I didn't buy any of it.
God and the angels truly helped me to see through this situation by instructing me in silence and showing me why various accusations and spiritual concepts had no basis in fact or common sense. My captors tried to destroy my newfound faith by telling me outrageous stories I had never heard before about Mark and Elizabeth Prophet bilking Church members' pocketbooks for their selfish interests, participating in Satanic rituals and breaking up families. They also read me a letter from a psychotic ex-member of the Church in a mental institution claiming he was brainwashed by Elizabeth Clare Prophet and still controlled by her. It became evident that the "deprogramming session" was actually a session in the character assassination of Mark and Elizabeth Prophet and that all they wanted to do was to destroy these two persons and their integrity in my eyes.
After about three hours, I realized that they had no intention of stopping. They kept repeating the same subjects and questions to me, alleging that I had been brainwashed and mentally incapacitated, that I had lost my free will, and that my soul was in grave danger because I believed the books written by Mark and Elizabeth Prophet.
It would have been silly to believe or even consider that they were being objective. I said to myself: "You are not going to come to any conclusions while you are held in this environment. You're going to wait to hear the other side of the story. You are in your right mind and there is no way that this woman (or anyone) you don't even know could be controlling you or brainwashing you over the `air waves.' There is no way that someone miles away could be controlling you in your apartment or in your daily life in Santa Barbara." I simply could not believe that they thought I was that stupid or gullible!
The deprogrammers cited Bible passage after Bible passage, quoting the "right" answers to everything, yet they were the living hypocrisy of their own chosen faith. They told me directly that because of my association with the Church, they were justified in breaking the law in order to "bring me back to God." They not only wanted me to believe everything they said but they wanted me to embrace their religion as the solution to my predicament of being in that room.
After agreeing that we were in the "last days" as described in the Bible, I asked them if they agreed that the Bible prophesied the appearance on earth of two witnesses in the last days. They said, "We agree." So I asked: "If Mark and Elizabeth Prophet are not the two witnesses, then who are?" They answered, "The two witnesses are growing up in the Middle East."
I thought to myself: "They are now either making up answers or they really believe what they are saying. If they are right, I don't see how mankind has even a remote chance of overcoming the accelerated decay of civilization without expedient divine intercession. In either case, I have a lot more questions than they have answers."
Having remained relatively calm throughout most of the evening, I began to get concerned when "Stan" told me, "We have enough information to go over to keep you here for as long as it takes." With three deprogrammers, a guard at the door and my father in the room, escape seemed very unlikely without a physical confrontation.
They relentlessly continued their attempts to break my faith, attacking the foundation of such basic principles as reincarnation, the law of karma and the hope of a New Age - all of which I had come to understand even before I discovered the Teachings of the Ascended Masters! Since they did not make progress on this ground, they began to subject me to their guilt-inducing accusations that I was destroying my family and causing them much grief because of my beliefs.
Enough was enough! I had endured over three hours of their emotionally draining barrage. A surge of righteous indignation sprang me to my feet and I delivered an oration of such intensity that they were momentarily stunned.
With a thundering voice, I severely rebuked them: "You hypocrites! How do you expect me to believe you when you do not even follow your own religion? Jesus never said that the ends justify the means, and you are all accomplices in my kidnapping. You are breaking the law and I am going to walk out that door! How dare you incite such fear and guile into the hearts of my parents with your half-baked, mealymouthed ideologies? And if you are the type of people who are going to be caught up in the rapture, then I would rather not be a part of it!"
I continued uninterrupted for at least five minutes, but I cannot quote all the things I said because I did call them a few nasty names! In the split second after I finished, I found myself instinctively dashing for the door. I opened it and ran about three feet before my father grabbed me from behind and pinned me on the second-floor railing outside of the room. He said, "You aren't going anywhere!" I started screaming as loud as I could: "Rape! Murder! Help me! Call the police! ..."
I broke my father's grip and bolted down the walkway in an Olympic-style sprint. By the time I had reached the end of the walkway and was headed toward the stairs, I could hear the deprogrammers saying, "We have to get out of here fast." I thought to myself, "Such cowards!"
I ran down to the front desk to call the police. I then called the director of the Santa Barbara Teaching Center and she said she would call headquarters and have someone leave immediately to pick me up. It was after midnight. I talked to the police by phone and told them that I was OK and that I wanted to sleep before I decided what to do about the kidnapping. Around 3:30 a.m. I finally arrived at Camelot, where I spent the rest of the night.
The following day, I had my first opportunity to personally meet Mother and discuss the whole situation with her. I was surprised and moved by her kindness and genuine concern and I realized that she certainly was not the person the deprogrammers portrayed her to be. In fact, it was Mother's loving counsel that persuaded me not to sue my parents because, after all, they were my parents.
I spent the next three months at Summit University and discovered for myself that the allegations about Mark and Mother were distortions and blatant lies generated by the media and apostate ex-members. Over the years, I have observed that there are many reasons why people leave the Church. I have watched some come to the Church expecting Mother to empower them before the Community. And when their need for ego reinforcement was not met, I have seen them turn and become enraged. They eventually left because they never got what they wanted from Mother or the Community. They basically could not understand that the role of a Guru is to tear down the ego, not build it, so that the soul can be liberated to become the Real Self.
I have known Mother now for over thirteen years and have had the blessing to personally interact with her and observe her in many roles and situations both public and private. Never have I witnessed an act or word that would substantiate any of the deprogrammers' allegations. I am proud to be associated with her and can only say that she is one of the truest friends one could ever have or desire.
After Summit University, I moved to Los Angeles and began my career at a large natural gas utility, putting my degree to good use as an energy conservation engineer. Over the past thirteen years, I have lived on my own and had jobs working for highly respected companies. I served for four years on the Church staff in Montana as a consulting engineer. During that time I married my lovely wife. We presently reside in the Pacific Northwest, where I am working in an engineering firm full time.
Unfortunately, ever since the attempted deprogramming, my life and religious beliefs have been paraded through the media by my parents, Charles and Marilyn Malek. I have continually had to challenge their unmitigated public accusations regarding Mother, the Church and my own state of well being. They have used newspapers across America and radio and TV talk shows as their forum.
On 60 Minutes my mother claimed she had lost me to a "cult," when in fact I was living in Minneapolis working full time in a large energy corporation. She was even quoted in Scotland's Glasgow Herald as saying, "Families break up because of freedom of religion that is permitted in the United States."
It is appalling to sift through the volume of material generated by my mother in her campaign to destroy the Church. Besides attempting to influence public opinion through a negatively biased media, she has worked closely with those who have brought civil suits against the Church and has bombarded congressmen and federal and state agencies with letters demanding legislation to curtail Church activities. In a letter to the mother of a Church staff member, she wrote: "To keep my sanity, I intend to keep on looking for a way to put pressure on Mrs. Prophet and C.U.T. and hope we find her Achilles' heel. I want to see this group totally closed if possible, regardless of what our son does."
Quite frankly, I have sometimes been burdened with shame and embarrassment in front of fellow Church members because of the efforts of my own mother, who has continually tried (and failed) to destroy everything that we hold dear and sacred to our hearts as a worldwide community of spiritual seekers who honor all the great religions and saints East and West.
This is particularly painful because I really do love my parents. I have tried many times to establish a relationship with them on the basis of family and love and mutual devotion, trying to leave religious matters entirely out of the picture. I have gone home several times to visit with my parents and have often talked with them on the phone in an effort to heal the rift between us. I invited them to visit me and we even had dinner together at The Ranch Kitchen. But they have erected barriers between us, setting up artificial terms for our relationship rather than just accepting me as their son and as an individual with a God-given freedom to pursue the religion of his choice.
My parents have stated on many occasions that if I did not leave and disaffiliate myself with the Church entirely, they would have no respect for me. They have denied my requests for the addresses and phone numbers of relatives and even refused to give me the small but significant silver coin collection I invested in as a young boy. They have told me: "Your involvement with the Church is a worse problem than if you were on drugs." From various actions they have taken over the years, it is clear that they have disinherited me.
It is easy to understand why there is no meaningful relationship between us. Although thirteen years have passed since the kidnapping, the violation of the sacred trust of the bond of family has never healed. This has been a great burden and source of grief to my soul. I would have preferred that things could have been different, but I have had to accept that the situation will probably never be fully resolved and that my parents will likely go to their graves harboring their unfounded animosity toward my Church.
I deeply regret that my parents still associate with the Cult Awareness Network (CAN). This anti-cult group is headed by Patricia Ryan (president) and Cynthia Kisser (executive director). According to CAN's literature, members include "mental health professionals, lawyers, physicians, legislators, clergy, law enforcement officers and educators."
CAN encourages and condones psychological raping of the heart and mind as well as the criminal activity of kidnapping. For this reason, I have studied the phenomenon of deprogramming in great detail and have given lectures on the subject over the years. I feel it is important that I share with you the names of those who are actively attempting to deprogram members of our Church - both those who are just discovering the Teachings and longstanding members.
Three of these deprogrammers came into the limelight recently when LaVerne Collins, a Church member of fifteen years, was kidnapped from her home in Boise, Idaho, and subjected to a week-long deprogramming attempt by Joseph Szimhart, Mary Alice Chrnalogar and Kenneth Paolini. These three individuals have been involved in numerous other attempts to deprogram Church members in the past.
Since the methods they use are similar to those that have been used in many documented cases of deprogrammings, I have included below summaries of a few of these, taken from a publication entitled A Criminal Assault on Religious Freedom: the Anti-Religious Movement and from the Religious Freedom Alert newsletter.1 Although these particular examples do not involve members of our Church, most of the deprogrammers named have been involved at one time or another in attempted deprogrammings of Church members.
In one extreme case, Ted Patrick, a deprogrammer and convicted felon who has a long track record of brutal violations of civil and constitutional rights, held Wendy Helander for eighty-six days! During this time he carried her to twelve different locations in an unsuccessful effort to persuade her to change her religious beliefs. Wendy later sued Patrick and was awarded monetary damages after the court determined that she had been "seized, restrained and subjected to frightful experiences" with "no legal justification."
In Patrick's own book, Let Our Children Go, he admits using violence and gives an account of kidnapping a born-again Christian who was resisting his abduction. As Patrick describes it, he forced his victim into the car by squeezing the man's genitals until he "let out a howl." His victim "doubled up," releasing his hold on the car roof, and then Patrick shoved him into the car, piling in on top of him.
As a side note here, I'd like to mention that Patrick, who calls himself "Black Lightning," was interviewed on the film Deprogramming: Understanding the Issue, produced by the Institute for the Study of Religious Movements. In a panel discussion, he referred to cult members as "mindless robots," giving as an example a Hare Krishna member who was also part of the panel. These are his words: "The young man over there right now - he just setting over there chantin' `Hare Krishna,' which is self-hypnosis. ... Now, this is his life's blood. He got to chant. And because if he doesn't chant, ... he'll start thinking."
I think that the anti-cult movement fears the science of the spoken Word and the use of mantras, affirmations and decrees because they know that these liberate people to become one with God - and when people are one with God and have a deep-seated faith, they cannot be "deprogrammed."
Patrick says cults "automatically destroy all your freedom, your human rights and your constitutional rights. And when a person deprogram, all of their rights are restored." This ludicrous statement epitomizes the twisted logic that the deprogrammer uses to rationalize his repugnant and criminal behavior. Patrick boasts that he has deprogrammed over two thousand people successfully. He says, "There's no law against talkin' to a person. That's all I do is talk to a person."
Steve Hassan, a well-known deprogrammer and supporter of the Cult Awareness Network, was accused by kidnap victim Arthur Roselle of tying him up for three days while trying to force him to renounce his faith. In an affidavit, Roselle claimed he was tied so tightly that his hands became badly swollen. He was not allowed to go to the bathroom unescorted or to bathe or shave.
Galen Kelly is another deprogrammer who has been involved with violent sessions. In a sworn statement, Joan Stedrak, a New Jersey woman, charged that she had been seized by Kelly and others and shoved into a van as she was leaving work late one night. As she screamed and struggled, her glasses fell off and her purse contents were scattered on the pavement. Joan claims she was held for four days and was not allowed to sleep or go to the bathroom alone. Kelly threatened her by saying, "I'll leave you to die in the wilderness if you try to escape." She eventually did manage to escape and Kelly was later convicted on the charge of assault and battery. He was given a sixty-day suspended prison sentence, one year probation and a $500 fine.
Rick Ross of Phoenix, Arizona, and two other self-styled deprogrammers seized a nineteen-year-old Pentecostal from Seattle in January 1991 by luring him to his mother's house and then handcuffing him. After throwing him into a van, they taped his mouth shut with duct tape. He was held for five days in a condominium with the windows blocked and doors locked at all times. During his captivity, he was forced to watch videos about cults and "cult behavior." He escaped by pretending to cooperate with his captors and then running away during a "celebratory" dinner.
Cliff Daniels, who has been known to charge up to $25,000 for a deprogramming, claims to have deprogrammed more than 250 people. He is one of the growing number of deprogrammers who specialize in Christian groups that he calls "Bible-based cults."
Before closing, I must add that my parents never told me exactly how much they paid the deprogrammers but in a newspaper article in the mid-eighties my mother was quoted as saying that if they were to try and deprogram me again, it would cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Over the thirteen trying years that have passed since the attempted deprogramming, I have learned a lot from all of the challenges to my chosen faith. Even though I seemed to be alone during that trial, I knew that God was there to defend and strengthen me in my hour of need. My victory was truly God's victory.
It is a sublime honor to witness to the Truth that has guided the saints who have gone before us and are among us. God has allowed me to experience just a little of what they have gone through and I can now appreciate how much more they have sacrificed for the right to follow their Path no matter what the opposition or persecution.
If my story can reach the heart and soul of just one family and forestall another deprogramming tragedy, then it is worth every word on this paper. All glory to God!
In the Defense of Religious Freedom, I Am,
Tips on What to Do if You Are Abducted against Your Will:
1- Demand your freedom and attempt to leave and regain your freedom.
2- Repeatedly state: "You are holding me against my will."
3- Inform your captors of the laws that they are violating by subjecting you to unlawful imprisonment, assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and federal civil rights violations.
4- Where possible, loudly and forcefully inform bystanders of your plight.
5- Demand to see and study a copy of any alleged court papers. Your captors are not shielded or legally excused for any criminal or civil wrong committed against you in spite of the existence of an alleged guardianship. You are not legally required to respect or remain under any illegal guardianship.
6- Do not sign any release absolving your captors of physical or psychological harm. It may cause you to forfeit certain legal claims later. Do not put your signature on any documents whatsoever.
7- Do not consent to any medical or psychological treatment and do not engage in argument or in defending your religion.
8- Each time you are questioned or intimidated, demand to speak with your own or any independent attorney.
9- Be alert and observant and memorize all details of your circumstances and the persons involved.
10- No matter what they say, your captors are intent upon destroying your freedom and your independent mind. Do not cooperate with them.
11- If your parents are part of the kidnapping and deprogramming, tell them you would be more than willing to discuss your church, its leadership and its beliefs in the privacy of your own home, without the presence of outsiders. Invite them to speak with other Keepers of the Flame or Study Group leaders nearest you or to take a tour of the Royal Teton Ranch and North and South Glastonbury and meet the staff and families who are in the area. Tell them the voices of your friends are missing in the deprogrammers' discussion and presentation.
Organizations Fighting against the Anti-Cult Movement
AMERICANS UNITED FOR THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
NATIONAL TASK FORCE ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Rev. Isaac N. Brooks Jr., Executive Chairman
COALITION FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Dr. Donald N. Sills, President
INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF AMERICAN RELIGION
Dr. J. Gordon Melton, Director
J.M. DAWSON INSTITUTE OF CHURCH-STATE INSTITUTE
Dr. James E. Wood Jr., Director
FACT (First Amendment Crisis Task Force)
Henry Kriegel, Executive Director