Quote
rrmoderator
Just seems foolish nothing sinister.
Perhaps on the surface. But not when one looks deeper...
[
www.nhne.com]
"While many of the central elements of Twyman's story may have come from and/or been strongly influenced by ENDEAVOR, the name of the Emissaries themselves may have been lifted from another group. Twyman mentions this other group, "Emissaries of Divine Light," in his book, but acts as if he has just been introduced to them. What he fails to mention, and what former associates of his have told us, is that Twyman also spent some time with them, apparently while writing his book. If this is true, there is very little about Twyman's book that is original: It draws its philosophy from A Course in Miracles, it mission, enlightened-group metaphor, and evangelical approaches from ENDEAVOR, and its name from the Emissaries of Divine Light."
And who are the Emissaries of Divine Light? This is from a testimonial by two former female members of the cult.
[
www.factnet.org]
Excerpts:
…..Nancy: There was a changeover in leadership in December, 1987. Leader Martin Exeter (an Englishman formerly known as Martin Cecil) died, and his son, Michael, took over. Michael Exeter was installed as the third bishop of the Church of the Emissaries of Divine Light. By inheritance in British lineage, Exeter and his wife, Nancy, became Lord and Lady Exeter. This position gave Exeter a seat in Parliament in the House of Lords. Prior to inheriting this title, his last name was Burghley, and prior to any of these titles the family name was Cecil (pronounced "sissal").
….Classes for training and indoctrination are held at regional centers. Besides Sunrise Ranch and 100 Mile House, the regional centers are Glen Ivy in Corona, California (which runs a locally famous spa),
…Sexual abuses and cover-up's were made public during the first "open" council (described earlier). Exeter and his wife denied knowing about the abuses, though I personally knew two people who had informed them in writing about particular abuses. Women have told me they were seduced, coerced, threatened, and even stalked by men in leadership positions. They have told me about sexual abuse of children. I have heard that in central and eastern regions of the U.S., teenagers were forced to lose their virginity to their group leaders, with the explanation that this guaranteed a spiritually sound beginning to their sex life. I don't know if this was done in all regions and in Canada. In classes people were taught that women were "more fallen" than men, and the only way they could regain spiritual purity was to "share their man." In this way, "triangles" (one man and two women or more in the case of the Exeters) were encouraged at middle and upper management levels. According to doctrine, not only did it "handle and protect" the man's spiritual expression, but it spiritually purified the women. All top hierarchical relationships were threesomes, with the third partner sometimes changing periodically. The third woman usually played the role of the secretary.
I was told by a woman that she, and others, acted as "spiritual prostitutes" for men who "needed to work out sexual problems." She said she chose to do so, but since one was always under the obligation to "agree" with one's group leader, choices were not actually possible. [see doctrine of "upward response" under One Law, below]
Besides the view of women as "more fallen," there were a number of Emissary tenets which made abuse easy for cult leaders to do, and difficult for others to stop. Most of these are included in the Specific Doctrine section below.
Classes also implanted beliefs that made abuse easy. For example, a videotape of Martin Exeter in one of the advanced classes advocated masturbation "if it served the Lord." Exeter said the way to make it do that was to imagine he (Exeter) was your partner. This set you up for sexual coercion from cult leaders.
And more from another report...
[
www.sunriseranch.org]
( continued testimony excerpted from two links above, not sunrise ranch page)
…The rest of us did all the work required to provide a home for 125 people: cooking, cleaning, reception, office, accounting, gardening (vegetables and herbs), landscaping, construction, repair, machinery (everything from furnaces to industrial kitchen equipment to cars and tractors), day care, management. 100 Mile also did transcriptions of weekly services and published other materials. Most people began their assigned work at 9:00 and worked until noon, when we all had lunch together. Some went back to work at 12:30 cleaning up after lunch; others began again at 1:00. The more physically strenuous jobs ended at 4:00; lighter jobs went on until 5:00, and day care until parents got home. Nearly all these jobs went on 6 days a week. On Sundays, "work pattern" was "voluntary": you were supposed to sign up to work three Sundays out of four. Many Sunday shifts were short. In addition, there were large organic gardens. In harvest season we were often asked to pitch in for early morning, evening or Sunday harvests, and throughout the day for canning, shelling, snapping, etc. of produce. [See below for other required duties.]
Dinner was communal except for Tuesday nights, when it was officially sanctioned for families to pick up their food and eat at home together, and Friday nights when everyone picked up their food to take home.
There were horses and cows, pigs, chickens and goats, and at certain times we were surrounded with chicks, kids, foals, piglets and calves, in a gorgeous rural setting. There was a grassy play space in the center of the community, often filled with volleyball games, a trampoline, hockey goalposts or other games, adults and children. There were swings and climbing things, forest trails, a marshy bird sanctuary, and cross-country skiing right out our back doors. There was a swimming pool, sauna, and a very modern performance hall with video and sound equipment and a state-of-the-art organ synthesizer.
Sometimes I would walk through the community and it was such an idyllic scene children laughing, people playing volleyball together, a work party, or just people going about their business there was such an appearance of joy, safety and sense of family, that I felt I had finally found Utopia. The land and lifestyle seemed heartbreakingly beautiful and I was filled with Thanksgiving that I lived there. I had always yearned for a community like this.
When I knew the program was rotten at the core, when I knew I was leaving, these scenes of such beauty and apparent love were among the most difficult things to give up.
Nancy: I have to admit there are elements of this kind of lifestyle I miss. To be so consumed with purpose felt good! Knowing your neighbors, sharing a common goal, performing simple tasks side by side, having daily schedules planned for you. The ambiguities, isolation, and independence of modern adult life weren't there. Enforced dependence didn't seem bad.
Barbara: I loved not having to do everything myself someone else took care of the cars, equipment, snow plowing, shopping, cooking, and much more.
We were all considered "church volunteers," receiving a place to live (ranging from a bedroom with shared kitchen and bathroom facilities for most single people, to sumptuous homes for those high in the hierarchy), board, and a monthly stipend of $250 Canadian dollars. Out of this stipend had to come everything else you needed. You could petition the Finance Committee for money for things, such as a trip, buying clothes, having dental work done, and so on. If you got it or not, or how much you got, was supposedly democratic, but people in power positions got more.
Nancy: During my time at Lake Rest and Clear Water, the monthly stipend was $35 to $50. Sometimes there was no stipend. We were even encouraged to make a donation to Sunrise Ranch out of that money. No medical or dental care was provided, even for children, unless life was threatened, which on at least two occasions while I was there, it was. And during that time a million dollar jet was purchased for Martin Exeter.
….Barbara: I was told it was vital to confide everything about my life, including my finances and sexual life. At first it was spelled out completely, to whom I was to tell what. Later the instructions were revised and one could communicate to anyone "upwards." After that I discovered that reports were written about us locally and sent to regional coordinators, who then reported to Exeter. Class faculties also wrote reports about each student. I don't know if these practices continue.