I found this site out of curiousity. Many times I have seen it written and said that my church is a cult. I belong to the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn. I have never been to a doctor, other than to take physicals to obtain work or to clear me to play high school athletics. Many people believe that people who belong to my church are simple minded folks, and to a degree most are. However, there are many, like myself, who are not simple minded people. I once scored in the top 10% on an IQ test, was the Salutatorian of my graduating hs class, and am now a teacher who teaches Pre-Algebra. Granted, Pre-Algebra isn't a earth shattering subject, but there are plenty of people who find it intimidating. All of these things I have accomplished because of God, and His Son Jesus Christ. I would like to share with you readers some of the reasons why I, and many others in our church, believe the way we believe. I will not quote scripture, although I am able, but only share things that have happened in my lifetime.

When I was roughly two years old, I was jumping on the bed with my older brother and sister, when suddenly I was inadvertently bounced between the wall and the bed. My legs went straight up with my back against the wall as if I was folded in half and stuck between the bed and wall. This pressure made it impossible for me to breathe. My mom was in the kitchen, and she felt the Spirit of the Lord come upon her, and suddenly she knew there was something wrong. She came into the bedroom, where my brother and sister not knowing that I was in danger, were still jumping on the bed. She told them to quit, and was ready to walk out of the room when she wondered about my whereabouts. She came back into the room and around the bed to find me already blue. She pulled me out, and was very thankful that she had listened to God.
When I was even younger, my mother was making a trip back from Oklahoma to Colorado with her younger sister. They were driving all night long in a station wagon. My older brother and sister were asleep in the front seat, while my aunt was asleep in the back with me(I was in the carseat). My mother began to get drowsy driving up and down the winding roads in the Rockies. She finally pulled over and asked her sister to drive so that she could sleep a while. When she got in the back, she was unable to sleep. She was fixing to tell her sister to pull over and she would drive some more, when as my aunt rounded a curve, the door beside me opened and I flew out of the carseat. My mother grabbed me before I fell off the cliff on the side.
When I was sick with the pneomenuia and terrible earaches at the age of six, my mother and father called the elders of our church. I had been sick for roughly two weeks(over Christmas Break) and many times the elders of our church had been called out for me, and although I would receive relief, I was still sick. So my parents called the elders of my mother's hometown, over an hour drive away in the middle of winter. They made the trip, despite the conditions of the roads and their age(both men over 70 years old at the time) and came and laid their hands upon me and annointed me with oil, as is our custom, and prayed. I could feel the sickness leaving my body and my ears stopped hurting. By the time they left to head home, I was outside playing with our new dog.
Once, as a teenager, I got really angry with my brother and hit the piano with my fist. I broke my middle finger. I went to a man in our church who took two popsicle sticks and placed them on the sides of my finger, annointed it with oil, and then wrapped it and prayed. As I went to school, my teachers and friends were worried, and some made fun of my beliefs. As time went by, my finger began to turn a greenish color and began to stink. My teachers, coach, and friends told me that I had gangrene, and that it would spread to my heart, and I would die if I didn't go to the doctors. But instead, I went home and prayed that God would heal my finger, and He did.
Also as a teenager, my mother got deathly ill. It would probably best be described as her appendix bursting. The elders were called and we prayed throughout the night and almost lost her but got spared her.
My youngest sister was born at home, as were all of my siblings. When she was born, the cord was wrapped around her neck 5 times. My mother, for fear that the midwives of our church would be prosecuted if she died, told my grandfather to call the ambulance. As Grandpa searced for the phone(cordless), my aunt, who was assisting the birth, came into the room and prayed silently to God that if it was His Will that my sister was going to be born, that for the sake of my mother's fears, that He would allow her to be born now. She then got up and told my mom to roll over(she was on her side). My mom told her that it wouldn't do any good, but she did as she was told and my aunt saw that the cord was stuck on the bridge of my sister's forehead. She pushed the cord back and my sister was born.
I have seen a cat that should have died when it got hit by a car, survive because of my older sister's faith in God and her prayers, and the fact that God saw fit to answer my sister's prayers.
I have seen our family dog choke to death due to my ignorance as a child. Then when my mother and brother prayed over the dog, it came back to life.
My dad has seen cancer spit up.
My mom has seen the blind receive sight(my older sister was born blind).
Many miracles have been performed in our church and before our members.
I have seen prophisies spoken that have comforted those who have received them, telling them openly the things that they have secretly went to God with. I have even received such prophisies. God has used his servants to reveal things to me in front of the congregation, that I have only thought to myself.
These things verify to me that their is a God, and that Jesus Christ is His Son. There are many more miracles and testimonies that I could give, but am limited on both time and space. And as great as these things are, these are not the reasons we serve God in the manner that we do.
We do so because that is how we are instructed to serve God through the Holy Spirit. Many people do not want to talk about God, Jesus, or a Holy Spirit. They think that reason can answer all questions, but in reality reason only goes so far. If reason worked with everything, there would not be upsets in sporting contests. How can you explain when a tornado will destroy one house, skip the next one, and then destroy the next? The truth is that there is a God; He has a Son, Jesus Christ; Jesus died on a cross that all mankind might make Heaven their home; that to see Heaven and God, you must love Jesus Christ; if you love Christ Jesus, then you will keep and observe his commandments, because actions speak louder than words. This is what we do as His Children. Yes there are times that we fail, as all humans do, but we can gain His forgiveness by asking for such, and repenting.

Praying for you.

See [www.culteducation.com]

This is a very controversial group.

Members have faced criminal charges due to deaths directly connected to medical neglect.

Diesel51 read the rules again. They say, "The purpose of this forum is not to promote a specific religious viewpoint and/or to proselytize."

Please don't post to preach.

I didn't know that stating facts was preaching. However, since you are the moderator.... I was only trying to educate people who seem to have an uneducated view of our church. They only know what the media tells them, and it appears that I will not be able to defend our views here. Once the hate begins, it is hard to end.

By the way, why is it ok for you guys to voice your opinion about specific religions, but no ok for your users. This way you only get people who agree with you? That sounds almost cult like.

See the rules and the following links to better understand the Open Forum and/or the database attached.

[www.culteducation.com]

[www.culteducation.com]

Criticizing a group's behavior is not preaching.

So no matter what I say, I will be reprimanded by the moderator? God forgive those who do not understand.

See [www.culteducation.com]

Court gave parents probation in child's death due medical neglect.

Seems like the courts have been very forgiving to this group's members.

Note other deaths connected to this church, including helpless infants.

Looks like members need "God's forgiveness" big time.

I read those articles, and even know many of those people in the articles. Do me a favor before you try to go "holier than thou" with me concerning the death of children and "helpless infants". Why don't you try and do an investigation of how many children under the age of '18' as stated by state law, have died in hospitals. I know for a fact, that more children have died in the care of man's hands, if only for the fact that more people go to hospitals than don't. But I am curious about the percentage. Do children born in hospitals, or taken to hospitals, have a higher survival rate than those who aren't? Common sense would make you think so, but is it true? Plus, how many times has a doctor or nurse made a mistake, and children have died, and the parents have been told, due to a fear of litigation, that nothing could be done? It is true that Western Colorado had a tough go of it for a while, with so many deaths in such a short time, but try to get the information from the hospitals in that same time span and see what kind of response you get. It is irresponsible for you to post information that is one sided. All people who read your websites posts and information provided by the media, are only given one side of the story. And in today's fast paced world, don't take time to hear the other side. Don't try to tell me that we need God's forgiveness for having faith in God.

Since you have yet to post my last post, I can assume one of two things. Either I struck a cord, or you aren't going to allow me to post on here anymore. If it is the latter, than this is in vain. However, the most recent research I can find shows Colorado's infant mortality rate at 7.1 per 1,000 children born, where infant is defined as a child less than one year old. It fluctuates from year to year, so lets say for the sake of easy math, 7 children die every 1,000 births every year. One article in your archive quotes one person(Swann) who estimates that 35 children have died in the state of Colorado since 1974. That article was written in 2000. That is 26 years. Now lets say, that over those 26 years that for every 1000 babies born 7 died. Now obviously, more than 1000 babies a year were born, but lets be conservative and say that only 1000 babies were born per year, that still makes the total death of INFANTS, not children 18 and younger as mentioned by the lady, but infants, 182. Over a 26 year span, a minimum of 182 infants have died in the hands of man, while over that same span 35 children 18 and younger died while in the hands of God. We all know that more than 182 infants have died in that time span, and the number would skyrocket if it included children 18 and under. I would be willing to stake my entire earthly possessions that God's healing percentage rate is much higher than that of man's, but even if it wasn't, I still would trust in Him.

Your defense of medical neglect is really telling.

Obviously the prosecutors didn't see it that way.

The parents from your church were prosecuted and found guilty by a jury for medical neglect.

The laws were changed in Colorado, largely due to your church and its terrible track record.

See [www.culteducation.com]

Anyone interested should see the following links as examples.

[www.culteducation.com]

[www.culteducation.com]

[www.culteducation.com]

FYI-- it may take some time to approve a post. You are not being censored.

Frankly, your posts help people to understand how "brainwashed" many members are in groups like General Assembly Church of the First Born.

People find it hard to understand how parents could allow their children to seemingly so heartlessly, but your posts illustrate the group's thinking, or lack of it.

Thanks