My experience with Children of God/The Family, Part IX
Part I : Part II : Part III : Part IV : Part V : Part VI : Part VII : Part VIII : Part IX : Part X : Part XI
As I told you in the last segment, I was put on a bus to go from Montreal, Quebec to
London, Ontario to the "Other Sheep" colony. Now at this time in the Children of
God, there was a fairly big shake-up of the whole group, from Mo and his immediate family
right on down. With his new letters coming out more frequently about "FFing"
["Flirty Fishing"] and "Sharing" and letters about the politics around
the world, some people were having trouble with this "New Wine," as Mo called
it. He had made predictions about America being destroyed and it wasn't. He had predicted
a huge war between the US and Russia and it would be over the oilfields of the middle
east. He had predicted that Mohammar Ghadafi was the anti-Christ or his prophet who would
bring about the end of the world. He predicted that the comet Kahoutec would signal all
these things. It disappeared. So he was always writing letters to explain them away and
saying it was not the Lord that made a mistake, it was simply he who misunderstood the
messages. These things were not happening.
His youngest son was also found dead at the bottom of a cliff in Europe.
A mysterious death seeing that he had been mentioning that his youngest son Aaron, who was
in charge of some of the music ministry, was always spacing out and rambling away and it
was sometimes embarrassing. Well suddenly, not too long after that, he was found dead. Of
course, Mo wrote a letter and people wrote songs saying he simply walked with God, he was
too spiritual for this world. Mo got a revelation that Aaron was acting as a guardian
angel, standing in "the gap" for us, as the song went. Mo always had great
spiritual ways of explaining things away.
He told us that just as Jesus' doctrines were brand new when he was on earth (the only
written scriptures were the Jewish old testament), so Mo's doctrines were the new word of
God for today. He compared the difficulty with which people accepted his doctrines to the
problems the people had accepting Jesus doctrines when He was alive.
Now this is a very hard argument to dispute. Mo compared Jesus' speech about eating his
flesh and drinking his blood, which upset and confused His disciples, to how we in the COG
were reacting to his letters about sharing and FFing.
From Moses David's [Mo's] first wife Eve, the mother of his children, to his oldest
daughter Deborah and some of the top leaders, there was resistance and confusion about
these new doctrines Mo was demanding that we obey. At this time there was a certain
pulling away in which some of the disciples who would not practice the sharing and flirty
fishing were separated in to what he called "Other Sheep" colonies. He derived
this from the passage where Jesus said, "And other sheep I have which are not of this
fold, them also will ye gather."
There were even letters condemning those who had left and would not obey Mo. They sent
around warnings not to let so and so in your communes as they were "yielding to the
devil."
So terribly hurt and insulted at being treated as a less than revolutionary disciple, sort
of a weaker and not so dedicated follower, more rebellious according to Mo, I was now with
my authorization letter in hand being in essence shunned.
Here I was, 5 months pregnant, broken hearted at having been forcibly separated from my
husband and going with my only possessions, my small suitcase and my briefcase with my Mo
letters, to a new colony.
When I arrived at the bus station hungry and tired, nobody was there to greet me. So I
found a phone booth and called. The commune leader answered and very suspiciously asked me
a dozen or so questions, especially if I had my letter with me.
He told me to stay where I was; a brother would come to meet me. I described what I looked
like.
Before too long, up walked a tall very fair haired, light complexioned slim young man with
beautiful light blue eyes. He introduced himself as Aaron (not Mo's son, of course.)
We talked briefly and he brought me back to the colony.
I noticed immediately a difference in the way I was not greeted when I walked in. Usually
(in other colonies) someone would come up and give you a hug and God Bless you and bring
you in to the leader's room to be introduced.
I basically was sat down in the living room and had to wait a bit before the leader, named
Jessee, came out and said hello. He told me I would be sleeping in the spare living room
on the couch for the time being as they did not have much room.
This commune was administered by Jessee and his wife Rachel. She was short with bright
blue eyes. They had two little boys, about 4 and 5, a little girl of about 2, and Rachel
was about to give birth to her fourth baby any day. Rachel was a very difficult person to
get along with. I think she was basically exhausted.
There was another girl named Rachel, a tall girl with long red hair, who later changed her
name to Rain. There were about 4 brothers here who were having some personality problems.
Some of them were named Timothy, Ephraim, another blond fellow, who looked like Robert
Redford. It seems now as I look back, they were most likely like me, getting frustrated
and fed up and labeled as rebellious. There was one brother named Adam with his wife and
their two little boys.
They had been in the group a long time and she was leaving and he wasn't. They tried to
blame her because her little boys both had long hair and were fat and misbehaved a lot.
But I wonder if he simply wanted out of the marriage. He was a very good-looking slim man
and was thoroughly enjoying all the FFing and wanted to get in to the sharing with other
women, which she did not like.
There were different people coming and going regularly at this commune. I guess the best
thing that could have happened to me here was I had my first child, Levi.
We would go and hand out literature just like before, have parties inviting the local
young people and university people or those we had met witnessing. But there was no talk
of sharing or FFing. Quite honestly, I was relieved.
I found the hardest part that I could not get along with the leader's wife. She was always
mad at me. Her husband on the other hand was very positive and outgoing.
When it came near time to have my baby they fixed up a tiny private bedroom for me at the
top of the stairs beside the bathroom where I could be all alone with my baby. They even
let me put up some pretty curtains and nice wall paper. I was so excited with
anticipation.
Rachel had been helping me with my lamaze classes, to learn breathing techniques. Rain was
also very helpful and nice with me.
Finally one day my water broke. I went through several hours of steady labor with a
contraction every 4 or 5 minutes. My water had broken right away.
Jessee and another brother called a taxi and began driving to the hospital. Jessee had
been in the hospital 1 month before for the birth of his own baby so he knew the way. He
was going to come in to the delivery room with me. I was very sad that it could not have
been Leonard, my husband.
I was feeling very abandoned by Leonard. I was thinking at least he could have written to
me or asked about me to the leaders, how the pregnancy was going. It was all silent where
he was concerned and I was not allowed to even ask.
At the hospital I was feeling very guilty at having the baby in a "system
hospital." So through all of the Mo letters and childcare literature we were told
that taking drugs of any kind was evil and would hurt the baby. We were told not to trust
the doctors or hospitals, that they were Satan's domain. Mo wrote stories of babies being
stolen and wrong diagnoses being done, absolutely terrifying stories.
So I went in there determined to try a natural birth at all costs, except the baby's
safety.
Jessee stood with me for a little while reading scriptures and Mo letters, while I
breathed.
The nurses found him irritating. They were looking at him like they wish he would just
leave. So after a few hours I told him I was fine, the Lord was with me and the hospital
would call him when I was close, he should go home.
It was a long labor. Almost 28 hours of labor. Contractions every 3 or 4 minutes. Finally
I was so tired I began shaking. They had to argue with me to be allowed to put in a drip
so I would not dehydrate.
Then the doctor came to talk to me telling me that God was helping him to care for me and
that if I did not let him give me an epidural, the baby would suffer.
He said that the baby's heartbeat was slowing down, it was too hard on him. So I gave in
feeling very guilty.
About 3 hours later Jessee arrived and I gave birth to my beautiful baby boy, Levi. I had
to be cut for him to pass through and they used forceps because I was very small. He had
an elongated head because of how long the birth took but other wise he was just great!!
Once the baby came, Jessee began yelling with his hands in the air, "Thank you Lord,
Thank you Jesus."
I was put in a ward with 4 other new mothers. I demanded to have my baby near me to nurse
him. So eventually due to my nagging they left his little bassinet beside my bed. I was in
a magic moment. I would pull the curtains right around my bed and pick him up and put him
on my knees and just stare and stare and talk to him. It was one of the most beautiful
love-filled moments of my life.
Jessee sent a telegram to Leonard to let him know he was a father. There was never any
response.
Two days later, to my big surprise my parents appeared in my room. The visit was strained
and brief. I think they were upset that I was alone with my baby in this situation. I
don't know how I acted, I can't even remember, I was so wrapped up in the baby.
End of Part IX
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