Here is a significant comment made in VOT'S forum that needs to be emphasized:

"This (sexual abuse) is the issue that finally prompted me to leave this group. It has been inconceivable to me how the 'friends' will excuse away sexual abuse.

My defining moment came while talking to my husband. I was saying maybe organizations are best changed from within, and maybe I should stay in and try to change things from the inside.

He said that, in his opinion, that would be a good idea if I were trying to change CUSTOMS (like hair, skirts, whatever), but that he didn't feel it was the right choice if we are talking about ILLEGAL activity.

Don't forget that CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE is ILLEGAL BEHAVIOR, and people are actively shielding criminals. We should have ZERO TOLERANCE for this behavior, and no one should be criticized for speaking out about criminal behavior, especially against children."

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WORKER TIM SEVEREUD CONVICTED OF CRIMINAL SEXUAL CONDUCT

Tim Severeud in 2007 

Tim Severeud

Article from newspaper in Worthington, MN.

*Some names in this writing have been changed to protect the privacy of those involved.

Background:

I am a wife and mother in my mid-thirties, living and working as a consultant in California.  I grew up in small towns North Dakota and Montana.  My parents raised my two sisters and me in an abusive home and in a restrictive, fundamentalist, pseudo-Christian church, which some believe is a religious cult.

My parents’ church claims not to have a name, but members call each other “friends” and refer to their ideas and methodology as the “Truth.”  Some other people call it the Two-by-Two church, in reference to the church’s method of appointing its ministers in same-sex pairs called “workers.”  There are an estimated 200,000 members of the “Truth” worldwide, with the largest concentration in the United States’ Pacific Northwest. 

I was born into this cult and taken to my first meeting when I was 10 days old. My grandparents on my mother side, came to a small town in Eastern Canada in 1910, from England. Shortly after that (I believe in 1914, but my dates might not be accurate), two sister workers came and held meetings and my grandparents on both sides of my family professed, as well as several other relatives and people in the town. My mother was six years old when she came from England. The workers were Maude Slater and Lizzy Jackson and were among the first workers in Canada. By the time I came on the scene, in 1934 the 2X2s were well established in that particular town and surrounding area. It is very hard for me to relate my story because it is like talking about a person that I no longer know. My life, attitudes, and understanding are so different that it is hard for me to put into words the agony of those years. Every time I receive a copy of Forward Press, with all the letters regarding experiences, I feel I can relate to every single story.

I believe that fate sealed my life when I was three and a half years old and my father died. My mother was pregnant with my brother at the time. They had a store in a small town of twenty people and because of the depression my mother was in a sorry state. I had been the apple of my dads eye and of course have no idea what my life would have been like had he lived, but I can only surmise that it may have been better. I have several very vivid memories of him although I was very young. My mother married my dads brother about 14 months after my fathers death and he had an entirely different nature than my father. He was a no nonsense type of person, very rigid and controlling. My father, on the other hand, was very easy going and compassionate. My uncle thought I was very spoiled.

For thirty five years I believed I had led a "normal" but somewhat strict childhood. I knew I had been raised in a "church" that met in the home, had no name, and sent out "Gods disciples" two by two just as Jesus had done two thousand years ago. These tenets I believed without question, and until I read "The Secret Sect,"  I believed "The Truth" was God’s one true way.

The shock of finding out that everything I "knew" was true was based on lies was like finding out that 2+2=5 which meant the whole equation of life was different. The weight of the world left my shoulders when I found out I wasn't a sinful person and was not "condemned to an eternity in HELL," as I had been told repeatedly in my childhood years. I am not a religious person but felt the need to learn more about how I was raised, what I believed, and why did I have such destructive and dysfunctional attitudes about life. Twenty years of drug use, alcoholism, and failed social and personal relationships had made me eager for the truth. I am not going into the history of the church but only tell of my experience.

From my earliest memory, visiting workers in the home and getting ready for convention were the high lights of my young life. The joys of "anticipated spiritual healing" were felt throughout the house. It was a time for new convention clothes, notebooks for convention notes, haircuts, and the warning about the belt if we were not on our best behavior. My sister and I lived in fear of the thick black cowboy belt with the silver buckle and tip that would sting and welt the flesh. I was probably only hit with the belt 3 or 4 times but the threat was always there, conveyed with a glance or glare.

To whom it may concern:

I was raised in a religious sect known as "The Truth".  As a fourth generation member of this sect I knew no other type of spiritual doctrine. Members of “The Truth”, as with most sects, believed they were “God’s one true people”, and all other doctrines were "of the Devil”.  However pious the workers and "saints" believe themselves, there is documented record of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. Often this abuse is perpetrated on women and children, by those who are supposed to be leaders and disciples in "The Truth”. My Father is one of those people.

The first documented case of my father molesting young boys occurred in the late fifties,  before I was born. The 12 year old boy was repeatedly molested over a period of years by my father who was a worker at the time. When the incidents were reported to the "head worker", his response was the often quoted, "Well...the workers are not married and sometimes these things happen". I believe my father "left the work" after this incident and two years later, in 1958, I was born.

The above incident took place in Northern California, but I was born in Lancaster which is in Southern California. I now believe my father molested young boys where ever we lived, including the following:

January 16, 1998
New Mexico

To Whom It May Concern/Dear Forward Press,

Hello!  My name is Y_ _ _ _ _ R_ _ _ _ _.  I left the meetings 1-1/2 years ago, but have been very troubled.  I find I need support in truly learning “The Mind of Christ,” because in 17 years of going to meetings I thought that’s what I was learning.  I had come out of “The World,” as they say, to learn how to be Godly, as that was my heart’s desire!  I did anything they said I needed to do, EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING, until a worker propositioned me to commit the act of sex, but to promise to continue going to meeting no matter what!

Before I continue, I must tell you I had a PAST!  A nightmare of a life, from child molestation from a very religious man to in and out of marriage from age 16, alcoholic father, neurotic mother, etc.  I was seeking love, stability, home, guidance, etc. etc.  At my very first meeting, I thought, “Ahh, I have found it all!”

There’s much more that went on--all through the years so much has happened. 

1030 S. Wildwood St.
Westland Mi. 48186
February 1, 2008

Dear Friends,
   
          I deeply regret having to write this letter to you. A Some former brother workers who labored in the work of the ministry here in Michigan, who you loved and trusted and frequented your homes is (sic) under investigation for child molestation and abuse.

          We are asking those of you who have children who have been in contact with him (sic) or with anyone who you have had some suspicions regarding their (sic) behavior as being unbecoming or inappropriate, after questioning the children thoroughly contact the nearest Michigan State Police Post with a written report and let me know so that I can turn over the information to assist the authorities involved in this investigation.

          It is important that such children involved give an account of the actions of such people so they can be lawfully dealt with and the children can be counseled to help remedy their fears, feelings of guilt or any adverse emotional problems they may presently have or have in the future resulting from the experiences they suffered.

          If there has been in the past or future any other indecent or immoral action by anyone, friend, worker, relative, neighbor etc. We suggest you contact the local law enforcement authorities. We are in full cooperation with them.