"Frick. That. Place": 45 Times Folks Realized They Might Be In A Cult

When I was told i couldn’t ask questions. I was 14.

All that did was make me ask more questions.

I ended up at the public library reading up about cults. (This was in the 90’s).

When an assistant youth minister at my family's fundamentalist church (Church of Christ, separatist) who had been struggling to have a child with his wife for several years was finally able to conceive, he was so happy he wrote a song thanking God for his blessing of a daughter to be. He played it for us on his guitar in the back of his pickup in the parking lot before service began.

When the elders of the church heard that he had played an instrument on church grounds, they excommunicated him and ordered him to never return to the property on pain of trespassing. This was a denomination which taught specifically that attendance to church within the denomination was mandatory to enter heaven- essentially, they'd sentenced a good man to hell for the crime of thanking God for his child.

I asked my grandfather why they had done that, and he told me that the church forbade instruments because they were not permitted in the bible. I pointed out that the harp and lyre were explicitly mentioned in second Samuel and Chronicles, and that several of the psalms were specifically composed for the harp, lyre, and trumpet. He replied that there were no instruments in the _new_ testament, and that the new testament superseded the old, so anything not explicitly permitted in it was disallowed in the church. When I responded that by that logic we should not be permitted to wear pants to church, as the new testament makes no mention of pants, he flew into a rage and did not speak to me for some time. I stopped attending the church the following Sunday.

Mine wasn't a typical definition of a cult, but I realized Jehovah's Witnesses were pretty delusional by about 12-13 years old. Took me a few more years to get out due to my father being an Elder and someone who had no problem physically forcing his son to go to meetings and out in service (door knocking). Sounds like a corny fake scenario but it took me being "tough" enough to fight him off. Was asked to leave the house at 17 while still in Grade 12, so I did. I had a job and had an older friend to live with.

That's when I realized it was (in my opinion) a cult. That you would turn on your son because he didn't believe what you believe. That you would beat your son because he was being bullied at school at couldn't stand door knocking anymore in his own neighbourhood where he encountered classmates either at their homes, or as they were riding their bikes down the street on a sunny Saturday morning with me walking with my dad in a suit and tie with a briefcase full of maniac ravings about living forever.

I used to practice kung fu at what was basically the most McDojo place ever. On top of all the usual money grabbing bull, the grand master changed his title to something like His Celestial Holiness and started getting his students to travel to the woods to build his temple.

Nope!

Was accidentally in a religious cult. I would see how the pastor would treat non members and members that didn’t comply with what he wanted and I would think “I hope he doesn’t start acting this way towards me” he would berate people, gossip, expect us to stay at his house until late hours, forbid us to hang out with non members, and he even asked me to move in there when I already had my own place.

I noticed it was a cult when I told them I was hanging out with an old friend and they preceded to ask why was I doing that and that they were my friends.

I came to a service that following Sunday and the pastor sees me and says “I had a message I was going to preach, but I’m going to preach a different message today”

The whole service was pretty much him talking bad about me and making rude jokes. I knew this sermon was about me when he kept referencing the “person” hanging out with other people and saying it was sinful and of the world. I never felt so embarrassed in my life with everyone laughing at me. I sat that entire service just embarrassed.

Once I left, several of the members attempted to contact me with a few of them trying to “go to the movies” with me at midnight when they knew d**n well the closest movie theatre was an hour away and what movie theatre shows movies at midnight.

After I stopped going to that church a few of the members completely stopped talking to me despite us being “friends” still can’t believe that happened to me.

Watching my Grandma, who is the matriarch of my extended family and our family's glue, struggle to pay tithes AND offerings every week, regardless of how much of a difference it would have made to her vs our rather large church. My Grandma paid for her meds in change on a Monday and while I watched our preacher get into a brand new, black and chrome Yukon Denali the Sunday prior and it didn't make sense.

When I did an internship with their bible college (read 5 days a week, 8-5, of free office labor) then expected to also serve the church for the youth group on Friday night (6-whenever cleanup finished, usually 11, after being there since 8am) Saturday night church (5-8) and 2x Sunday service (6-12)

I also tried to work in my spare time so that I could afford the fuel to drive there every other day, and eat. But then I started getting in trouble for not tithing, plus missionary offerings, plus building fund offerings, plus plus plus.

Oh and I was late one Saturday because my actual paying job needed me to stay back 30 minutes? Well. They called for an exorcism, I had been taken over by demons and serving the lord wasn’t my priority anymore. Despite the 50-60 hours a week of free work I was giving them. While paying for bible college, which was 2 nights per week.

So I left, realised I was gay and lived happily ever after.

They only stopped chasing me when I changed phone number, blocked them all on social media, and moved house.

"remember not to browse apostate websites in case they weaken your faith"

Shouldn't truth stand up under scrutiny?

Raised Mormon in the Bible Belt. I had a southern baptist friend that liked to argue with me about religion. When I was 18, he told me about crazy secret handshakes in Mormonism. My response: “Nate, I’ve been a Mormon my entire life and I’ve never heard anything about secret handshakes. I don’t know where you heard that, but it’s false.” A week later, I went through my the Mormon temple for the first time and learned all the secret handshakes. After I went through the ceremony, I sat next to my Dad in the celestial room and he asked me what i thought. “I swore to Nate on my life a week ago that there is no such thing as secret handshakes in Mormonism.” My dad’s response was the typical Mormon, programmed response. “They aren’t secret, they’re sacred”. It took me ten more years to leave Mormonism, but that was the first crack in my foundation.

When I learned our founding prophet would send men on missions so he could hump their wives and daughters. Or maybe when I learned our cult had over 40 billion in the stock market and over 100 billion in assets, but only uses one half of a percent of the donations it receives to help the poor. Or maybe when our 94 year old prophet's latest revelation was to take vitamins.

It was the summer during middle school when a friend of a friend invited us out to a "camp" that lasted a week. It has so much awesome stuff like paintball, fourwheeling, swimming on the lake it was right on. Sounded cool. So I went.

It was an ultra religious camp. We had to give our phones up when we got there.

First hour of the day was praying.

Then 30 minute breakfast followed by another hour of praying. Then 2 hours of alone time where you couldn't go back to your rooms or do anything other than sit and "talk to Jesus and God". Then another hour of praying.

Then 30 minute lunch.

Then 30 minute prayer.

Then a good 4-5 hours of free time to do all those activities.

Then another hour of prayer.

Then 30 minute dinner

Then prayer.

Then we got to go back to our rooms to talk to our assigned counselor

Who led us in evening prayer.

I'm not saying that this place was a cult, but I had my thoughts when they led us on a march to a big fire and made us laydown in a massive field staring at the stars while they chanted prayers over a microphone one night that week.

Frick. That. Place.

When multiple people told me that they worked 8 hours extra per day on saturday and sunday, at home unpaid, in addition to working quite long hours during the week, because life is supposed to be all about achievment and publishing.

This cult was called a PhD program in research science.

When they said I'm going to marry someone from Korea. When I said no, they said they already bought the plane tickets.

Once I was invited to a supposed christian youth meeting by my cousin. I didn't really want to go but she insisted, so I ended up there. It was held in a small apartment, and when we arrived we were greeted by the group leaders, which seemed like totally normal young people.

Afterwards the other members arrived and they turned off all the lights at the apartment. I thought that was a little weird but no big deal. Then they started with the music. They put those christian rock songs they usually use at normal christian youth groups but the started dancing like maniacs, jumping everywhere, flailing their arms, and the weirdest of all, laughing uncontrollably.

Then, in one second, they all threw themselves to ground, got in their knees and started crying like their mother had just been brutally ended. After this they got up and started dancing and laughing again, as if nothing ever happened. I was seriously creeped out at this point, but this was only the beginning.

They started with this weird ritual where they promised to perform any miracle you wanted or needed, as Christ allowed them to do so. A kid said he wanted to get taller and so they put their hands all over him and starting murmuring prayers for a while. Then they put him against a wall and they claimed he had at least grown 3 centimeters. He believed them, like, seriously believed them. Later, they claimed that they could turn water into wine and grabbed a bottle of water, put their hands on top of it and prayed again. The water didnt change at all, but they all drank from it and claimed it tasted like wine and claimed they were getting drunk from it, while laughing hysterically again.

Finally the "reunion" ended and they continued being as normal as they were before, as if nothing had happened. I left and when they tried to contact me again I just ignored them.

When they stopped allowing children who had gay parents to be baptized. They claimed to believe in Jesus and I knew that Jesus wouldn’t do that to kids.

When they kept taking more and more of my time.

It got to the point where I realized my church viewed everything outside of church as evil or a complete waste of time. I knew this was untrue and a miserable way to live. Once I realized how miserable i was the rose colored glasses came off and it all fell apart almost immediately.

(Mormon, btw).

My grandfather was getting involved in Scientology when he was in college. He says he left after they told everyone to miss-treat someone who had left the group.

Apparently they taught him some good meditation and self-confidence exercises; he's happy with what he got out of them but glad he didn't get too deep.

My time with Primerica:

- Weekly events that had long moments of clapping and loud music. Prevents thinking and conversation.

- Big events with clapping, music, doing things like 'the wave'. Prevents thinking, conversation and encourages conforming

- Several speeches from my upline about how we shouldn't spend our time with people who don't want to be apart of the company, including family and life long friends.

- Planning on moving into the same community together that was referred to as the 'Primerica Estates'.

- Parents had a halloween party planned the same night as my Primerica office's halloween party. I was chewed out for picking family over company

- We traveled to events out of state. It was frowned upon for us to travel on our own. They wanted us to go on a bus or van together.

- The idea that someone would be happier doing something other than Primerica? Comical. Surgeons, lawyers, military officers, scientists, all would be better off joining Primerica and giving up their jobs.

- Doing something that wasn't Primerica related? You better be ready to explain yourself. One guy got chewed out in front of the office for going to his grandmother's 80th birthday party. I went out of state with my then wife to celebrate our anniversary required me explaining to those running the office about my actual dedication to the company, even though I was only gone for one weekend. I even had to explain myself when I stayed home one Sunday to replace the brakes on my car. I was asked "How is that going to improve your business?" My answer was "I have to drive to people's homes to sell policies. I shouldn't have to explain how car maintenance is a business related thing."

- Hobbies had to almost be company approved. If you're reading a book, it better be one to improve your business. Have a hobby that doesn't have any relation to Primerica? Drop it and focus more on Primerica. Sell your television if it's a distraction from your business. When it came to getting to the company event in Georgia, we were told that getting there is our highest priority. Sell anything you can if you can't afford to go (tickets alone were over $100), including televisions, video game consoles, computers, so on and so forth...

- Kids weren't safe either. Those members who were dedicated 100% to the company who had kids, d**g their kids to the office on nights and weekends. I saw kids the day after Christmas, with some of their new toys, playing at the table in our breakroom, fighting off boredom. One pair of parents had a kid who got a laser tag birthday party invite that was the same day as one of the big dull events where higher ups from out of state came in to speak to us in long dull speeches. The parents told their kid, nearly in tears as we were in line to enter the event room, that going to this event was more important than playing laser tag. He's a 10 year old kid, and he can't be a kid, has to follow this as what he will do for his life long career.

Every Monday, wednesday and friday, attendance for the meeting was mandatory. Every Saturday from 9 am to 10 pm we had to go to the event, in uniform, rain or Shine. Twice while I was there we were bussed across ND to Montana to go before crowds of thousands, most of whom screamed at us. It all centered around this one guy who called the shots, but he had lieutenants who did his bidding and would occasionally lead us. It was pretty demanding, but it seemed pretty fun, lots of camaraderie, but all my friends who hadn't joined up thought it was pretty weird and a lot of work for no clear benefit.

But besides that, marching band was a blast.

One of the leaders said that we shouldn’t watch any TV or read any material that wasn’t published by the church.

I said, “well I just like road and track magazine, I don’t think that’s anti religious”. He replied, “that material will cause you to lust after material things and you shouldn’t read that”.

It was at that point I knew I had to get the hell out of there.