The first organisation I reached out to when I had cult problems was the Family Survival Trust. I spoke to a chap who manned the phones who I won't name (but many will know), who was so helpful and supportive - a calming voice when my life was being turned upside-down by a particular pernicious and vicious cult.

I later found out he left because of disagreements with Trustees & the Board, and I thought nothing of it.

I have supported the Family Survival Trust for many years. I have directed survivors to them. I introduced a certain YouTuber (who thinks he has left Scientology) to them.

I have sent reports to their Trustees from court-rooms and competing INFORM seminars. I have given them money and helped them fundraise. I even introduced the speaker who spoke at a recent FST event to them. I have introduced them to documentary makers who have featured them in international cult documentaries.

I have "gone to bat" for Trustees of the FST when they have had their reputation smeared online. I have made recommnedations that helped them meet influential people who could aid in raising awareness for their cause. I have even filed multiple reports to the Police when a certain east-european cult has threatened a Trustee.

But I never recieved any direct help. When I pleaded with their Trustee to connect with someone who needed help they refused. In fact, people who have been refused help by the FST have been sent to me!

When I have raised a serious issue with them, having been promised a meeting, the offer then subsequently withdrawn, I was asked to provide information which would be passed straight onto people who have been involved in the unethical processing of personal-information, which has ended up online, or been collected into datasets about active UK cult-member with their names & addresses. (I know this because I was asked to collate this data - until I was told its purpose, to collect active UK scientologists addresses, which I then reported to the ICO)

Recently a number of people have separately raised concerns with me about the Family Survival Trust. One described it as having its own Cult problems. Another compared it to the Cult Awareness Network whose assets now belong to the Church of Scientology.

So this post is a decree to myself. I shall no longer support a corrupt organisation that does not have the interests of survivors at heart. If the last stage of leaving a cult is to individuate - then I am now no longer in the shadow of this group.

But I also want to know about your experiences with the Family Survival Trust, especially where your personal data has been abused, or when your time has been taken up for their bidding.

Are there other groups that suppose to support survivors as bad as the Family Survival Trust?

Share your thoughts.

New to this subreddit and wondering if anyone could fill me in on this group/cult my mom encountered. Sorry if this description is sparse I wasn't given a lot of detail.

My mom told me about an experience she had when she was younger (Around the early 2000s). She said that while she was out walking, a woman in a long dress approached her and invited her to dinner with a group.

According to my mom, the building they brought her to was very nice, and there were people playing acoustic instruments. Everybody danced, then ate dinner, and then danced again .

She said the woman started asking her strange questions like: “Have you ever felt empty after doing something you enjoy?” and my mom took that as a sign to leave. The group calls themselves the “12 Tribes”.

Does anyone know what this group is about, whether they're considered dangerous and why they ask those weird questions?

I grew up in the United States in North Carolina. The church I grew up in is national and does a lot of work around the world. A main place is Kenya where they helped build a church/school. I grew up and attended for most of my life and still occasionally go when my mom asks me to ride with her since she's nervous driving alone. What first made me suspicious was another girl who grew up in the church mentioning she found articles where the church was referred to as a cult. I found one that went into detail. It included names of people I had personally knew. I brought this up to my mom and she said she was aware of the accusations back when she joined in the 90's. I left it alone for a while after that.

Fast forward a few years, I'm in college and have distanced myself from the church. I'm speaking to my partner at the time and they keep saying how it sounds like a cult. Over the past few days I've brought up my concerns more and more with my mom, and she ignores and dismisses it. She says that all those things were proven false, that people admitted to lying and making up stuff because of fear. I told her if a lot of people are saying it at multiple locations, then there may be some truth to it.

What really makes me uncomfortable and see it as a cult is my moms mindset. She has no independence or self value, instead everything is tied to God. She doesn't take credit for anything she accomplishes, if anything good happens to her it's because of God. She told me today that she was looking at herself in the mirror and seeing different things that bothered her. She had multiple surgeries last year so she had scars that makes her self conscious. She said she prayed for God to make her see herself as beautiful and now she feels beautiful. This rubbed me the wrong way. I asked her why she can't feel beautiful to herself and why she needs to rely on God to feel that way. Her response is that all things good come from God and that she feels beautiful because God allowed her to. She says other similar things to my questions like why she can't accept that she plays a role in her own accomplishments. She has a good job and always says she doesn't know what to do or how she does anything there and that it's all because God allows her too. Keep in mind she's been there for 5+ years and has gone through multiple trainings and has received praise from various higher ups and coworkers. She takes no credit for it. I encouraged her to speak to her therapist about her reliance on God for so many things and she laughed it off.

A few things have happened over the years that made me suspicious of the church. A couple are

1. They don't refer to themselves as Christians, but disciples

2. They don't speak on encourage any research of the Bible and changes/edits that have been made. My mother a follower since the 90's didn't even know the Bible had edits and changes made and denied it and still does even after I googled it and gave her a example of a translation that may have been incorrect

3. A speaker they had made the claim that the Bible had no edits or changes and was the exact same as when it had been written, no one questioned it

There are others, but these are a few that set me off over the years. I've somewhat accepted my mom won't change, but it makes me upset. Her words to me when I told her my concerns and lack of interest in becoming a discipline was that "every knee will bow one day." Am I overthinking or are these genuine concerns?

For me, I remember the beginning of my doubts about gospel assemblies beliefs. There were many, but one interaction In particular.

I was riding in the car with an older relative, and I asked a question. “ why doesn’t our young people do any witnessing or mission work?” You see I had a small group of mainstream Christian friends, who were talking about spreading the gospel. Whether it be in soup lines, relief work or mission trips to different parts of the world. They would say things like, it’s in the great commission, go into the world and make disciples of all the nations!

It sounded foreign to say out loud, but I had remember reading it somewhere at some point in my Bible. It sounded great! It’s what Jesus told us to do with his message. And since we were taught we had the most truth, I felt we were missing out on a huge opportunity for our church to grow.

So I asked this question, why aren’t we spreading the truth to as many people as possible?

The response….. that’s not our job. That is for the rest of the religious world to do. I was very confused. They went on to say, our job is to reach perfection and help teach these other Christian’s the real truth in the first resurrection. We will help them become perfect then. But if they don’t accept it, they will perish in the second death.

This was hard to hear. My other Christian friends were all in with their faith. They lived it, talked about constantly and with passion. Most of them knew their scripture FAR better than I did. There’s no way they could be that far off.

It was this very conversation that happened 2 decades ago, that caused me to start questioning my faith.

I’m curious, if anyone is willing to share. What did that moment look like for you?
How did it feel in that moment?
How long did you stay in after?

Feel free to post or message me and tell me your story,

Answer to Is JW.org considered a cult site by some ex-Jehovah's Witnesses? What are their reasons for this belief? by Éclairer

I'm not quite sure where to write about this but it's been a weird experience that I need to share.

About a year ago a man I'll call Alan came and did a talk at this community centre where I was part of a support group and afterwards he invited me to his confidence building group. I was super lonely and isolated at the time looking to rebuild my life so I went and at first it was great. Everyone was friendly, welcoming and supportive and we practiced different confidence building activities which were genuinely helpful. I have been wanting to return to work and it made that feel less daunting.

Unfortunately, the first red flag however was that to be part of the group you had to pay a subscription. I asked Alan if I could be a non-paying member until I'd got a job and he agreed but everyone else as far as I know as paying.

A few months down the line I realised that the group was technically a sales funnel for a business jointly? owned by Alan and his business partner I'll call Gavin. Alan always seemed like a warm, genuinely caring guy but as soon as I saw Gavin's messages in the group's WhatsApp chat he alarmed me. He is always trying to get people to sign up to increasingly expensive workshops and uses those predatory sales tactics such as 'this offer is just for the first 10 people who sign up' and 'this is a great opportunity and remember, the offer price will increase next week.' I looked at their website and they have various workshops increasing in price going right up to 'executive level' extortionately priced 'coaching.'

Alan suddenly became ill with a terminal diagnosis and left the group with immediate affect, nobody told me what was happening until I asked and it felt pretty distressing. As soon as Alan left, Gavin has taken over the group and it has become weirder and weirder. I think he tells people who go to his other workshops to write various things in the group chat, so now they're all speaking in the weird way he does, for example it's things like:

'Thanks for providing a safe space for us to share today Gavin, I am so glad to be part of this' and even 'Thanks for postponing your spa visit to spend time with us today Gavin.'

Lots of talk about 'levelling up, ' 'investing in yourself,' 'stepping into your power' and all of the rest of that creepy toxic positivity salesy cult-like language. There's always an underlying vibe of 'anyone who doesn't sign up is negative/not investing in themselves, don't be like that' and lots of not-so-subtle boasting about how he normally charges loads and travels all over the world for 'high ticket clients.'

I feel creeped out and alarmed by how the group has changed and I've left. I'd love to hear your views on this, thanks for reading.

I’m a UK documentary producer, and I’m looking to speak (privately and with no pressure at all) to any British families who have lost a loved one to suicide where the person had been following an online influencer Teal Swan. I know this is a very sensitive subject, and I will only speak with people who feel comfortable and ready. All conversations can be completely confidential, and there is no obligation to take part in the documentary.

If this applies to you or someone you know, and you feel able to talk, please feel free to email me at Jane@contenthouse.tv

Thank you for reading.

https://preview.redd.it/qbgbtccgz42h1.png?width=1541&format=png&auto=webp&s=084148baa532136152ff362fc3c39d70f8afe21f

Dump your pets, orders secretive religious sect
Plymouth Brethren decree after dog bite

By Cameron Charters

A SECRETIVE Christian sect has allegedly ordered its members to purge their homes of pets.

Members of the Plymouth Brethren were reportedly told to cull their ‘dogs, cats, birds and mice’ after a relative of the group’s leader, Bruce Hales, was bitten by a dog.

The order was issued by the Australian branch on May 2 and, in a letter delivered at services held in the UK, parishioners were told it was ‘clearly wrong’ to keep a dog in their house.

It continued: ‘There are reports of some Brethren having reverted to owning pets, including dogs and other animals, which practice has been clearly spoken against in ministry. Every household should be freshly exercised [concerned] to ensure the standard... is carried forward and maintained.’

But the Plymouth Brethren has denied claims the letter is a call for pets to be culled and argue it is an affirmation of a long-standing outlawing of pet ownership for members.

The allegations are similar to reports in the 1960s that the Plymouth Brethren ordered a pet culling. The claims were denied at the time and are still rejected today.

The sect was established in the 19th century in England by former members of the Anglican Church who believed it was too closely linked to worldly matters. In an effort to stay close to the teachings of Jesus, members distance themselves from distractions. This includes only marrying fellow members and not eating or drinking with anyone outside of the faith.

According to the movement’s website, there are 55,000 members worldwide.

A spokesman said the Australian letter had been misconstrued as members ‘being told to euthanise their pets’. He added: ‘The church would never condone cruelty to any living creature.’

Hi,
Long story short I left a cult a few years ago that was ran by a therapist. I was introduced to it by a co-worker when I needed trauma and crisis counseling. The first few sessions were iffy but I know you have to adjust to the therapist first but very quickly gaslighting was happening. It was staged as a healing group and all the members were also highly traumatized women who were her clients (all of us had some form of severe childhood sexual abuse if not worse).
The leader would make comments stating “it’s good if they call us a cult” as well as stating anyone who reported her was a narcissist, and it was highly enmeshed. Rules were always shifting, my symptoms got worse overtime to the point my life was in fucking ruin, I was suicidal, and I relapsed on an eating disorder and substance use. Like, what the fuck.

Recently I reported them, and the person who basically recruited me to the group has recently poop up at a gym I workout at. I have also seen her recording, possibly for promotional posts etc but I also noticed it’s positioned right where I’m working out at. I can also feel the seething hostility.

Any advice?
Like, I practice fighting for my workout. I’m okay defending myself I just don’t know how to navigate the situation. Right now I pretty much move like none of them matter or exist. Literally go get lives wtf.

‘My church or the dog?’ Brethren orders members to purge pets, sparking fears of global cull

Secretive sect the Exclusive Brethren has ordered members to get rid of pets, leaving Australian families “heartbroken” and facing a devastating choice.”

By Sherryn Groch

Secretive religious sect The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church has ordered its members to purge their homes of animals, leaving some Australian families heartbroken as they feel pressured to kill or abandon their pets.

Members inside the group, formerly known as Exclusive Brethren, say some animals, including a kitten, have already been put down since this month’s edict from the sect’s upper echelons, which has controversial ties to conservative politics and substantial financial holdings.

The directive, obtained by this masthead, that “every household should be freshly” cleansed of “dirty” animals follows a dog attack on a young relative of Brethren leader Bruce Hales last month, and has conjured memories of a widely reported purge of pets by the sect in the 1960s that horrified the public.

As one Melbourne family made plans to dump their cat four hours out of town so it “could never find its way back home”, others told this masthead they would defy the order. In New Zealand, a member shared pictures mourning her kitten, which multiple people in the church said she had been pressured into euthanising this month.

The Brethren instructs its 50,000 members in Australia and around the world to live separated from society. But it has drawn scrutiny for its involvement in recent elections, campaigning for the Liberal Party, and was raided by the Australian Tax Office in 2024.

The kitten euthanised this month in New Zealand, according to Brethren members, because of the new global edict against pets.

On May 2, at closed Brethren meetings across Australia, Canada, NZ, the UK and elsewhere, a letter from leadership was read out detailing a dog attack on a four-year-old relative of the Hales family at a member’s home. The boy survived but required stitches on his face.

“The ownership of such an animal, let alone it being kept at a brother’s home, is clearly wrong,” the letter read. “There are reports of some Brethren having reverted to owning pets, including dogs and other animals, which practice has been clearly spoken against in ministry.

“Every household should be freshly exercised [concerned] to ensure the standard … is carried forward and maintained.”

The directive referenced several Brethren teachings, including that “disposing of dogs” was not enough: birds, “mice out, cats too” and that pet owners should then confess to the sect’s “assembly”.

Following recent scandals, the Brethren now commonly orders its instructions be “destroyed after reading”, but multiple recordings of the meetings were shared with this masthead, along with sect texts detailing past “disposals” of “unclean” pets.

More than a dozen current and former Brethren members told this masthead they worried another major purge of animals was imminent. Many spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing repercussions.

One Victorian member said her heart sank as the directive was read out, a rare explicit order from leadership. “Normally, we only get them for elections and things.”

Her service dog had helped her through “many tough times”, even as he drew disapproving comments within the sect, she said.

“Times when I was so suicidal, without thinking, I’d go to step in front of traffic, and he’d pull me back,” she said. “If I’m asked to choose between my church and the dog, it’s going to be the dog.”

A drawing ex-member Andrew Hart made of his cat as a child. His cat was soon after put down in the UK, in 1964, under the Brethren pet ban.Andrew Hart

Another family said their elderly aunt had also come under repeated “priestly” pressure to get rid of her beloved companion dog. “We’re worried they’ll finally make her [do it] now, and she’ll be totally alone,” they said.

The church tells adherents that loving animals distracts from devotion to God, but members say they view this latest command as “another test to make us prove our loyalty” in a sect where much of daily life, from money to family, is strictly controlled by leadership.

“There could be another walkout,” said one member. “Some aren’t happy. We’ve got [leadership] living in mansions while lots of us are struggling.”

The church dismissed concerns of a pet cull as a conspiracy led by “anti-Brethren activists”, claiming no one in the sect would hurt an animal.

“The recent message from church elders read out at meetings was … simply a reminder of a principle that was established some time ago,” a spokesman said.

“The church would never condone cruelty to any living creature,” he said, adding some members still kept livestock.

The church also denied the 1960s pet purge, calling it “completely untrue … to the best of our knowledge”. The ban and associated cull was well-documented in newspapers, academic papers and books around the world, as well as the Brethren’s own ministries.

When asked why members being made to “dispose of” pets is so often referenced in Brethren texts, which also say “the best dog is a dead dog”, the church did not answer.

Joy Nason pictured with her beloved cat Tiddles in the 1960s.Joy Nason

Joy Nason, who grew up in the Brethren in Sydney, recalls being ordered as a teenager to take her family cat to the vet to be euthanised when the ban first came in about 1963.

“I was told to say he had a sore foot, that’s why he had to be put down, and, of course, to tell no one it was Brethren business,” she said.

“I was terrified if I didn’t, I’d go to hell. Even giving animals away, they said, was a sin. I was so upset, I couldn’t stay to watch and, in my heart, I always hoped that vet saw through me, and had Tiddles rehomed instead.”

Back then, newspapers in Australia and overseas reported Brethren bought the gas ether to put their animals to sleep at home, when vets discovered the trend and refused to euthanise.

Some members told this masthead that other pets were killed by more brutal means – drowned, shot or clubbed – at times in front of children. At least three blind Brethren were “ordered to destroy” their guide dogs, though some refused and were instead ex-communicated.

Since then, members said pets had crept back into the lives of Brethren, especially after the pandemic. Some would hide their animals or send them away when hosting Brethren events, even as others openly owned cats, birds and smaller animals, believing the old edict applied only to dogs, or excused working animals.

“But you never know which of the thousands of rules they’ll suddenly enforce so you’re forever on eggshells,” said one member. “A lot of us have pets now.”

Coverage of the first pet purge by the Exclusive Brethren included this article on the RSPCA investigating, published in The Daily Mail February 7, 1964.

Reports of animal cruelty connected to the sect have continued in the years since the first purge, and more recent “reminders” of the ban from leadership have frequently seen animals killed or dumped again.

A Melbourne woman put down her cats three years ago when the edict was mentioned in passing at a meeting, according to three members. In NSW in the 2000s, an ex-member said Brethren asked farmers to shoot their dogs for them.

“Fear of getting caught flouting the rule means it’s kept secret,” said one member. “Though my father has always enjoyed shooting cats.”

Another woman recalled coming home from holidays as a child in the 1990s to find their litter of puppies missing. “We found out years later, they’d come and drowned them,” she said.

Ex-member Cheryl Bawtinheimer, who has accused a Brethren member of sexual abuse and is being sued by the church for copyright infringement over her podcast’s use of a logo, said she had been flooded with messages from people inside the church “panicking” about the new crackdown.

“One’s cat’s just had kittens. They’re refusing to get rid of them,” she said. “People are still scarred from the first ban.”

Bawtinheimer and more than a dozen sources connected to the church estimate that thousands of animals around the world have been killed over the decades because of the Brethren’s ban, and others mistreated or abandoned.

Late on Friday, after further questions from this masthead, the Brethren said it had decided to hold a service over the weekend, it claimed to “reinforce” the message that cruelty was not acceptable, and members should explore options to rehome their pets.

Ex-member Neville McCallum, who vividly recalls Brethren killing their animals during the 1960s, said the sect frequently enforced “bizarre” rules such as the pet ban as “a test of loyalty”. He managed to get around it where he lives in New Zealand by calling his pet a guard dog for his vineyard.

“But I wasn’t ever able to take him home properly, poor thing,” he said. “Now, I’m going around to local vets here to warn them about this latest pet cull.”

Publicly, the Brethren claims it has “no specific rules” and that members instead “choose” to forgo things such as pets and television to focus on the church. High-ranking Brethren appear on its “Not-So-Exclusive” podcast claiming to live normal lives, speaking of pets or of their children loving animals.

“It’s all a lie, PR,” said ex-member Richard Marsh, who said his parents had “been forced to put down their cat, Drusilla” during the first purge.

“The cruelty to animals just day-to-day is disgusting, it’s encouraged,” said an Australian member. “I’ve had my kids in tears because of it.”

Another Victorian woman said she sent her dog away when hosting Brethren members “because I know they’ll hurt him”. “I remember one [member] tried to kick our cat, who’s been a huge emotional support for my daughter since she was little, right in front of her,” she said.

The RSPCA, which investigated the 1960s pet cull, said it had not been alerted to any recent concerns about the church, but noted it could only act on reports made by eyewitnesses to animal cruelty.

Lawyer Tom Grace, who grew up in the Brethren, said the latest pet crackdown stirred up painful memories of the 1960s purge.

“We had a cockatoo then who’d been in our family for 60 years, my grandfather gave him to us,” Grace said, through tears. “I never even considered the ban would mean Cocky. He was part of the family.”

Unable to bear the idea of killing the bird, Grace’s parents instead opened his cage, but Cocky refused to fly away. He stayed around the family home, talking to them, for more than a day.

“Then we found him dead on the ground,” said Grace. “The shock of it, must have been too much.

“It always struck me, him in that cage, as being similar to my family leaving the church. The cage is all we’d known.”

With Michael Bachelard

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I grew up in this church, live with my parents so I'm still forced to go.

We can't read the Bible, we have to cut our hair because evil hides in hair, if you leave the church witchcraft will affect you and you won't be under God's protection. We all wear white when we meet, its a mix of a little Christianity and African spirituality, I recently started braiding my hair and growing it out and they said if I die the church will not raise up funds to bury me and I am vulnerable to demonic attacks. They prophesied sicks which is to come on me and apparently I have a spiritual husband and one of these days I will leave home ans not come back.

It was July 31, 1978, and a self-proclaimed Mormon prophet was found dead under mysterious circumstances inside a car. A few days later, on the eleventh floor of a luxury hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah, the man's wife gathered her seven children on the balcony. Some jumped, obeying the widow's commands; others wept, clinging desperately to the railing and trying to resist, while several people on the street screamed in terror, attempting to stop the tragedy.

In a matter of minutes, an entire family was destroyed. But the most disturbing aspect of this story is not only its brutal ending, but also the fact that a virtually unknown man managed to convince several people outside his family that he was a prophet sent by God, and even the deity himself incarnate.

Video about the deadly Mormon cult of Immanuel David: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz8pBjTi89k