The book in reference is “Escape” by Carolyn Jessop. (Copyright©2007, author- Carolyn Jessop and Laura Palmer, published by Broadway Books NY, ISBN- 978-0-76792756-7) In case you may not be aware, Carolyn Jessop was married to Merril Jessop, a high ranking official in the Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) until she had the courage to escape this polygamous and abusive cult. I had this book on my shelf for several years, but did not read it until last week. I realize now how timing is of such importance. I have had time to heal from my involvement with WOFF or so I thought. It has been my experience, once you are exposed to cult life and cult practices you never totally heal. The mind is like a computer storing information and there are triggers that set memories in motion. For me, it was reading this book. The similarities between the FLDS and Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) were/are uncanny. Aside from the “prairie dresses” as I call them and the plural marriages, the premise for these two cults is the same. Remember, mind control is the basis for all cults. It is exercised in every and all aspects of a cult member’s life. It was interesting to learn that the FLDS started out much like WOFF, and just like WOFF, as time went on there were “new revelations” given to “leadership”. As a result, members were forced to relinquish more and more freedoms. If they did not comply, they were shunned. Since I do not believe the average person can fathom exactly what that means, I’d like to share from my experiences of being shunned.
My background is Italian and Greek, both of which reflect a very tightly knit family unit. In 2007, a family reunion was planned in Tarpon Springs, Florida for all the people who were from the same island in Greece as my father. My mother and father were elderly and could not travel alone; therefore I offered to take them. Because there would be dancing and music, and as a result of Jane Whaley’s counsel; my husband refused to take me to the airport, watch our dog for the week, pick me up when I returned or speak to me the entire time I was away. At that time, it was too early for me to realize where the “orders” were coming from. When a spouse shuns you to that degree, which is totally foreign to their nature, you know they are being controlled by someone or something else.
Now, as I look back, I will share one more incident I found rather humorous. This happened before my father was having major surgery. At WOFF, it was imperative that we attend all seminars, and the date of his surgery was the same as the upcoming seminar. I was told by Brooke Covington to have the surgery rescheduled. Wouldn’t the doctors have appreciated that? Of course, I refused. Oh yes, I was a bit on the rebellious side and learned later that I was admired by many other members for my attitude. They would never admit it until they too, left WOFF. To this day, many of the people I knew from WOFF are still afraid to speak out against this cult. It’s almost as though they are afraid Jane can still reach them with some sort of Voodoo. Or maybe they are just remembering that shrill, deafening scream as only Jane could give.
From my experience, next to mind control, cutting ties with family members becomes one of the most important parts of cult tactics. Once they isolate members and keep them away from their family outside the group, they’ve got you right where they want you. It soon becomes apparent that destroying the family unit is their goal. That is why some children at WOFF live in different households from their biological parents. Many WOFF families live together much like the families in FLDS. Everything is shared including cooking, cleaning, laundry along with spying on the other members of the household. Bottom line is you lose your identity. As I see it, the only one who maintains her identity is Jane Whaley.
As I read “Escape”, I truly felt a kindred spirit with Carolyn Jessop. After Warren Jeffs took over the leadership of the FLDS, his control over the members became unbearable and Jeffs’ actions were bizarre to say the least. Sound like anyone we know? As a result, Carolyn developed a condition known as PTSD. PTSD stands for post traumatic stress disorder. After suffering from PTSD for years, she finally had enough physical and mental abuse and realized her only hope was to escape FLDS. Her escape was much more difficult having eight children and a van with little gas. In comparison, my leaving WOFF was just refusing to be a part of WOFF any longer. Since we did not live in the immediate vicinity of WOFF, it was not that difficult for me. As a result of my choice, I had to endure ten years of being shunned by my spouse. I can attest to the pain of PTSD having suffered from this debilitating condition myself. PTSD can become life altering if not treated either by medication and/or therapy. Thank you, Carolyn for telling your story. It helped me and now I hope I can help someone else.
I will have more to share later. If you have any questions, or if I can be of any help to anyone who has been in a cult or is looking for a way out of cult, please contact me through this blog. For the record and from what I have heard, Jane Whaley along with Ray Nenow, Gerald Sutherland and a host of others managed the destruction of my marriage of 40 years. Then, quickly had my spouse married off to another woman who happened to be six years his senior. Most assuredly a match made in heaven.
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Lahna, thank you for your story. I am so sorry. I had similar situations as yours, where I needed to help relatives, but was rebuked because I went to help. Who else was to help them? Does the Bible not state that we are to help the widows and orphans (or do they have to be in WOFF?) We are to honor our mothers and fathers (or do they have to be in WOFF?) God did not put a disclaimer on His word when He tells us to help others. Jane has gone to help “relatives” not in WOFF, but that is ministry. Sam even took relatives fishing to be a “minister” years after fishing was another item added to DO NOT DO list.
You know the marriage of your husband to the woman in the church was probably arranged way before your divorce by Jane. The woman had gone through a forced divorce as well. That marriage is one in which Jane can control both partners.
I had to respond again. So many marriage were broken up because one spouse would not “follow God” or really Jane. The spouse would not be willing to give up all and move to Spindale. Their wife and children would move there and that put pressure on the husband to move. Usually if they did not, it ended in separation and divorce. To me, that is abandonment if one spouse moves out and into another town or state. There were very nice families. The whole family attended church and were involved. Then, one would get pulled to WOFF and the “Christian” family would be torn apart because one spouse refused to serve “Jane.” I can think of easily 20 such situations. But, as Jane would say, God hates divorce, (but it is okay if they will not serve her?).