“Take Back Your Life” by Janja Lalich and Madeline Tobias (p. 26-27).  [Reprinted with permission from the author and publisher.]

In the medical profession, ethical contracts ensure that patients have given “fully informed consent”.  That is, if a doctor fails to inform a patient about the risks, side effects, and options for treatment, the uninformed patient is entitled to sue for maltreatment.  Below is a mock contract for cult membership.  If you are in a group, ask yourself if you gave informed consent at the time of your recruitment, or if you would have joined had you known your participation would involve the following conditions.  I find this contract very similar to my own experience in the WMSCOG:

I, _______________________ hereby agree to join ________________________.  I understand that my life will change in the following ways.  I know what I am getting into and agree to all of the following conditions:

My good feelings about who I am will stem from being liked by other group members and/or my leader, and from receiving approval from the group/leader.

1. My total mental attention will focus on solving the group’s/leader’s problems and making sure that there are no conflicts.
2. My mental attention will be focused on pleasing and protecting the group/leader.
3. My self-esteem will be bolstered by solving group problems and relieving the leader’s pain.
4. My own hobbies and interest will gladly be put aside.  My time will be spent however the group/leader wants.
5. My clothing and personal appearance will be dictated by the desires of the group/leader.
6. I do not need to be sure of how I feel.  I will only be focused on what the group/leader feels.
7. I will ignore my own needs and wants.  The needs and wants of the group/leader are all that is important.
8. The dreams I have for the future will be linked to the group/leader.
9. My fear of rejection will determine what I say or do.
10. My fear of the group’s/leader’s anger will determine what I say or do.
11. I will use giving as a way of feeling safe with the group/leader.
12. My social circle will diminish or disappear as I involve myself with the group/leader.
13. I will give up my family as I involve myself with the group/leader.
14. The group/leader’s values will become my values.
15. I will cherish the group’s/leader’s opinions and ways of doing things more than my own.
16. The quality of my life will be in relation to the quality of group life, not the quality of the life of the leader.
17. Everything that is right and good is due to the group’s belief, the leader, or the teachings.
18. Everything that is wrong is due to me.
19. In addition, I waive the following rights to:

In part one, of our five part series we learned how our correspondent from New Jersey was recruited into the World Mission Society Church of God.  Now, read part two below to learn how her time commitment and involvement was slowly encouraged to increase…

After being a member for about two weeks, I invited my boyfriend of about one year to come to the church for a Bible study.  Things were rocky between us at the time and I thought that going to church together and learning more about God might help.  He seemed a little reluctant at first, but he agreed.  I was allowed to be present during my boyfriend’s first study with a WMSCOG Deacon.  He also opted to be baptized immediately after his first study about the Sabbath.

Soon after we began attending Tuesday and Saturday services and occasionally visiting during the week for a study.  After all, we had a list of about twelve basic studies to complete.  We would study separately from now on.  I noticed that married couples and families did not study together unless there was a longer study being offered on a Sunday afternoon.  Even during these 6 hour long studies, women and men sat separately.  I remember finding it strange that women and men were seated on opposite sides of the sanctuary during worship times as well.  I was told that the seating arrangement was to prevent gossip, distractions, and men looking at women with a romantic interest or vice versa.  One of the members said, “this way we only focus on God”.  It didn’t take long for the seating arrangement to seem normal.  During one of the services I attended, I remember the pastor mentioning how outsiders find this seating arrangement weird.  Then he shouted “but brothers and sisters, we don’t find Zion customs weird right?”  This was followed by everyone shouting “Amen!”

For about two months we only attended one of the three services held on Saturdays.  I remember being surprised to find out that most members spent their entire Saturday, from about 9 am to 10 pm, in the church attending services and in between, studying the Bible, watching videos (usually about Zhang Gil Jah or disasters), or reading books written by Ahnsahnghong and others.  I remember asking someone there why it was necessary to spend all of Saturday in the church.  The “older sister” replied that “God commanded the Sabbath day not the Sabbath hour or one Sabbath service”.  This topic would be touched upon during services as well.  I remember one of the missionaries mentioning that members of strong faith don’t question the amount of time you are supposed to spend in the church on the Sabbath.  I started to view these subliminal messages during services as ways to suggest feelings of guilt among members.  I decided to keep my concerns about this to myself.  It didn’t take long for the pressure to build, so we started attending two services on Saturdays.

Shortly after, I began receiving text messages on Fridays or Saturdays from the “older sister” assigned to watch over me, asking what time I would be there for service.  My boyfriend would receive the same from one of the “older brothers” assigned to watch over his progress.  This “buddy system” that I observed seemed increasingly odd as the frequency of the text messages increased to every day.  I remember being at work and getting a text message that read something like “GBU sister, when do you think you will be coming to Zion to continue your Bible studies?”  Again, I felt that this was more pressure to spend more time in the church.

Two months into my membership at the WMSCOG, my boyfriend did something that really hurt our relationship.  I went to the pastor for guidance on the situation and he advised my boyfriend and I that it was not good to be together and that we should be with other people.  He suggested that if we loved one another and wanted to be together, then we should get married.  Despite how heartbroken I was, I forgave my boyfriend.  Four months later we were engaged.  Four weeks after that, we bought a foreclosed home that required a lot of construction.  So between work, the construction, and planning the wedding that would take place four months later, we really didn’t have much free time.  My now fiancé also worked part time a few nights per week.  We were both completely overwhelmed but we continued to spend as much time in the church as possible.

After a while, Saturdays were not enough.  We were pressured to return on Sundays too.  The WMSCOG holds what they call a “preaching assembly” on Sunday mornings followed by recruiting for the rest of the afternoon.  When members return, they typically spend more time in the church studying.  Those members that were not experienced enough to go out recruiting would attend an approximately 6 hour long group study.  There were also times when members would gather on Sunday evenings to watch movies that were determined by the WMSCOG to have some “spiritual” content.

And then there were the feasts during which members were required to attend services at 5 am and then again at 7:30 pm for sometimes 10 days at a time.  I tried the 5 am services but it was nearly impossible for me considering that I normally went to bed around 2 am.  So I would attend the 7:30pm services despite being exhausted after a long day at work.

During the first year of my membership at the WMSCOG, my family was quite concerned with the amount of time that I was spending at the church.  I tried numerous times to get my family to join the church with me to no avail.  I was initially disturbed by their resistance because I really believed in the WMSCOG’s claim that one could not be saved without their many requirements (Sabbath, Passover, other feasts, etc.).  I was told by my “older sisters” not to worry and that God will make them come if I provide a good example for them to follow.  I soon found myself feeling pressured to choose between the WMSCOG and my family.  I remember telling my sister that I could not attend my nephew’s birthday party because it was on a Saturday.  I dropped off a gift and went on my way to the church for the rest of the day.  I regret this now.  But this would only be the beginning of conflicts with my family due to my involvement with the WMSCOG.

The creeping time commitment is a big concern we hear from others who have loved ones in the WMSCOG.  In part 3, we’ll learn of the astonishing Biblical contradiction and the surrounding events that led to our correspondent’s dramatic exit.

Family and friends of current World Mission Society Church of God members that we speak with, often can not understand the member’s involvement with the organization, much less why it is so difficult for the member to leave even after being made aware of various contradictions in the group’s doctrine, activities, and leadership.  So why is it so hard for members to leave the World Mission Society Church of God?

Cult expert Margaret Singer explains the reasons why members find it difficult to leave destructive mind control organizations in her book titled “Cults In Our Midst“.  I will list each of the reasons that Margaret Singer mentions and apply them to my experience and discussions that I and others have had during our time in the WMSCOG.

Deception in the Recruitment Process

Deception in the recruitment process and throughout membership was a big stumbling block for many.  The WMSCOG recruiters I knew were not exactly forthcoming with their beliefs when attempting to recruit members in shopping malls and on college campuses.  While WMSCOG recruiters will stop people and ask them if they “have ever heard of god the mother in the Bible“, they fail to mention that the “god the mother” they believe in is a Korean lady named ZaHng Gil Jah.  WMSCOG members I knew also evaded new recruits’ questions about who Ahnsahnghong and ZaHng Gil Jah were.  The common answer to these questions from the WMSCOG members was “don’t worry about that, you need to study more“.  It is interesting to note that the “studies” pertaining to who Ahnsahnghong and Zhang Gil Jah were, were taught last on the list of basic studies.  A former member recently posted her similar observations from her experience on Youtube. Click here to see part 1 and part 2.

Personal Debilitation

Because of the hours, the degree of commitment, the psychological pressures, and the inner constriction and strife, many members found the experience to be personally exhausting and debilitating.  There was great pressure put on new recruits to finish the list of basic studies as quickly as possible.  The new member was slowly pressured to spend more and more time studying with members of the organization.  Once the basic studies were completed, the newly indoctrinated member was pressured to go out and recruit more new members.  The pressure from the organization to “bear ten talents” or recruit ten more donating members became very time consuming.  Recruiters often experienced disappointment in the amount of rejection experienced during the many hours of recruiting.  As the demand for the member’s time increased, the members were often forced to choose between the WMSCOG and their education or career goals, spending time with friends, family, etc.  The WMSCOG’s black and white perspective on “what is more important, (insert here) or God?” usually succeeded in getting the new member to choose the organization’s agenda over their own priorities.

Dependency on the Group

Dependency on the group increased as a result of being cut off from the outside world.  Successfully indoctrinated members initially attempted to recruit those closest to them (or “low hanging fruit” as they called it).  Family and friends usually resist for a number of reasons like the personality changes in the new member or the increased amount of time the member spends at the organization.  The WMSCOG taught the new member to dismiss this resistance with statements like “satan will use those closest to you to try to stop you from coming to the truth” and “don’t worry, your friends and family members will eventually come, you just have to continue to learn more and become a better example“.  In many cases, this approach completely dismantled the member’s prior support system and replaced it with the organization.  I personally know several members who left their spouses because they were unable to reconcile over church involvement.  If a member is dependent upon the group, then where would they turn to if they were to leave?

Fear, or a Sense of Dread

The WMSCOG’s claims concerning protection from natural disasters and salvation concerning keeping the Passover, as only they observe it and other feasts (even though they observe the feasts incorrectly), can cause dread in members.  Consider things that I heard like “former members are spiritually dead”, will “burn in hell for all of eternity”, will “not be protected from disasters” (see the WMSCOG’s apocalyptic theories), may “get into a fatal car accident”, or become “severely ill”.  The fear that any of these will occur if the member leaves, I am sure is more than enough to make some members remain prisoners within this organization.  If you’re lucky enough to never have been a member, you can get some sense of the fear-mongering that goes on by watching some of the twisted videos they have plastered all over YouTube, like this one.  Take a simple disaster, then twist it to your own advantage.  I saw this done very frequently, and it’s intellectually dishonest.  Disasters happen all over the world all the time.  Trying to exploit these to your own advantage is a bit disconcerting.  Not to mention, that the WMSCOG in New Zealand was damaged by an earthquake earlier this year.  

Update 2020:  World Mission Society Church of God Members believe the Passover will protect them from the coronavirus.

Desensitization

Desensitization occurred so that things that once troubled members no longer did.  WMSCOG members were encouraged to dismiss all criticism about the organization, regardless of its validity.  WMSCOG members easily dismiss all criticism as persecution and do not accurately address the criticism.  When I point out contradictions like how Ahnsahnghong never claimed to be god, or that he contradicted the Bible, or how they twist scripture and take things out of context, the WMSCOG members that I have spoken to do not address the contradiction and quickly change the subject.  WMSCOG members also donate significant amounts of their salary through tithes and freewill offerings even though there is no transparency as to what the money is being used for.

All of the above tactics work together and prevent the member from seeing a way out of the organization.  This helps explain why your friends and family have trouble leaving in spite of all the contradictions.

*The photo above is licensed under the Creative Commons license, available here.

This true story from one of our friends who is now an ex-member of the World Mission Society Church of God has been posted here with their permission.  Here is our friend’s story in her own words:

I was a member of the World Mission Society Church of God for about 5 months. I wasn’t recruited on the streets like most people. I was invited by a good friend of mine. She had been a member for less than a year at the time. So after several invitations from her Ifinally said to myself, what the heck let me go check this out. I was really interested because my friend kept telling me about how this church was different because they did not deny evolution and dinosaurs. In the past I had trouble with religion not being able to reconcile with scientific evidence that the world existed for a lot longer than six thousand years old. The WMSCOG seemed to have an answer for everything.

My first study was about the Sabbath. It seemed to make sense at the time. And not being all that familiar with the Bible and not having belonged to a specific church, this made me an easy target. I was baptized the very same day. Right after that study, it was impressed upon me that if I believed everything in the study then what would be the point of waiting to be baptized. I felt pressured, but then again because it was my friend who invited me, and I knew her to be smart and anything but gullible, I felt that she wouldn’t steer me in the wrong direction.

I began going to the church to study every day so that I could finish the “basic studies”. Being the skeptic that I am, I began to think that it was weird that everyone there was always smiling and happy all of the time. I was told by some members that “once you are in the truth you are happy all of the time”. (Kinda reminds me of the cult called shiny happy people in the movie “Bubble Boy” lol). One day when I was there, I was waiting for the person who I was going to study with, and heard a member commenting to another about her appearance. She stated “if I knew we were going preaching I would have dressed better”. So I turned to her and asked what difference it made what she was wearing if she was going to “preach the Word”. She answered, “well it’s for father and mother and you always want to look your best for father and mother”. It was at that point that I realized that appearance was very important to members in this organization. I asked the person that I was studying with about the question I asked the other member and she responded that “if you are doing something for God then you should be at your best”. I thought this was weird because to my knowledge Jesus was never worried about what He wore when he preached right?

I noticed that I saw less and less of my friend as the weeks went by. I attributed this to her just being busy with other stuff. I also was really tired because I went from going to church sporadically to going everyday. I justified my going so often due to the fact that I was new and I had a lot of studies to get through before I could understand everything that was going on in the church. Fortunately for me, I joined at a time when there were a lot of these “feasts” going on. During these feasts that I didn’t fully understand, I was expected to be in the church by 4:30 am for prayer services. I would then go to work and have to come back for the 7:30 pm services. I was exhausted! Due to the increasing demands for my time from the organization, things were tense between me and my family. Of course when I told the girl assigned to study with me and watch over me (this is typical of the way they work) about the issues with my family’s concern with my involvement, she advised “this is persecution, satan will try to use the people closest to you to try to keep you from coming to the church and learning the truth”. This was disturbing. It made for a frustrating time because I had to defend why I was going to the church so often to my family. I would say that I was just going to church and there shouldn’t be anything wrong with that, or so I thought. I said that it wasn’t like I was going to be in the church 24/7, or so I thought. I was under the silly impression that once I was done with the basic studies, I wouldn’t be spending as much time there. Ha Ha Ha

Slowly but surely they tried to nudge me into changing the way that I dressed. I mean I don’t dress provocatively, I just favor darker colors (the non-shiny happy people colors :)). I didn’t exactly adhere because I really didn’t have the expected wardrobe of skirt suits or pant suits like everyone else was wearing. I still made an effort to go appropriately dressed and sort of blend in.

I also began asking “who is this Korean lady in this picture” and “who is this lady on this calendar”?  The member next to me said “don’t worry about that, you will learn about that later”.  This was so weird.  I also noticed that people obsessively cleaned the church on their hands and knees.  I was told that it was a great honor to be chosen to beautify the temple.  I just thought to myself, why don’t they just use a mop…

I once noticed one of the women complaining about her weight.  So I suggested that she join a gym.  I mean 30 minutes a day a few times a week should do the trick.  She answered, “oh no I don’t have time because I’m too busy doing things for father and mother”.  I still didn’t know who this “mother” person was but I thought this was very suspect.  

During one of the breaks between feasts, I decided to just attend Tuesday and Saturday services. On that Sabbath I was approached by one of the missionaries questioned why I hadn’t been there since Tuesday, and I bluntly said that I attended on Tuesday and Saturday, had finished my basic studies and didn’t see a reason to come any more often. She then said that I didn’t really need to go just to study and I should want to go everyday. I thought to myself, why would I do that? I mean I have other obligations. I came to realize that the expectation was that I be there everyday and that the only activities I should be involved in outside of the church were sleep and work. Forget about family obligations. It seemed that the only obligations were to the “church family”. At this point I still hadn’t kept a full Sabbath.

So after being there for about three months I started tithing. There was a lesson dedicated to this topic during which I asked, “who pays the pastor?”. They claimed that the pastor doesn’t get paid and that the mortgage for the church was really high (about $20,000 per month or something crazy like that). I was informed that the money was used for food, church activities, donating to the UN, etc.  It seemed that a lot of pressure was put on everyone to tithe and failing to do so was like stealing from God.  Then I was shown different envelopes for other types of offerings.  In my head I was like I don’t make that much money!  But I guessed that they assumed that I wouldn’t have a need to pay my cable bill because I wouldn’t have time to watch TV.  I also hadn’t seen my friends in a long time.  My involvement in the church caused conflict because I would have to choose between family functions and attending services at the church.  So when I had to leave on a Sabbath to go and do something for my Mom, one of the deaconesses said, “what’s more important, your mother or God”.  I said to myself, God would not make me choose.   It was at that point that I became really suspicious and uncomfortable about their motives.   

During one of the feasts, I was discussing the tension with my mom again.  I said that I don’t lie to my mom, even if I know she isn’t going to like what I’m going to say or do.  The deaconess then said, “well you know that there is such a thing as a righteous lie“.  As I walked away I thought, no there isn’t a lie is a lie.

So I had just about had enough when I noticed that my friend that had invited me in the first place had been MIA for several services.  Every time I questioned one of the members in the group that I was assigned to about my friend, I was told that she wasn’t feeling well.  So I said to one of the girls in my group that I was going to have to take the time to go and see my friend because I was concerned.  It was at this point that she became somewhat evasive and changed the subject.  

Not too long after, my friend actually called me as I was on my way to one of the last feast services and told me that she wanted to speak to me and not to let the church members know that I had spoken to her.  I wanted to turn the car around right away but instead I went ahead and attended the short service.  Throughout the service, every time that they said the name Ahnsahnghong, I said Jesus Christ in my head.  I thought to myself, they have been really evasive lately so I really need to pray for a sign to let me know if this was the place for me or not.  I didn’t want to quit just because I was challenged, but all of the little things that didn’t add up suddenly snowballed.  

When I saw my friend later that evening, she told me that she found a lot of contradictions about the church and that she was lied to by one of the high ranking members of the church.  So that was enough for me.  I had had enough of this charade.  I was done!  Needless to say, members would not stop calling.  After not answering numerous phone calls and text messages, eventually they showed up unannounced at my doorstep.  They of course tried to convince me to return to the church and do the basic studies over again from the beginning.  I told them that I had all of my notes and I also had come across 1 John 2:27 that says “you do not need anyone to teach you”.  One of the members basically told me that I could not understand the Bible on my own.  I felt so disgusted with myself for not being able to see through their “shiny happy people” facade.  At the same time I felt sorry for them because I knew that not all of them were in on what I would call this scheme to take people’s money.  Having just woken up, I realized that these people who had become my friends were still stuck there.  I realized that I could not be their friend because they would not have any time for me outside of the church and that was the only thing we had in common.  I really didn’t want to hurt their feelings or insult anyone.  I just wanted to be left alone to go on with my life.  At this point I told them twice that no one will come between me and my family.  They advised me that I could return whenever I was ready.  But I told them that I could not be a hypocrite and go to their church and pray to someone that I did not believe in.  I told them that they did have some truth in their church but it was of no use because it was mixed with lies.  They gave up and left shortly after.

I hope my story helps people to avoid this organization.  Jesus Christ our only Lord and Savior!

Are you a former member who would you like to share your story with us?  Contact us, and let us know why you too left the WMSCOG.

This true story from one of our friends who is now an ex-member of the World Mission Society Church of God has been posted here with their permission.  The rudeness she experienced when speaking with active members which you are about to read is, sadly, not uncommon from our own personal experience.  Here is our friend’s story in her own words:

I was there for only a few months. I joined after I found out I was pregnant and my family didnt agree with my choice to parent and kicked me to the curb so to speak, and the people from the World Mission Society Church Of God seemed so nice and accepting of me.  I thought it was a good place to restore my faith in Christ. I got baptized after the first two lessons, Sabbath and Passover because it felt right and the proof was in front of me.  I’m no Bible wiz so I was amazed. I didn’t ask why they said “Ahnsahhong” during the baptism.  It was really naive of me now that I think about it, but I believed that was just the Korean way of saying Jesus (because I heard “Christ” before that name) so I didn’t dwell.  As I studied more it became difficult for me to travel (the church was in New Jersey and I live in Long Island, New York). I became sick due to the pregnancy and my belly was growing, so it was difficult for me to travel and have Saturdays off from work.  I was living on my own and paying for everything on my own at that point.  A couple of the sisters were getting frustrated with me telling me that I was not keeping [the] Sabbath and telling me that the devil was stoping me from coming. So I thought to myself, “it’s not the devil they are talking about–it’s my baby”.  I just couldn’t make that two hour drive to the church and the three hour drive back, pay those tolls, make an offering, pay my rent and bills, buy food and baby items, all at the same time by myself!!!  When I tried to explain this to them they would tell me [to] pray about it.  And I would like a good little lamb.  But one day I didn’t make it and the sister that I’d gotten very close to was upset that I didn’t make it to yet another Sabbath.  She became rude and disrespectful with me when I asked her if we could study the Bible by way of Skype or Oovoo.  I thought it would be good because of my situation, it just made sense in my mind. But to her it was me being lazy and not caring about my salvation.  And she blew me off that night.  I can’t remember exactly what she said, but it was a pompus response to my humble question.  I didn’t hear from her until 2 months later.  She text me asking me to come back to the WMSCOG, and didn’t apologize.  Instead, she made me feel minimal by telling me she understood that I simply “didnt know any better” and it wasn’t my fault and she “forgot about that”.  I decided to learn more about this church.  I mean I know Christians who call themselves as such and conduct themselves as anything but. However those two conversations with her made my skin crawl.  I went on the internet, as I should have done MONTHS ago and found a blog that had been a few years old and WMSCOG members were arguing with the rest of the world [For our readers, our friend is referring to this blog].  Just every faith ripping each other apart.  It took me 3 days to read years of this one particular debate; is Ahnsahnhong the second coming of Christ?  And I left that blog more confused then I had ever been about anything in my life.  Everyone made valid points and quoted Bible passages and even Atheists were making sense.  Who is this “mother god” lady they spend their last penny to visit in Korea?  And is it true that no WMSCOG member has or will die as long as they have the Passover?  That’s what I’ve been told and its such a hard concept to wrap my head around.  I’ve never told any of my friends or family members what I’ve been through and the demons that are haunting me because of the WMSCOG.  I also should mention that I left the church right before the “father and mother god” study. Before I did my own research, when they mentioned “father and mother”, I just thought they meant God was not of a specific gender, but had both male and female qualities.  That was enough to explain “elohim” to me. Little did I know I was worshiping a dead man and a living woman. Shameful.  I’m young and haven’t experienced many things in life.  I’m vulnerable and I always want to believe in the best of people.  And I also want to believe in the truth.  I’ve been on a downward spiral since the experience and it’s won me nothing but confusion and anger.

Our prayers go out to our friend.  Please comment below, or contact us from our contact page to send some words of encouragement to her.

Our friend is not the only person who thought that “Ahnsahnghong” was the Korean name for Jesus.  Turns out, it’s not.  View another ex-member’s experience with just this mistake on YouTube here: Part 1, and Part 2.  Some people are shocked to learn that they are worshiping a dead Korean man, and a Korean lady.

Would you like to share your experience with us?  Please contact us.