Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 3, 2003, Page 94
Christian Zionists
Refuse Immunization
Christian Zionists in Swaziland are refusing on religious grounds to have their children
immunized in the midst of a national measles epidemic. The denomination‘s children
account for about two percent of the children in the entire country. The Zionists refuse both
modern and traditional medical treatment. (IRIN, Internet, 10/24/03)
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Group Says Mental Illness Not Result of "Sin"
The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill-Utah is working, with the authorization of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to persuade pastors that conditions like
major depression and schizophrenia are not the result of sinfulness or lack of faith and
ought to be treated by psychiatry and drug therapy. The Alliance wants to help clergy whose
congregants turn to them for help with undiagnosed mental illnesses. (Jacob Santini, Salt
Lake Tribune, Internet, 12/6/03)
Church of the Firstborn
Faith Healing Linked to Several Deaths
The Morgan County (IN) coroner wants to change state law in light of the deaths of several
people whose caregivers in the Church of the Firstborn relied on faith alone to cure them
of illness. Although the deaths have involved people of all ages, Coroner Dan Downing says
he‘d like to see prosecutors at least move against parents who fail to seek medical help for
children who would otherwise die. (WISH TV, Internet, 8/27/03)
Community of Free Spirits
Conman Blames Psychological Pressure
Glenn Rycroft, 27, who has admitted to conning friends and family out of more than a
quarter-million dollars to help treat a nonexistent cancer — he even shaved his head to
pretend he was receiving chemotherapy — says he carried out his deceptions because of
pressure from a group called The Community of Free Spirits. His attorney said a woman
in the group had been the most important person to Rycroft for most of his life and he felt
threatened by rejection. Rycroft, now out on bail, attempted suicide when his fraud was
revealed. (BBC News, Internet, 12/4/03)
Davis, Henry/Child Abuse
Leader Pleads Guilty to Leading Teen Sex Ring
Henry Davis, of Chicago, has pleaded guilty to kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct in
connection with a prostitution ring he set up involving teenage girls in Detroit and several
other cities. Davis has admitted kidnapping the girls and forcing them to ―sell jewelry by day
and their bodies by night.‖ Davis faces between 18 and 40 years in prison. (WDI TV Local
4, Internet, 8/28/03)
Deeper Life Christian Church
The Cost of Redemption
Melvin B Jefferson, self-proclaimed Bishop of Deeper Life Christian Church, is
prospering at the expense of the poor and drug addicted whom he takes off the streets
of Tampa. Jefferson and his wife use Scripture and tough love to indoctrinate and
control the lives of the down-and-out people whom he places in dilapidated church-
owned housing. He feeds them chicken necks, rice, and beans, and says they must pay

Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 3, 2003, Page 95
him for salvation or risk eternal damnation. If they break rules they pay fines from their
government checks or from the $10 per day they get for roadside soliciting on behalf of
the church.
Such soliciting, involving meers‘ children as well, has apparently brought in millions
from donations to the 38 churches affiliated with Deeper Life from Virginia to Texas and
north to Michigan. Jefferson, meanwhile, lives in a 10,000 square foot mansion and
drives a Bentley. ―It‘s a fraud,‖ according to Keith Dixon, a former Deeper Life pastor,
who says he raised millions for the church. ―If I have a bucket that says ‗Help feed
needy women and children‘ and I take the money and go buy a Rolls Royce, that‘s
fraud.‖ (Tampa Tribune, Internet, 9/23/03 AP in the Ledger, Lakeland, FL, Internet,
9/23/03)
Destiny House (Word of Life)
Denies "Cult" Label
Destiny House (formerly Word of Life) pastor Jim Addison, fighting a landlord‘s attempt
to evict the group from it‘s facility in Aberdeen, Scotland, denies that Word of Life practices
included members‘ vomiting and screaming sessions to rid themselves of evil, and
preventing contact with people outside the congregation.
Addison denied the charges, as well as allegations that members were forbidden to watch
TV or read newspapers. He also denied he had received an eviction notice and refused to
say why Word of Life had changed to Destiny House. (Gayle Ritchie, Evening Express,
Internet, 8/3/03)
Elizabeth Smart
Captivity Not Life-Altering
Elizabeth Smart, who spent nine months under the control of kidnappers David Mitchell and
his wife Wanda Barzee, says the experience did not change her much. ―It‘s not like I was,
like, all happy and all of a sudden I come back and I‘m not, because I‘m still happy. It‘s the
same. It‘s like it never happened,‖ although she adds that she is now more compassionate
toward the homeless.
Mitchell and Barzee are charged with kidnapping Smart to be his second wife and holding
her against her will in the hills hear her Salt Lake City home and then at a California
campsite. They are also accused of sexually assaulting her while trying to strip her of her
identity. (AP in New York Times, Internet, 10/25/03)
Executive Success Programs/NXIVM
Sues Over "Cult" Label
Executive Success Programs (ESP) has sued three critics who characterized the
organization as a ―cult‖ and publicized its confidential manual. The defendants are [cult
expert] Rick Ross and his Ross Institute of New Jersey California psychiatrist John
Hochman M.D. [a cult educator] and Stephanie Franco [a former ESP student.]
Ross and Hochman have been accused of describing ESP programs as dangerous and
expensive forms of brainwashing. ESP alleges that this has been bad for their business, and
wants compensatory damages of $2.4 million and punitive damages of $7.3 million. Ross
says the suit, brought in Federal District Court in Albany, NY, is an attempt to silence critics
and will be dismissed.
ESP has a staff of 300 that trains business managers and chief executives in the U.S. and
Mexico to reach the highest level of their potential. Hochman and Ross see ESP as a
recycled version of self-help programs like Scientology and est. The New York state