Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1 1988 Page 69
to His word. And to be faithful to it no matter what. You have to realize the
strength of what has taken place.
At this stage, sometimes a second barrage of alternating delivery occurs, and again there is ―on-
the-spot‖ agreement from within the congregation. The back-wash of emotion that has been
created now becomes focused in the denunciation of the confirmed deviants. A tremendous sense
of relief occurs, and the congregation is then often told to be even more committed, devoted, and
dedicated to the preservation of the group, its leaders, and its doctrines. Squeezed into this idea
is the fact that the elders state that the whole process could have easily been prevented if only
the congregation had stayed under the protection and guard of the elders -if members would
simply control their thoughts and their speech.
The Emergence of Moral Gatekeepers and the Practice of Black-listing
Excommunications succeed in deputizing a whole core of ―moral gatekeepers‖ who feel obligated
to spy on one another and to mark those who exhibit questionable behavior. Such exhortations
and the definitions given during excommunications are highly successful in mobilizing most
members for their role as both secret police and as enforcers of the ―law.‖ Subtly communicating
to the congregation that ongoing surveillance is essential to the stability of the group guarantees
a continual pool of ―potential‖ deviants. The sect doctrines for surveillance first appeared ten
years ago.
The ‗76 excommunicant was watched for two years for signs of disloyalty after he voiced some
hesitation about the ―authoritarian trends‖ the group had embraced back at a leadership
conference in 1974. The 1976 event seems to have been the foundation for the group's present
practice of ―marking‖ or ―listing.‖ Suspected ―traitors‖ are often put on a list and watched, often
for several years. Evidence is then compiled for eventual use if the need arises. All this is done, in
most cases, without the target's knowledge. A comparison of the practice of ―marking‖ from its
apparent inception in 1976, up through the present, is useful:
[Elders to congregation during the excommunication of (B) in 19761 Now I urge
you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissension... disunity within a
group. Keep an eye on them. The King James Bible says, ―mark them‖ Put an ―X‖
on them -like the Jews in the Second World War. Mark them -like Hider did the
Jews (not in any way to go any further with that application). Mark them! I want
you to keep an eye on them. Don't let them out of your sight. Why? Because I tell
you what -a factious man is worse than a rattlesnake... when he's trying (to] get
enough food to go to sleep. He's more dangerous than an immoral person in the
church -he's more dangerous... Have nothing to do with them.
***
[Mark, an elder, to the Apostles – 1985]* (The leadership] label[ed] me as
dangerous to the very ones with whom I was in fellowship. You know quite well
that when you label someone as ―dangerous‖ to another person, it has an
immediate chilling effect on their relationships. The elders told] them that I
presented a danger to them... and indicated that I was ―the most dangerous threat
to [the church].‖ I did not find out until two years later that such things had been
communicated. I have wondered over the past two years as I tried to pick up some
loose ends and move back into the mainstream of fellowship why I felt such
resistance and coolness on the part of some. Now I know.
*This man was one of the elders who excommunicated [B] in 1976 and helped develop the
―marking‖ doctrine. He thus became caught in his own web, which was out of ―control‖ nine years
later. The Segmentation and Categorizing of ―Deviants‖
to His word. And to be faithful to it no matter what. You have to realize the
strength of what has taken place.
At this stage, sometimes a second barrage of alternating delivery occurs, and again there is ―on-
the-spot‖ agreement from within the congregation. The back-wash of emotion that has been
created now becomes focused in the denunciation of the confirmed deviants. A tremendous sense
of relief occurs, and the congregation is then often told to be even more committed, devoted, and
dedicated to the preservation of the group, its leaders, and its doctrines. Squeezed into this idea
is the fact that the elders state that the whole process could have easily been prevented if only
the congregation had stayed under the protection and guard of the elders -if members would
simply control their thoughts and their speech.
The Emergence of Moral Gatekeepers and the Practice of Black-listing
Excommunications succeed in deputizing a whole core of ―moral gatekeepers‖ who feel obligated
to spy on one another and to mark those who exhibit questionable behavior. Such exhortations
and the definitions given during excommunications are highly successful in mobilizing most
members for their role as both secret police and as enforcers of the ―law.‖ Subtly communicating
to the congregation that ongoing surveillance is essential to the stability of the group guarantees
a continual pool of ―potential‖ deviants. The sect doctrines for surveillance first appeared ten
years ago.
The ‗76 excommunicant was watched for two years for signs of disloyalty after he voiced some
hesitation about the ―authoritarian trends‖ the group had embraced back at a leadership
conference in 1974. The 1976 event seems to have been the foundation for the group's present
practice of ―marking‖ or ―listing.‖ Suspected ―traitors‖ are often put on a list and watched, often
for several years. Evidence is then compiled for eventual use if the need arises. All this is done, in
most cases, without the target's knowledge. A comparison of the practice of ―marking‖ from its
apparent inception in 1976, up through the present, is useful:
[Elders to congregation during the excommunication of (B) in 19761 Now I urge
you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissension... disunity within a
group. Keep an eye on them. The King James Bible says, ―mark them‖ Put an ―X‖
on them -like the Jews in the Second World War. Mark them -like Hider did the
Jews (not in any way to go any further with that application). Mark them! I want
you to keep an eye on them. Don't let them out of your sight. Why? Because I tell
you what -a factious man is worse than a rattlesnake... when he's trying (to] get
enough food to go to sleep. He's more dangerous than an immoral person in the
church -he's more dangerous... Have nothing to do with them.
***
[Mark, an elder, to the Apostles – 1985]* (The leadership] label[ed] me as
dangerous to the very ones with whom I was in fellowship. You know quite well
that when you label someone as ―dangerous‖ to another person, it has an
immediate chilling effect on their relationships. The elders told] them that I
presented a danger to them... and indicated that I was ―the most dangerous threat
to [the church].‖ I did not find out until two years later that such things had been
communicated. I have wondered over the past two years as I tried to pick up some
loose ends and move back into the mainstream of fellowship why I felt such
resistance and coolness on the part of some. Now I know.
*This man was one of the elders who excommunicated [B] in 1976 and helped develop the
―marking‖ doctrine. He thus became caught in his own web, which was out of ―control‖ nine years
later. The Segmentation and Categorizing of ―Deviants‖
