VOLUME 6 |ISSUE 2 |2015 3537
crosses in worship. Both situate latter-day revelations in the
New World, both have centralized authorities headquartered in
unlikely towns, and both movements favor dramatic temples.
Eva García, Samuel’s wife, is prominent in the church. But LLDM
hierarchies offer few roles for women, who appear on the
street in the ankle-length skirts required by the church and sit
separately from men during services.
LLDM has thrived among the poor, particularly the transients
who flow into Mexico’s cities from the rural districts. In Hermosa
Provincia in the face of the twin threats of Catholicism and
secularism, one can see how LLDM has responded through
the production of mass spectacle. The Church backs up this
spectacle with genuine material support and political heft.
Surrounding the temple in Hermosa Provinica are some of
LLDM’s social service agencies, and a church-run hospital is a
few blocks away. The church bans drinking and smoking. For
decades, church members have voted as a bloc for the powerful
PRI party, which gives them substantial sway in local politics.
Joaquín’s insight, perhaps, was that his church didn’t need
to remain a close-knit community bound by enforced norms
and geographical proximity to stay viable. In many ways, the
church functions like a kind of landless state, with baptism as its
passport.
Much of LLDM’s power has been concentrated till now in
Samuel Joaquín, and whether he abused it is an open question.
Certainly, the family is wealthy. And former members of the
church have accused Samuel of sexually assaulting minors.
In 1998, the Los Angeles Times reported that four people had
filed accusations against him with the prosecutor’s office in
Guadalajara. The Times also spoke with a young man who, after
going public with allegations against Samuel, was kidnapped
and slashed 57 times with a knife.
LLDM authorities have denied any involvement in these
assaults. At the time, much of the negative publicity about
the church was driven by an obscure, cult-busting preacher
whose motives, to put it gently, may not have been strictly
humanitarian. Still, when asked whether she believed that
Samuel was guilty of sexual abuse, Patricia Fortuny, a social
anthropologist familiar with the group, did not hesitate: “I am
sure these allegations are true.” She had met Samuel, whom she
described as a megalomaniac, at once a charismatic leader and
a scandal-tainted liability. (Religion Dispatches, 12/11/14)
Blogger pleads guilty to charge of hacking self-
improvement-group computers
Saratoga in Decline blogger John Tighe has pleaded guilty to
a computer-hacking-related felony charge for unauthorized
access to a computer system owned by NXIVM, a self-
improvement organization based in Albany County. State police
confiscated computers and electronics from Tighe in October
2013 after a search warrant was executed to probe for material
related to NXIVM, a group many define as a cult. Tighe served as
a local watchdog over NXIVM and its founders, Keith Raniere
and Nancy Salzman, who also run a unique training program
for professionals, Executive Success Programs, among other
enterprises. (The Record, 11/05/14)
Victims demand paedophile cult leader go back to jail
The victims of Australian cult leader William “Little Pebble”
Kamm are demanding the notorious paedophile return to jail
after he was released in November 2014. Kamm is believed to
have fathered more than 20 children, telling his young female
followers they were among 12 Queens and 72 Princesses chosen
to create an immaculate race. He was jailed for 10 years for the
rape of two 15-year-old girls in the early 1990s. During his time
in prison, Kamm remained unrepentant and has refused to
show remorse for his actions, still claiming he is not guilty.
Former cult member Claire McAuliffe told A Current Affair that
she witnessed the daily manipulation of Kamm’s followers
and that he “shouldn’t be out of jail … he just thinks that he
is above the law.” Ms. McAuliffe lived with her husband and
eight children at the Nowra compound of the self-professed
prophet’s cult, Order of St. Charbel, on the New South Wales
south coast for 9 years.
Kamm was seen publically just several days after his release
from Long Bay jail, holding hands with a young female
companion on George Street. The now 65-year-old is currently
on parole until October of 2015 and is restricted from visiting
the Shoalhaven area, contacting his victims, and approaching
children under the age of 16 unless accompanied by a
responsible adult. (9news.com.au, 11/28/14)
Op-ed: Smith polygamy essays commendable, but still not
the full story
Gary James Bergera, columnist and the author of six published
studies of early Mormon polygamy, has offered insightful
and thought-provoking perspective on the Latter Day Saints
(LDS) Church’s publication of essays about its practice of plural
marriage, which represent a good first step in acknowledging
the history of the controversial doctrine (see Peggy Fletcher
Stack, “New Mormon Essay: Joseph Smith Married Teens,
Other Men’s Wives,” Salt Lake Tribune, Oct. 22, 2014). The essays,
presented as news releases, exhibit an informed grasp of the
growing number of relevant scholarly articles and books that
have appeared since the 1980s.
The anonymous authors of the essays tackle head-on some
of the most problematic aspects of the church’s embrace of
what it once called “celestial marriage.” This term includes
church founder Joseph Smith’s marriages to young women,
at least one of whom was 14 (the essays characterize her as
just shy of 15) Smith’s marriages to other men’s wives (which
the essays contend may not have included sexual relations)
Smith’s concealing most of his plural marriages from his civil
wife, Emma Hale Smith’s and the church’s carefully worded
denials regarding the practice of polygamy the church’s “civil
disobedience” in performing the illegal marriages and the
church’s clandestine attempts to keep plural marriage alive for a
decade or more even after publicly disavowing it in 1890.
The essays recognize that the church cannot explain
away to everyone’s satisfaction the many inconsistencies,
misstatements, and contradictions that accompany the history
of plural marriage. In fact, the essays’ candor is sometimes
jarring. Clearly, the authors believe that “hard facts” are a more
effective palliative than spin.
As past managing editor of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon
Thought, Bergera’s perspective on the potential limitations of
these essays is worth noting. To wit:
“The essays risk falling short in three areas. First, the essay
on polygamy during Joseph Smith’s lifetime reflects an
emerging apologetic argument that seeks to portray Smith
crosses in worship. Both situate latter-day revelations in the
New World, both have centralized authorities headquartered in
unlikely towns, and both movements favor dramatic temples.
Eva García, Samuel’s wife, is prominent in the church. But LLDM
hierarchies offer few roles for women, who appear on the
street in the ankle-length skirts required by the church and sit
separately from men during services.
LLDM has thrived among the poor, particularly the transients
who flow into Mexico’s cities from the rural districts. In Hermosa
Provincia in the face of the twin threats of Catholicism and
secularism, one can see how LLDM has responded through
the production of mass spectacle. The Church backs up this
spectacle with genuine material support and political heft.
Surrounding the temple in Hermosa Provinica are some of
LLDM’s social service agencies, and a church-run hospital is a
few blocks away. The church bans drinking and smoking. For
decades, church members have voted as a bloc for the powerful
PRI party, which gives them substantial sway in local politics.
Joaquín’s insight, perhaps, was that his church didn’t need
to remain a close-knit community bound by enforced norms
and geographical proximity to stay viable. In many ways, the
church functions like a kind of landless state, with baptism as its
passport.
Much of LLDM’s power has been concentrated till now in
Samuel Joaquín, and whether he abused it is an open question.
Certainly, the family is wealthy. And former members of the
church have accused Samuel of sexually assaulting minors.
In 1998, the Los Angeles Times reported that four people had
filed accusations against him with the prosecutor’s office in
Guadalajara. The Times also spoke with a young man who, after
going public with allegations against Samuel, was kidnapped
and slashed 57 times with a knife.
LLDM authorities have denied any involvement in these
assaults. At the time, much of the negative publicity about
the church was driven by an obscure, cult-busting preacher
whose motives, to put it gently, may not have been strictly
humanitarian. Still, when asked whether she believed that
Samuel was guilty of sexual abuse, Patricia Fortuny, a social
anthropologist familiar with the group, did not hesitate: “I am
sure these allegations are true.” She had met Samuel, whom she
described as a megalomaniac, at once a charismatic leader and
a scandal-tainted liability. (Religion Dispatches, 12/11/14)
Blogger pleads guilty to charge of hacking self-
improvement-group computers
Saratoga in Decline blogger John Tighe has pleaded guilty to
a computer-hacking-related felony charge for unauthorized
access to a computer system owned by NXIVM, a self-
improvement organization based in Albany County. State police
confiscated computers and electronics from Tighe in October
2013 after a search warrant was executed to probe for material
related to NXIVM, a group many define as a cult. Tighe served as
a local watchdog over NXIVM and its founders, Keith Raniere
and Nancy Salzman, who also run a unique training program
for professionals, Executive Success Programs, among other
enterprises. (The Record, 11/05/14)
Victims demand paedophile cult leader go back to jail
The victims of Australian cult leader William “Little Pebble”
Kamm are demanding the notorious paedophile return to jail
after he was released in November 2014. Kamm is believed to
have fathered more than 20 children, telling his young female
followers they were among 12 Queens and 72 Princesses chosen
to create an immaculate race. He was jailed for 10 years for the
rape of two 15-year-old girls in the early 1990s. During his time
in prison, Kamm remained unrepentant and has refused to
show remorse for his actions, still claiming he is not guilty.
Former cult member Claire McAuliffe told A Current Affair that
she witnessed the daily manipulation of Kamm’s followers
and that he “shouldn’t be out of jail … he just thinks that he
is above the law.” Ms. McAuliffe lived with her husband and
eight children at the Nowra compound of the self-professed
prophet’s cult, Order of St. Charbel, on the New South Wales
south coast for 9 years.
Kamm was seen publically just several days after his release
from Long Bay jail, holding hands with a young female
companion on George Street. The now 65-year-old is currently
on parole until October of 2015 and is restricted from visiting
the Shoalhaven area, contacting his victims, and approaching
children under the age of 16 unless accompanied by a
responsible adult. (9news.com.au, 11/28/14)
Op-ed: Smith polygamy essays commendable, but still not
the full story
Gary James Bergera, columnist and the author of six published
studies of early Mormon polygamy, has offered insightful
and thought-provoking perspective on the Latter Day Saints
(LDS) Church’s publication of essays about its practice of plural
marriage, which represent a good first step in acknowledging
the history of the controversial doctrine (see Peggy Fletcher
Stack, “New Mormon Essay: Joseph Smith Married Teens,
Other Men’s Wives,” Salt Lake Tribune, Oct. 22, 2014). The essays,
presented as news releases, exhibit an informed grasp of the
growing number of relevant scholarly articles and books that
have appeared since the 1980s.
The anonymous authors of the essays tackle head-on some
of the most problematic aspects of the church’s embrace of
what it once called “celestial marriage.” This term includes
church founder Joseph Smith’s marriages to young women,
at least one of whom was 14 (the essays characterize her as
just shy of 15) Smith’s marriages to other men’s wives (which
the essays contend may not have included sexual relations)
Smith’s concealing most of his plural marriages from his civil
wife, Emma Hale Smith’s and the church’s carefully worded
denials regarding the practice of polygamy the church’s “civil
disobedience” in performing the illegal marriages and the
church’s clandestine attempts to keep plural marriage alive for a
decade or more even after publicly disavowing it in 1890.
The essays recognize that the church cannot explain
away to everyone’s satisfaction the many inconsistencies,
misstatements, and contradictions that accompany the history
of plural marriage. In fact, the essays’ candor is sometimes
jarring. Clearly, the authors believe that “hard facts” are a more
effective palliative than spin.
As past managing editor of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon
Thought, Bergera’s perspective on the potential limitations of
these essays is worth noting. To wit:
“The essays risk falling short in three areas. First, the essay
on polygamy during Joseph Smith’s lifetime reflects an
emerging apologetic argument that seeks to portray Smith
