"I'm glad that you have this web site. My husband and I were in the Twelve Tribes. We thought we had researched it out for a year before joining. We gave up properties, money etc. We were there a short time, for four or five months, but it seemed like a lifetime. When we left it took us a long time to feel somewhat 'normal' and to rebuild our lives again. It's really tough and I can't imagine what it would be like for someone to have been part of that cult for most of their life and come out, lots of confusion and guilt about breaking the 'covenant.'"
"I came extremely close to getting sucked in by the Twelve Tribes in Warsaw, Missouri. They seek out weak depressed people and show them a 'natural/ hippie' life that is enticing to someone like me who loves those ways. I stayed there weekends and would drive hours just to see them. It was weird, like something overcame my mind and I could not think for myself. They made it seem so peaceful and full of love, but there were strange things not explained and the women looked very unhappy when they didn't think you were watching. They seemed trapped and lost in this cult, with their kids and controlling husbands, cleaning and cooking with not enough food. The men looked sickly, very skinny and almost malnourished. Thank goodness I didn't sell everything and move there. There was a point when I almost did and it scared the crap out of me."
"The Twelve Tribes once told me that Native Americans were wicked people, because they left Asia and came to North America. They said God wanted those people to stay in Russia and Asia and that they disobeyed God by leaving. the Twelve Tribes takes everything a person has in the name of 'Master Yahshua'. You are lovingly stripped of all your money, possessions, and most basic freedoms. Your whole life is controlled. The songs, music, gatherings and many of the people are beautiful and full of love, but what's behind it all is not God, love or freedom. There is zero tolerance for any deviation, which is judged as 'foolish,' 'worldly,' 'disobedient,' 'rebellious,' or 'lawless.' What they call 'salvation' is renouncing all you ever were and hoped to be, joining their group, never ever leaving and always doing what you're told. They call it 'taking on the mind of The Body.' Otherwise, you are told that you're living a 'rebellious, rotten, stinking life apart from Yahshua in the world, without God, without hope and headed to 1,000 years of Death or the Eternal Lake of Fire.' If you visit the Tribes, look behind the happy smiles and loving talk. There is more. Much more. As they say, 'It's through much trial and tribulation that we enter the Kingdom.' And as their 'Apostle' says, 'The longer you're here, the harder it becomes to remain.' Does this sound like a happy life?"
"My mother joined when I was 2, back when it was still the 'Vine Street Community,' in Chattanooga, TN. When they moved up North we went too and lived there until just after my 7th birthday. People who have left this cult are not exaggerating about what goes on in it. I remember being beaten regularly until I bled. I was always stripped naked and beaten with a switch from the back of my neck to my ankles, until I could barely stand. This would happen in private or in front of the household as a lesson. I was often separated from my mother for up to 3 months at a time and left to fend for myself. I slept on floors, when no one would let me into their bed. I saw several newborns die from lack of medical care. They were buried in unmarked graves. My 13-year-old brother was put in the single men's home and worked like a dog every day. My mother's breaking point finally came when she was bleeding to death and needed an emergency hysterectomy. The community refused to help and said, 'Let God heal her.' We left with literally nothing, but the clothing on our backs. Pulling out of the driveway we saw Eddie Wiseman coming, apparently alerted by someone in our household. It was tough starting over with nothing, but I know if we'd stayed my mom would be dead and I would have been married off at the age of 17 and maybe died in childbirth. I thank God everyday that we made it out alive."
"I was in the Twelve Tribes. They told me it was good that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, that the South was more righteous than the North and that slavery was a good thing. I have seen some very bad things happen in the community, usually because of neglect or fear. The experience nearly destroyed my life. Keep exposing what's happening. Many members are loving people, badly deceived into deceiving others with friendship and God as the sharp hook."
"I was a member of the Twelve Tribes. I joined because I honestly believed that I could live for God there, and that I would be taken care of. My experience with living at their farm would take hours to explain. I would just like to say that it wasn't good. I remember a big deal at a 'breaking of bread' ceremony. A brother refused to bow down to the 'loaf,' the 'Body of Yahsua.' Being new myself I could see why he was having a hard time with it and was really upset with the way that he was handled. I guess that snapped me back to reality. My mind is so overwhelmed that I can't even think about God now. I have a real hard time with religion. Now my spirit is suffering in a way that I never experienced before. I believe that what I am going through was caused by my involvement with the Twelve Tribes. They make it sound as if it is the worst form of betrayal to leave 'The Body.'"
"My husband and I left Twelve Tribes many years ago. I came across your web site and started going through it. They have really gone off the deep end."
"I recently spent a short time in a 'Twelve Tribes' community forming in Southern California. I was ready to give up everything and everyone that are important to me. I had already said my goodbyes to family and friends and was planning on selling my things, so that I could give whatever I got to the community. But before doing this, I went on the Internet and began researching for more information about this 'cultural movement.' It was only to satisfy my mother, who was crying so much about my decision. And thank God that information was there, which kept me from going. Anyway, you had a great deal to do with me not joining the 'Twelve Tribes' cult. Thank you very, very much."
"I have seen these people at 'Grateful Dead' and 'Phish' shows. They have a big red bus and call themselves 'The Peacemakers.' They always seemed quite creepy to me and I stayed away."
"My cousin joined the 'Twelve Tribes ten years ago. I have not seen her since and whenever her immediate family wants to see her it always must be within the community. She has never left the cult to visit her family and is no longer in my life. I will probably never see her again. She was recruited at a Grateful Dead concert and hasn't been the same since. Of course, she thinks she has found bliss. This cult thrives on insecurities. They get people when they are feeling low. It really is sad to see my aunt at holidays without her daughter. I hope others fight being captured by such cults and are strong enough to think on their own. Cults seem to be led by people who have a knack for manipulation. All it really is, is bowing to one person's desire to be powerful. It sickens me to think that my cousin, once someone I looked up to, is wasting her life in a cult."
"Thank you for your information about the 'Twelve Tribes.' I've had several random encounters with them over the years in the parking lots at Grateful Dead and Phish shows. I've heard people say, 'Whatever you do don't get on their bus.' And at every encounter I have felt a creepy vibe. Once a member literally followed my boyfriend and I for blocks trying to talk with us. I stumbled upon your site and found it so very helpful. Finally some information about these people."
"I met a 'Twelve Tribes' member who taught that the only way you can truly have the infilling of the Holy Spirit is by being baptized in their group. Of course they don't say it that plainly, but claim that the anointing is received through the laying on of hands by 'brothers' and 'sisters' in their group, who already have the anointing. But if you can only be truly saved by belonging to the Twelve Tribes, than who was the first person in their group to receive the anointing and exactly how did they do this, without someone anointing them?"
"My wife and I were once with the Twelve Tribes. One important fact that you should have on your site regarding their revenue sources is that for many years the Twelve Tribes have had a very lucrative relationship with the Estee Lauder Company. The Twelve Tribes makes products in their Rutland Vermont store/factory for Estee Lauder 'Origins' line such as salt rubs. Right now the group is working working on rebuilding a huge barn to convert it to a larger factory for more production of Este Lauder products in New York state. We were told by some of the elders that Estee Lauder Comapny helped the group to get a farm in Cambridge New York."
"We gave up most of our possessions and moved into one of their communities. We personally gave the Twelve Tribes thousands of dollars. A few months later when we decided to leave they refused to give us even a dime of our money back. It has taken us a long time to fully recover from this experience."
"I wanted to let you know that the info on 12 tribes has changed. 12 tribes has two new locations. They closed the St. Joseph, Missouri homes. But opened a cafe and homes in Warsaw, Missouri and in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I know this because my friend has joined the group."
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