Joining

For me, joining was the easiest decision to understand.  

Let me first say that no one joins a cult. We join a new religious group. In my case, a revival of living like the early Christians - getting back to the roots of Christianity. It all sounded so good.

There I was, a naive 16 year old whose, like those of my peers, all-important frontal lobes were not fully developed. I already had been struggling with anorexia, feelings of self-loathing, and on some sort of immature spiritual quest which so far had left me dissatisfied. I was ripe for the picking.

Enter the COG, and I was handed unconditional love and acceptance, a selfless purpose for my life, a new community/"family," which eliminated the need for me to think seriously about my future. "Take no thought for the morrow, for the morrow will take thought for the things of itself," became part of my life's ethos.

The confusion of my life lifted, dissonance dissipated, brain rewarded for making the decision to devote my life to such a magnanimous cause, and a sense of peace and purpose came upon me. I was on my way.