**Content Warning: mentions of child SA** Emily Elizabeth Anderson—a featured survivor on the cult documentary “Shiny Happy People” exposing the IBLP— is an example of how abuse thrives within these extreme fundamentalist Christian teachings. She endured trauma after trauma which caused her body to shut down with Crohn’s disease. Once she recognized the abuse at the hands of her father and Bill Gothard himself, she joined a lawsuit against IBLP and Bill and deconstructed the toxic teachings from her past. Now, a force to be reckoned with, her advocacy work at Thrivingforward.org (which she created) has helped countless survivors of abuse get the help and support they need.
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https://www.thrivingforward.org/
Support Groups: https://www.thrivingforward.org/supportgroups
Resources for Survivors of abuse: https://www.thrivingforward.org/recommendedresources
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Chapter Markers
00:00:00 Intro
00:03:23 What is the IBLP?
00:06:05 When did Emily’s family becoming involved in IBLP?
00:08:58 The secret to converting at the seminars
00:10:11 Shelise’s ex-boyfriend attended a seminar full of secrets…
00:12:03 They had to apply to get into the homeschool program
00:12:54 How factually incorrect the homeschooling “Wisdom Booklets” were
00:16:27 How women can be “eye traps” for men
00:17:56 Attending conferences for IBLP
00:20:21 Pictures of Emily and her modest clothing
00:23:49 Over-sexualizing children as a result of purity culture
00:24:51 TW: Child SA & incest
00:28:42 TW: SA- A horrific booklet on how to council someone who’s been assaulted
00:32:41 The victim blaming that came with her abuse
00:34:03 Emily thought she created holes in the umbrella of faith- Blamed for getting Crohn’s Disease
00:37:49 Claimed she would be healed if she just forgave her father for her SA….
00:39:58 When Bill Gothard first targeted Emily
00:43:41 Bill continued to groom her for 6 years straight
00:47:31 Bill convinced her mom to bring Emily to him in Chicago
00:50:56 Bill tries again to manipulate Emily and her Mother
00:52:01 “The power of spoken blessing” Bill cursed Emily
00:56:17 A very scary night with Bill who led her alone to his office
00:57:47 The abuse got worse when she got home from headquarters
00:59:15 When she started to realize Bill’s abusive reputation
01:02:12 Bill called to reprimand her for outting him
01:05:36 Bill’s other delusional phone call
01:06:52 When she found out about the lawsuit against IBLP
01:07:26 What happened after she joined the lawsuit as Jane Doe 3
01:09:04 Bill filed sanctions against the victims!
01:11:06 Bill isn’t behind bars, but he was removed from the IBLP board
01:12:30 How Emily deconstructed her beliefs
01:15:21 She started advocacy work and created Thriving Forward to help survivors of abuse
01:17:51 The “consciousness” and peaceful side of her story
01:20:51 She applies her Christian faith for love and support, not manipulation
01:22:12 Linda, Listen
01:22:53 Resources and support groups for survivors of abuse
Theme Song Produced and Composed by Christian Guevara
**Disclaimer: Thanks for joining us at Cults to Consciousness. This storytelling podcast is meant to be for entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for medical advice. We may discuss triggering topics and we ask that you make your personal mental health a priority. Lastly, the opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the host.**
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I'm really sorry you had to go through all of that <3 Thanks for sharing!
I can identify with almost every word you have said in this except for the sexual abuse. I also grew up with the same teachings and was also diagnosed with Crohn's Disease at the age of 15. It's crazy how similar your story is to mine. Thank you so much for sharing. I am still working to heal from this dangerous doctrine but am so thankful I now know truth.
Had to subscribe!❤ I didnt grow up in the IBLP but I grew up strict Southern Baptist. After watching the documentary I realized how far Gothards teachings really stretched. It made me sick, angry, sad, soo many emotions. My heart absolutely breaks for everyone that man has hurt. You are soo strong and brave!❤ I was personally hurt by my church that adopted his teachings and used them as their own. Like the umbrella, submitting, the fault and guilt placed on women… I could go on and on. Seeing these amazing warriors has gave me so much hope and clarity on some of the most confusing and depressing times of my life. Your stories are soo important and I thank you so much for sharing. You have touched my heart and have helped me. Sending so much love and good to you all!❤
I’m so happy she has found a true faith for the true God, the real Jesus, not the warped evil cult IBLP religion. God bless you.!!!
As a person who went to the seminars and lived with a single parent who used the umbrella card to abuse and was raped by the babysitter and abused sexually by another man >>> Let me tell you something. People like us get a LIFE SENTENCE! We are lifers. I HAD TO HAVE 6 SESSIONS OF ECT AND EVEN THAT DIDN'T FIX ME! I will never forgive and never forget. Those predators should be serving a life sentence because we have to also.
I have worn jeans my entire life 58 yrs and even to church. I am catholic! And going to heaven when my body is done here on earth.
Thank you Emily!!!!
Thank you for sharing!
I’ve never understood why women and girls are made to wear skirts when the men want their legs covered! I’m convinced women have traditionally been made to wear skirts and dresses so that it was actually easier access to their bodies. Humans are vile. These religions are vile.
Wow. Very impactive interview ! Thank you.
What a crazy story. How did her mother put her through all that? Nothing about her mother was said at all. She was the one who insisted on this insane cult. I understand if she has forgiven her mother, but surely she knows there is blame to be laid there as well. Did her mother know her father was molesting her?
Bill Gothard is not actually a Christian, he is wolf 🐺 in sheep clothing. He did not actually honor Gods word obviously 🙄 as he actually had multiple sexual relationships with underage girls. Jesus is lord and God and Jesus is amazing and good. 😊
Ok so yes African tribes do use drums 🪘 to conjure demons but so do Native Americans at powwows, there are occult practices that use music in demon worship. But that don’t mean drums are bad, all the churches i usually go to play drums for worship music 😊
@Emily child sexual abuse no longer has a statute of limitations if I’m correct. I think all sexual abuse no longer has a limit, so you can go ahead and report your sperm donor. He is a criminal for the danger and trauma he caused you. Keep going. You are not alone.
I've been out of a cult for two years (thanks to a wife who chose her child over a cult), and am astonished every day at how even the brightest of people can fall into abusive relationships. Make no mistake, evil has a divine beauty, light, and power – just look at Bill Cosby.
What puzzles me is that her mom was good at protecting her from bill but why didnt she step in when her father abused here?
Great vid. This is so sad. I'm 51 and I really worried about aging when I was younger, that worry fades as you do actually age. You have bigger things to worry about and you become more comfortable with yourself. Aging is inevitable. Take care of your health and be the best you can be at whatever age you are.
These teaching are criminal, I would like to see what they are teaching the men.
I remember going to one of these seminars in the 70s with the pastor of my church. That pastor eventually left his wife and 2 little toddlers, and ran off with one of the girls from the youth group 😮😮😢
Awesome job! You turned it on him! He lost! Glad you helped expose him. Your work now is awesome!
My mother also wanted to be a submissive wife without having a good man to submit to. This always leads to abuse which is why it’s a dangerous teaching. If you have a truly good man who doesn’t abuse then submitting to him can work but it should never be taught as a needed thing for salvation or holiness.
So many small parallels to my life in church of God of Prophecy and an extreme prophecy/vision cult. Not the sa but the grooming and severe manipulation, blaming, judgement and gaslighting.
Hi, excellent interview. I had a difficult time believing that families fall for the con of Bill Gothard.
I have a creepy feeling that a friend of mine is now part of IBLP. Why? Buying used clothes, believing suddenly rock music, and any music with drums was evil. She pulled her son out of University because she decided her son wasn't going to take General Education. I could go on.
I am sorry the guest was diagnosed with Crones.
Well, I think Bill Gothard is a crazy old man.
God bless you both your hearts
She was correct when she said that he used Scripture basically to suit his own purposes. Sccc Red upturned is True and Right. That said, there’s a lot of people misusing it, perverting i, and abusing it.
Men can control their thoughts
One of the saddest things is using the scriptures against people instigating fear and using control.
Using Christianty to justify so many types of abuse is confusing to people. It causes those who are involved to throw out everything when they get out.
There is so much truth mixed with error but care needs to be taken not to reject truth in the process of getting free.
I think it's so crazy how cults like IBLP will make such a fuss about "being an eye trap for men" like women can't be creeps too.
Do you hear about boys being sexually abused in their families? Why did your mother keep you in that cult? Did she know your father did that to you ?
IBLP and other similar "religions" are grooming children for pedophilia. And these men are running for governmental representative positions. Look into any candidate that claims to be "Pro Life" (which too often is code for "wants to control" – not actually pro life). These people are the first people who end up being groomers.
Thank you Emily Elizabeth for sharing your story!! You're so strong and smart and deserve the best!
First of all, your strength and bravery is so admirable. I can't even imagine how imprisoned you must have felt.
Secondly, even though I'm not a practicing Christian, I think your message about how you interpret the bible is so sorely needed in this world. People like to think that the bible is this book of magic words that were somehow word for word dictated by God himself. It is not, and that is an objectively known fact. People wrote it to pen down great stories of what they believed were examples of the power of God and Jesus. It's a book like any other book that was meant to do good. It was written through the perspective of society at the time it was written and the examples only serve the purpose of providing a tangible, at the time believed to be a realistic example of what all those great ideas and ideologies mean in random Joe's everyday family life. It's so important to think: if a smart, educated, devoted friend of Jesus would write this book today, what would they write? Would they write the same stories or would they pick different examples? Because amazing stories of how people did the impossible still happen to this day.
And third, I just have to say, I think it's so so wrong how homeschooling works in the USA. There's no oversight, no quality requirements, no curriculum, nothing to prevent people from using their power as an adult to infringe upon the right of an innocent child to a functional, useful education. I'm Belgian and here, you don't just get to teach your kid factually wrong things. You are free to insert a religion class, say a prayer before each class, read the bible to learn how to read, whatever floats your boat, but you have to teach the basic curriculum. Auditors can come to inspect your teaching, your kid has to pass national exams, you have to have a paper trail of how your kid learns at "school" and if they find out you're teaching things that are factually incorrect, your homeschooling statute gets removed and your kid must go to an actual school.
Bill Gothard is a disgusting man.
I was in a authority/patriarchy message for 45 years, 2 different places. I didn’t know I suffered emotional and spiritual abuse until I did. So grateful for people like you both who reveal the truth about the abuse. Keep it up. I’m also so happy for you getting out. So many are still being deceived, groomed and abused.
Pretty much religion destroys.
Such an awesome video. Such courage! Thank you both for sharing and God bless.
😭🙏
Before I watched this video I started to watch the Documentary on Prime as I'm from the UK I had never heard of the Duggers or this cult! I am only halfway through the 1st episode and the parallels between all of the different cults never fail to amaze me. Each time I deep dive into a cult I half expect something different but it is always the same old same old. It is like someone wrote a script for all the would-be cult leaders/conmen to go by and be successful. Thank you for sharing your story, I am about to watch.