“[If] they believe they might be able to pull you guys back into their eternal family unit, saved with them forever, the ends will always justify the means. The fear of losing a child forever drives some members to do crazy things, all of which I’ve seen within my own family. No tactic is going too far or is too unsavory in the war to save you from yourself and the devil. I’ve had people put our names on the temple roll and pray that God will cause or allow bad things to happen to us, with the hope that the suffering would humble us enough to come back. Who prays for bad things to happen to people they allegedly love, to suffer deeply enough until finally they break and choose to do whatever is wanted? It’s like this really twisted version of the prodigal son, one where the father tortures the son until he returns home. Psycho. It’s really fucked up how this belief system drives good people to think and do extremely harmful things to those whom they supposedly love.

“Unconditional love it is not.”

J.H., FB post – 11 December 2016