Liberation by Exodus
for the Swedish Massey family 2001
Note the underlined links in the text
Our home at the time in the Swedish countryside There was a Sunday meeting here for 19 years.
Preface
I am making the effort to record this experience, mostly for the sake of my family as, to me, it is important family history – I hope it will never be forgotten . All my 6 children were ‘born into’ the unique culture of 2x2ism. (albeit the youngest was only 1 year old when we, as a family, were rejected from the group) Admittedly, I was the driving force in the process – however each of the children, and most of all my dear wife, where traumatically affected by the enormous distress in our entire household at that time – and by the ensuing unpleasantness of the slander and purging campaigns that cult leadership put into force against us after the initial expulsion. A significant portion of the social community we all had trusted, consequently, in a collective and obvious demonstrative manner turned their backs on us, and haven’t shown their faces since. I was aware that this would be the unpleasant consequence, but it came as an extreme disappointment to my family -- they experienced it as 'friendship betrayed'!
Perspective has proven the beautiful hand
of God in it all, as he has gently but firmly led us – but at the time it was difficult to
understand how it could ever develop into anything positive for the family. I
hope that in the future my family will always be thankful for the wonderful
story of this deliverance. Except for this experience, we would likely still be captives in
this ‘
Background
My credentials in 2x2ism were likely as
impeccable as exist in the 2x2 measurement system. I was born and raised under the full
influence of the system. Grew up with wonderful parents in a
'hearty' professing family – all of the 6 of us children and families
were
‘professing’ at the time of our exit. My dad could trace the beginning
of his involvement to
Edward Cooney in Ireland – There had been a Sunday meeting in our family home
from the time I was born (in 1946) – to the present day, 60 years later. I
‘professed’ when I was 10 – finished my schooling and then
went ‘into the work’
when I was 19. I spent 8 years in the
work in
To make a long story short, in 1981 I fell
in love with a girl that came to our meetings, and decided to leave the work
and get married. This caused a bit of a fuss in the group at the time – but the fuss
subsided fairly quickly as we established an ‘open home’ (which are very very scarce in
This picture was taken at the
Carema
convention in
Trauma involved in developing the ‘will to move on’
Being born, raised and immersed in 2x2ism,
every hint of any possible wisdom in the thought of ‘moving on’ to something
better (no matter what!) has been carefully and systematically eradicated. It is this
intensive indoctrination that likely is the reason why so many choose to remain in a
system that, to any objective bystander, is so obviously fanatic, and has so often
proven dishonest and corrupt. As it was in the story of the children of
(the plagues!!)
2- The year 2000, the workers (from the
European high counsel meeting in Luxemburg) approached us again about a sister
worker from
3- The beginning of 2001 we got a phone
call from a sister worker (in
4- The spring of 2001 I got a phone call from my youngest brother in Canada saying that my cousin “Marg Magowan” had been expelled from the work for no other reason than because she had visited a family (and shown kindness to) that had been excommunicated by the Alberta excommunication patrol, a few years previous. By this time I was quite disillusioned about the absence of any moral values in 2x2 leadership policy, and became involved in an extensive communication with workers about this --- (here is a link to records of much of that communication)
5- As can be understood I had made myself quite unpopular with the workers for questioning some of these things … It wasn’t really a surprise when they declared me bitter – and excommunicated me for this. My family were condemned because of their relationship to me. My, at that time 10 year old daughter, stood to her feet in a tested meeting at one of the last conventions we were at, but this 'profession was never acknowledged' by workers .. because of my low standing at that time. We did go to a few meetings after we were rejected ... but the other professing children turned their backs on my children in an obvious attempt to express their disapproval for my children's father. After this traumatic meeting, my wife refused to expose our little children to this kind of contempt -- and we never went back.
6 – In the course of these discussions I
had begun to do a little independent digging regarding this group that I was
part of --- and
found in the Swedish register of religious groups that we were officially
registered as “Christians in
7 – Contrary to what I had been taught from my boyhood, I began to suspect an intricate bank account system financing the work and the enormous convention system – and with a little research these suspicions turned up to be quite true. Very large account balances- Most of these major group capital resources were carefully concealed in other names, and in different kinds of non-traceable funds As all are aware – in marketing 2x2 group philosophy, all forms of economic organization are denied (and ridiculed in other groups)--- but eventually senior workers were forced to acknowledge their existence in numerous forms-- Quite dishonestly, there was blatant denial until we could put the documents on the table!!. This made trust in senior workers rather impossible.
8 - The greatest disappointment for me was the complete lack of interest in the truth on these things that all the less involved 'established' workers, and all the 'faithful' and 'stable' friends showed when confronted with this documentation. I had falsely thought that some of the friends or workers would be willing to put their reputations on the line to stand for honesty --- but absolutely no one did!! Some expressed discomfort with the truth as it was presented -- but even these folks obviously choose to close their eyes, and remain with their illusions. Most continue with this open denial and disregard for quite obvious truth even to today.
This is the
– The workers met me
outside the right garage door (to the dinning room) after the last meeting and
informed me of their decision to reject me and my family – (Eldon Knudson, Larry Stevens, Steve
Sorenson, Dean Johnsson) I gathered my family
together so the workers could tell them as well. When my children understood the 'verdict' they
burst into tears and scattered -- so after I managed to get them into the car,
we started our 6 hour trip home.
The closing of the sea behind us
The miracle of the
Then equally marvellous was the closing of the sea behind us – There was an enormous campaign by the workers to discredit us, slander us, and to ‘wipe us off the map’ – but shortly after our rejection we experienced the wonderful beauty of the complete ‘sealing off’ of this disconcerting influence of the cult from our lives. Once the initial ‘bubbles in the pot’ had subsided, we haven’t had a visit from a single worker in our home – five years have gone by now. Very, very few of our former 2x2 friends have even answered our phone calls – Our exit through the sea seems to have consumed them all!! .. from our perspective at least. A few ‘borderline’ friends have dared to call on us – In the 5 years, we have been to 3 or 4 funerals where workers are involved – but that is it!
This is a more recent picture of us taken in Canada
2005 at my mom and dads 60th wedding anniversary.
The fulfilment of promise
The road we have travelled since then hasn’t always been an easy one – we haven’t always been sure as to which way we should turn – but none of us in the family have the slightest desire to return to where we have been. There are few days that go by without a feeling of thankfulness for the privileges of the day – most often we are aware of the fact that they are privileges and blessings that are the direct result of our deliverance.
One of the greatest blessings this deliverance has given us, is the privilege of admiration and respect for the folks we work and live amongst – This is a fruitful spirit in developing our personal fulfilment. As 2x2 supporters we were indoctrinated to regard these same folks as lost and ‘outside’ the realm of spiritual respect .. we were taught to keep ourselves clean from the influence of these folks - This is the kind of attitude destroys the possibility of fruitful relationship with ‘outsiders’ – it is the kind of attitude that breeds self-righteousness with all the vices this entails.
The holiness of the 'Sunday morning meeting in the home' is deeply entrenched in 2x2 ritual – It took a few years to 'shake off this dust'. We continued with our own little meetings for a while until we began to realise that it was something that Jesus never ever taught or practiced. Today I often spend the same time other activities aimed at appreciating the good in folks around me.
Shortly after our exit, we moved to a new home in our little town large enough to accomodate our own biological family, as well as a number of other children and youth, who for different reasons need a place to live. These folks are an important part of our lives today. My wife went back to studies for 5 years, and now works full time as a social worker at a correctional institution for young girls (13-18 years). I am involved in a Swedish organization that is commited to helping the category of people that find themselves excluded and rejected from the more wholesome social structures of our communities. (for ex. because of alcohol and drug abuse, criminality, refugee background, mentally instability, personal ecconomic disasters, etc.). I find working in these housing shelters, food centers, and social involvement facilities enriches my life, and the lives of my family, (far more than our previous 2x2 task of heralding a membership amongst the "most righteous folks on the earth".)
It has been a larger
country store in its day -- but now we have renovated it to house our household,
