Truth in advertising (concerning the TT)

Truth in Advertising


Fast food restaurants often fail to advertise the number of calories, fat or cholesterol contained in their food. They don’t tell the customer if they “have it your way” they may gain ten pounds and not fit into their bathing suit in the summer. Instead, they attempt to sell the consumer on an experience and they take advantage of his desire to draw them into their business.



An excellent example are the many endless ads for credit cards which tout 0 % interest for a period of time and encourage the customer to buy anything their heart desires. As the customer heeds the enticing advertising, their new charge card reaches its credit limit, and the card company begins to charge the customer 20 – 30 % interest trapping the consumer in growing debt and compounding interest. Of course the customer obtained the credit card of his own free will, but if consumers were given the whole truth, do you think they would fall into the trap?



Dangerous coercive control groups (or cults) deceive and falsely mislead their recruits and entice the potential recruit with a false outward appearance. (1) Cult members sell the recruit an experience which translates into “come visit us” or “stay with us.” Often cult members will not talk to a potential recruit about the groups’ particular beliefs or practices because the goal is the experience. Sure they will offer a superficial belief statement which calms the potential recruit. So what makes them different from any communal group that espouses the same thing? They won’t tell the recruit immediately but he will know when he visits and stays with the cult for a while.



Those who study coercive and controlling groups such as the twelve tribes say that the process of cognitive dissonance is started upon the visit and extended stay of the recruit.

This is why they desire for you to “come.” While the visitor lives at the cult compound, cult members play with the recruit’s emotions and control the information they can access which may provide an alternative perspective. The twelve tribes often bring their Peacemaker bus – a mini utopia, to rock concerts so perspective recruits can experience a small sampling of their daily life. If a visitor decides to live with the tribes for a couple of weeks or a month, they won’t share their inner doctrines with them. They also don’t lock the recruit in a room and keep them prisoner but they are free to leave at any time. This will cause the visitor to believe that the recurrent stories of “bondage” and “mind control” are false. The community seeks followers willing to relinquish their worldly possessions (to the twelve tribes) and make a commitment to submit to their authority. They really don’t want forced prisoners who desire to escape any chance they get.



How can the tribes convince potential recruits to submit to their authority and extinguish their free will? Community members tell potential recruits that everything learned and heard outside (in the world) comes from the “evil one” and they must “clear their mind.” Simultaneously, community members practice gracious hospitality (or love–bombing) upon the visitor/potential recruit which gives them a taste of utopia and puts them in the right frame of mind allowing them to “receive” the tribes message. The recruit begins to think, “how can such sincere loving people be wrong”? “They appear so happy and satisfied and all their needs are met.” Unfortunately the community deceives potential recruits in such matters. In reality, most of the followers are extremely exhausted and struggle to stay faithful because they must work 80 -90 hours a week. As a consequence, community members can’t live this utopian life and adequately care and love their children. Ironically, the tribes accuse and condemn the outside “world” and “Christianity” of the above statements. Only when a recruit arrives at the point of “dying to themselves” and “giving everything” (job, college, family, spouse, children, vehicle, bank accounts, home/farm) to follow “Yahshua” do they begin to obtain a view of the complete truth and receive access to the “pearls” or inner teachings. Of course this happens after the recruit experiences baptism and must renounce all former beliefs such as Christianity or other religions/philosophies and makes a vow to “never forsake/leave the community.”

At baptism or shortly thereafter, the community member hears that Yoneq (Elbert Eugene Spriggs) refers to himself as the “anointed” and holds a direct pipeline to God and his teachings and utterances are equivalent to God’s Word (2) and therefore tribes members must follow Spriggs teachings and words without question. The member learns that Spriggs audaciously claims the title of the prophet Elijah who has returned to earth to call people out of the world (3) that Christianity, (their main target for recruitment) is a dead religion without the Holy Spirit for over 1900 years (4) tribes members can not think or “reason” about worldly matters (they must attend and assimilate Spriggs’ teachings)

(5) Spriggs teachings dictate that tribes members must beat their children until their wounds are blue. According to the inane ramblings of Spriggs, if a community parent fails to pummel his children as his teachings dictate, they do not love them but hate them.

(6) Elbert also teaches members that if they submit all their loyalty to him and his teachings, someday they will be a god of their own universe or galaxy (7) these are just of sampling of the bizarre teachings that tribes members must believe and submit to without question.



What if a baptized member rebels or entertains questions concerning Spriggs’ teachings? The member can physically leave despite the psychological cage erected in their mind. The community makes it difficult for devastated members to depart. As they are leaving, defectors may hear, “Whoever has the Holy Spirit and leaves the body, is turned over to death. You will not live long.” In another teaching Spriggs says, “If a person even thinks about returning to Egypt , our Father will provide them an opportunity to return. …If you go back, you will drown.” The departing member may also hear, “If you leave the community you will become a homosexual.” When a member rebels or has many questions, they are encouraged to leave and sometimes kicked out. Under such circumstances many of these departures prove difficult because the penniless member often leaves behind alienated family and friends. If the tribes are feeling generous, they will give the departing member $200.00 so they can make their way in the world.



If the twelve tribes erected a sign in front of their businesses stating these beliefs, do you think people would want to purchase their products or bring their children and visit for a couple of weeks? So what would constitute honest full disclosure/advertising and recruiting for the twelve tribes?

Welcome, please spend lavishly so our Prophet (Elbert Eugene Spriggs) can increase our many real estate holdings and fly around the world starting other communities. Please purchase our products and employ our construction crews so our community members can nearly starve (because of inadequate vegetarian diet). Your money also allows us to raise our children according to the dictates of our beloved leader Yoneq, and beat the tar out of them until black and blue wounds appear on their little bodies! Recruits can move in with us if they denounce all other religious loyalties and promise to never leave us! Our visitors/recruits must submit unquestionably to our elders and Super Apostle (Yoneq) who claims the bold title of God’s unique channel! Please leave your mental faculties in the world because you will not need them any longer as our elders will now think for you. Please bring your wealth (money, real estate, stocks and bonds) so we can liquidate them and give the funds to our Super Apostle. If your spouse refuses to join you/us, abandon them because our Prophet Elijah boldly declares in his many writings that they will burn in the Lake of Fire . We do not return former belongings and money to defectors who decide to leave us and we inform them that God (YHWH) will take their lives. Have a nice day.”


**See other and similar articles like this at
twelve tribes_ex.org (Yes I am a former member)!