Maxwells got some well-off acolytes :(

[MamaJunebug]

I was counting the numbers of people shown in Poor Sarah's most recent posting and feeling fairly satisfied that the crowds are thinner than ever ... then came to a photo taken from the 2nd (or 3rd?) floor of yet another "sweet family's" home stairwell.

 

Egads. Crikey. And omg, that house is ostentatiously .... expensive, I'm guessing. It's a very educated guess.

 

So folks with plenty of money support Stevehovah and Terifying. That last word says it all.

[Helena]

Would it make you feel more comfortable if all their supporters were poor?

[Lillybee]

I was surprised by that huge bookshelf filled with so many books. I know that the Maxhells limit the book that the "children" can read.

[MamaJunebug]

Helena,

Does it not bother you that some of their followers may have enough money to be able to invest in their business - should the opportunity arise - above and beyond the sales of media (which sales already have ridiculously generous margins)?

It would make me feel more comfortable if they retracted all the stupid things they've been teaching as gospel and sold actual helpful advice to families, let their children grow up naturally and completely, and honestly attempted to join a larger congregation of believers and do good in their community.

[lilith]

I agree that the fact that they have financially successful and presumably educated followers is disturbing. It helps sell the myth of their lifestyle succeeding to more vulnerable families, as well as reinforcing the ubiquitous fundie belief that if one's life is lacking in anybway it's because one lacks faith or isn't doing things the "right" way.

[Marian the Librarian]

Wednesday evening, Mom spoke at a small ladies’ group. It was a question and answer time, and it seemed many were interested in the concept of courtship.

Hmmm. I wonder how Terified explained away the debacle that was last year's courtship between Joseph and Elizabeth Munck??

[salex]

I was surprised by that huge bookshelf filled with so many books. I know that the Maxhells limit the book that the "children" can read.

I was wondering if that was a fellowship hall or a parsonage of a church? It isn't out of line, size wise, for a lot of houses around where I live, but it felt like an HOA clubhouse or church property more than a home, and I noticed one pic of the cooking pizza had granite counters and darker cabinets stainless steel appliances, and the cookie cooking was lighter cabinets and white tile counters and white appliances.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

Hmmm. I wonder how Terified explained away the debacle that was last year's courtship between Joseph and Elizabeth Munck??

Exactly my question too. Even barring that, surely they get questions about Sarah?

[miffy]

But they don't have a library..... :lol:

I wouldn't really say that its ostentatious, tacky mish-mash yes, but ostentatious no. If you look closely they have a singer sewing machine table in the 'great room' & the curtains are just sheer with fabric draped over the top, not damask window treatments.

[terranova]

There's a fishing rod in the corner of one of the photos, so clearly someone in the family does not have their mind focused on the lord. :naughty:

[ThatSnark]

The overhead photo has a bit of distortion on the stairs, so it looks like they used a special lens or effect to get everyone in the picture, making the photographer appear to be a half-mile up from the participants. Kind of like Smuggar's fisheye phase a while back.

There are houses in my neighborhood that have a great room similar to the one pictured here, and they're not ostentatious homes-- just typical suburban 4-bedroom, two-story, somewhere in the 2000sf range. I'd guess this family is reasonably comfortable, but that there's no staff just off screen. :)

[MamaJunebug]

We've already seen that their fanbase cuts across economic lines ... seeing them in a really nice house (which I would certainly classify that one as) just troubled me. Good point about the camera angles and lenses. They're getting pretty good at that, aren't they? Before you know it, they'll be photoshopping people into the pictures. It worked for Scientology ... to a point. Careful with your software, Poor Sarah! :D

[memmy]

fourth picture in the "catching up" post shows a father figure rolling out something resembling pizza dough

a manly man doing lady kind of work? or was it too much for the fragile ladies in the house to handle all that rolling?

[kpmom]

fourth picture in the "catching up" post shows a father figure rolling out something resembling pizza dough

a manly man doing lady kind of work? or was it too much for the fragile ladies in the house to handle all that rolling?

Maybe rolling pins are just too phallic for the ladies of the house.

[pixydust]

fourth picture in the "catching up" post shows a father figure rolling out something resembling pizza dough

a manly man doing lady kind of work? or was it too much for the fragile ladies in the house to handle all that rolling?

I don't know who that man was, but I do know that the Maxwell men do cook sometimes (I think one of them is a pretty good baker, IIRC).

[Mudball]

Is there a reason the kids are making smoothies on the back deck? :think:

[gustava]

Looks as if they're getting pretty good audiences.

[WonderingInWA]

Would love to know how they are spinning their Courtship session. I'm thinking that would be a tough one to sell.

[RachelB]

There's a fishing rod in the corner of one of the photos, so clearly someone in the family does not have their mind focused on the lord. :naughty:

Maybe it's for a sermon illustration at the retirement community (fishers of men, etc.)? Or-- likelier-- Steve is just a big old hypocrite.

[honeyinthesunshine]

Glad to see Teri's still rocking that blue paisley skirt. It was interesting to see some pants-wearing ladies in the crowd at Northridge. I wonder how Steve (Hi Steve!) reacted to that show of immodesty. There was probably some father-to-adult-child heart sharing (or whatever the fuck he calls it) on the bus that night.

I just wonder who's attending these things. So much of their message is just so damned off putting, I can't imagine people buying into it. And I do agree that the Maxwell's having moneyed (at least to some extent) followers is disturbing. The last thing that Steve needs are successful people drinking his koolaid. He's already convinced that he's correct in his behaviors, and anything bolstering that delusion of righteousness is, in my mind, dangerous.

That being said, I think that Steve having any followers is dangerous, well off or not.

[Dog-n-Suds]

Oohhh...the house where Terified is speaking has A LOT of books and an evil TV!! I wonder if the family who let her speak in their home really knew all that much about them beforehand? Did the organizer ask them if Teri could speak to a group of women in their home and they figured "sure, no big deal" ?

How can they be promoting courtship??? It hasn't exactly worked very well for them, has it?

[Muriel]

I don't want to sound like the know-it-all French girl :angelic-green:

but those pastries are not éclair, they seem to be what we call choux or chouquettes when not filled with crème pâtissière ;)

[gustava]

I don't want to sound like the know-it-all French girl :angelic-green:

but those pastries are not éclair, they seem to be what we call choux or chouquettes when not filled with crème pâtissière ;)

Thanks. I also wondered about that.

[slickcat79]

I think Mary looks like a young Denise Richards.

/random

[Dinger]

I do wish those girls would (at the very least) tie their hair back when they are cooking.