Utah couple kills themselves and their children...

[Knight of Ni]

Because they feared the coming apocalypse.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/28/us/utah-f ... index.html

They purposely feed their children drugs to kill them. Apparently the oldest had a feeling he would be dying soon. I just marvel at the level of brainwashing that it would take for the boy to not say something.

How many other people fear the apocalypse like this? This is sad and heartbreaking. I do not feel for the parents at all but I feel deeply for the children that had to lose their lives because of their parent's beliefs

[PennySycamore]

There are no words.

[KittenMitten]

Because they feared the coming apocalypse.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/28/us/utah-f ... index.html

They purposely feed their children drugs to kill them. Apparently the oldest had a feeling he would be dying soon. I just marvel at the level of brainwashing that it would take for the boy to not say something.

How many other people fear the apocalypse like this? This is sad and heartbreaking. I do not feel for the parents at all but I feel deeply for the children that had to lose their lives because of their parent's beliefs

This is heartbreaking. I don't even know what to say or even what to think. It makes me sick. These parents can be evil sacks of shit. But this also makes me think of Jim Jones and Jonestown. When I think of what Jim Jones did to his followers....I feel less rage at the parents and more rage at the brainwashers. I remember hearing about the apocalypse as a kid and it was terrifying. But I can't imagine giving my kid a deathly level of drugs, or anything else to kill him. Sorry I'm babbling, I just hate religion. And I really, really hate the book of Revelations.

[catlady]

This is heartbreaking. I don't even know what to say or even what to think. It makes me sick. These parents can be evil sacks of shit. But this also makes me think of Jim Jones and Jonestown. When I think of what Jim Jones did to his followers....I feel less rage at the parents and more rage at the brainwashers. I remember hearing about the apocalypse as a kid and it was terrifying. But I can't imagine giving my kid a deathly level of drugs, or anything else to kill him. Sorry I'm babbling, I just hate religion. And I really, really hate the book of Revelations.

OMG, I also thought about Jonestown when I read this. I was nine when that happened, and I still remember seeing the stories in the paper and on the news (we lived in CA and Congressman Ryan was a local figure; you couldn't miss the story unless you lived under a rock). This was when I began to notice that religion was more than just attending Mass on Sundays, that it could get in your head and make you think differently, and started to notice this in my friends. it was some years later that I fully understood the concept of brainwashing.

[KittenMitten]

OMG, I also thought about Jonestown when I read this. I was nine when that happened, and I still remember seeing the stories in the paper and on the news (we lived in CA and Congressman Ryan was a local figure; you couldn't miss the story unless you lived under a rock). This was when I began to notice that religion was more than just attending Mass on Sundays, that it could get in your head and make you think differently, and started to notice this in my friends. it was some years later that I fully understood the concept of brainwashing.

Oh, wow. You were close to it, knowing Congressman Ryan. I'm so sorry. I was in High School when Jonestown happened. I tried so hard to understand it. But I kept seeing those little children dead, from Kool-Aid. I had/have a hard time being angry at the parents. I did not know what to think of Jim Jones. Was he crazy or a sociopath? But he used the bible to cause all these deaths. And that shit was taught to me. How did I dodge it?

[RosyDaisy]

I....umm...well...yeah, no words.

[ExMW]

It's interesting that the mother in this case was in contact with Dan Lafferty - yet another Momon fundamentalist extremist. That man and his brother had some VERY strange things going on in the 80s. The police may not believe that the Lafferty's ideology had anything to do this but given these people killed their children and themselves for one of the principles the Laffertys were big on pushing it makes one wonder. :think:

[whoviana]

This is a tragedy. "Apocalyptophobia" does exist, and it was a word tossed around while people were waiting for the Mayan Apocalypse. Interestingly, I haven't heard of a suicide that happened over that particular bs. (There might have been tho'.)

Apocalyptophobia, according to this, really is serious and instead of having it fueled, one should get a proper treatment for it. And the one that counsels the troubled parents shouldn't be a murderer in jail with the same brain bug!

It happened in Utah... in that religion of theirs, is KILLING your own children less of a crime than visiting an ebil psychologist and get your brain properly wired? And shed your phobias with a professional's help? Unbelievable! My heart goes out for those poor children. (Questions keep popping up in my head, like, were they hardcore pro lifers too, that think that a sperm and an egg in the fallopian tube should be considered a living person and not be "killed", but killing actual children and babies for religious reasons (to keep them innocent/pure/a virgin) is OK?)

[FaustianSlip]

This is awful. Aside from Jonestown, this also makes me think of the scene in Der Untergang in which Magda Goebbels feeds her children poison, insisting that they're better off dead than living in a world without National Socialism. Brainwashing and delusion are powerful drugs.

[Jana814]

Such a sad story!

[Howl]

How can people do this?

A few weeks ago I was searching for some Gothard info and came across a post (dated Dec. 13, 2007) on the Midwest Christian Outreach blog, discussing murder/suicide related to a sense of never being able to meet God's insatiable demands, as interpreted by various ministers/religions, primarily in the context of Gothardism, but other legalistic, demanding, perfectionist religions as well.

On June 20 of 2001, Andrea Yates, a follower of Michael Woroniecki, drowned all five of her children, ranging in age from 6 months to seven years old. On March 15 of 2002, Robert Bryant, a Jehovah’s Witness, killed his wife and four children before committing suicide himself. In October of 2003, eight year old Joseph Smith died of what authorities said was a blow to the head. His parents, Joseph and Sonya Smith, members of Remnant Fellowship, were charged and convicted of murder. Were these terrible acts the direct result of the teachings of Michael Woroniecki, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (Jehovah’s Witnesses) or Gwen Shamblin? I don’t think we can make a credible case that there is a direct cause and effect relationship between the teachings of the various groups and the actions of the individuals. But that doesn’t mean there is no connection.

As a matter of fact, when we first heard the news about Andrea Yates our first question was, are they Gothard followers? As it turns out they weren’t but the teachings are similar enough that her actions made sense to us. She was well aware that her children were not living the “godly lives†that her “God given spiritual authorities†demanded, she was attempting to save them from the impending wrath of God and the possibility that they will be in heaven. So, although there was no direct teaching that led her to kill her children the teachings and expectations were contributing factors.

Take time to read this blog post in its entirety; it ties together the horrible effect that these teachings can have on vulnerable people. Full text HERE.

The comments section until rockman enters the picture are also worth a read.

Edited to note that I followed through on ExMW's post about Dan Lafferty

It's interesting that the mother in this case was in contact with Dan Lafferty - yet another Momon fundamentalist extremist. That man and his brother had some VERY strange things going on in the 80s. The police may not believe that the Lafferty's ideology had anything to do this but given these people killed their children and themselves for one of the principles the Laffertys were big on pushing it makes one wonder. :think:

I'd forgotten that Dan Lafferty was the subject of John Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven. Dan Lafferty and his brother murdered his sister-in-law and her infant, because god said so and he also believes that he is the Prophet Elijah. Lafferty claims he influenced the family's suicide, even though apparently the Stracks had not been in touch with him since 2008 or so.

In a Thursday interview with The Associated Press from behind Plexiglas at the Utah State Prison, Lafferty said his hell-on-earth philosophy that says the world is controlled by the devil likely influenced their suicides. Investigators cited the couple's belief in apocalyptic ideology as a reason why they carried out the killings.

"My 'insanity' messes with people's lives," Lafferty said. "It's just the way it is."

The Strack family has said that mental illness was a factor in their relatives' deaths, and that better screening could have prevented the tragedy.

On another bizarre note, Lafferty's cell mate is (was?) Mark Hofmann, a brilliant and daring forger of historical documents and a murderer as well. Mark Hofmann is the subject of an incredibly good read (The Poet and the Murderer: A True Story of Literary Crime and the Art of Forgery) and despises Mormonism. Would really like to know how these two profoundly effed up men with opposite beliefs ended up as cell mates.