Gwen Shamblin: Skinny for Jesus

[Briefly]

I'd completely forgotten about it, but several years ago I had a friend who sent me this new diet plan she was doing with her church.  It was called Weigh Down, I remember just looking at a page or to and then deciding it wasn't for me.  I have to say that now, I am very glad I did not read any more or actually do it!  I've lost track of my friend, we moved to different states, she got married and went fundy-Catholic, I know she had several children but I have never been able to find her online anywhere so I really don't know anything else about her life now, but I certainly hope she did not stick with the Weigh Down diet!

[applejack]

7 hours ago, Red Hair, Black Dress said:

3) The 2nd generation of church members are inter-marrying at an alarmingly fast rate, especially the children of the "Church Leaders" identified on the website. Brothers and sisters of one family marrying brothers and sisters of another family. In Southern parlance you'll have a batch of double first cousins when they all begin having children.  Eventually, unless they recruit an awful lot of new people, the dating pool is going to shrink to people marrying their cousins.

The more I look at this group and the people involved, the weirder and more cult-like it seems.  It's a never ending rabbit hole.

You say that and it just makes me think of the Kingston Clan. 

[EmiGirl]

A weigh down obsessed lady once passed my mom (who was doing weight watchers) a note in church that said, "if God wanted us to count points he would have put numbers on food." She's not smart enough to come up with that so I'm sure that it came from the material she was using.

[Lurky]

So I guess this is what Franicia White hopes Heistheway will grow up into?  What with making her teenaged daughter write a book about weight loss....

 

[SilverBeach]

L. Ron Hubbard said if you want to get rich, start a religion.

They look like the Addams Family. Spooky. The sashes are ridiculous. The hair is ridiculous, a longer version of that psychic lady on TLC. 

As with all cult leaders, this woman is a malignant narcissist. These evil genuises know exactly how to exploit the weaknesses of those who want to belong to something so badly that they give up their personal agency over themselves. Cult leaders think they are the most special of special snowflakes. Except they aren't. 

I find the fat husband hilarious. Nobody challenges her about him? GTFOH.

 

[BiblebeltCath]

1 hour ago, SilverBeach said:

I find the fat husband hilarious. Nobody challenges her about him? GTFOH.

 

Right?! And from Googling I've learned he probably isn't even a member of the church! Apparently, nobody can question things in the church without being "disciplined," so  . . .

[danvillebelle]

I fell down the Gwen rabbit hole a few months ago.  Absolutely nuttier than a Christmas fruitcake.  

They are worshiping:  1) Gwen, 2) clothing, 3) hunger.  In that order.  

In 10 more years Gwen is going to be a dead ringer for Jan Crouch.  

[Red Hair, Black Dress]

@applejack  I definitely thought of the Kingstons when I realized all the family intermarrrying going on. I also thought it interesting that it's the "church leaders" families doing most of it.  Sort of the aristocracy of the cult marrying only within their circle.

I wonder if the cult has a hierarchy of Godliness/ Gwen-liness and thinness? Gwen and family on top, then the "church leaders"  and so on down to the newbies.

These people are fascinating in a garbage dump fire kind of way.  I want to look away but I can't. 

Edited to add:  Beyond loving the adulation and control I wonder if Gwen believes anything she is saying or is it all a scam for the money?  Are her children in on the scam? 

Also notice that all of the grandchildren's names begin with "G", even the only boy who is Charles Grantham -- but called Grantham. Somehow I don't think it's G for God.

[Howl]

I'm getting a Magnolia Pearl lite fashion vibe.....

[Nikedagain?]

On 11/28/2017 at 1:14 AM, adidas said:

Interesting that there don’t seem to be any photos at all of her husband. 

oooohhhh maybe he was Miscavige'd!!

[SweetLaurel]

A friend gave me this book, back in the day when it came out.  I read it, and yeah, some thoughts were good - but there was a part where she was home alone and there were brownies in the kitchen.  And she wanted a brownie - oh so much.  And she spent the entire time  -HOME ALONE -  (and some of you know how great that is!! ) on her knees, crying and praying to God to help her not take a bite of  that brownie because she wasn't hungry,  She just wanted it!    

I thought, one, God has  a lot of things going on and broad shoulders.  He'd get over you having a brownie and two, dramatic much?   She kinda lost me there. 

[Howl]

1 hour ago, Red Hair, Black Dress said:

Also notice that all of the grandchildren's names begin with "G", even the only boy who is Charles Grantham -- but called Grantham. Somehow I don't think it's G for God.

A Downton Abbey baby?

Lawzamercy, these people are crazier than bedbugs in a blender.  Is anyone else getting a tinge of eating disorder vibe?

Quote

I definitely thought of the Kingstons when I realized all the family intermarrrying going on. I also thought it interesting that it's the "church leaders" families doing most of it.  Sort of the aristocracy of the cult marrying only within their circle.

What are we talking about here?  First cousin marriages?

[Fascinated]

Hubby:

Spoiler

 

 

[Red Hair, Black Dress]

2 hours ago, Howl said:

What are we talking about here?  First cousin marriages?

Not yet that I know of

We are just now seeing the 2nd generation of the cult (children of original members) getting married. But when you have brothers and sisters of one family marrying bros and sis from another family you'll end up with double first cousins when the married ones have children.

Plus so many of the original members dragged their entire families into the cult -- mom, dad, grandparents, siblings, cousins, nieces/ nephews, etc.  Since the church wants members to only marry each other, unless there is a influx of a ton of new not related to anyone members the dating pool in 20 years is going to be full of people who are related by blood or marriage -- or both.

Edited to add:  Not snarking on anyone's weight, but Mr Gwen is heavier in that photo than the only one I could find previously.  Good for him in not buying into the thin worship.  Although he does enjoy all the money Gwen rakes in.

[quiversR4hunting]

@Fascinated thank you for the picture of hubs! He is very absent from pictures. I also read elsewhere that he isn't part of Gwen's church. Very interesting.

I am back to the report of alcohol free flowing at some events. According to livestrong.com, alcohol can mask hunger- in some people, others it makes them want to eat fatty foods. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism those that over consume alcohol display poor eating habits (duh, good greasy food are in the bars!). People with alcoholism will experience loss of appetite. (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Feb 2010) I knew a person that died of malnutrition/starvation because she drank herself to death. There may be no link with her cult and alcohol suppressing appetite but the person I know that died from drinking kept creeping up in my head with Gwen's ultra skinniness.

[elliha]

I have read this tread since it came up and I still don't know what to say about it. How is it even possible this exists?

[BabyBottlePop]

I have double first cousins since my mother's twin married my father's brother. No cult behind it, and my aunt and uncle have since divorced. I have a few double cousins that are like siblings to me since our moms are super close, being twins and all. We all def look like siblings and I read somewhere that we are related as half siblings are so in a cult you'd run out of new genes pretty quickly if that is true.

[danvillebelle]

So let me get this straight.

Her husband is obese (nothing wrong with that on my end, but it certainly seems it would be on HER end) and apparently not involved with the church AT ALL.

Yet on the website there is a long treatise about the role of the husband and how vital it is.

Mmm-hmmm.

Sounds to me like Gwen is the head of the "do as I say, not as I do" fellowship.  

 

[Bad Wolf]

She makes Jill Rod look almost sane, and that's scary.

[Soulhuntress]

SMDH  http://remnantfellowshipweddings.com/chuppahs 

[nausicaa]

4 hours ago, Fascinated said:

Hubby:

  Hide contents

 

 

Snarkiest, sassiest, most passive aggressive, Southern lady "Hmmm..." of all time.

:takes sip of tea:

[Red Hair, Black Dress]

The weddings are all very pretty and lavish and expensive looking -- 6-10 bridesmaids, plus junior bridesmaids/ flowers girls plus an equal number of groomsmen and ring bearers/pages.  Still can't figure out how people pay for all of this. The chuppahs are ... ummm.  nuts because ... umm ... not Jewish..  Also here seems to be some serious preaching from Gwen in a evening gown during the wedding,. And it's probably just me but I cannot get used to the mega-church design with a stage but no altar.

If you explore the site there is a section on upcoming weddings.  the Hamiliton-DeMoss wedding is.. ah ... interesting.  The guy is mayybe 19-20 , dropped out of college after 1 semester (because I suspect Gwen told him to.)  The girl is 17, 18 at the most because she mentions joining the cult at age 3 in 2003.

SMDH -- children marrying with no idea of what they are facing.  Except that if they do everything Gwen tells them and live under her authority all will be peaches and cream, sweetness and light and the best wonderfullest peacefullest terrificest, blessedest life evah!!

Cynical? Who me? Why no. why do you ask? 

[nausicaa]

After reading how horribly overweight people are treated in this church, I don't have much sympathy for her husband, who is also overweight and yet lives off of the profits from this abuse and remains complicit.

Here is the story of a former church member who wasn't thin enough for Gwen:

http://www.spiritwatch.org/RFtest5.htm

Also, she does not allow members to take any psychiatric medications, and here is audio of her complaining about church members coming to her about their depression. Y'all need to think about Gwen:

http://www.spiritwatch.org/gwenstired.mp3

[mango_fandango]

7 hours ago, Howl said:

I'm getting a Magnolia Pearl lite fashion vibe.....

*thread derailment*

What the actual hell is with that girl in the gold headdress? That is all kinds of bizarre. I’ve looked at Magnolia Pearl before so know it’s definitely a weird, weird place, but that is just new levels of WhatTheFuckery. 

[CTRLZero]

11 minutes ago, Red Hair, Black Dress said:

The guy is mayybe 19-20 , dropped out of college after 1 semester (because I suspect Gwen told him to.)  The girl is 17, 18 at the most because she mentions joining the cult at age 3 in 2003.

It was interesting to read that a couple of these families relocated to be near Gwen.  I bet, like other cults, they have a lot of families dropping everything to move near their thin goddess. 

How do these very young couples support themselves?  So many questions.  When these newlyweds eventually wake up, I hope they can photoshop Gwen out of their beautiful wedding pictures.