Letter to People Magazine
Vas writes: Hey everyone, I just thought I post a letter I sent to People Magazine both in Australia and the states. Some people have been asking some questions about my letter to Rolling Stone and this might clear things up as well as give some of you something to ask about concerning our more radical doctrines for those who don’t know that much about them. You can of course read on the Family website about our beliefs but maybe you’d like to ask someone personally about it.
People Magazine
Letter to the editor
First I’d like to thank you for the print you gave to our Family International spokespeople even though the article was still quite slanted and came across stating as fact the opinions–or more accurately put, the woes–of a handful of ex members. Still I appreciate even the little bit of truth your article contained.
My name is Vas Myers. I am a 31 year old member of The Family International, am married and have 4 children. There is no abuse to children or minors in the Family Int. The rules are very strict and effective with penalty of complete excommunication for even a hint of inappropriate behavior. And if any criminal activity was to ever happen, I assure you they would be turned over to the authorities. I myself would not stand for such behavior nor would the people I know within the Family Int.
There are other controversial issues you could write about that are actually true, such as our beliefs about sex, that if done in love and with the consent of all parties involved within the legal age range, God does not think sex is a sin–even if out of marriage or premarital. I think there are a lot of people who would be very interested in reading an article on this controversial utopian point of view. In fact they would probably go away feeling better and with a goal, that of integrating more love into their sexual relations. A price I think most would be willing to pay and interested in learning about in order to give an alternative to feeling guilty. Abstaining from sex completely until married is a tall order, and for most people sticking with one sex partner for the rest of their lives is also steep and unrealistic. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the big reasons so many rebel against Christianity is because mainstream Christians are taught sex is a sin and in order to become perfect and merit salvation you must constantly be striving to resist this temptation until you are legally married.–And even then you are not supposed to enjoy it.
This is something you could write about, full of truth, and you’d still make people mad at our organization. This subject would make it easy for you to also be opposed to our beliefs, so as not to endanger your reputation, while at the same time not shooting in the dark to sort fact from fiction. And that’s just one subject–there are many others, but it seems most magazines are interested in writing about sex. There are a couple other interesting sex-related subjects, all you have to do is ask.
I know Daniel Roselle personally and was happy that he finally pursued a style of life that he felt suited him. Why? Because I could tell he was not happy in the Family. Not everyone is cut out for the extreme level of sacrifice it takes to be a missionary. I think this negative campaign against our organization starts with a lot of people because they combat their guilt with total denial, and they attack those who still believe the way they once did, and in their minds things get so turned around they begin to accuse people like me of denial. This couldn’t be farther from the truth and my prayer for these ex-members is that they stop slandering and point their energy towards things that would benefit them, as opposed to trying to benefit from pointing slander at me.
Sincerely,
Vas Myers