日本无码

Kimberly Garrido said she ducked down below the window inside a pickup truck in early January 2021, fearing a member of her Arizona church would see as she made her escape.

Garrido, who was 21 at the time, knew leaving Golden Dawn Tabernacle in Tucson meant she would probably never get to see her parents again. But she said that was a better option than staying in the ultra-conservative Christian church. She wanted more out of life than being a wife.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 really have any options as women,鈥� Garrido said of her time in the fringe church. 鈥淛ust get married or live with your parents forever.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want that,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 wanted the freedom to be able to do what I wanted to do, make my own money, dress how I want 鈥� wear makeup and heels, have a phone and not be scared.鈥�

So she penned a note to her parents, gathered a few belongings she had hidden in her room and waited to be picked up by former church member Andrew Loza. Loza and his wife support young people who want to leave Golden Dawn by giving them financial support and a place to stay. , connected Garrido with Loza after she reached out for help.

Loza said seeing Garrido curled up in the back seat of his truck demonstrated the power Golden Dawn has over its members. He and

Golden Dawn is one of the聽most聽extreme churches in a fringe Christian sect called 鈥淭he Message.鈥� The faith has millions of followers worldwide, according to a rough estimate from an organization called Voice of God Recordings. Former Message women across the U.S. reported that their religious beliefs caused them to be oppressed: They report being married at 18 or 19 and barred from getting jobs or an education. Ex-Message followers Sarah Kiser, LeAnn Gremillion and Fumiko Tipping said their churches treated them and other women like 鈥渟econd-class citizens.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檓 female, and I spent 28 years in a male supremacy cult,鈥� said former Message believer Leslie, who attended churches in Georgia and Florida. 鈥淚 just sat there, and I said, 鈥楢men!鈥� to everything they said.鈥�

More than a dozen women said the deep-rooted sexism in Message churches from Arizona to North Carolina created toxic environments where they experienced marital abuse, degrading comments, coercive sex, sexual assaults, victim blaming and ostracization for cutting their hair or wearing pants.

鈥淢y family disowned me because I told them that I wore pants,鈥� said Kiser, who used to attend a Message church in Arkansas.

Women in The Message must wear long skirts and other modest attire so they do not tempt men to lust. In most churches, they can never cut their hair, do their makeup, wear high heels or paint their nails. Sometimes, they say, they are blamed for men鈥檚 sins. Many churches teach women to obey and be submissive to their husbands. Multiple women reported being taught their bodies belonged to their husbands and that they must have sex with their spouses even if they did not want to.

Not all Message churches are the same. Some have views on women that are more similar to mainstream Christianity: They uphold some traditional gender roles, but those beliefs do not rise to the level of women feeling subjugated or controlled by men. These more modern Message churches believe women are more nurturing than men, but still encourage women to have jobs and get an education. They discourage both men and women from showing too much skin because they value modesty. They think women are different from men but not inferior.

Message followers believe that the more than 1,200 recorded sermons of their prophet, the late Rev. William Branham, came from God. But Branham鈥檚 sermons contain misogynistic rhetoric and doctrine.

Branham preached in 1965 that 鈥渁n immoral woman鈥� is lower than a 鈥渉og,鈥� 鈥渇ilthy,鈥� deceptive, designed by Satan and nothing more than a 鈥渉uman sexual garbage can.鈥� Branham talked about how when women sin, they get beaten with 鈥渂oards,鈥� 鈥渞ails鈥� and 鈥渂arrel slats.鈥� Branham barred women from becoming ministers. He taught that God made women 鈥渇or one place, the kitchen.鈥�

Branham鈥檚 son, Joseph Branham, said in an email that his father was 鈥渘ot against women at all鈥� but against 鈥渟in鈥� and 鈥渧ulgarity鈥� in both men and women. Joseph Branham continues his father鈥檚 ministry through the nonprofit organization Voice of God Recordings. He declined a formal interview but answered questions via email.

鈥淲illiam Branham鈥檚 teachings, which were exactly in line with Scripture, have also been misjudged as misogynistic statements towards women,鈥� Joseph Branham said in an email. 鈥淛esus is not responsible for those who misquoted His Word, and if there are those misusing His teachings, or misusing William Branham鈥檚 teachings, to justify abuse towards women, or to start a cult, or to take authoritarian control over their congregations, I feel it is a shame and disgrace, and truly a stain on Christianity.鈥�

Douglas Weaver, a professor of religion at Baylor University who wrote a book on the history of Branham鈥檚 ministry, wrote that Branham鈥檚 later sermons are characterized by 鈥渆xtremist views on women,鈥� particularly modern and immoral women.

鈥�(Branham鈥檚) misogyny to me is dangerous. Maybe that鈥檚 a strong word, but I鈥檓 a strong affirmer of equality of male and female,鈥� Weaver said in an interview. 鈥淚t鈥檚 that movement that says that misogyny is the word of God 鈥� I think that鈥檚 dangerous.鈥�

鈥楻estore the patriarchy鈥�

Golden Dawn Tabernacle pastor Isaac Noriega, who leads the Tucson church Garrido escaped from, told his congregation he agrees with the Taliban鈥檚 restrictions on women, former church member Zoe Cordova said. The church's formal name is Tabernaculo Emanuel.聽The Taliban has barred women from and going out in public or , according to the Associated Press.

鈥淚saac is a complete extremist. I will tell you something that has haunted me forever,鈥� Cordova said. 鈥淗e told the whole congregation that 鈥楾he Taliban had it right.鈥欌��

In an interview, Noriega denied praising the Taliban: 鈥淚 never mentioned the Taliban in church. Never,鈥� he said.

Jason DeMars, a Message minister at Bethel Tabernacle in South Carolina, advocated for similar restrictions on women鈥檚 rights on social platform X in November 2023.

鈥淲omen should not be allowed聽to vote,鈥� DeMars said in a Nov. 7 post. 鈥淲omen should not be allowed in politics. Women should not work on the police force or military.鈥�

DeMars also wrote: 鈥淯nmarried women should not go in public without a proper chaperone.鈥�

DeMars is not the main pastor at Bethel Tabernacle but has delivered some messages from the pulpit, according to the church鈥檚 Facebook page. DeMars has spread The Message on missionary trips in the Middle East and started a podcast on how to live life according to Branham.

In a December 2023 podcast episode about how the U.S. should 鈥渞estore the patriarchy,鈥� DeMars said he learned these kinds of views from Branham. DeMars reads a passage from a book that Branham wrote: 鈥溾�楪od showed me that women began to be out of their place with the granting of the vote. Then they cut off their hair, which signified that they were no longer under the authority of a man, but insisted on equal rights, or in most cases, more than equal rights. She adopted men鈥檚 clothing and went into a state of undress. 鈥� With this vision, I saw the terrible perversion and moral plight of the whole world.鈥欌��

Branham said in 1956 that a woman is the 鈥渨eaker vessel,鈥� so DeMars argues that women shouldn鈥檛 sign documents or make decisions without approval from their fathers or husbands. DeMars says it鈥檚 鈥渘ot scriptural鈥� for a girl to pursue an education or career, which is in line with Branham鈥檚 teaching that women should stay in the kitchen.

'Subject to men'

Former Golden Dawn Tabernacle member JoAnn Malena, 44, has an 8th-grade education and no work history aside from cooking, cleaning and caring for her children. She told the judge during her November 2023 divorce that it was 鈥渟atanic鈥� for her to travel or work 鈥� activities she said she now finds happiness in.

鈥淚t鈥檚 satanic for you to have a job?鈥� Pima County Superior Court Judge Lisa Abrams asked during the trial.

鈥淵es, your honor. It鈥檚 satanic for me to have friends. It鈥檚 satanic for me to think for myself, for me to stand up for myself,鈥� Malena said. 鈥淭he women there are subject to men. You鈥檙e subject to your husband and your pastor.鈥�

鈥淲hat do you mean by that?鈥� Abrams said.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 make decisions for yourself. It鈥檚 either done by your husband or the pastor," Malena said. "I have been scolded for using the words 鈥業 feel鈥� and 鈥業 think.鈥欌��

Noriega said he preaches scriptures that support the idea of women needing to be under the headship, or authority, of men, but he claimed that women make their own decisions and gave one example of a woman in his church who lives independently with no headship.聽

Similarly, Kiser said she was not allowed to leave her parents鈥� home until she married in 2017 because she needed to be under the 鈥渉eadship,鈥� or authority, of a man at all times.

Phoenix resident Joyce Lefler dreamed of becoming a doctor, but her Message father told her to turn down her college scholarships. She had to obey.

Instead of going to college, Lefler got married at 19 in 1972.

North Carolina resident and former Message believer Bonnie, who asked to be identified by her first name only, said she also turned down college scholarships in 1997.

鈥淚 could have had a career, but I didn鈥檛 choose the career because Brother Branham told me that鈥檚 not what women do,鈥� Bonnie said.

Rebekah LaFontaine, the pastor鈥檚 wife at Literal Life church in Petersburg, Michigan, said that does not represent The Message as a whole. Most women in her Michigan church work. LaFontaine is a business owner and has worked as a physician recruiter and account manager.

She said she鈥檚 鈥渘ever felt squelched.鈥� Other women at Literal Life are teachers, nurses, business administrators, florists and journalists. Her church does not believe women are less than men, she said.

鈥淵ou may find some out there that says, yeah, it's every woman's fault, and women are the lesser, the weaker vessel, and women are less and all of that,鈥� LaFontaine said. 鈥淵ou may find somebody out there that believes that, but just because they believe that does not mean that we do.鈥�

Another Branham doctrine that treated men and women unequally was his 1965 teaching that a man can divorce and remarry as long as his new wife is a virgin. Women, however, can never remarry, Branham preached.

Kiser said women in her Arkansas church became trapped in abusive marriages because they didn鈥檛 want to be single for the rest of their lives.

Jennifer Hamilton, 39, who attended Message churches in Arkansas and Michigan, said her mom raised her alone as a single mother. The church never allowed her mother to remarry because of that doctrine, while men who had affairs could remarry as many times as they wanted 鈥渁s long as they said God told them,鈥� Hamilton said. Kristi Gibson said the same happened to her mother-in-law at their Message church in Florida.

Message churches Literal Life and Church of the Open Door in New Albany, Indiana, do not follow that practice, the pastors said. Remarried women and men are part of their congregations. Literal Life spokesperson Jared Meade said they don鈥檛 support divorce but acknowledge that some situations, such as abuse, can make marriages 鈥渘o longer viable.鈥� Neither church believes it鈥檚 OK for a man to divorce and remarry many times, they said.

Words as 鈥榓 weapon鈥�

Voice of God Recordings spokesperson Jeremy Evans acknowledged the varying interpretations of Branham鈥檚 sermons. But he said misinterpretations would be resolved if people listened to whole segments or sermons from Branham鈥檚 tapes to get context.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of negative out there," Evans said. "But just go back to exactly what he said."

Leslie said her ex-husband would quote Branham鈥檚 exact words around the house to belittle her. She said her ex would tell her she was 鈥渄esigned by Satan鈥� and 鈥渓ower than hogs and dogs,鈥� ideas Branham preached. Leslie asked to be identified by only her first name because she fears retaliation from her ex-husband.

鈥�(Branham) said when you鈥檙e serving your husband you鈥檙e serving the Lord. So (my ex-husband) would tell me, 鈥楪o get me this. Go get me that. Do this. Do that.鈥� He wanted me to wait on him,鈥� Leslie said. 鈥淗e used the Bible and he used The Message as a weapon against me.鈥�

Lee Enterprises Public Service Journalism Team asked Evans what he thinks about a husband using a Branham sermon to demean his wife. Evans said he thinks that鈥檚 shameful, and Branham never would have supported it. Branham said in 1956 that a man鈥檚 wife is 鈥渘ot a doormat, now; she鈥檚 your sweetheart,鈥� Evans pointed out.

Leslie said that鈥檚 not what her ex-husband took away from the tapes. He internalized all the 鈥渢errible things Branham said about women,鈥� she said.

鈥淢y ex believed because of (Branham鈥檚) teachings that it was OK to treat me like crap,鈥� Leslie said. 鈥淪o that鈥檚 the result. Even if William Branham didn鈥檛 specifically advocate calling your wife the worst words in the English language.鈥�

鈥業t鈥檚 her fault鈥�

Tipping, who was raised in Message churches in Arizona and Michigan but left several years ago, said from a young age she felt her body was 鈥減oisonous鈥� because of Branham鈥檚 sermons.

Branham taught that women are to blame for men鈥檚 lust 鈥� a sin that鈥檚 equivalent to committing adultery in one鈥檚 heart and could send someone to hell. He said women are just as guilty of adultery when they dress immodestly.

鈥淎s soon as you start to develop in any kind of a way physically, having to be under pressure of like OK now not only are you responsible for your own trip to hell, you鈥檙e also responsible for every man who ever looks at you and his likelihood of going to hell,鈥� Tipping said.

Cordova said she once wore a skirt just above her ankle at Golden Dawn Tabernacle in Tucson, and the pastor鈥檚 brother refused to shake her hand. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 greet prostitutes,鈥� he told her. She was about 17.

鈥淚t really messes with you. I do believe in modesty,鈥� Cordova said. 鈥淏ut it takes you to the point where you think that you鈥檙e a garbage can and you鈥檙e the reason why men are lusting, and you鈥檙e the reason why that man is going to go to hell. They believe that every single bad thing that happens on Earth a woman caused it somehow.鈥�

Cordova said she loves being a homemaker and doesn鈥檛 consider herself a feminist, but she鈥檚 against her pastor鈥檚 hatred toward women. Pastor Noriega preaches that every time congregants hear a police or ambulance siren, it鈥檚 because of something a woman did, Cordova said. Similarly, Branham said, 鈥渁n ambulance can鈥檛 ring unless a woman caused it.鈥�

Garrido said Noriega even went so far as to blame women for getting raped.

鈥溾�極h, if a woman gets raped, it鈥檚 her fault,鈥欌�� she remembers Noriega preaching. 鈥溾�楽he鈥檚 in the wrong place or she鈥檚 by herself or wearing a short skirt, and it鈥檚 her fault.鈥欌��

Noriega said that accusation is 鈥渦nequivocally false.鈥� 鈥淚 have never preached that,鈥� he added.

LeAnn Gremillion, 46, grew up in Message churches in Rapid City, South Dakota, and Antioch, Tennessee. Gremillion said she experienced victim blaming firsthand when she was 19.

Gremillion said a 17-year-old member of her Tennessee church was giving her a ride one day when he coerced her into performing oral sex after she repeatedly said no. The 17-year-old told her he knew she had been sexual with her previous boyfriend, and that knowledge was causing him to lust.

鈥淗e ended up pulling over the car and said, 鈥業鈥檓 not going to move this car until you do it,鈥欌�� Gremillion said. 鈥淎nd I sat there for a while, and eventually I did.鈥�

Looking back on the incident now, Gremillion said she would consider it sexual assault.

According to the Rape, Abuse聽& Incest National Network, sexual assault includes 鈥渇orcing a victim to perform sexual acts,鈥� and 鈥渇orce doesn鈥檛 always refer to physical pressure. Perpetrators may use emotional coercion, psychological force or manipulation.鈥�

The whole church found out what happened, and the pastor blamed Gremillion for getting sexually assaulted, she said.

鈥淭he preacher approached me and basically told me that he would never be a pastor of 鈥榓 thing like me,鈥欌�� Gremillion remembers.

Gremillion said she puts more blame on the church than the teenage boy, who later apologized and took responsibility for his actions. 鈥淭he boys in our church were just as misinformed and confused as the girls,鈥� she said.

鈥楳arital coercion鈥�

Five women said Branham鈥檚 misogynistic teachings seeped into their marriages and helped create abusive environments. In their role as head of the house, the husbands felt they should be able to control their wives. Sex became an obligation, most of the women said.

Both Bonnie and Kiser got聽married at 18 to older men. Bonnie said a few years into her 1998 marriage her husband told her the only way he would stop cheating on her was if she had sex with him twice a day, every day. So she did.

鈥淚 just laid there and cried,鈥� Bonnie said of their daily intercourse. 鈥淵ou feel raped at that point.鈥�

Bonnie asked to be identified by only her first name because she feared her ex-husband would retaliate by refusing to pay child support or taking her to court to seek custody of her teenage daughter.

Kiser, who married in 2017, said her first husband would 鈥渂adger and badger and badger鈥� her until she would finally give in and have sex.

鈥淔or me, it was coerced consent or marital coercion,鈥� Kiser said. 鈥淏ecause we were taught that a woman's body doesn't belong to her 鈥� and you're supposed to have sex with your spouse even if you don't want to.鈥�

Leslie, who is now in her 60s, needed her聽husband鈥檚 permission to go to the doctor. She had a congenital malformation of her hymen that blocked the opening of her vagina and prevented her from having sex. But when she was 19 and newly married, her husband insisted on having intercourse despite her severe pain. He didn鈥檛 let her go to the doctor for the condition for six months, she said.

鈥淭he Message gave him authority over my body, and he used it,鈥� Leslie said. 鈥淚t was very coercive sex. 鈥� It was super traumatic.鈥�

Within two weeks of getting married, Lefler said her husband raped her and beat her, abuse that continued throughout their marriage.

Bonnie said her ex-husband would push her and spit in her face when he yelled. Leslie said her ex-husband would trap her in painful wrestling holds and deprive her of sleep, and once knocked her head into a car window. Kiser said her ex-husband once grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into the couch.

鈥溾�楬e gets mad and yells at me, like screams at me, and throws things, and is just generally terrifying,鈥欌�� Kiser remembers confiding in her assistant pastor. 鈥溾�楬e鈥檚 even put his hands on me at a couple of points.鈥�

鈥溾�楾hat鈥檚 a normal man,鈥欌�� the pastor told her.

Leslie had a different experience: Her Florida pastor supported her and helped give her the courage to divorce her abusive husband, she said. She still ended up leaving The Message because she started having panic attacks in church.

Malena said she was hospitalized in February 2023 for a mental breakdown from the stress of the church and her toxic marriage. She said she has attempted suicide three times. She has sought treatment for depression, anxiety, panic attacks and post-traumatic stress disorder.

鈥淪he鈥檚 been raised in fear of everything including her voice,鈥� her therapist wrote in a letter to the court.

Anxieties linger

Women in less strict Message churches say the misogyny they experienced was still damaging.

Both Tipping and Hamilton spent some time attending Literal Life, the church in Michigan where most women have jobs.

Hamilton felt 鈥渧ery lucky鈥� after college to land a job in her field as an X-ray technician at Michigan Hospital. But her work attire didn鈥檛 align with her religious beliefs.

鈥淚 ended up leaving the field because I had to work in surgery and wear surgery scrubs, which are pants,鈥� Hamilton said. 鈥淚 was constantly condemned for doing it. It just gave me so much anxiety that I finally ended up quitting.鈥�

Tipping said she and other girls were shamed for their clothes at a summer camp for Literal Life and other Message churches. Church leaders duct taped girls鈥� skirts together if they had a split and berated girls from the pulpit for letting their shirts get wet during water sports, Tipping said.

When Tipping first left The Message, small changes to her appearance that broke church rules 鈥減etrified鈥� her. She would get sweats and tremors from leaving her house with painted toenails, she said.

It聽took Tipping a long time to unlearn the teaching that she should be subordinate to her husband.

鈥淚t鈥檚 also massive realizing that your whole life has kind of been in a perspective of, well there鈥檚 God, and then there鈥檚 my husband and then there鈥檚 me somewhere down here,鈥� Tipping said.

Hamilton said she and her husband have worked with therapists to restructure their marriage and redefine the roles of husband and wife, but they鈥檙e stronger for it. She works in the tech startup industry in San Diego.

She said she has her own voice now and wants to help other Message women find theirs. Hamilton started a website called the to create a space for ex-Message women to share stories of recovery.

鈥淭here is light at the end of the tunnel,鈥� Hamilton said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 dark when you leave, and it鈥檚 very hard the first couple of years. But every year gets better and better, and you鈥檒l just begin to have the world open to you, and possibilities open to you, and experiences that you never thought you鈥檇 be able to have that just help you grow as a person. I just want to encourage people that it is possible.鈥�