Cult. The Children of God cult was around in the 1960s and 70s, and convinced followers that they would die in 1993. The cult was led by David Berg, who was seen as a “monarch” and who Flor Edwards and her family never actually met.
Abuse. Horrific stories of sexual abuse and incest were well known amounts the cult, but luckily Edwards says she never had to endure any of that. However, like most children, Edwards was convinced that she wouldn’t live past the age of 12.
Death. “[Up to the age of] 12 was as long as I was supposed to live. Death was heavy on my mind. I’d think about it constantly . . . and imagine my future in heaven. I’d think about [how] I’d never become a woman,” Edwards told the New York Post.
Apocalypse. Edwards says she and the rest of the cult members were made to believe that the apocalypse would come in 1993, killing everyone in the cult. However, anyone who died would be considered God’s martyr and would go spend their afterlife in the Garden of Eden.
Drills. For most of their childhood, Edwards and her siblings spent time preparing for the day that the apocalypse would finally come. They were even forced to participate in drills which included older cult members dressing in all black and pretending to carry guns.
Terrified. “[The drill] was to prepare us for the apocalypse. I was terrified,” said Edwards, as reported by the New York Post. Initially, the cult started out small and was never supposed to turn into what it did. “It started out very innocent. A bunch of young hippies joining together. . .and trying to do good things,” Edwards told the New York Post.
Influence. But over time, Berg gained more and more control and began to write letters to his followers, telling them what they could and couldn’t do. Eventually, Berg told his followers that America was a satanic influence and that they needed to move out of the country. Eventually, Edwards and her family ended up living in Thailand.
Monarch. All the while, Berg continued telling his followers what to do. “He was this obscure image that we had in our minds. I never saw him, my parents never met him. He was very much like a monarch. I remember being scared that if I said anything against him it would be blasphemous,” Edwards told the New York Post.
Sexual abuse. Edwards also recalls that although she was never forced to undergo any sexual abuse, she was well aware that it was going on, and that the adults engaged in orgies. In other instances, she was encouraged to “spread God’s love” by engaging in sex so that they could recruit new members to the cult.
Love. “In unison, we gestured open palm to heart and then out to the audience of mostly men, as if to spread God’s love generously to anyone who was willing to receive it. Sometimes the sailors gifted us with souvenirs from their native lands, and we would accept them, allowing the men to wrap their arms around us and pull us in for a hug or a kiss on the cheek,” says Edwards, as reported by the New York Post.
Moving. Things started to fall apart in the cult after 1993 passed and nothing happened. A year later, Berg died, leaving his followers clueless and without any direction. Eventually, Edwards and her family moved to Chicago and then California, where Edwards and her siblings realized they need to leave the cult.
Leaving. “We wanted to go to school. Other children also wanted to leave, but “a lot of parents stayed in the group and said, ‘You’re on your own.’ My parents did what was best for us — take us all out, and stay a family. They left the group for us,” Edwards told the New York Post.
Moving on. Finally, the Edwards family was freed from the cult. However, the years that followed were difficult as the family tried to adjust to their new lives. After a troubling few years, Edwards says she finally got her life together and went on to college and to start a career as an educator.
Blame. Despite everything she and her siblings went through, Edwards says she doesn’t blame her parents for the horrific childhood she had to endure. In fact, she considers herself lucky that she didn’t have to undergo some of the abuse that some of the other children in the cult did.
Memoirs. “I read memoirs and there’s always really horrible parents who beat and abuse the children. Mine didn’t do that. They just made one big mistake — joining the church,” said Edwards, as reported by the New York Post.
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