Age: 17
Occupation: Professional disciple/missionary, programmer
Location: Chile

Being of the third generation, I have seen two sets of offspring before me give their every ounce to make what we now so casually call “The Family International.” So I think I have at least a slight justification for what Dave Barry would call “Religious Rage". Although it has only been in the past three years that I have dedicated my all and taken on the name extension “Disciple of Christ", I was always aware of the cause they were fighting for. It was clear that they were not a cult with a time bomb set to kill the world’s population by kidnapping its members or abusing its children, because no one can do this and hope to get away with it in any law-abiding country of the planet, let alone be able to justify himself in front of God, who these people obviously held in high esteem.
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My name is Angela Otoya. I am 27 years old and have lived all my life in The Family. I am writing because I can’t just sit here while some hostile former members are vocal and do all the talking and get only their side of the story out there.

I love the Family! I have grown up in many places and have witnessed and helped many poor and disadvantaged people both physically and spiritually and I have in return gained a wonderful sense of purpose in life and reward in living for others. I am outraged that this “cult expert” Michael Trauscht has the gall to say such things about us as he did like, “Every one of these groups are potential Manson families” and him calling us “a vicious group”. Does he know?! Has he lived among us? Where are his credentials to say such sweeping statements apart from getting his information from one side of the story? I am sorry, but I have earned the right to speak out here! I am a young person, like Daniel Roselle whom I lived with. We both had very similar experiences growing up in the Family and I have not once seen any abuse and I have not experienced any either!
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To all Family members, former members favorable or otherwise, and curious third parties,

My name is Justin Adair. I’m 28 years old and was born and raised in the Family. I have lived in Australian, India, Japan, the USA, Mexico, and now Chile, working as a missionary and in Family administration. I have a few things I would like to say regarding the recent the sad events concerning Rickey Rodriguez and Angela Smith. Since this tragedy occurred there has been talk from our detractors that the Family is and always has been an “abusive environment” and that those in the second and now third generations of the Family have been and will continue to be abused if the Family is allowed to exist.

This is ludicrous.
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I would like to start off with my name since that’s just as good a place as any to start.

My name is Jeremy Yamaguchi, And I was born into The Family on January, 28th, 1987 in Yokohama, Japan. I am a Webdesigner, Programmer, and also a part time musician. But most importantly I am a sold out, full time, disciple in The Family. My only goal is to win the world before it’s own sins come crashing down upon it.

When I heard about the recent events concerning Angela Smith and Ricky Rodriguez, I was shocked.
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Name: Kawashima, Takuya
Location: Japan

When I heard about this I was more horrified than I was shocked. I mean, for someone to actually plan and murder some innocent woman who he was apparently very close with in the past is just demonic.

What could have driven Ricky to do something this horrific? Revenge? Some are saying that it was his childhood in the Family that made him do this.—That he was abused and used or whatever, and that all children in the Family also suffer this treatment. I don’t know Ricky personally but from what I’ve read via the Mo Letters, “Life with Grandpas” and the Davidito stories, he was raised with so much love and attention that it almost seemed like he was spoiled. And I think that almost every child in the Family now can say the same thing. All the children I’ve lived with in the Family Homes have all their educational, physical, and spiritual needs met and more.
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My name is Michael Saunders and I have been born and raised in the Family International. At age 25 I’m living in Europe working in a Family International office. Like everyone I know who has been made aware of the recent events concerning Ricky Rodriguez and Angela Smith, I am appalled at what happened. I don’t personally know Angela, but I know and live with a number of people who do know her. The events that took place are tragic and in my opinion are nearly incomprehensible, even more so committed by someone who grew up in a supportive and godly environment such as the Family International.

To me there is no possible or plausible explanation or reason to justify the murder of Angela. I know that Ricky had voiced a lot of bitterness and rants against the Family International in recent years. I know that he claimed he had been abused and his life destroyed by his upbringing in the Family International. I don’t believe that that was the case, but even if it was, I don’t accept it as an excuse and I don’t accept that any excuse would justify such atrocious behavior.
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Name: Masaru M, (aka: Phil)
Age: 25 years

I’ve spent most of my life here in Japan as a member of the Family. I’m currently working with the Japan Activated desk doing secretarial work as well as regular home duties among many other things. My initial reaction [to the news of the murder-suicide involving Ricky Rodriguez] was one of disbelief and shock. Much like what I experienced when I turned on the TV one Tuesday evening on September 11th three years ago (being in Japan, 9/11 took place in the evening). Then again I felt the same bewilderment upon opening the local newspaper one day to read that a Sixth grade girl slit her classmate’s throat with an Exacto knife in the school’s lab simply because her classmate had said something to her that she didn’t like.
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