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.

I have never been abused. Not physically, not emotionally, not psychologically. Never. Certainly I was disciplined when I was young. Things happened that I didn’t like (who likes discipline as a kid?) but as I got older I came to realize that my life was blessed when compared to so many my age in the world. Now I am a father. I have two children, aged two and four years old. They are my pride and joy and I would sooner die than let any harm befall them. To accuse me or to even imply that I am abusing my children by living in the Family is just plain insulting. The Family has always been an excellent place to live and raise a family. Children are our future and are raised and nurtured as such. No, they are not abused, they are cared for conscientiously. They are priceless and their care reflects this.

When I was fifteen, I and my friends were taken from our Family home by the Australian Child Protection Services. The government, based on information from Family detractors, had deemed us “in need of care” and were going to put us into foster homes. Thankfully, after a few days we were released, but it wasn’t until over a year later that we and the Family were exonerated and cleared of all charges (implied through a settlement out of court) and able to get back on with our lives. History repeats itself, and now vocal detractors, ex-members and enemies of the Family are at it again. Some of them the same ones who were responsible for having me taken from my home when I was fifteen. From what I can tell from their harmful rhetoric, they will not rest until the Family is disbanded and behind bars and our children in foster care. Does this make sense to you? More than anything I am saddened that our detractors cannot get on with their lives. This feeling is followed closely by anger that they would dare accuse me of child abuse, or work actively to take my children away from me.

You may know me or you may say that I am simply an exception to the majority of Family members, who are “abusive”. To those who feel this way, listen well. It is the Family environment and upbringing that made me and countless others the way we are. The Family way of life taught me my values and my beliefs. I am a proud member, and as a second generation member, I am committed to building on our parents work which made the Family what it is today. The Family’s creed is “the love of Christ compels us.” We are committed to daily seeking new and better ways to live this creed to the full. The contrast between reality and the slander that is being leveled against us is beyond belief. To call us an evil group is beyond belief. It is effective though, because as the saying goes: if you want people to believe you, tell a big lie. The bigger the better. We are seeing this in action today as our detractors continue to tell the same old big, tired lies.

Instances of misdeeds have been perpetrated by individuals in the Family, and to say otherwise is folly. However, these misdeeds were not condoned or tolerated by Family leadership nor by Family members in general. Nor is there any chance of them happening again. No movement is perfect, and to our detractors I would say, take a good long look in the mirror first before casting another stone. The websites of our detractors champion such things as drug abuse, alcoholism and violence, while self-righteously frothing at the mouth about “abuses” in the Family. The fact that our detractors are rallying around the memory of Ricky Rodriguez, a first-degree murderer, should also give us pause. We should stop and think carefully about what our detractors have been saying, and since his death, have been plotting. They talk about justice while condoning the murder of Angela Smith and threatening physical violence towards other Family members. They accuse us of abuse while plotting the demise of the Family and removal of our children from us, which in my mind is the worst type of child abuse possible. Their goal is the utter annihilation of the Family. This is not rational behavior on their part.

Now is a good time to point out that while Ricky Rodriguez was in California before moving to Arizona, ex-members there mocked him incessantly for being “Davidito”. He wanted to make a life there among the ex-member community of SoCal, but found no acceptance from the very same people who now are accusing us of “pushing him to suicide”. Perhaps he felt that he couldn’t find acceptance in the Family, but, nor could he find it amongst his peers who also had left the Family.

We strive to live the New Testament, which says:

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven:

–Matthew 5:43-45a

This is my goal today: to pray for those who despitefully use us and persecute us. It’s difficult for me to do, since I am human and subject to the human lowest common denominator, but all things are possible to them that believe. And I believe. It is my hope that those outside the Family who are seeking peace will find it; that they will be able to move on with their lives and find it in themselves to forgive if they have been wronged or feel they have been wronged. To those who desire vengeance for it’s own sake, I will offer this thought: When our hatred is too bitter it places us below those whom we hate. Please strive to rise above these things, and move on to happier lives. That is my prayer to you.

Sincerely,

Justin Adair

Justin Adair is a second generation member of the Family International, currently a missionary in Chile.