Hearing about the deaths of Ricky and Angela was shocking to me, not to mention heartbreaking. But to hear apostates blaming the Family for this tragedy and attempting to use this disaster as yet another opportunity to derail and destroy us was utterly inconceivable.

It was NOT Ricky’s upbringing that caused him to murder Angela, but to the contrary, if anything, it is proof of the detrimental repercussions of his contact with negative, resentful, vindictive apostates. I have read extensively on Ricky’s childhood and never once have I found any evidence of child abuse or neglect in his upbringing. I grew up in the Family and know firsthand that we are not the horrible, abusive, manipulative cult that our detractors try to paint us as.

My name is Hikari Ito. I’m 18 years old and am living in Japan. I was born and raised in The Family, and am PROUD OF IT!! I was privileged to have had an ideal childhood with many wonderful friends and a loving family. I was not an abused child, mistreated or neglected in any way. Some of my best memories of growing up are of going out with my mom and telling others about Jesus’ love and His gift of salvation, participating in shows for the elderly and encouraging them, going on special excursions and outings, and living communally.

School was not a dull routine, but rather something that I looked forward to. I am grateful to have been taught at home by wonderful teachers who all put their time and effort into teaching and training me. I’m proud of the education I received, which not only focused on academic studies, but also on vocational training and communication skills. I am now a full-time teacher and missionary/volunteer worker and owe it all to my upbringing in The Family.

Perhaps my childhood in The Family wasn’t completely perfect, but when compared with that of many people in society, I would say that it’s pretty close; especially considering that I didn’t have to deal with drunk, brutal parents or relatives, drug, violence and crime at school, and the likes.

I’ll admit that I have considered leaving The Family on a number of occasions because I wanted to pursue other careers, make money, and have “fun”. But every time I contemplated it, I have only grown more and more convinced that a life spent in the Family, one of living with the purpose of helping others and making the world a better place, is not monotonous, tedious or a drag. To the contrary, it is to me far more exciting, worthwhile and rewarding than any worldly career or temporary happiness could ever be.

The fact is that I want to serve the Lord and I believe that The Family is the best place for me to do so. That’s the reason I’m here. I was NOT in any way manipulated, coerced or brainwashed into staying in The Family by Maria, Peter, or anyone else. I am a member of The Family because I want to be; this is the profession that I have chosen.

I know The Family’s lifestyle and beliefs aren’t for everyone. I have friends and loved ones who have left The Family and have gone on to different professions. I love and am proud of each person who, after leaving the Family, has moved on with their life. I do respect them for the decisions they have made. I only pray that they’ll continue to find happiness and fulfillment in their lives and work.

But to those of you who continually criticize the Family and seek to destroy what I believe in and live for with your exaggerated, distorted tales, fabrications and falsehoods: GET ON WITH YOUR LIVES!! Why must you persist in holding on to your antagonism and resentment? Could it be because that after leaving the Family, secular life didn’t turn out to be the “bed of roses” you thought it would be? Is this why you have chosen to stoop so low as to accuse the people who love and cared for you of all sorts of crimes–in an attempt to justify yourself for the decisions you made? Do you now concoct, exaggerate, and twist past events as an excuse for your own issues, problems, and unhappiness?

You on the “moving on” site who feel so free to post your embellished tales and twisted accounts of how you were mistreated and abused, why don’t YOU move on? Please, do me a favor and GET A LIFE yourself, instead of trying to dictate mine. Rather than complaining about your past and trying to drag as many down with you as you can, why not build yourself a future, like the majority of others who have? If you don’t like life in the Family, please, make your dreams come true elsewhere. But don’t be so naïve as to assume that just because the Family isn’t the place for you, that it should be automatically classified as a pernicious cult!

Whatever your “reasons” or excuses may be, they’re not reason enough for you to be tearing down my beliefs. Take a lesson from Gamaliel, “If this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to naught. But if it be of God, you cannot overthrow it, lest haply you be found even to fight against God.”
Let God be the judge between us.

I have made my decision to serve the Lord in the Family International, and by God’s grace will continue to do so. Those who have made it their goal in life to destroy what I believe in are only strengthening my convictions to serve God. The Family is what I live for; and it’s what I’ll die for. “I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus.”

Hikari Ito is a second-generation member of The Family International