My email to Keith Morrison and Dateline
Dear Mr. Morrison:

My name is Mercy as I was known in the group, The Children of God/The Family. I have not watched your show scheduled to air tonight, "A Message from beyond the Grave", but I did read the transcript. Firstly, I want you to know that having been a member of that group for nearly 20 years (and producing 9 children from it), I think I have some inside information and a great understanding of how they tick. You can read my story which I wrote for all to read at the following link:

articles - art/exmem/mercy/mercys_story.html

Everytime I hear of newscasters retelling Ricky's story and then using such sources as James Chancellor or Clair Borowick to vindicate The Family of Love, I feel Ricky's whole life and death were in vain. What you did tonight was basically to give a pass on the abuses that were perpetrated by David Berg, Ricky's mother, Karen Zerby, and her hirelings. I was there, I saw it, I watched it, unfortunately, I participated in it to some extent. It is nothing as they say, that a few members practiced these abuses, it was a matter of policy as you well know by having read the Davidito book. All the children were affected.

The Family has produced a generation of abused children and then thrown them out as unwanted once they showed the signs of abuse with emotional problems or because they rebelled against such a lifestyle. Changing their name and changing their hat does not change who they are, a sex cult. They are running from the truth and you are helping them. You should take some tips from the journalist who recently wrote an article in the July Rolling Stone Magazine. He got it right and I wish you would too. Too much pandering is being done to this sinister group by newscasters and I have no idea why. Could you tell me please?

These kids need to be heard, they need to be vindicated and when spokespeople like Claire Borowick tells them to "move on" she only digs the knife deeper. They don't care about the offspring they produced, they only want them to go away so they can continue their fund-raising and deception. Claiming that Ricky was demanding money and that's why he freaked is such a lame retelling of the story. Of course he needed money, he had no idea how to fend for himself and whose fault was that? All of these offspring should be given money since they have basically been made into orphans and left without the skills needed to survive in a normal world. It is The Family's fault because they cloistered these kids, took them away from their parents, denied them their relationships with their parents and rendered them socially, emotionally and intellectually inept for living outside of the Family bubble. Ricky and Elixia didn't even know how to open a bank account, they didn't know how to rent an apartment, at 25 years old they were lost. PLEASE, give Ricky some voice if you truly believe in your title. And don't forget the fact that with the abuse, they deserve a lifetime of therapy which is not being provided, no matter what Ms. Borowick is trying to claim because neither I nor anyone I know ever heard of any offers coming from the group and they certainly know where I am if they want to find me and my children and offer us therapy.

Ricky was the poster child of how we were to live our lives, we read about him daily in the Life with Grandpa series, he was supposed to be the perfect prophet from perfect parents and yet he was sexually and emotionally abused and we were told it was normal, Berg said it was all normal and we should do that with our children as well. Hundreds and hundreds of kids experienced this, some worse than others. I know, because I know them. And if you think the group has changed I have some swamp land in Florida to sell you. Sure, they have learned how to fly under the radar, but they still believe in all those things Berg preached, they just aren't able to practice them as they used to. They only stopped Flirty Fishing because someone got AIDS and it scared them, they still practice it on occassion using condoms. I know, because I have talked with people who have experienced this recently with Family members. They only put the skids on child-adult sex because they realized they would be in danger of criminal prosecution, but they still believe in it.

If you want to talk with me more, feel free to email me or call me at home at:

Well written. Well Said!