Sweet Fellowship: Duggars and Friends (aka the Bates Family and Other Featured Families Thread)

[louannems]

https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10207671804023346&id=1539439108&set=p.10207671804023346&source=47&refid=17&_ft_=top_level_post_id.10207671668219951%3Atl_objid.10207671668219951%3Athid.1539439108%3A306061129499414%3A2%3A0%3A1480579199%3A-4614360894241674914&__tn__=R

For those that don't mind opening this, it's a picture of Esther and kids returning to Zambia.

https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10207671845984395&id=1539439108&set=a.1529478447118.2066011.1539439108&source=48&refid=17&_ft_=top_level_post_id.10207671850064497%3Atl_objid.10207671850064497%3Athid.1539439108%3A306061129499414%3A2%3A0%3A1480579199%3A-1274924556432260282&__tn__=E

[Sew Sumi]

That must be Shrader's FB, because I can't see the pictures. He banned me years ago. :D

I looked to see if maybe Prissy posted something about Esther, but I found this instead. Gil and Kelly are taking the Gothard show to Australia with TFDW. Who gives the Bateses a pass for being more "normal?" Oh no they're not; they're actually more DANGEROUS because they APPEAR to be. Their beliefs have not changed one iota since the girls stopped wearing clown dresses.

Koka, are you anywhere near Melbourne? 

Edited December 1, 2016 by Sew Sumi

[BradandJanet]

1 hour ago, Sew Sumi said:

That must be Shrader's FB, because I can't see the pictures. He banned me years ago. :D

I looked to see if maybe Prissy posted something about Esther, but I found this instead. Gil and Kelly are taking the Gothard show to Australia with TFDW. Who gives the Bateses a pass for being more "normal?" Oh no they're not; they're actually more DANGEROUS because they APPEAR to be. Their beliefs have not changed one iota since the girls stopped wearing clown dresses.

Koka, are you anywhere near Melbourne? 

OMG. They're dragging Priscilla and the kids on this trip? Maybe Pris will walk into the light and right off the side of the dock. Bye, bye.

[Absolom]

Just please don't make Priscilla present at this thing. 

[Sew Sumi]

She's not listed as a speaker. I hope that she is allowed to stay home. Would IBLP really pay for her and three kids' round trip tickets to Oz? At least the Bateses can afford to take a couple kids. Wanna bet Lawson tags along and sings at teen sessions? This conference sounds a lot like Big Sandy, so I assume teen/kid sessions are a "thing." 

But no, you can't put Prissy on a stage by herself. OMG. 

[awaken]

What's with these folks and Australia lately?  First the honeymooners, and now the wallers and bates?  A previously untapped market for IBLP and JinJer went ahead to do reconnaissance?

[Sew Sumi]

The Wallers did an IBLP tour Down Under when Prissy was heavily pregnant with Paul - during a major heatwave - so this foray is not unprecedented. IBLP has had a presence down there for several years. 

[Nysha]

I don't know if it's true or not, but when I was attending church several years ago, several of the young adults went on a mission trip to plant a church in Australia and claimed it had one of the largest unchurched populations in the English speaking world. 

[RazzleberryPie]

All that expensed travel for the whole family must be nice.

[babyhouseman]

11 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

Lawson, or rather UP, is having a free "concert" in Mt. Airy, NC on 12/13. Who is in the area and willing to take one for the team? ?

It's a few hours away from me, but I'll be on vacation. My mother is the Bates fan, but she doesn't like his singing and wouldn't see him for free. I hope the show features that it is Andy Griffith's homeplace and the Mayberry places. I assume they're allowed to watch the Andy Griffith show .

[DangerousMinds]

17 hours ago, Kokapetl said:

Oh give it up and get a real job. Or take some clothes off. 

Yeah, i have zero interest in seeing that.

[Lemur]

10 hours ago, awaken said:

What's with these folks and Australia lately?  First the honeymooners, and now the wallers and bates?  A previously untapped market for IBLP and JinJer went ahead to do reconnaissance?

They have a gay marriage referendum coming up and have a lot of the same social and societal issues as the US.  It's the next front in the culture wars.

[louannems]

I've heard Lawson sing a few times on their show.  It is really, really awful.  Like a joke!

[emma675]

1. Lawson is really not as cute as he thinks he is.

2. Somebody please film David speaking. I feel like it's a terrible, hysterical thing to watch.

3. What the hell does "a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path" mean?? If your feet have lamps, why would you need to light your path? Wouldn't your lamp feet light the path for you?

[BitterApple]

47 minutes ago, louannems said:

I've heard Lawson sing a few times on their show.  It is really, really awful.  Like a joke!

Lawson is horrible. On the one hand, I'll give him credit for going after his dream, but on the other I'm wondering why nobody in his life has told him he doesn't have the talent to make it as a country singer. He has an awfully high opinion of himself and it's totally unwarranted. 

[Sew Sumi]

3 hours ago, Lemur said:

They have a gay marriage referendum coming up and have a lot of the same social and societal issues as the US.  It's the next front in the culture wars.

In all fairness, IBLP have these conferences down there every January. I'll never forget. Davey taking a very pregnant Prissy all over the country in record-breaking heat  after a conference four years ago.

[ginger90]

Did they really ask "Anybody live in Australia?"? Cracked me up!!

[Aja]

23 hours ago, Kokapetl said:

Oh give it up and get a real job. Or take some clothes off. 

I can't get over how much he looks like my ex girlfriend.

[Zahdii]

2 hours ago, BitterApple said:

Lawson is horrible. On the one hand, I'll give him credit for going after his dream, but on the other I'm wondering why nobody in his life has told him he doesn't have the talent to make it as a country singer. He has an awfully high opinion of himself and it's totally unwarranted. 

The men in this cult have arrogance bred into them, they don't take criticism well.  They're trained to ignore it as the ramblings of the lesser-thans.  His parents have told him he's a great singer, and so he believes he's a great singer.  He has a small following of leghumpers who back up that opinion.  It's easy to get a manager, they'll take anyone so long as they get 10% of the take if the singer gets a job.  Lawson probably doesn't even realize that anything that comes from his manager is just a bone thrown to him that any singer of moderate talent can fill.

I wouldn't be surprised if his parents know he's not all that, but they're sure that he'll behave when he's out on the road.  If he actually becomes a big name in the music business he'll be good press for the cult, and he most likely will give some of his money to his parents.  If he eventually gives up and comes home he won't blame them because they let him out to follow his dream and it just didn't work out.

If nothing else, Lawson's attempts at stardom makes him seem normal to most people, and it makes another storyline for the show.  Now, if he's photographed drinking in a bar with women of dubious repute, all bets are off and we'll really get a lot to talk about.

[lianau]

On 30.11.2016 at 7:10 PM, Lady Edith said:

There is...and these folks apparently meet semi-regularly.

http://letthemmarry.org/

I love biblical marriage 

[GeeGolly]

On 11/30/2016 at 1:10 PM, Lady Edith said:

There is...and these folks apparently meet semi-regularly.

http://letthemmarry.org/

Yikes, an excerpt form "What are you Doing"

 

There are thousands of Godly young people who want to get married, are ready to get married, and should be married… indeed should have been married long ago… who are not married. Their church, their friends, and their families have all prepared them for marriage, for early marriage, for early, fruitful marriage… and they are not married. There is no persecution, no law, there are no physical infirmities that prevent them from being married… but they are not married. This is not a ‘panic’, it is a crisis. We have many of the very best and brightest of our Christian young people who are already well past the flower of their age, and they are not married. That is beyond a crisis, it is a catastrophe. Scripture provides clear answers to this crisis: which we have ignored because they run counter to our culture. It is time that we began to take every thought captive to Christ, and throw off the chains of bondage to this world. It is time we ‘let them marry’.

[DangerousMinds]

Um, what is stopping them from getting married?

[BradandJanet]

I wonder how long I've been well past the flower of my age. Whatever that means.

[Lady Edith]

2 minutes ago, DangerousMinds said:

Um, what is stopping them from getting married?

 

Not a thing.  Other than an inability to meet other kids and build real relationships, being sequestered from everything that does not correlate with their warped world view, and an underdeveloped sense of self aside from their religious identity.  

1 hour ago, GeeGolly said:

Yikes, an excerpt form "What are you Doing"

 

There are thousands of Godly young people who want to get married, are ready to get married, and should be married… indeed should have been married long ago… who are not married. Their church, their friends, and their families have all prepared them for marriage, for early marriage, for early, fruitful marriage… and they are not married. There is no persecution, no law, there are no physical infirmities that prevent them from being married… but they are not married. This is not a ‘panic’, it is a crisis. We have many of the very best and brightest of our Christian young people who are already well past the flower of their age, and they are not married. That is beyond a crisis, it is a catastrophe. Scripture provides clear answers to this crisis: which we have ignored because they run counter to our culture. It is time that we began to take every thought captive to Christ, and throw off the chains of bondage to this world. It is time we ‘let them marry’.

The REAL crisis is not letting people develop lives for themselves.  It's a tragedy.  

[riverblue22]

And maybe the inability to support a family due to lack of education and skills.

[Almost 3000]

29 minutes ago, BradandJanet said:

I wonder how long I've been well past the flower of my age. Whatever that means.

The onset of menses sounds like it might be your flower time so maybe you were already wilted by age 18. Poor Janet, damit.

[SuspiciousMind]

7 hours ago, emma675 said:

3. What the hell does "a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path" mean?? If your feet have lamps, why would you need to light your path? Wouldn't your lamp feet light the path for you?

It's from Psalm 119:105 -- the modern-day newfangled translation interpreteth it thusly:  "Your word is a lamp to walk by, and a light to illumine my path." 

[BradandJanet]

10 minutes ago, Almost 3000 said:

The onset of menses sounds like it might be your flower time so maybe you were already wilted by age 18. Poor Janet, damit.

I wasn't one of the "very best and brightest of our Christian young people" so I guess it was never an issue.

 

53 minutes ago, DangerousMinds said:

Um, what is stopping them from getting married?

Good question. President Obama and gay people?

[Nysha]

1 hour ago, DangerousMinds said:

Um, what is stopping them from getting married?

Careers, college, dating, all things of this world. Look at Lawson, wasn't he self-supporting with his lawn care business & instead of getting married like a good Christian, he's looking for fame and fortune in the music business. 

[lianau]

1 hour ago, DangerousMinds said:

Um, what is stopping them from getting married?

Let's ask TFDW .

[Totally]

TFDW is coming to Melbourne! 

 I wonder if I went a popped my head in on one of the sessions they would let me stay and be dazzled? 

[riverblue22]

5 hours ago, Totally said:

TFDW is coming to Melbourne! 

 I wonder if I went a popped my head in on one of the sessions they would let me stay and be dazzled? 

Wear your frumpiest skirt and a long curly wig and they will invite you in with open arms!

[lianau]

Dress up as a freshly hatched fundie in need of guidance and a headship.

[Lemur]

14 hours ago, BradandJanet said:

I wonder how long I've been well past the flower of my age. Whatever that means.

From an article on the "retreat" getting cancelled because The Salvation Army didn't want their camp involved with this shitshow:

"A different passage, explaining how to know a woman is old enough to get married, explains she should have breasts, be ready to bear children and by ready, 'sexually and emotionally', to have sex." 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3580254/Salvation-Army-bans-Quiverfall-movement-Let-Marry-retreat.html#ixzz4Rh1DCoXX
 

[MunichNark]

30 minutes ago, riverblue22 said:

Wear your frumpiest skirt and a long curly wig and they will invite you in with open arms!

I can do the long curly hair no bother. I could get a skirt somewhere I suppose. I'll book my flight to Australia now......

Who the hell wants to attend this shite?

And Lawson dear, give up. You're just not interesting.

Mind you, in a way he's just as trapped as those girls. If he shows off his muscles we snark because it's imodest. If he doesn't, we also snark because he should man up and be a big boy and make his own decisions:-)

[Zahdii]

7 hours ago, Totally said:

TFDW is coming to Melbourne! 

 I wonder if I went a popped my head in on one of the sessions they would let me stay and be dazzled? 

Pop away, but just be careful.  Cautionary tale under spoiler tag.

Spoiler

 

A few years ago a poster on another site posted that she was considering attending the Duggar's 'garage sale', where they were raising money to be given to the hospital that Josie lived in for her first few months.  The poster was encouraged to go, although I suspect no one really expected her to do so.  But she went, and before leaving on the three hour to Duggarville, she announced she was going with a friend (and her own breastfeeding infant).  She even posted what she and her friend were wearing.  She hoped to engage some of the Duggars in conversation and maybe get some interesting tidbits to report back on.  Details are sketchy for me now, but I think she was especially interested in talking to Anna, and maybe Jana.

Someone tipped off the Duggars and not long after arriving she was approached by cops and questioned.  One of the cops recognized that a pen she had in her breast pocket was actually a recording device and she, her friend, and the baby were then taken to the police station.  Luckily for her, the only conversations she'd had with Duggars were a few exchanges with some of the younger Duggars and she'd only said things like "Are you having a nice day?", "There's lot of people here today.", and "It's hot today, isn't it?"  I'm not sure what she would have really said if she'd met up with any of the Duggar adults, but being prepared to record the conversations didn't look good. 

Her pocket recorder was confiscated, as was her phone.  Maybe she disregarded the release she signed at the entrance where she agreed to be filmed and to not take any pictures.  Anyway, she and her friend were told to go home and stop bothering the Duggars.  Her phone was supposed to be returned to her but never was.

When she posted again after returning home, she was criticized by people who either weren't aware of her plans or didn't realize she was serious until it was too late.  Most of the people who had encouraged her either melted away or stated that they thought it was a joke and certainly didn't think anyone would really do such a thing. 

There wasn't a lot of kindness extended to her, and I think she left the site after that.  I felt bad for her because she was clearly caught up in her enthusiasm and was also influenced by reading about another poster from the same site that took a friend or two to an event that the Maxwell family was also attending.  That poster talked to several of the Maxwells, got in (IIRC) a few subtle digs when talking to the Maxwell's oldest SAHM daughter, and took pictures of herself posing with the Maxwell traveling vehicle, nicknamed Uriah.

At least after all that, posters and lurkers at that site are now encouraged to confine their interests to reading and posting on the internet, and if they choose to try to actually interact with fundies discussed on that site, they are warned to not try to act as representives of the site and to behave themselves in any event.

 

I've wondered what I would do if I were in a position to meet these fundies in real life.  I've decided that I'd probably stay on the sidelines and people watch, but not actually try to talk to anyone or take pictures.  Just soak up the mood, if you will.

[yogi2014L]

3 hours ago, Zahdii said:

Pop away, but just be careful.  Cautionary tale under spoiler tag.

  Hide contents

 

A few years ago a poster on another site posted that she was considering attending the Duggar's 'garage sale', where they were raising money to be given to the hospital that Josie lived in for her first few months.  The poster was encouraged to go, although I suspect no one really expected her to do so.  But she went, and before leaving on the three hour to Duggarville, she announced she was going with a friend (and her own breastfeeding infant).  She even posted what she and her friend were wearing.  She hoped to engage some of the Duggars in conversation and maybe get some interesting tidbits to report back on.  Details are sketchy for me now, but I think she was especially interested in talking to Anna, and maybe Jana.

Someone tipped off the Duggars and not long after arriving she was approached by cops and questioned.  One of the cops recognized that a pen she had in her breast pocket was actually a recording device and she, her friend, and the baby were then taken to the police station.  Luckily for her, the only conversations she'd had with Duggars were a few exchanges with some of the younger Duggars and she'd only said things like "Are you having a nice day?", "There's lot of people here today.", and "It's hot today, isn't it?"  I'm not sure what she would have really said if she'd met up with any of the Duggar adults, but being prepared to record the conversations didn't look good. 

Her pocket recorder was confiscated, as was her phone.  Maybe she disregarded the release she signed at the entrance where she agreed to be filmed and to not take any pictures.  Anyway, she and her friend were told to go home and stop bothering the Duggars.  Her phone was supposed to be returned to her but never was.

When she posted again after returning home, she was criticized by people who either weren't aware of her plans or didn't realize she was serious until it was too late.  Most of the people who had encouraged her either melted away or stated that they thought it was a joke and certainly didn't think anyone would really do such a thing. 

There wasn't a lot of kindness extended to her, and I think she left the site after that.  I felt bad for her because she was clearly caught up in her enthusiasm and was also influenced by reading about another poster from the same site that took a friend or two to an event that the Maxwell family was also attending.  That poster talked to several of the Maxwells, got in (IIRC) a few subtle digs when talking to the Maxwell's oldest SAHM daughter, and took pictures of herself posing with the Maxwell traveling vehicle, nicknamed Uriah.

At least after all that, posters and lurkers at that site are now encouraged to confine their interests to reading and posting on the internet, and if they choose to try to actually interact with fundies discussed on that site, they are warned to not try to act as representives of the site and to behave themselves in any event.

 

I've wondered what I would do if I were in a position to meet these fundies in real life.  I've decided that I'd probably stay on the sidelines and people watch, but not actually try to talk to anyone or take pictures.  Just soak up the mood, if you will.

Oh yeah I remember that over at that site!!! I think it was a massive mistake, but the crowd over at the other site has always been very extreme and I am so thankful I have PTV to snark with now :-) 

I work and live extremely close to the old Gothard Headquarters and am work across the street from a Chick-fil-la and was always hoping I would see TFDW or prissy out and about and never did. Closest I got was seeing a couple of fundies around the malls around here complete with their denim skirted 2 year olds. lol

Edited December 2, 2016 by yogi2014L

[flyingdi]

3 hours ago, MunichNark said:

I can do the long curly hair no bother. I could get a skirt somewhere I suppose. I'll book my flight to Australia now......

Who the hell wants to attend this shite?

And Lawson dear, give up. You're just not interesting.

Mind you, in a way he's just as trapped as those girls. If he shows off his muscles we snark because it's imodest. If he doesn't, we also snark because he should man up and be a big boy and make his own decisions:-)

Lawson is the Bates family drama queen, I don't think he could "man up" if he tried.  And I don't even really think he's gay or anything, just a diva.

Edited December 2, 2016 by flyingdi
Proper English is a good thing

[BradandJanet]

Lawson needs auto-tune. His voice is everywhere but the note he's supposed be on. He sure has the sexy look to the camera down though. 

[luvmylabs]

On 12/1/2016 at 11:44 AM, emma675 said:

1. Lawson is really not as cute as he thinks he is.

2. Somebody please film David speaking. I feel like it's a terrible, hysterical thing to watch.

3. What the hell does "a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path" mean?? If your feet have lamps, why would you need to light your path? Wouldn't your lamp feet light the path for you?

Speaking as a practicing Christian, belief in Jesus is like lighting a way through the darkness that can be part of life.  It does not mean you have lamps on your feet.  It means that your faith is like a light that shines away the darkness in your path.  Hope that helps.

[lianau]

Between Anna , Esther and Priscilla , I think Prissy weirdly enough won the husband lottery (so far ). TFDW has yet to drag her off into a third world country after RVing around , he hasn't molested or cheated (yet) and he's got a job (attached to Gothard or not ).

[Sew Sumi]

Davey has drug a very pregnant Prissy on two Gothard tours, one in oppressive Australian hear when she was pregnant with Paul, and the 20,000 odyssey last summer, ending just two weeks before her due date. And that time, she had two toddlers to wrestle. 

IOW, David's a dick, too. Rebekah is divorced from a former Gothardite. The link? Pa Keller. He helped arrange all of his daughter's marriages. When Daniel refused to be set up with a Gothard girl and move away, well, gave we seen him with his parents? Siblings, yes. Parents, no.D Daniel is the reason that Nathan and David are virtual Gothard slaves, never apart lest they stray. 

I truly hate Pa Keller.

[pinkelephant3]

does anyone else wonder why Michael Bates hasn't had a baby yet?

[BitterApple]

28 minutes ago, pinkelephant3 said:

does anyone else wonder why Michael Bates hasn't had a baby yet?

I think she either has the same clotting disorder as Erin or she and Brandon aren't engaging in endless sexy times. I don't think it's because Michael wants to hold off. She's one of the biggest Kool-aid drinkers in the family.

[farmgal4]

On November 30, 2016 at 9:42 PM, Absolom said:

Just please don't make Priscilla present at this thing. 

Oh, but she will.  It says "David Waller & family".  Honest to God, it's truly painful for me to hear her trying to put together a sentence that makes sense.  She's pitiful, really.

[Sew Sumi]

Uhm,  has anyone considered that Brandon might be the problem?  I don't think fundie men ever get tested. The Weissman spinster who married a 40 year old took, what, 2 or 3 tears to conceive? I don't follow her if she has social media, but her family never said anything. The Bateses seem to also respect privacy. I saw a pic of Michael today (probably from Thanksgiving), and she's definitely not pregnant. 

[Almost 3000]

4 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

I truly hate Pa Keller.

I've always thought Pa Keller was the go to father with daughters to "fix" problem high profile Gothard sons. I actually think he knows these guys have issues but thinks marriage and prayer will fix them. He probably thinks its just an extension of his prison ministry. Its really warped thinking that allows him to give his daughters to these men. So yes, I can see hating him.

[farmgal4]

On December 1, 2016 at 5:08 PM, GeeGolly said:

Yikes, an excerpt form "What are you Doing"

 

There are thousands of Godly young people who want to get married, are ready to get married, and should be married… indeed should have been married long ago… who are not married. Their church, their friends, and their families have all prepared them for marriage, for early marriage, for early, fruitful marriage… and they are not married. There is no persecution, no law, there are no physical infirmities that prevent them from being married… but they are not married. This is not a ‘panic’, it is a crisis. We have many of the very best and brightest of our Christian young people who are already well past the flower of their age, and they are not married. That is beyond a crisis, it is a catastrophe. Scripture provides clear answers to this crisis: which we have ignored because they run counter to our culture. It is time that we began to take every thought captive to Christ, and throw off the chains of bondage to this world. It is time we ‘let them marry’.

What.The.Fuck

[lianau]

7 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

Davey has drug a very pregnant Prissy on two Gothard tours, one in oppressive Australian hear when she was pregnant with Paul, and the 20,000 odyssey last summer, ending just two weeks before her due date. And that time, she had two toddlers to wrestle. 

IOW, David's a dick, too. Rebekah is divorced from a former Gothardite. The link? Pa Keller. He helped arrange all of his daughter's marriages. When Daniel refused to be set up with a Gothard girl and move away, well, gave we seen him with his parents? Siblings, yes. Parents, no.D Daniel is the reason that Nathan and David are virtual Gothard slaves, never apart lest they stray. 

I truly hate Pa Keller.

There are probably a lot of very pregnant Australians who have to suffer through Australian summer every year . Heat or no heat , Australia is still  a country with first world medical services available and if I had to choose between Zambia  and Australia , I'd go for the latter .

[lianau]

2 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

Uhm,  has anyone considered that Brandon might be the problem?  I don't think fundie men ever get tested. The Weissman spinster who married a 40 year old took, what, 2 or 3 tears to conceive? I don't follow her if she has social media, but her family never said anything. The Bateses seem to also respect privacy. I saw a pic of Michael today (probably from Thanksgiving), and she's definitely not pregnant. 

He wasn't very much into the idea of getting married to Michael (or anyone else for that matter ) so maybe he has "issues".

Edited December 4, 2016 by lianau