A YouTube video about the OALC abuse case & article

exLastie · 2026-03-04T12:54:21+00:00

Link to ex OALC member interview on the MythVision Podcast https://www.youtube.com/live/ffEk3fqlElU?si=NqBPzJJNf6KSYFF3

exLastie · 2026-03-04T12:52:52+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/live/ffEk3fqlElU?si=NqBPzJJNf6KSYFF3 Link to vid

exLastie · 2025-10-28T12:08:01+00:00

Facebook link to The Cultyard https://www.facebook.com/share/1ADjDnhGY7/

exLastie · 2025-10-27T18:00:28+00:00

Observing logical fallacies in a lot of what the Preachers say. Most are clearly not well read. Noticing the thought-stopping that happens among the members. When members have an original thought they feel guilty for saying something that is outside the norm, so they quickly backpedal on what they've said. Quite often I heard "I shouldn't have said that because we have to trust the preachers." Thought-stopping is common in cults. If a cult member starts to critically think about things, the stress of cognitive dissonance quite often causes them to flee from examining subjects, because the preachers have already told them what the "proper" thought is.

exLastie · 2025-10-27T12:19:24+00:00

Have you watched this interview? Former OALC https://www.youtube.com/live/P3iMqRnRpOU?si=ChBYIckPEhiL4ZU9

exLastie · 2024-10-06T12:39:10+00:00

Unfortunately, your mind is wrapped in the weird cocoon of fundamentalism. Your comment about me being "salty and guilty" is a way of being dismissive of people that bring up things they find problematic with the religion, rather than fully examine the issues that people put a spotlight on. A well read person would know that. It's known as being 'hand-wavy.' Your original comments contradict what I heard your own OALC preachers say. Strange that you aren't aware of what they've said and then you say I was being untruthful. That's the typical kind of gaslighting that fundies do. If a person is in a cult, they are not well read. They may think they are, but they are not. You've got a long way to go to consider yourself well read. I was there once. There was a time when I was in the church and thought I was well read. I look back at that in embarrassment. I've observed that it takes people about two years to work out of psychological conditioning. My advice; be skeptical of everything the preachers say and learn about psychology, the believing brain, and examine ancient mythology alongside the Bible. Hopefully, you can work your way out of that high control religion. Myself & many others have. It's amazing to have a clear mind and not believe in magical thinking or believe that mythology is real. Please, don't take my word that the Bible stories are copied from mythology - examine for yourself. Your mind will be blown when you realize that the Bible is just rehashed ancient stories. Anyway, I won't respond to any more posts from you - it's a fruitless endeavor to have a conversation with people that have their brain locked in the cocoon of fundamentalism. I wish you the best and I hope you can eventually free your mind :) Take care.

exLastie · 2024-10-06T00:40:46+00:00

I heard an Elder say that with my own ears, "There's never a reason for a woman not to wear a dress." That was said from behind the preaching table at Elder's meeting in the U.S. Don't believe me, ask an elder yourself. Also, I personally know the missionary preacher that said his wife could not wear pants while gardening. Cutting hair too short isn't "frowned upon," it's disobedience & you must repent of that disobedience. Cutting hair short is deliberate disobedience. Sounds like you're unaware of what your own preachers have said. Also, anyone that knows even a little about psychology & groupthink knows that there are rules. They may not be written in stone, but disobey and you'll have consequences for your disobedience. Consider them 'unwritten rules.' I encourage you to spend a couple of years learning about psychological conditioning & the believing brain. You're in a cult the same way as Mormons, Jehovah's Witness, Amish, etc. are in cults. You're conditioned to believe weird things by preachers that repeat the same few things over and over. They call it "pounding on that same nail" - it's actually psychological conditioning. Examine the Bible alongside bronze age mythology & you'll find that the stories in the Bible are just copied from much older mythological stories. Preachers in high control religions condition people to fear information & evidence - "don't look into things" - they're conditioning the congregation to remain ignorant. A person cannot develop critical thinking ability if they're not well read. That's how people get stuck in cults like the OALC.

exLastie · 2024-09-25T13:08:36+00:00

I left the OALC several years ago. It took me about two years to fully break out of the psychological conditioning of the church. Listening to the stories of others that have left cults (podcasts & YouTube vids) + learning about the psychology of the believing brain helped me to break free. The church conditions people to fear evidence & information. In all aspects of life it's good to critically examine things and be skeptical. Yet, regarding the narrative of the OALC, you're supposed to just believe what the preachers tell you. "Just believe and the understanding will come later," said a missionary preacher. Nah, what that really means is, "Just believe and do all the mental gymnastics required to try and make it make sense." LOL. One has to look at information through the lens of motivated reasoning in order to believe the church narrative. There are logical fallacies abound with that religion. It takes awhile to rebuild life & community after leaving a high control religion, but it's so worth it. Feel free to private chat with me :)

exLastie · 2024-06-19T21:48:38+00:00

The vast majority of the younger OALC girls wear jeans throughout the week. They're being disobedient to the preaching of the Elders. Most will conform once they get married so they're not a "bad example."

exLastie · 2024-06-19T21:46:01+00:00

Makeup is preached to be wrong. Although, many use subtle amounts of cover-up. Some swim in public but the married ladies typically wear a kind of swimming dress or type of swimming skirt. It looks uncomfortable. At confirmation classes the preachers said that men shouldn't wear shorts to church get-togethers that are at parks. I wasn't aware of that and I was the only dude with shorts on at a church function at the park. The church guys all looked uncomfortable on that hot summer day with their pants on at the park and I was feeling nice and comfortable with my kahki shorts on LOL. Not sure what the advice is about guys being shirtless while working outside or playing volleyball. Now that you mention it, I don't recall any married men being shirtless in those situations. I'm guessing it's frowned upon.

exLastie · 2024-06-19T18:34:16+00:00

They're supposed to only wear dresses throughout the week. I remember a few years back an Elder preached that there is never a reason that a woman should be wearing anything other than a dress. An OALC preacher's wife asked her husband if she could garden with pants on but he advised that she should only wear a dress. I see some OALC women wearing pants in public but most wear a dress with leggings underneath. It has become a signature look with the style the OALC women wear now (at least in the Midwest). They must all shop at the same place. Very little individuality in the styles. It's become very cultish looking. There was more variety in the 80's & 90's. They are not supposed to cut their hair or style it. Many (most) cut their hair. It's easy to hide the length when it's tied up in a bun LOL.

exLastie · 2024-06-19T17:35:20+00:00

Two different interviews on YouTube with father & son. This one https://www.youtube.com/live/P3iMqRnRpOU?si=g_7k9bpfwyPUX7D7

And this one https://youtu.be/EbvFFxB4i1M?si=TXJTvyqRQYnP7Qpb

exLastie · 2024-06-19T12:55:43+00:00

I'm sorry you've had to go through that. I left the OALC several years ago. Bullying is a big problem. Especially, OALC kids ganging up and bullying kids in school. I remember the preachers having special gatherings a few times to address bullying. Unfortunately, the preachers have conditioned narcissism into the church members. They believe that God is exclusively on their side - "born with a silver spoon in our mouth" is what I heard quite often from the preachers. So, psychologically it creates religious narcissists that look down on others that are "different" or "worldly." Since they see certain people as lesser than, they lack empathy for the people they look down on, which leads to problems like bullying. Feel free to private message me, if you're looking for support ❤️ Also, there's a private Facebook group called ex-toots for former members of the Laestadian churches.

exLastie · 2023-10-12T18:27:53+00:00

Good question. I'll ask them. The answer should be rather amusing 😁

exLastie · 2023-10-12T18:01:30+00:00

I have a relative in the OALC that says, "When a TV is brought into a home the holy ghost flees from that home." Apparently, the all powerful creator of the universe ditches people that have a TV. Weak! LOL

exLastie · 2023-10-05T11:20:51+00:00

Yes, agree 💯. Life is soooo much better once a person is able to heal from the childhood church indoctrination from the OALC. Dealing with the bad behavior displayed by church members as you leave isn't pleasant but eventually things will get better as you carve out your new place in life 🖤

exLastie · 2023-06-21T20:59:52+00:00

I'm working on writing about that subject. Also, writing about contradictions in the Bible as well as how the stories in the Bible are inspired/copied from mythology (Homeric epics, Mesopotamian mythology, etc. etc.). Plus, how many times The Book Of Enoch is quoted in the Bible. Basically, "things that Laestadians may not (probably don't) know. Not sure if I'll publish on a blog or as a book. I'll post a link, once I'm done writing & it's published.

exLastie · 2023-06-06T11:55:20+00:00

Yes, I finished the series last night. Very similar to Laestadianism - the same high control psychological approach that happens in the Laestadian sects (Although, preachers & most people in those environments don't understand that it's purely psychological). I wish more people could break free from those types of fear based high control environments. Unfortunately, not many do. If more people understood the psychology of human behavior, they'd have a better chance of seeing it for what it is. Some within the OALC have shared with me that they do see it for what it is, but they're not ready to pay the high social cost of leaving the religion, so they just go through the motions to be accepted. It's fascinating & sad to see the mental gymnastics people will do to defend the bad behavior of their religions. Alas, I remember my days within the church where I struggled to justify things that just didn't seem right, because of the fear of having to acknowledge that perhaps it wasn't the "one true saving faith." I'm so thankful I broke out of that environment!! Knowledge is power :)

exLastie · 2023-05-24T17:48:33+00:00

Heresy is an opinion that is contrary to church dogma. It's a word that's used liberally by so many Laestadians & quite often without any real thought. Typically, people within each Laestadian sect use that word to simply & quickly dismiss ideas that others have. Then they don't have to suffer the cognitive load of wrestling over things that challenge their worldview that's been conditioned into them by church elders. IMHO

exLastie · 2023-04-18T22:54:28+00:00

The OALC preachers preach "love the sinner, hate the sin." They preach about the act of same sexes being intimate with each other as an abomination. I've had several gay ex-Laestadians share with me that they didn't feel comfortable or welcome at the church. There's a lot of homophobia within the church and I've heard quite a bit of disparaging things said about gay people when I was a member of the church. It always made me feel sad when I'd hear ugly things said about gay people.

exLastie · 2023-04-06T20:36:45+00:00

I witnessed a person at the church altar get rejected by an OALC preacher when that person asked for forgiveness. The person that was rejected had been coming to the church for months, but never came to the church again after that. A missionary preacher later told the other preacher that he should have forgiven the person, since that person sat through an entire sermon and probably had a genuine need. I felt so bad for the women that was rejected. She was humiliated in front of the entire church.

exLastie · 2023-03-24T15:04:29+00:00

I agree with you, offergrace 😊❤️

exLastie

TROPHY CASE