Lord Our Righteousness Church

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The Lord Our Righteousness Church, sometimes called Strong City, is a religious community near Travesser Park, Union County, New Mexico. It originated with a group of about eighty adherents who migrated to the area from Sandpoint, Idaho in 2000;^[1] in 2008, the community consisted of approximately fifty people. The community believes in modesty of dress and the women wear long skirts and dresses, and reportedly mix well with the local people.^[1]

Its leader, Wayne Bent, born May 18, 1941,^[1] is known as Michael Travesser within the church.^[2] Bent, once a Seventh-day Adventist pastor, left his denomination with others of like mind in 1987 and has since referred to that church as one of the "daughters of the great harlot" condemned in the book of Revelation.^[3] Bent claims that, during an experience in his living room in June 2000, God told him, "You are the Messiah." Bent has since stated, "I am the embodiment of God. I am divinity and humanity combined."^[4]

The group's website is no longer functioning. The only current information available is a contact email address. When it was running it contained frequently-updated writings and videos, including a nearly two-hour long documentary entitled Experiencing the Finished Work.^[5]

Contents 1 UK Media coverage and subsequent documentary 2 Investigation 3 Conviction 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] UK Media coverage and subsequent documentary

British journalist Alex Hannaford^[6] first went up to Strong City in 2004, investigating claims that the cult was contemplating suicide^[7]. His feature^[8], including interviews with Wayne and Jeff Bent and various sect members, was published in the UK the same year.

Three years later, The End of the World Cult, a documentary, aired on Channel 4 in the UK. It covers Bent's announcement that the Day of Judgment began on October 31, 2007. Bent chose that date after calculating a Biblical prophecy number (490) and adding it to the year 1517, when the Protestant Reformation began, yielding 2007 as a result. The specific date October 31 comes from the day that Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses.

"Inside a Cult" was shown on the Four Corners program on the ABC in Australia. Inside a Cult was also broadcast on the National Geographic Channel in the United States; this version is shorter and uses the same footage as the one mentioned above, but with some interviews with cult experts.

The church has stated that both these movies are a misrepresentation of their beliefs and contain a multitude of errors that are misleading regarding the events that took place, and the truth and principles they believe in. However, the church did not offer any specifics on how their beliefs were misrepresented.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Investigation

A former church member has alleged that Bent told his congregation that "God told him that he was supposed to sleep with seven virgins," including the member's own daughters, then only 14 and 15 years old; the man, John Sayer, refused. Though he left the compound and took his wife and daughters after being a church member for sixteen years, one daughter returned and, according to Sayer, was one of three minors taken into state custody for their own protection in April 2008.^[1] Bent has said he's had sex with his followers, including a woman who was divorced from his son, but asserts that though he lay "naked with virgins" and the virgins asked him for sex, he refused.^[9]

A New Mexico state CYFD (Children, Youth and Families Department) spokeswoman said that three minor teens were taken from the compound in the days after an April 22, 2008, investigation.

The state judge hearing the case has issued a gag order, and state officials have provided no further details of the investigation.^[1]

Two weeks after the children were removed and the gag order was in place, Bent was arrested by the New Mexico State Police. The charges were three counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor and three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The ages and genders of the children in state custody were made public: a 16-year-old boy, a 16-year-old girl and a 13-year-old girl.^[10] He was held on $500,000 bond with an arraignment scheduled for May 8, 2008. Following his arraignment, the judge reduced the bail to $55,000; as of May 9th, he remained incarcerated.^[9]

The initial charges refer to Bent having inappropriately touched three minor girls in 2006 and 2007. According to the state Department of Public Safety, one of the girls no longer lives in the community.^[9]

Bent also freely admits having sexual intercourse multiple times with his son's former wife. They were divorced when this took place. Both he and his son state that "God forced Michael" to commit this act of consummation.^[11]

A June 17 update from Wayne Bent/Michael Travesser's web site and other news reports state that New Mexico authorities released one of the young women previously taken from the compound from state custody.^[12]

Both the prosecution and the defense excused one judge in the case. Union County Judge Gerald E. Baca was appointed the case on July 2, 2008.^[13] The jury trial started November 17, 2008.^[13]

[edit] Conviction

On Monday, December 15th, 2008, jurors convicted Wayne Bent of one count of criminal sexual contact of a minor and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was found not guilty of a second charge of criminal sexual contact with a minor, having shared a bed with her, consensually and without intercourse. Bent was allowed to return to Strong City, the sect's compound near Clayton, pending sentencing.^[14] On Dec 30th, Judge Gerald Baca imposed the maximum sentence of 18 years but suspended eight years. He will have to serve at least 8½ years before becoming eligible for release. ^[15]

[edit] See also

• Cognitive dissonance
• Millenarianism
• True-believer syndrome
• Disconfirmed expectancy
• Doomsday cult

[edit] References

[edit] External links

	Wikinews has related news:
New Mexico-based charismatic leader fails to predict doomsday, again Leader of Lord Our Righteousness Church jailed on charges of sexual contact with minors Three children taken from New Mexico compound

• Strong City: The Lord Our Righteousness Church (This page is no longer available.)
• Channel 4: The End of the World Cult
• National Geographic: Inside a Cult