I am Wang Yan (assumed name), aged 35, living in Jimo city, Shandong Province. When I was in college, I majored in economics and finance. After my graduation, I worked in a local bank. I used to have a happy family. My husband was a primary school teacher and treated me with profound love and care. We had a smart girl. I was regarded as a lucky woman. Since I joined the Church of Almighty God, I was led astray lost my family and was sexually abused. I was mentally frustrated and am bitterly regretful for my wrongdoings.
I used to be a perfectionist. When I was in secondary school, I was drawn to the haven of peace described in the Peach Colony by Tao Yuanming. I longed for such a beautiful retreat where people appeared very happy and contented and lived in a very beautiful place. After my graduation, I was fed up with the banking business and was tired of the hustle and bustle of the world. Thus I often felt weary and was longing for fantasy. I had also been afraid of illness, aging and death since my childhood. I would rather be poor than be ill, and would rather die than get old. I did not want to die young, but I wished I could maintain my youth. In 2010, one of my relatives died of a sudden disease. After I saw her body at the funeral, I often felt that she was standing in my living room at night. I was so scared that I regularly had nightmares and did not dare to go out of my bedroom. I cared nothing about what happened in society and was not interested in philosophy or moral lessons. In college, I often read novels or magazines when teachers were teaching such subjects.
In March 2012, I was introduced to the Church of Almighty God by my neighbor, Aunt Wang. She told me that December 21, 2012 would be exact date of doomsday, on which disasters would arise and the Earth would explode. She added that only followers of the Almighty God could survive the disasters and be free from trial and punishment. Aunt Wang gave me some materials about the Church of Almighty God, and took me to attend gatherings of her fellow followers. At the gatherings, we sang songs and danced, and treated each other as siblings. I felt quite at home and was deeply impressed by the atmosphere of the gatherings. On March 26, under persuasion of Aunt Wang, I wrote a letter of commitment, promising to recruit 50 members and expecting to be saved by God. The life at God’s home was different from my family life. I felt relieved. With my depression alleviated, I was uplifted mentally. I believed that such a life was meaningful, and that was what I wanted.
At first, when I stayed up late reading books about the Almighty God, my husband did not interfere and just entreated me to go to bed earlier. As I got increasingly obsessed with the life at God’Home, I did not like going home and became indifferent to my daughter. I cared less about her and even thought her as a kind of burden. As a result, my daughter, who was a primary school student, was often criticized for being late to school. I was not concerned about my work either. I took every chance to read books about the Almighty God. My bosses warned me several times, but I turned a deaf ear to them. After a while, my bosses asked me to quit the job. I immediately submitted my letter of resignation and left the bank.
After my husband learned that I had quit my job, he mobilized my parents to persuade me to take back my resignation. But I did not accept their advice. My parents were so angry with me that they choked with sobs and even fainted. They could not understand why their daughter had become so insane. When they learned that I had joined the Church of Almighty God, they tried to stop me and told me that the Doomsday was an absolute lie since December 21, 2012 had already passed. Since I did not listen to them, they were very distressed.
In July 2013, to avoid pressure from my family and to follow the calling of God, I took more than 30, 000 Yuan and left home. I was then appointed to preach the gospel in Chengyang District, Qingdao City.
I worked very hard and often went out to spread gospel. Because of my outstanding performance, I was admitted to the frontline team for spreading gospel. In the team I got acquainted with an instructor surnamed Wu. Wu was in his forties, and looked mature and sophisticated. He was very attentive to me and often took me to secret parties. He inculcated me with the idea that I should give anything I had to the Almighty God to ascend to higher levels and could recruit new members by having sex with them. Enticed and threatened by him, I had sex with him. He also asked me to have sex with other men whom I did not know well. I was so shameless that I agreed with him. In order to attract influential people to join the Church of Almighty God, Wu arranged me to have sex with them, and then he used videos or photos to threaten these men. Three of them were forced under the control of the cult.
My husband and my parents spared nothing to look for me, but I cared nothing about their suffering and worry. In order to divorce him, I waited for him near his school and asked some of the male followers of the cult to protect me. I turned a deaf ear to his begging, and kept indifferent even when he told me that my parents had been hospitalized a few times. When he tried to force me home, my fellows came to threaten him. I asked him to divorce me and told him that I had had sex with several men. He was infuriated and agreed to divorce. Then he signed the divorce agreement that I prepared in advance. Thus, in order to get protection from the Almighty God, I gave up my husband, my daughter and even my parents.
Under the control of the Almighty God, I was obedient to the cult and spared nothing to recruit new members and to spread gospel. I had been away from home for several years, and suffered a lot, but I thought that poverty and hardship wouldn’t last long and that I would eventually get endless blessings. So I devoted myself to the Almighty God, expecting to be saved by him. On January 4, 2015, I was seized and handed over to the local police office when I preached gospel. Thus my ridiculous experience came to its end.
With the help of anti-cult volunteers, I finally came to realize the evil nature of the Church of Almighty God. I was regretful for my wrongdoings. I hate Zhao Weishan, Yang Xiangbin and the evil Church of the Almighty God.
