In March 2014, Li Zurong got paralyzed in bed because of a series of illnesses, including acute cerebral infarction, hypothyroidism, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia, etc. Previously, she had already had various symptoms but ignored them because she believed fanatically that “a mysterious power,” i.e. the evil cult of "Almighty God", could keep her safe.
The "Almighty God" cult claimed to be able to save human beings. However, He Shufang, Li Zurong's mother, said: "Since my daughter believed in the ‘Church of Almighty God’, our family has suffered a lot."
He Shufang, Li Zurong's mother
Li Zurong, whose parents live in Pipagou, Jiangyang District, Luzhou City, Sichuan Province, has one elder brother and two younger brothers, who all worked in other places. Since her divorce, Li Zuyong has been living with her parents in their 70s. Although they lived an ordinary life, the whole family was quite content with it.
One morning in 2012, Xiao Zhang, one of Li Zurong’s friends, visited her after hearing about her hyperthyroidism and marital misfortune. During their conversation, Xiao Zhang, who pretended to be surprised at learning that Zurong was suffering from hyperthyroidism, told her “inadvertently" about the “Church of Almighty God”. Meanwhile, Xiao Zhang took out two "God books" and gave them to Li Zurong. One is called "Almighty God, You Are So Good" while the other is "The Word Appears in the Flesh".
Xiao Zhang said: “The end of the world is approaching and human beings will suffer great disasters. ‘Female Christ’ is going to save human beings. Your illness can be cured even without seeking treatment If you believe in her.” As Li Zurong had taken medication for a long time due to her hyperthyroidism and had once suffered a divorce, she immediately agreed to join the “Church of Almighty God” under the persuasion of her good friend Xiao Zhang.
From then on, she was starting to be obsessed little by little with the evil cult of “Almighty God”. In the past, she used to go home after work and help her parents with their business. Now, as soon as she got home, she began to read "God books" and worship "God”. Initially, she wanted to be cured of her illness by believing in “God”, and pray for the blessings of "God" so that her whole family could live in peace and safety. Later, as she “ate and drank God’s words” day after day, she had turned from praying for the blessings of “God” to depending on “God” and then to fearing “God”. In such expectation, dependence, and fear, she gradually fell into a state of obsession with the "Female Christ”.
According to He Shufang, Li Zurong's mother, as she got more and more obsessed with the “Almighty God” cult, Li Zurong stopped going to work or helping her parents with their business. Instead, she went out to "preach the gospel" with Xiao Zhang to draw new people into the “Church of Almighty God”. At first, she left home early in the morning and returned home in the evening every day. But later, she would stay outside for a month or two before coming back every time she went out, and she no longer had any contact with her family and friends, claiming that she was doing her duty for "God”. Her family members persuaded her to stop believing in the so-called "Female Christ", but she either argued against them by citing the heretical fallacies in the “God books” or simply ignored them and treated them with disdain.
During that time, Li Zurong stopped taking medicine for her illness, as she believed that she had the blessing of "God”. As a result, her health deteriorated day by day.
In July 2013, Li Zurong went to "preach the gospel" in Gulin without telling her family. However, she ended up being caught by police and punished by public security detention. Because of this, her two sons returned home from other places and pleaded with her not to believe in those heretical fallacies. They told her that believing in the “Almighty God” cult would not cure her illness and that she should believe in science and go to the hospital for treatment instead of getting obsessed with the cult. However, as the heretical ideas preached by the "Almighty God" cult had been rooted in her mind, it was difficult for Li Zuyong to break away from the evil cult, although she had been punished by law and her health was going from bad to worse.
As days went by, the harm caused by the "Almighty God" cult to Li Zurong’s family became increasingly apparent. Her family sank into chaos as a result of her belief in the cult. As her mother He Shufang recalled, one day in March 2014, when Li Zurong was singing "spiritual songs" and making prayers at home, she suddenly said that she had a severe headache. Then, her singing stopped, with only her painful moans heard. Her family members wanted to take her to the hospital, but she flatly refused, believing doggedly that with the blessing of "God", she would get well by herself without seeing a doctor.
Li Zurong’s elder brother and two younger brothers returned home from where they worked. The three brothers talked with their sister Li Zurong, persuading her patiently and anxiously to get out of the evil cult “Almighty God”. They tried to convince her by citing her misfortune as an example that obsession with the cult would only bring disasters instead of blessings to her family. Finally, she reluctantly agreed to go to the hospital for treatment because the pain caused by her illness was too much for her body to bear.
Then, Li Zurong was sent by her family members to the Affiliated Hospital of Luzhou Medical College. After more than twenty days of treatment, her condition was basically under control, but in the end, she got paralyzed in bed due to her acute cerebral obstruction. The doctor said Li Zurong was suffering from acute cerebral obstruction, accompanied by hypothyroidism, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension, and that she could have been cured of her acute cerebral obstruction if it had been treated in time, but unfortunately, it was too late..
He Shufang, Li Zurong's mother, was almost devastated by it. The fact that her daughter got obsessed with the evil cult made her feel deep regret and brought her only misery in the end. “The evil cult of ‘Almighty God’ has ruined our family,” He Shufang said.
A tragedy that happened next had proved that the saying that “You can keep your family safe by believing in the Church of Almighty God" was a sheer lie. One day, Li Zurong's father was bitten by a poisonous snake downstairs in front of their house. After emergency treatment, his injury was brought under control, but he could no longer walk.
He Shufang was overcome with grief after misfortunes happened one after another to her family. She said with tears streaming down her face, "I'm over 70 years old now. It should have been a time for me to enjoy my old age, but now I have to take care of my paralyzed daughter and my husband who is unable to walk... "
The harm done by the evil cult “Almighty God” to her family has also increased He Shufang’s confidence in persuading her daughter to quit the cult. She said, "I’ll continue to persuade my daughter to quit the evil cult by asking her the question, ‘What benefits has the Church of Almighty God which you believed in for several years brought to you? I hope my daughter will soon be cured of her illness. We must believe in science!”
May the tears of the 70-year-old mother wash away the endless pain brought to her unhappy family by the evil cult of "Almighty God"!
