Marsha Spriggs affair with Yadutan and the subsequent cover up

I have some information that for conscience sake I need to let others know about.  As some may have heard by now, I have been working with Yadutan since he has moved to Florida close to where I live.  When I first left the community, I heard that Yadutan had left the community as well, only about 3 months before I did.  I was curious to hear why.  At some point soon after we spoke to one another and the reasons he gave me were much more along the same lines as to why I left.  Recently, he moved down to Florida near me and we began working together in a home office situation.  One day I was working from his computer and I found myself staring at an email that speaks of the main reason why he and his wife left.  Naturally, I confronted him about it and he told me everything.  His response was shocking to says the least.  Those of us who know Yadutan, know that he would not have left lightly or on a whim, or just because he “loved the world.”  I was quite disturbed to hear his reasons and after much deliberation I have decided that I want my friends to have the opportunity to know the truth about what happened, and decide for themselves whether or not they want to continue to give their lives to something that is not true.

Also …..before they actually left the community, Yadutan and his wife went to Yoneq and Ha-Emeq to resolve this issue and were unable to get it resolved to their satisfaction.

This is it in a nutshell:

14 or so years ago …. Ha-Emeq aggressively approached Yadutan when he was a very young disciple in the church.  Ha-Emeq made sexual advances towards him.  He was in a very uncomfortable position, because the leader’s wife was hitting on him.  This took place when the morning and evening sacrifices were beginning to be taught about on a daily basis.  For those of you who remember or have heard those teachings since then, you can appreciate the enormity of what went on between Yadutan and Ha-Emeq.  She would often grab his belt loop or hold his hand while they were walking.

When they traveled on their bus she would slip her hands under his bed covers and hold his hand at night.  One night she approached him from behind on the beach and wrapped her arms around him in an embrace.

Eventually he gave in to the temptation and became involved in a sexual relationship with Ha-Emeq.  No, they did not have intercourse, or oral sex, but they did everything else.  They would passionately kiss; they would be stripped down to their underwear, lying on top of one another.  They would masturbate one another.  They would go to the newly established gatherings unclean, minutes after they were together.

She would hold his hand during breaking of bread.  They would have had intercourse but at one point or another one of them would stop the other.  I understand that this is not pleasant or even dignified to have to read these things, but I don’t know any other way of getting my point across.  I have sat in many meetings judging people for doing much less than what these two people participated in.  I have seen families torn apart because of judgments that have come from Yoneq over youth who have held hands or kissed.  I have heard and taught on the utter wickedness of going to breaking of bread and minchot over and over again with unconfessed sin much less serious in nature than what I speak of today.  Yadutan is not “blaming” Ha-Emeq for her part in what occurred.  Yadutan was terribly confused and upset in his conscience about what they had fallen into.  He encouraged her to stop on several occasions but she did not want to, and so they continued in their weakness.  This continued for a year or so until Yoneq and Ha-Emeq left Brazil.  At this point Yadutan was able to clear his head and wrote Ha-Emeq telling her that they must confess and repent and get forgiven no matter the cost.  He told her she must expose it to Yoneq or he would have to do it!  Ha-Emeq wrote back saying it was ok, all was forgiven.

Yadutan continued under the impression Ha-Emeq had exposed herself.  Years later, it was uncovered that Ha-Emeq had never told the truth.  She has continued on in her role judging and mentoring, representing God on the earth, and whatever else you might describe her role to be, with a very bad conscience the whole time.

When Yadutan began to see that the tribes were “falling apart” on so many levels, he began to consider the problems, why they never get fixed and the hypocrisy that had risen to the sky.

He called for a meeting with Yoneq.  He confessed to his own wife what had happened before they had met, and they went to Hiddenite to have the big meeting.  When he arrived he was met with what he felt was an attempt to sweep it all under the rug.  Yoneq said that he had just recently learned about the whole matter.  He questioned them both concerning what had happened and then he forgave them both, and then he told them that our Father forgave them!  That’s it!

Yadutan wondered why there was no body meeting, discipline , nothing!  How could a husband judge his own wife like this with no counsel?  Others had been sent away for years, forced to marry, or worse, over less!  Should Jacob and Qetsiayah know about this, after suffering over what their daughters went through for committing sins of a far less serious nature?

Should Hur know about how Ha-Emeq was judged for 14 years of deceit after seeing his boys judged for sins far less serious.  The list could go on for quite some time.  Should all those cook’s meetings be disregarded because Ha-Emeq was “in the flesh” when she taught and led them?  The implications are far reaching!

Think about it….  And what about Yoneq’s response?  How many times I have sat and waited to hear from Yoneq concerning our Father’s judgment for someone, whether they should be sent away from the body or not.  And this was only after several kahals and fact finding meetings.  All the while, those who committed the sins were held in custody.

He was asked time and again to be discreet and just forgive and “have wisdom and conceal the matter.”  Scriptures were sent to him encouraging him to keep the matter to himself.  Yadutan was unable to obtain a good conscience this way and all his experience in the tribes was now in doubt for him and his wife.  Even his own position seemed fraudulent to him as he felt “bought” so to speak.  He insisted more men be brought in and so Yoneq agreed and told Nahaliel and Nun.

After expressing their grave concern with the seriousness of the matter, investigating, and finding the whole story to be exactly true as Yadutan had described in lurid detail, they both began a letter writing campaign to get Yadutan to just “move on” in the tribes.  The inability of these “elders” to grasp the gravity of this hypocrisy increasingly distressed Yadutan.

He wrote to them about “the emperor’s new clothes,” and the men behind the emperor and the foundations of the community (teachings, tribes, minchahs) being formed all by those who were living a lie while harshly judging others for their lack of purity.  He does not feel innocent of all this himself, but when he tried to do the right thing, he saw that it wasn’t really in the hearts of the leaders to deal fairly with the truth but to hide it in order to continue their charade.  I have had a lot to do with many people joining or remaining in the tribes.  I feel for conscience sake, they are all deserving of the truth and deserve to know ALL the information that I now have and also to know why Yadutan and his wife had to leave.

This is just a very brief version of a much deeper and more involved story.  Please everyone know that Yadutan and his wife Emunah loved and gave their lives to the building of the community, as did my wife and I, but I cannot stand by while my friends unwittingly go on trusting their lives, believing that they are building on something solid.  My faith has been undermined by the reality of what the Twelve Tribes has really become!  I did not easily come to these decisions.

It has been very painful for everyone involved and I know for a fact that Yadutan has no joy in having to live with this. BUT NEVER THE LESS IT IS THE TRUTH.  People can try and contact him if they need to know or verify anything.

There are those who will say this is a lie from people who listen to liars, but there are pages and pages of emails and letters concerning this matter.

There are those who won’t care anyways and will continue on in the community.

This letter isn’t for those people.  This letter is for the people who still care about the truth.  For those who have been on the edge, and even for those who haven’t.  It’s a wake up call to our friends in the Twelve Tribes.