Twelve Tribes FAQ

August 2014

A: Our men grow beards because we require it of them.  Also the Old Testament book of Ezekiel refers to priests who kept their hair bound at the back of the neck and who trim their hair.

A: Our women are required to wear baggy Sus pants, skirts, and dresses.  We want all of our women to look perpetually pregnant so that the men will not be attracted to them in a sexual way!  We don’t want our men to suffer with sexual thoughts and fantasies – thus we dress the women in the baggiest and most ample clothes our women can sew!

A: All visitors must attend the morning and evening gatherings where the teachings of the “Apostle” Elbert Eugene Spriggs are rehashed.  Visitors must passively accept what they hear in the gatherings.  No arguing.  Baptized members must obey these teachings or risk shunning or excommunication.  Spriggs says in his teaching on Reasoning the following:

The Holy Spirit is only given to the many whose hearts are known by God.  He knows that their heart is to repent, surrender their head.  They know that their head has to go…Ransom 3/23/89

All servants of God must be delivered from a life of reason. - Reasoning 12/18/90

A: Yes, his name is Elbert Eugene Spriggs and he claims the titles of “Apostle,” Netser, the Elijah, Yoneq and the “Anointing.”  He is a narcissistic cult leader!  Community members work 16-18 hours a day or more so Spriggs can devote his time to writing new teachings and traveling the world with a pocket full of credit cards.  In an interview with reporter Mary Richardson, former high ranking Twelve Tribes member James Howell said the following about Elbert Spriggs:

“Compared to one of the elders whose toes stick out the front of his boots and the knees out of his pants and his shirt in tatters, Gene Spriggs is well dressed.  Gene Spriggs often wears the latest LL Bean Polar Fleece shirt and jacket, Hi tech hikers, and banana republic pants.  Later on we learned that Spriggs owned 5 pairs of Hi tech hikers in his closet.  Relatively speaking he lives as a very rich man.

In the same interview with Mary Richardson, former high ranking Twelve Tribes member Michael Painter said the following about Spriggs:

“I visited the Boston community and looked in Bill Hinchcliffe’s closet and said to him, ‘What are you doing with these 5 pairs of expensive $180.00 10 1/2 D New Balance Hi Tech hikers”?  You wear 8 1/2.”  Bill responded with “These belong to Yoneq (Gene Spriggs).  He can’t purchase them in France, so he is going to take them to France.  Elbert Eugene Spriggs always wore New Balance Hi Tech hikers.”

And the reporter Mary Richardson asked a question.  Does Elbert Eugene Spriggs travel freely around the world?

JH – Yes

MP – Yes

JH – Spriggs may write new teachings or they may live in new places or they may wear their hair different or wear different clothes but the basic theme will be obedience to him and his teachings!  And finally former Tribes member Michael Painter sums up Elbert Eugene
Spriggs in this manner:

“Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.  This is my opinion of Spriggs.  Every former member that we have contact with expresses the same thought about Elbert and his lust for power and control.  The early community began with honorable intentions as they helped many young people quit drugs, and fed the hungry and homeless but as Spriggs garnered more and more power he became blinded.  He is leading all the Tribe’s members into a ditch.”

A: Yes.  We are a relatively small group (2,500 – 3,000) of people holding religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as dangerous,

oppressive, false, unorthodox (unchristian), or extremist.  The group members hold in high esteem the leader (Elbert Spriggs) who has a special pipeline to God (supposedly) with no actual accountability giving him/her a special authority and weightiness in their pronouncements.  If group members refuse to obey the leader then they are rebellious!  We isolate our members from their extended families and the world.  They do not read news papers, watch TV, read books or magazines, go to the library (generally), listen to the radio, or connect to the Internet.  During the morning and evening gathering the teachings of the “Apostle” Elbert Eugene Spriggs are rehashed.  All baptized community members must obey the Spriggs teachings or risk shunning or excommunication. – Former high ranking Tribes member

James Howell said the following:

“Their dedication to Spriggs is the prerequisite for remaining in the group.”

A: We use phobia indoctrination making it difficult for members to leave us.  Examples include the following: “If you leave the community you will become a homosexual.”  “If you leave the safety of the Twelve Tribes a thunder bolt will strike you dead!”  “If you leave you or your family member will have a fatal car wreck!”  The Twelve Tribes also employs mind control.

A: Only Elbert Eugene Spriggs is allowed to give original teaching and his writings (not the Bible) are the final authority in the communities.  Community members must obey the teachings of Spriggs or risk shunning or excommunication.  “Everything we hear in the teachings we are required to obey.” – Repentance 4/2/91

A: Elbert Eugene Spriggs is the sole (unchecked) leader of the Twelve Tribes and claims the titles of “Apostle,” the “prophet Elijah,” “Netser,” and the “Anointing.”  Spriggs claims that God speaks to him!  Elbert claims a “direct pipeline to God” and that he is a special messenger with a unique revelation.  “Yoneq expressed how there have been several things which our Father has spoken to him which have kept us on course.”  (Letter from Yowceph to Jonathan and Caleb)  And in another teaching Spriggs says, “This is a word to all true disciples.  Our Father revealed to me that we must observe the Sabbath – the day He made, not Sunday.”  (Observing the Sabbath)

This is what the Apostolic Workers have said about Spriggs!  “We are Yoneq new sprout.  We are Yoneq’s most precious possession.  We are the validity of his apostleship.  We stand in his place.  We are the new sprout organically related to one another.  We must practice his words!” – Apostolic Workers Meeting 6/13/88

And a former member has said “Yoneq is the anointing everyone refers to.”

“We must see that it is Yoneq’s spirit holding our community together.  If we resist then it is hard to function in community.  Resistance makes life miserable.  Subtle rebellion disables Yoneq from functioning as an apostle.  If we pick apart our leaders it makes it hard to rule.  The work will go forward with cooperation.  But if you resist authority the work ceases.  We must be loyal to Yoneq and his anointing. – Apostolic Workers Meeting 6/13/88

A: Our households gather at the beginning and end of each day to thank and praise our creator and “Apostle” Elbert Eugene Spriggs for all that he has done for us.  During the gatherings all baptized members rehash the teachings of our cult leader Elbert Eugene Spriggs (Yoneq).  In an interview with Mary Richardson, former high ranking Tribes member James Howell said, “Their dedication to Spriggs is the prerequisite for remaining in the group.”  He also went on to say, “Obedience to Elbert Spriggs is preached above everything else.”  During the gathering members also offer up a favorite spiritual song and they also perform Hebrew circle dances.  The love and worship of our Master Yoneq is central to our daily life and culture.  This bonds us together and enables us to live this life.  Without Yoneq’s love and care compelling us, we could never live the way we do.  “We are Yoneq new sprout.  We are Yoneq’s most precious possession.  We are the validity of his apostleship.  We stand in his place.  We are the new sprout organically related to one another.  We must practice his words.” Apostolic Workers Meeting 6/13/88