Savannah Simmons, Opinion Editor
A group on campus simply trying to promote their message has been questioned about their intentions instead.
A group is known locally by the name of, “God the Mother” has raised the eyebrows of students who have been approached or heard the stories from others but are they a danger to be wary of or an actual group spreading their beliefs?
World Mission Society Church of God, established in South Korea in 1964, is the group most people know as, “God the Mother”. They do not refer as this name themselves though, rather it is the name others identify them as because one of their highlights of belief is that God is not only the Father but the Mother as well.
“Heavenly mother is salvation. Even in this world nobody can be given life without a mother right?” explained Casey Hill, a representative of The Elohist Club at Valley. “So it is the same for our soul. In order for us to have life, we must come to Heavenly Mother and we must participate in the new covenant truth that Jesus established 2000 years ago.”
The church has a club on campus under the name of “Elohist Club” with regular meetings and members. Members of this club have approached students at Valley telling them that God is a woman with bible verses ready to back up their claim. One student said that she felt like they had done their research since the information was so readily available and immediately explained upon the initial approach.
Suspicion and rumors arose when students were invited to attend the bible studies but the meeting spot was not clear and when they continued to get calls asking to meet up. One member of the group offered to meet a student at school then drive her to the study which was, allegedly, at a different location. Students have mentioned that they felt bombarded and wanted to be nice when they were approached but walked away feeling off about the interaction and never pursued the meet up to learn more.
Searching the name “God the Mother” on the Internet will bring up different results, some saying it’s human trafficking, most saying not to believe the rumors, that it’s just a religion. Sitting down with Casey Hill and Ashley Frazier of the Elohist Club revealed the group’s main intentions which are volunteer work and Heavenly Mother.
“Maybe there was a misunderstanding but I think it got completely out of hand,” said Hill about the suspicion against his church. “People quickly believe what they hear.”
The World Mission Society Church of God has three million members and is practiced in 175 countries with over 7000 locations. Hill practices at the location in Burbank and Frazier, a Sociology major who has been a member the past couple of years, studies in Hollywood when they are not studying with the Elohist club on campus.
The South Korean based church has received awards from the Queen of England and President Barack Obama for their voluntary services around the world. They are big on community support, blood drives, emergency relief, and neighborly love in helping the less fortunate. With volunteering being one of the church’s biggest priorities and accomplishments, their number one mission is to share the love of God.
In an investigation with help from Valley’s Team Leader Deputy Saldivar and his contacts in human trafficking intel, it has concluded that “After reviewing SIU holdings and performing open source research, no direct or substantiated threat to Los Angeles college campuses or students by “Mother of God” has been found.”
Any student intrigued the practices of the World Mission Society Church of God can go to watvintro.org, watvaward.org and asez.org for more information. The Elohist club needs a couple more members to be an official club again this year and Hill encourages students to take a moment to listen to the teaches of their group. He understands that people have been afraid of their group in the past but wants students to know that their intentions are pure.
Thus, students are reminded to always be aware of what is happening around them, be cautious of handing out phone numbers, and think twice or have a plan when meeting up with people they do not know.
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