Youve got a child thats going from just bizarre down to in control. With a new Lifetime movie called Starving For Salvation out now, in. Ultimately, it was the same seduction of society writ large: worth anointed through the pursuit of thinness and deference to men, although delivered by a woman harnessing such desire for her own power. Hannah's brother Michaelis understood to have abandoned any leadership role completely, divorcing his wife and leaving the church in the wake of his mother's death. In 2002, Shamblin bought 40 acres of land in Brentwood and donated the entire property for the building of the Remnant Fellowship Church. Remnant Fellowship Churches are now found in over 170 cities worldwide where members hear convicting and encouraging messages of the importance of putting God and His will first in your life. In 1997, Gwen responded to the nations request to offer the Weigh Down principles in book format, and The Weigh Down Diet was published by Doubleday, Inc. Air traffic controldata revealed that the plane started to drop after just 90 seconds in the air. The Lamar Hill Boat Ramp was expected to reopen Tuesday. Experience this 14.5-km out-and-back trail near Vicenza, Veneto. The church also denied that anyone had been body-shamed or bullied over their weight. [citation needed] She began producing a live Internet show, You Can Overcome, in late 2011. One former member said that there were glue sticks sticking out of diaper bags in the [church] aisles, the newspaper reported in 2007. CHRISTIAN diet guru Gwen Shamblin Lara, leader of the Remnant Fellowship Church, lived a luxurious millionaire lifestyle before she died in a private plane crash in 2021. }); In 1996, Weigh Down Workshop had a staff of 40 and built a headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee, and Lara began hosting an annual summer convention, Desert Oasis, in the Nashville area. If the children were not obedient, you would be losing the favor of the churchand Gwen.. The police reported that the Smiths locked Josef in his room to pray to a picture of Jesus on the ceiling and in a closet for days and even weeks. Exploring Lara's fame and power as a diet guru and church leader, and truth behind her carefully curated image, detailing the controversial practices of the church. I dont know what he was doinghitting, spanking, whateverbut we could all hear that happening, and [Josef] wailing., The next day, Boone and her mother went to Tennessees Department of Childrens Services to make the child abuse report, she says. Lara called her movement the "Weigh Down Workshop" and packed her church full of radiant and thin people, according to a Tennessean profile from 2011. Investigators hadchanged from a rescue mission to a recovery mission Sunday morning. The Smiths each received life sentences. I look at the criteria thats used to determine what is a cult. Colli Berici: Sant'Agostino - Monte Comunale - San Gottardo, Museo del Risorgimento e della Resistenza, Villa Valmarina - Monte Berico - Borgo Berga, Prima Ciclabile Riviera Berica: Vicenza - Noventa Vicentina, Via Postumia MTB, Segment 5: Vicenza - Zevio, Monte Berico - Villa Ambellicopoli - Borgo Berga, Via Postumia, Segment 14: Vicenza - Lonigo. Shamblin said she and the church were unduly targeted by the investigation into Josefs death. The search didnt yield anything criminal, so his superiors told him there was pretty much nothing else I could do, says Schweizer, who retired from Cobb County in 2020 and now works as investigator for the Banks County Sheriffs Office and as a task force officer for the Department of Homeland Security. Gwen is survived by her ex-husband David Shamblin, who was once a member of the church. She started a Christian diet program. One follower even claimed she suffered irreparable damage to her kidneys as a result of the weight loss program as she starved herself "for God.". Shortly after the pilot acknowledged instructions to maintain an altitude of 3,000ft (910m) above mean sea level and make a turn, air traffic control instructed the pilot to climb, but the pilot ceased responding. Follows the Remnant Fellowship Church and its leader Gwen Shamblin Lara. Their children, Hannah and Michael, are still RFC congregants. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), The book sold more than 1.2 million copies. Articles A, All right reserved Copyright | Propuls par HORIZON +. Gwen - who was known for her distinctive blond hairstyle - was 66 when she died. In a statement shared last month, the Remnant Fellowship Church categorically denied the absurd defamatory statements and accusations made in this documentary, and specifically denied any child abuse. "Water recoveries make the recovery efforts more difficult," Weiss said. Church members helped pay for the Smiths legal fees. For more than three years Cappello and her team had researched Remnant, which had faced accusations of being a cult that promoted child abuse, and its charismatic leader, Gwen Shamblin Lara, a stick-thin woman with an inflated blonde beehive who gained fame for a theological diet program to pray ones way to thinness. When was Gwen Shamblin in a plane crash? In 2018 they divorced, and she married Joe Lara. 'Continue the dream': Remnant Fellowship Church founder's children will keep church going after her death, Percy Priest plane crash:What to know about the deadly accident that killed Christian diet guru Gwen Shamblin Lara, More: Latest on fatal plane crash at Percy Priest Lake: Human remains found at crash site Sunday. That was a sign, to the world, of Gods favor of the church, says Wilson, who left the church in 2012 after 13 years. Boone described Josef as pretty rambunctious, with behavioral issues that might have best been addressed by professionals. Where was theRemnant Fellowship Church, founded byGwen Shamblin, located? In a strange new docuseries, the dark world of the Remnant Fellowship and its pray yourself thin leader Gwen Shamblin is brought to light. I feel so sorry for all of the children, especially Joseph. As any other church . Shamblin, known for her "Weigh Down Workshop" Christian diet program and starting Remnant Fellowship church in Franklin, died in a plane crash in Percy Priest Lake along with her husband and other . Director of HBO docuseries on weight loss church wants to help people get out, NTSB releases preliminary report on plane crash that killed Gwen Shamblin, Joe Lara and others, Remnant Fellowship Church founder's children will keep church going after her death, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. .css-5rg4gn{display:block;font-family:NeueHaasUnica,Arial,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;margin-bottom:0.3125rem;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-5rg4gn:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-5rg4gn{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:-0.02em;margin:0.75rem 0 0;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-5rg4gn{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:0.02rem;margin:0.9375rem 0 0;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-5rg4gn{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.4;margin:0.9375rem 0 0.625rem;}}@media(min-width: 73.75rem){.css-5rg4gn{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.4;}}What We Know About 'The Diplomat' Season 2, Meet the Elite 18 Celebs Who Are EGOT Winners, Cara Delevingne Joins Kim Kardashian in 'AHS', The 21 Best (and Best-Known) Dance Movies, 'Dune: Part Two' Will Focus More on Paul and Chani. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), 2023 Cable News Network. Wilson attended the Smiths trial and visited the couple in prison. It is a perfect representation of her doctrine and the way that she approaches the world, and the way that she has her members portray an image of perfection and happiness and joy to the outside world when theyre suffering internally.. Slowly, the membership started growing, with people becoming its members from across the globe. Kings Crossing neighborhood would not have been built as we know it today. "She was extremely generous and loving and caring.". Gwen Shamblin is an American Christian non-fiction author and founder of The Weigh Down Workshop and Remnant Fellowship Church. In 1999, Shamblin broke with the Church of Christ, the conservative branch of evangelicalism in which she grew up (and which forbade female leaders) and launched Remnant Fellowship, based around her diet teachings, which saw weight loss as a pure reflection of spiritual commitment and intent, gain as failure and sin. She said children were to obey parents, wives were to obey husbands and members were to obey church leaders. Lara hadbeen a lightning rod for critical news coverageover the years after she founded the church based on what she called "faith-based" weight loss. The use of long glue sticks received particular attention by law enforcement and the media. The McMartin Preschool Case: Satanic Panic and Child Sexual Abuse Allegations. Brandon HannahClick the image above to learn more about Brandon. The Laras took off Saturday morning from Smyrna and the plane went down moments later. In fact, the church is now led by a group of followers including Hannah. "Dirty Dancing" renowned actress Jennifer Grey . The Way Down: God, Greed and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin starts on HBO Max on 30 September and in the UK at a later date, Its very culty: the bizarre billion-dollar downfall of fashion company LuLaRoe, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. So, she brought a glue stick to Shamblin and asked her if it was something she approved of. Exploring Lara's fame and power as a diet guru and church leader, and truth behind her carefully curated image, detailing the controversial practices of the church. Who plays the role ofGwen Shamblin in the movie? Rise Above is another of her popular books. A message of control delivered by another woman, thin and perpetually bubbly; an extreme and euphoric manifestation of the diet mantra nothing tastes as good as skinny feels. HOME; HER LIFE; PHOTOS AND VIDEOS; MEMORIES; MORE. The importance of fasting three days a week. Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations. Subjects include Natasha Pavlovich, an ex-girlfriend of Laras fighting against Remnants robust legal team for custody of her 10-year-old daughter. Later, she joined the states health department and worked there for five years. REMNANT FELLOWSHIP CHURCH:'Continue the dream': Remnant Fellowship Church founder's children will keep . 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, Gwen Shamblin Lara died in a 2021 plane crash, The Remnant Fellowship Church is now being led by a team including Gwen's daughter, Elizabeth Hannah's husband Brandon Hannah was one of those killed in the plane crash along with her mom Gwen, Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk, Gwen was among seven people killed when a Cessna plane plunged into Percy Priest lake near Smyrna, Tennessee in May2021, Inside Remnant Fellowship Church after Christian weight loss cult leader Gwen Shamblin Laras death in a plane crash, Top Putin ally Medvedev threatens NUCLEAR strikes as Russia 'preparing 500k soldiers' for new assault on Ukraine, Horror pics reveal fiery Ohio train derailment inferno after 50-car accident triggers huge explosion and hazmat response, I have no idea how many grandkids Ive got after fleeing 'cult' where I couldn't watch TV or talk to 'outsiders', Watch skin-crawling moment a RAT crawls up sleeping commuter's leg on New York subway train, You have the eyes of a hawk if you can spot the mountain-dwelling creature hidden by the rocks in this picture, You have the eyes of a hawk if you can spot the sneaky cat hiding in this optical illusion in just five seconds. Recovered plane debris will also be studied and examined to determine what caused the crash. The church told HBO documentary makers it categorically denies the absurd defamatory statements and accusations made in this documentary.. After allegations of being a cult and of controlling followers' weights, lives, and finances, the group is now being led by a leadership team, including the weight loss guru's daughter. By . She counseled that genetics, metabolism, and behavior modification did not explain why some people were thin while others were overweight. Her life was the subject of a 2021 HBO Max docuseries and a 2023 Lifetime movie. Diet guru Shamblin Lara founded the controversial Remnant Fellowship Church in 1999. heading to a Women Fighting For America event. Lara is often referred to as the Christian Diet Guru. During this horrible tragedy, our church would greatly appreciate prayers. The plane, she wrote "had to go down for a controlled, quick landing GOD IS IN CONTROL, and we will not stop moving forward with WHAT GOD WANTS with this church.". Women Fighting for Americafounder Christie Hutcherson confirmed the group was headed for the rally and said she was still in shock from the news Tuesday morning and saddened by the lives lost. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Through Remnant Fellowship and the Weigh Down Workshop seminars, hundreds of people are helped daily as they break away from the pain of obesity and other addictive substance or destructive behaviors. Dive teams from local emergency agencies found human remains among the wreckage Sunday as the recovery effort continued. The medical examiners report said Josef died of blunt force trauma to the head associated with acute and chronic abuse. The Remnant Fellowship, founded in 1999, reportedly has more than 1,500 members in 150 congregations around the world. The book sold more than four hundred thousand copies within a year. [24][25], The program was offered in about 600 churches in 35 U.S. states by 1994. media-tech companies with hubs around the world. As a Christian diet guru, what doesGwen Shamblin preach? Members of the Remnant Fellowship church posted bond for the Smiths before the 2007 trial. Wilson says that, ultimately, she decided she was not comfortable doing so. Investigators found the boy was repeatedly abused; a former babysitter featured in the series alleges that she was ordered to beat the boy at church and heard, along with several others, the abuse within the building. n May of this year, film-makers Marina Zenovich and Nile Cappello had nearly wrapped on a documentary series about Remnant Fellowship, an insular, eerily cheery church in Brentwood, Tennessee, which preached weight loss as a spiritual assignment. They had five children. I was shocked. Gwen and Joe were married in 2018 and shared a love of flying. For years, Shamblin projected a glowing, bubbly, lavish facade: a self-made Christian businesswoman devoted to helping others, particularly women, finally achieve their weight loss goals by getting closer to God, with a plantation-style mansion outside Nashville. The final moments of the series find her, clad in a long black dress, on her mothers stage. The Remnant teachings support corporal punishment for children. A plane crash in Tennessee over the weekend killed seven church leaders of The Remnant Fellowship, including bestselling Christian author Gwen Shamblin Lara and her husband, Joe Lara, an actor known for his role in the "Tarzan" television series. Just as The Way Down director Marina Zenovich was finishing off the documentary, the story took a dramatic turn. It is the story of Gwen Shamblin, a controversial religious leader and Christian diet guru who was very influential in America. "Come home to true religion that is simple but powerful," she . They were married in 2002 and had three children. "Each year of our marriage gets BETTER," David Martin wrote. What was the name of the six-year old girl in the movie? Her wonderful and supportive husband, Joe Lara, will also be greatly missed. Her daughter, Elizabeth, was married to Brandon Hannah, and together, they have four children, Grace, Gweneth, Gloria, and Charles Grantham. The Remnant Fellowship's website says the church has 120 leaders who serve as deacons, shepherds, ministry leaders, and ministry assistants. Gwen Shamblin Lara (February 18, 1955 - May 29, 2021) was an American author, founder of the Christian diet program The Weigh Down Workshop and founder of the Remnant Fellowship. Follows the Remnant Fellowship Church and its leader Gwen Shamblin Lara. Following Shamblin's death on May 29, 2021, the Remnant Church was passed to the control of her children, Elizabeth Shamblin Hannah and Michael Shamblin. (modern), The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin on HBO Max. Shamblin appeared on television programs such as BBC, 20/20, A Current Affair, The View, and Dateline (Australia). Zenovich's docuseries calls and presents Remnant as a cult controlling most aspects of congregants' lives, which the church has called "absurd, defamatory statements and accusations," according to a statement Remnant issued last fall. Also known early on as Date in the Desert and the Exodus Tour, Rebuilding the Wall tours have been conducted by Shamblin in 26 cities in the United States and Canada. Before she started writing, she earned an undergraduate degree in dietetics from University of Tennessee, in Knoxville, Shamblin and her husband David have been married for over 25 years and have two grown children and six grandchildren. Was a History of Abuse to Blame for Louise Turpins Shocking Treatment of Her Kids? Shamblin was also allegedly leading a cult. Some, she said, suspected she might be a Remnant member undercover, or a private eye hired to collect dirt on people for custody cases. Gwen Shamblin Lara turned author in 1997 with the book The Weigh Down Diet. Since, 1996, Gwen Shamblin and Weigh Down have hosted a regular summer convention in the Nashville, Tennessee area known as Desert Oasis. [Shamblin] tested it on her arm, tested on her leg, and maybe one other place in her bodyand she said, Yeah, this would probably be good to use for your son.'. GwenShamblin and The Weigh Down Workshop was featured on such shows as 20/20, Larry King Live, and The View, as well as in such magazines as Good Housekeeping and Womans Day. Radar returns show the airplane made a series of heading changes and several climbs and descents before it entered a steep, descending left turn and impacted a shallow area of Percy Priest Lake about 2 to 8feet (0.6 to 2.4meters) deep. I said, no. Shamblin Lara would deliver conferences where fans would hold up banners that read: God has taken 86 pounds off me.. The Remnant Fellowship Church's cheery website offers a range of advice on subjects like how to raise a God-fearing family, how to retain your purity during courtship, and how to raise obedient children. Lara founded Remnant Fellowship in 1999 after the success of her Weigh Down Workshop, which she created in 1986. It was also in 2018 that Gwen decided to divorce David and marry someone new: an actor and country singer called Joe Lara. Its an unfortunate taking advantage of the tragic death of a child so they can whip Remnant Fellowship and Gwen Shamblin, she told the AP in 2004. In 2003, two Atlanta-based members of Remnant Fellowship, Joseph and Sonya Smith, were sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years for beating their eight-year-old son, Josef, to death as punishment. Others accused the church of "emotional, psychological, and physical abuse," according to researchers. Harry Potter House Quiz: Which Hogwarts House Do You Belong To? AJ Freund: Why Some Parents Torture and Murder Their Children. All rights reserved. Shamblin, who said that she struggled with her weight during college, started a diet consulting practice in the 1980s, which soon snowballed into the Weigh Down Workshop. The program, called Weigh Down Workshop, used biblical principles to help overweight people regain control of their diets and their bodies. THE sudden death of Gwen Shamblin Lara in a 2021 plane crash marked a new chapter for the Remnant Fellowship Church, the controversial religious community she created. Gwen is continually producing new materials for both the church and the Weigh Down Workshop, yet she takes no salary for her efforts. She received her undergraduate degree in Dietetics and Masters Degree in Nutrition with an emphasis in Biochemistry from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. By comparison Brentwood Commissioner elections drew 3,079voters in 2011, 3,782 in 2015, 3,836 in 2017 and more than 3,100(of about 32,000 registered voters) in 2021. The Smiths each received life sentences. Lara lived with her husband and children in Ashlawn, a historic mansion in Brentwood, Tennessee that was built in 1838. hitType: 'event', In 2007, The Tyra Banks Show devoted an hour-long program to Gwen, the Weigh Down Diet,[55] the Remnant Fellowship and participants from Weigh Down programs. The Way Down makes the case for the groups extremity, yet the show goes on: a day after the planes crash, Elizabeth Shamblin Hannah, whose husband was onboard, promised to uphold Remnants mission and continue the dream that Gwen Shamblin Lara had of helping people find a relationship with God. Participants were not only losing their weight while eating regular foods, but they were using the same Bible-based principles to turn away from other addictions such as smoking or alcohol abuse.By 1992, word had begun to spread about Weigh Down, and churches from all over the country asked if they could host Weigh Down seminars for their church members. As detailed in The Way Down, the church was both a moneymaking venture for Shamblin, and a cult that allegedly promoted child abuse. Upon her death in 2021, it was found that Shamblin's Will left none of her multimillion-dollar fortune to the church. Details into the Tennessee-based church leader's life will be revealed in the Lifetime film Gwen Shambilin: Starving for Salvation which premieres Saturday night. Twice-weekly church services are webcast live from the original Remnant Fellowship church located outside Nashville, Tennessee, built using her own personally donated funds.The dream of helping people turn away from the love of food and toward a love of God has turned into a ministry. Former church member Gina Wilson, who met the Smiths on several occasions, agrees. Gwen Shamblin Lara was born on Friday, February 18, 1955 (age 66 years at the time of death), in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. The Christian guru was among seven people killed when a Cessna plane plunged into Percy Priest lake near Smyrna, Tennessee, in May2021. The group - which included herTarzan actor and second husband Joe Lara, 58 - were thought to have beenheading to a Women Fighting For America event. The docuseries is about Remnant Fellowship church and its founder Gwen Shamblin Lara, the controversial author of the book "The Weigh Down Diet" who died in May in a plane crash at Percy . window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotOnload', function(event) { In 1986, she founded the Weigh Down Workshop. On May 9, 2021, Shamblin and a group of the church's leaders were killed in a private plane crash . But that's not all that members of the Remnant have experienced. On 29 May, Shamblin and her husband, former Tarzan actor Joe Lara, as well as five other leaders within Remnant Fellowship, died in a plane crash outside Smyrna, Tennessee. See production, box office & company info, I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth v. Michelle Carter, The Way Down: God, Greed and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin. ashlawn brentwood tn gwen shamblin. }); eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), Rutherford County Fire Rescue said the medical examiner is working with the Middle Tennessee Regional Forensic Center andthe victims families to identify human remainsbiologically. Exploring Lara's fame and power as a diet guru and church leader, and truth behind her carefully curated image, detailing the controversial practices of the church.Follows the Remnant Fellowship Church and its leader Gwen Shamblin Lara. The church runs a website proclaiming the Smiths innocence, and blaming ex-church members for making false claims of child abuse against the couple. In 1999, Shamblin broke with the Church of Christ, the conservative branch of evangelicalism in which she grew up (and which forbade female leaders) and launched Remnant Fellowship, based. Her explicit linkage of diet culture with holiness how to stop bowing down to the refrigerator and how to bow back down to him, as she said in an early interview made her a popular figure among churches; by the early 2000s, Shamblin, who trained as a dietician, had sold millions of books and appeared on Larry King Live, The Tyra Banks Show and in a New Yorker profile (Slim For Him, 2001). Gwen had earlier been the author of the 1997 book The Weigh Down Diet, which credited God for helping people shed the pounds, before launching the Weigh Down Workshop. Mileks cause of death would be listed as pneumonia, local media initially reported, but later accounts blamed sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS. And if you look at that criteria isolation from the outside world, cutting off contact with family members, belief in their singular path to heaven, characterizing ex-members as heretics, the control and abuse Gwen and Remnant Fellowship fit every one. Earlier this month, in response to allegations made in the film, Remnant issued a formal statement, presented at the end of the series, in which the church categorically denies the absurd defamatory statements and accusations made in this documentary and assures children are happy and healthy, being raised with the most love, care, support and protection imaginable. She is the subject of the 2021 HBO Max docuseries, The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin . Quiz: How Much You Know About The Great Dictator Movie? The latter five victims were all from Brentwood and were members of Lara's church, according to News Channel 5. Here is a Gwen Shamblin: Starving For Salvation Quiz for you to test your knowledge about this movie. Initially created to investigate the cult-like practices of Shamblin's church, the second part of the documentary will explore the events that led to Shamblin and her husband dying in a plane crash. In 2001, Nashville CBS affiliate WTVF investigated how Weigh Down Workshop leaders spent money. In that regard, few have faced a bigger obstacle than the Remnant Fellowship Church, whose founder and leader Gwen Shamblin routinely preached that being faithful to Godprimarily by maintaining . Other former members recall Shamblin instructing members how to beat their children with glue sticks and other instruments, as obedience was of the utmost importance to God and, by extension, Remnant leadership. Cappello, an investigative journalist and executive producer, and Zenovich, a director who has made films on such figures as Roman Polanski, Robin Williams and Lance Armstrong, had spoken to numerous former members of Remnant Fellowship, explored allegations of harassment and emotional abuse, outlined the trail of toxicity behind the Weigh Down Workshops teachings of fat as a manifestation of sin, and accepted that Shamblin, 66, would probably never agree to an interview. The seven killed were Brandon Hannah, Gwen and Joe Lara, David L. Martin, Jennifer J. Martin, Jessica Walters and Jonathan Walters. That turned Josefs behavior around, and its like looking at a different child, she said. You will find religious records of the same events (births, marriages and deaths) but, most important, you could go further back in time! Quiz: Which The Paper Tigers Character Are You? [The Smiths] needed professional help, and they were not allowed to get that, Wilson tells A&E True Crime, because in Remnant, youre not allowed to go outside the church to get any kind of counseling or help. A synopsis read: "Despite a carefully curated image, Lara and the church soon fielded accusations of emotional, psychological, and physical abuse, and exploitation for their alleged cult-like practices.". HBO Max's new docuseries, The Way Down: God, Greed and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin, delves into the bizarre and disturbing story of the Remnant Fellowship Church, a religious cult with a toxic emphasis on dieting. Property records show the. A very spiritual person with a strong faith in God, Gwen felt led to foundThe Weigh Down Workshopin 1986, in order to teach these principles to those who were desperately seeking to lose weight permanently. What were some of the demands ofGwen Shamblin? . Thats not paranoia thats totally justified.. So, praise God.. The church members should alienate themselves from anyone who was not a member. Channel 5 in Nashville obtained a recording in which Shamblin praised Sonya Smith for locking up Josef with nothing by a Bible for three days. According to its website, the church is "an international. According to The New York Times, the crash complicated the docuseries, in part because many more people were suddenly willing to speak to the filmmakers. She was interviewed by Larry King and featured in an article by New Yorker magazine. Prior to being a church leader, Gwen was a diet enthusiast and published her weight loss philosophies in The Weigh Down. The way the church has spun it is not reflected in reality, its not based on facts, said Cappello.The word cult is fraught, contested, and has driven fascination with series such as LuLaRich, the Amazon series on the multi-level marketing company LuLaRoe, peddled as a sort of prosperity gospel by two members of the Church of Latter-Day Saints (formerly known as Mormons); or HBOs The Vow, about the Nxivm cult that also wielded a sincere impulse for self-improvement to dark, destructive ends.