On Wednesday, we shared Ruth’s Story, the heartbreaking account of one of Bill Gothard’s former secretaries. The letter below was sent from Bill Gothard to Ruth and her husband Larne in February of 1981, less than three months after their marriage in November, 1980, and less than seven months after the “scandal” and Bill Gothard’s temporary resignation from the presidency of IBYC (more about that coming next week).

Following the scandal, a number of former IBYC staff who had resigned (including Larne and Ruth) attempted to confront Bill following the Matthew 18 process. According to one of these individuals, Bill responded by making “every attempt to discredit them and destroy their careers with distorted facts and, in some cases, lies.” Nonetheless, these ex-staff continued to work together to bring a resolution to the situation. When all else failed, these staff allowed the media to share their stories, and they made a concerted effort to make others aware of just what had taken place.

It was about this time that Bill Gothard wrote a new paper entitled, “How to Guard Against the Defilement of Listening to an Evil Report,” a heavy-handed document that was intended to negate the negative press that IBYC and Bill Gothard were receiving, and to keep the ex-staff quiet. Bill sent this new brochure to Larne and Ruth with the following cover letter, which Larne has given us permission to share with you. [EDITOR’S NOTE 2/15/14: the “Defilement” booklet was separate from, but printed at approximately the same time as, Alumni Supplement 7, which was titled “Understanding the Winds of Adversity.” Our understanding is that Ruth and Larne received these booklets with the same cover letter. Either publication would be appalling from their point of view.]

This teaching is analyzed further in the Recovering Grace article, Silencing the Lambs: Discrediting the Truth.