The Cult of Emmanuel David Pt2: “The Cult’s Second Coming”

Was I In A Cult?

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True Crime, Comedy, Talk Radio

4.4 • 3.1K Ratings

🗓️ 8 July 2025

⏱️ 47 minutes

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Summary

Content Warning: This episode contains references to sexual abuse, coercion, and emotional trauma.

Last week, we met Zipporah—a woman who spent 44 years inside a Utah cult so small and obscure, most people never even knew it existed. That is, until 1978, when a horrific tragedy made national headlines.

The cult was led by Emmanuel David, a self-declared prophet who eventually proclaimed himself God. After his suicide, his wife—his most devoted follower—carried out an unspeakable murder-suicide that took the lives of their children.

All but one.

Their daughter Rachel survived—and in many ways, because she did, so did the cult. It should’ve died with its leader. But for a small group of devoted followers, it didn’t.

Zipporah was one of them.

This is Part 2 of her story… how the cult kept its grasp on her for the next 40 years until she finally was able to break free.

________

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The views, information, or opinions expressed by the guest appearing in this episode solely
0:04.4	belong to the guest and do not represent or reflect the views or positions of the hosts,
0:09.4	the show, podcast one, this network, or any of their respective affiliates.
0:14.5	Please note that today's episode includes discussions of sexual abuse, suicide, and a mass tragedy involving children.
0:23.6	Please listen with care.
0:26.4	Well, this goes back to the who everybody was in past lives.
0:32.2	So I had to pick one of those names.
0:35.5	And I picked Zippora because Zaporah in the Bible is a pretty strong
0:40.8	character. She actually ends up saving Moses's life from an angel that was coming to kill him because
0:47.9	he wasn't circumcised. So, yeah, she cut off his dickskin, and I kind of resonated with that name. So, yeah, she cut off his dickskin, and I kind of resonated with that name.
0:57.9	So that's why I have kept it.
1:04.7	A woman after my own heart.
1:13.5	Welcome back to was I an occult.
1:15.9	I'm Liz Iakuzi.
1:17.6	And I'm Tyler Meissom.
1:18.8	And just because she cut off his dick skin doesn't mean she was being mean.
1:23.0	She was just being a doctor.
1:25.7	Yeah, she was taking care of debris.
1:29.3	I think we covered a bit of the dick-skin part of dick-skin and uncleanliness in a couple of episodes.
1:37.4	Yeah.
1:37.5	We did.
1:38.5	Last week, we met Zippora.
	...

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