Unveiling the La Luz del Mundo Cult: Sochil Martin’s Story of Resilience

Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum with Dr. Steve Hassan

Dr. Steven Hassan

Self-improvement, Society & Culture, Education

4.8 • 684 Ratings

🗓️ 18 December 2023

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Sochil Martin is a Mexican-American woman who was born and raised in a religious high control group called La Luz del Mundo (LDM), which claims to have over 5 million members in 58 countries worldwide. This group was established in 1926 and features a power structure like New Apostolic Reformation megachurches. It has been very involved in politics. LDM has been a part of Sochil’s family for four generations, starting with her great-grandmother being brought into the cult in Baja, California, Mexico. With the support of her husband, Sochil managed to escape from LDM and embarked on a journey to seek justice. In 2018, she blew the whistle on the organization to the California Department of Justice, exposing the abuse of leadership on its members and the sexual assault committed by the leader on women and minors. The leader, Naasón Joaquín García, is currently in state prison and has recently been indicted by the federal government for child pornography. Sochil’s story was shared in the well done HBO docuseries, Unveiled: Surviving La Luz Del Mundo one streaming on MAX. Learn more about Steven Hassan and Freedom of Mind Resource Center. Visit freedomofmind.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, I'm Dr. Stephen Hassan with another episode of the influence continuum.
0:10.5	And I am especially looking forward to this interview with Sochil Martin, who is a courageous
0:19.5	whistleblower champion in my mind and in the world's mind.
0:26.6	Social has an incredible story, I should say, before we get into more details,
0:32.6	HBO did a three-parter called Unveiled, that details a lot about her life growing up in an
0:43.0	abusive Mexican but also international Bible cult, Bible-esque cult.
0:52.1	So I'm just going to read a little bit, Sochal, and say you're a Mexican-American woman,
0:57.7	and the cult's name is La Luz del Mundo, and it was established in the 20s, and it was kind of a
1:08.3	new apostolic Reformation type cult
1:14.6	where the leader says, I'm an apostle, I speak directly to God,
1:19.7	and then he turned it over to his son, turned it over to his son.
1:23.2	So it's been a dynasty of authoritarianism and abuse.
1:29.9	And I'll just add that they claim to have five million people worldwide.
1:35.6	Sometimes these groups exaggerate, but sometimes there are more people than they actually know about who are in it.
1:43.0	You were raised in this this and you were basically
1:46.7	groomed at birth. And the sexualizing of your childhood began at the tender age of nine years
1:55.8	old. And ultimately, you were taken as a concubine as a sacrifice by Sochiel's legal guardian,
2:04.6	who is also her aunt to the leader.
2:07.6	You were 12 years old when you were beginning to dance inappropriate for the leader,
2:13.6	and you were essentially used as a slave. And you managed to get out when you turn 30 years old.
2:24.9	So this is a, your family is four generations, starting with your great grandmother,
2:31.3	who is brought into the cult in Baja, California, Mexico.
	...

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