From: Harold Hilton
Date: June 8, 2023
Recently some possible CSA information from Gilbert Smith’s distant past has come to light that has called into question whether or not it is appropriate for the Sunday morning meeting to continue in Gilbert & Sharon’s home.
As stated in the Child Safe Policy that was recently sent out, our policy is “We have a zero-tolerance policy for substantiated CSA risk (as evaluated by a qualified professional) among workers or elders and will abide by the law to protect children and their families.”
For the time being, Gilbert & Sharon’s Sunday morning meeting has been dispersed and Gilbert has been asked to not attend meetings until this matter is clarified. Gilbert will be meeting with a professional therapist who is certified to do evaluations of this type and give us advice about risk, safety and guidelines both regarding his position of trust as an elder, and the safety of Gilbert being in meetings with children After the evaluation and advice is received we will decide what long-term changes are needed, if any. Gilbert & Sharon have a great care for their meeting, and have been very cooperative through this difficult process.
This new arrangement will begin thls coming Sunday, June 11.
Thank you for pulling with us in these difficult times.
Your brothers,
Scott and Harold
WINGS Note: Gilbert Smith is a former worker and current elder in California. During his time in the work, Gilbert labored in California, Arizona, Idaho, Alaska, and Chile. Known allegations stem from his time in Alaska and Chile.
In the late 90s, Mark Huddle (who was removed from the work in April 2023 due to several allegations of child sexual abuse) was approached with some of these allegations. His response was that the family was overreacting, and nothing further was done.
Discover more from WINGS for Truth
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
WINGS for Truth 
Continue to be amazed that the overseers and senior workers use words like “some possible CSA information” in “the distant past” in an attempt to minimize CSA. Not one word regarding prayers or sympathy for the victims. Instead, Harold writes “Gilbert & Sharon have a great care for their meeting” and “Thank you for pulling with us in these difficult times”. It is always about them, instead of the victims. This is a horrible thing.
Gilbert Smith taught my teenage son how to make a bong. He gave my daughter the creeps. He did not mess with her physically but stood over her looking at her while she was sleeping. This information doesn’t surprise me, unfortunately.
Like others I am troubled with the wording of this letter and by the subtle minimizing of the allegations with phrases like, “distant past,” and “Gilbert and Sharon have a great care for their meeting.” I am sure they do have a care for their meeting, but the reality is that these issues are serious and no matter how long ago they were, they still happened and the potential for it to happen again is always there.
I was a teen girl when Gilbert and Mark were in our field. I had emailed back and forth with Gilbert for a little bit and we had a friendly rapport. This particular visit he slapped me in the rear. I realize what happened with me was small and to some could be seen as silly, but I was like many professing young girls, quiet and modest, and very careful with how I conducted myself. There was nothing in my demeanor or interactions that would invite that forwardness especially not of a brother worker. My Dad and brother never slapped me in the rear, it was just not something that was appropriate especially for a teenage girl to be slapped by a minister.
When I responded in shock he laughed it off in his jovial way, but it broke my trust and I didn’t want anything to do with him after that. I don’t remember an apology, I just remember a silly attitude that it was all a big joke and he was treating me like a little sister. My parents talked to Gilbert about it and were horrified with the casual silly attitude that he had in response. So they told Mark Huddle who was his co-worker at the time and he also minimized the whole thing.
Later on I heard of other inappropriate things happening in other fields with younger girls and it always left me uneasy.
If the perpetrators truly love their brethren then they would do all that they can to remove themselves from temptation and remove themselves from being a potential danger to others.
“will decide if long term changes, if any, are needed”!?!? Yet they are still claiming zero tolerance. They can’t have it both ways. This is unacceptable!
“Possible CSA information from…distant past”.
The wording here is harmful and disgusting.
I was sexually abused by a professing man as a very young teen. Was that just “information”? After time was it just from his “distant past”?
No, twenty-five years later he was abusing his granddaughter. She was a year younger than I when he abused me. These pedophiles are not cured and never stop hurting children.
The letter writer mentions “difficult process” for the abuser and “difficult times” for the workers.
Difficult??? Try healing from childhood sexual abuse and you will know what difficult is. There is no concern for the victims in this letter. Again, they are cast aside, ignored, and forgotten by the leadership of this group.
Unfortunately it all true. I know at least 6 plus victims of his and there not just from Alaska and chille. I’m sorry if you had a younger daughter and he was alone with them for even a minute. Gilbert and Sharon are both ex workers now so don’t be fooled she know this and has called victims family personally and called them monster and liers and this has been an open secret for 10 plus years. Trust me the overseer all knew. They all seem to hangout with one another. Just glad that they finally took away meeting from them. Unfortunately these letter from overseers are not from God for if they were…there would be fairly few still standing of the old guard.
I could quote scripture all day but the truth is like a flaming sword it can cut through anything. Anyone who doesn’t walk in all truth is not a man of God and is a lier and a deceiver and not of God. Keep your eyes on the horizon for one day soon the true King of Kings Lord of Lord will be with us and I hope you will be with him forever.
It seems the older BWs need some help writing the letters and handling CSA cases. Would anyone care to reword the notification letter above via reply to this post, and in a way that is cognizant of the victim’s perspective, transparent, and also clear on zero tolerance policy per 1Cor5, etc? I can help get feedback to the older brothers on staff. Better yet, if it were written in a template format so it can help them think through what their primary concerns should be on this and all future cases, it might be more useful to all of us.
Just a quick reminder that Gods Way is perfect and that it never changes.
And by God’s Way, I mean his perfect ministry that he established through Jesus.
By the Perfect Ministry I mean the ministry that follows the scripture of Jesus perfectly.
By perfectly I mean, not taking a salary. Ripping off antennas off cars at convention gatherings so the devil couldn’t come through the radio waves. By scolding women for not wearing skirts while they hire prostitutes. Scolding women for not wearing black nylons, for scolding women for not having long hair. For not having more than one suitcase. For having no possessions. For getting tvs out of the saints homes while they sit on their iPad and watch baseball games or the superbowl. I’m so glad for the perfect ministry that goes on hikes everyday, out to breakfast lunch and dinner and their selfless homeless lifestyle to serve us poor and needy souls at gospel meetings and tell us how to raise our children in a professing manner.
Thank you to the perfect ministry for keeping us suppressed and labeling us as bitter when we have questions. You’re such a help to us all.
The perfect ministry who doesn’t apologize to the victims of abuse. The perfect ministry that wants to welcome pedophiles back into our fold. The perfect ministry that gives a scarlet letter to the women who have been known to have premarital sex so they can’t take part in meetings. You condemn women for their open sins, but not everyone else who is a sinner, nay, pedophiles.
To the perfect ministry and their use of convenient scripture to keep your boots on our collective throats. We thank you! We’re joyous prisoners by choice!
To those saying you want to just “cling to Jesus” during these troubling times. You’re saying and doing nothing but wanting this to all blow over. Nice to know there is such a lack of accountability with the men and women amongst us who don’t have the stones to solve anything.
Thank you all so much, especially to our perfect ministry.
It needed to be said after all we love the Truth
AMEN!!