The first and only TV interview with Gloriavale leader Hopeful Christian, where he revealed

formerly known as Nevel Cooper his flock dubbed the Cooper rights this is his first media interview in almost 30 years of leading the sect what do people give up to live here they give up themselves self absolutely self it's like emptying your pocket full of dirt and getting a pocket full of diamonds that's what it's like you get all the love of all the other people you get all the expertise of all the other people you get all the support of all the other people what more can you want for that we heard a young woman say she lay down her life for you yes she would why would people here in the community lay down their lives for you cuz I love you that's why it's a closer relationship than a relationship of family it's a closer relationship than brothers and sisters in a family it's a closer relationship than father and son but under what circumstances would someone lay down their life if persecution came of your community yes there are people that would most probably love to see a community broken up there are people that would do that but hopeful Christian is a survivor 80 years old he's fathered 20 children and has more than a hundred grand and great-grandchildren a quarter of the community is directly related to him he's overcome allegations of sexual abuse a jail term condemnation by society and even members of his own family to control the lives of now almost 400 people in leadership you can only link people that want to be led now if people don't want you as a leader you can't lead them you've got to have different principles you've got there's definite goals [Music] born in Queensland Neville Cooper became an evangelist in his 20s flying his voice of deliverance to farmers and Aborigines in the outback his first wife Gloria bore him 16 children before she died but seemed like everything came just in time they settled in New Zealand and in the late 60s started the community then north of Christchurch with just a handful of people we believe if we keep the principles that God has given us in the scriptures he will bless that and that is exactly what's happened living by the Scriptures as dictated by hopeful Christian is the only path to heaven women dress to show they're all equal the headscarf a sign they submit to men individuals own nothing but for these people Gloria Vail is the next best thing to paradise they can't believe that we'd want to be here but I'll tell you I just don't want what's out there I hold it in disgust and disdain you're born here yep you were all born here please so this is pretty much life as you know it teenagers lilia Mary and Sarah almost never go out they've been taught the world is full of evil aren't you curious to know what it would be like to live on the outside world sometimes I think about it but I've got the guidance of my parents I have lived in that world and I believe what they tell me about it and I know I'd much rather stay here with a spirit of God rules where there's no crying yeah I really love here I love it here I think the way people are dressed is really ugly and they have really hard looks on their face and most of the time they don't look like they're happy and I like getting back here where I can see people that address nicely and happy and smiling what don't you like about the way people dress or the ladies don't Teresa very feminine Lee looks like Cathy trying to dress like Camille and it's not very modest we were also introduced to some of the boys whose names are also their pledges to God I'm willing I'm ready I'm playful three teenaged boys who've never heard of iPods or Britney Spears ready what do you think the outside world is like evil full of evilness and sin and I don't want that in my life so what do you mean by evilness and soon fornication and drug use and adultery and the boy will cease to be secret can you ever see yourself living here no I couldn't I'd never live here you'll never experience the outside world no I don't want to and you're quite content that you won't experience the rest of the world yep but they'll never know what it's like to play in shorts and t-shirts it's one thing that strikes you about this place children everywhere they make up over half the population large families up to 13 children not unusual but at Laura Vale these kids aren't considered kids here there's no such thing as adolescents they go from being children to being adults expected to work without pay from a very young age what's your job tomorrow how old are you Kim how long you've been working in the kitchen before and after school the girls in the kitchen turning out a thousand meals a day the boys milking cows an industry that earns glory Val almost two million dollars a year ready do you work out yeah I enjoy doing all the work I do because I know it's to serve God and I'll get my reward in heaven people who've left here have said these children are being exploited they talk nonsense they talk nonsense these these children are growing up learning now to take responsibility they're not going to go on the dole remember this the dials a dirty word here we will not go on the doll our people will not go on the doll we will find work for people and if they can't work for some reason we will look after him and that happens old enough to work they're old enough to be adults in every sense no here's a problem you've got children at at : children 12 year olds 13 year olds a girl she's capable of being a man is she a child to us yes she called a cop but really she's a woman now she's capable of being a mother you've got a boy capable of being a father at 14 are you saying a 12 year old girl is considered a woman in the sense of physical development she's a woman when did you become an adult probably when I was baptized I reach the maturity there I knew where I was going and I had my life sorted out and I knew that I was gonna serve God how old we are then Tim 10 10 you would have said you becoming adult yeah now what way do you feel you were an adult at t-- hmm I didn't want to be a child I wanted to we can do it out things and not fluff West my time you know playing little games and worth toys I wanted to knuckle down and learn about life these girls now 15 and 16 are well and truly women in this community and ready to Wed would you like to have lots of babies definitely how many if I had 12 I'd be happy if I had 20 I'd be happy really really that's what we were made for we're made to be a children [Music] sadly for them oh there's a shortage of single young men just now the young women let the older ones get married first so they don't miss out we chose delete the old ones get married I wouldn't want to push on front of one of them so do you choose your partner or how does that work God chose them for man oh the marriages here are lasting we don't have any divorce no split marriages because God's well as perfect he'll put you with someone that's just perfect for you and if your marriage is based on principles not just on feelings principles it will last until marriage six romance flirting even touching is strictly forbidden every obstacle is put in their way have you ever seen such good clean fan boys are burning girls down the other and not a people flesh or curve to be seen absolutely no sex until marriage or you could be cast out is that why couples marry young so they can have sex not necessarily at all but here's the point if they need a wife they've got to be ready they've got to be mature enough and sure well if they need a wife they need a wife well get ready to be to be a good husband what do you mean when you say if you need a wife well just look at it the Bible says quite plainly says to avoid fornication let every man have his own wife right God has made them know that they would want to be with one another it basically you're saying that when a man feels he wants sex he must find a wife well when does a man freely has to have sex it's the drive it's the urge that now he should seek out and get himself in order seek out for a wife but it's to be expressed in love doorman not to be expressed in just you know this is what I want today 18 year-old Josiah is ready ready for marriage to Angel 22 you saw them earlier but when we first met them they'd been engaged for just two days they told us they were brought together by God are you in love with her no I wouldn't say I was in love with her I you didn't really know me I didn't really know anyway you didn't know her at all I did I knew her as a sister in Christ but I didn't have any special feelings towards her her name angel was apparently sent by God the message received by Josiah and the church do you really believe you got the name angel only from God or did you perhaps have a little bit of something to do with it as well I was nothing to do with me i I there was nothing to do with the flesh you have to admit she's very pretty good that even if she wasn't I would still accept it because it's goes well and I know that as well as true and perfect did you have your eye on him at all not at all right yeah I was willing to wait we don't have our eye on the young mean we've walk you know meekly and quietly and just doing our thing trusting in the Lord that's our business you know it's just in the Lord and the Lord will work out the rest so have you two ever kissed no never ever held hands no not even held hands you engage really you could kissing her no I want to say that from my wedding day that's for marriage touching and kissing and fondling and all that swim errand [Music] how fast love grows at Bonneville the wedding will be just a month away more from the ceremony and the sex charges that saw hopeful Christian jailed that's after the break [Music] [Music] Durov l is not just a community it's a big business hopeful Christian has what any CEO were doing for a large willing workforce and no payroll [Music] we have the build of business because one we've got to provide work we're not waiting for the government to provide work for us we must provide work for our children there's the dairy beaurevel with 1200 cows one of the biggest suppliers of milk on the west coast Spagna mots processed and exported to the US they reject the world but they're quite prepared to make money from it they've even launched a small commercial airline with a daily service to Wellington can you tell me what the value of this community is eighteen million does anyone get paid no this is their pay your pay is yes you're getting a house when you get married you're going to have rooms when you get married you're going to be provided for when your babies are born all your expenses are going to be paid your medical expenses are going to be paid but if you leave you walk away with nothing yeah but the point is you've had a provision made in life here that if you go out into society and you took a job and to get everything you get here you'd have nothing left to take away in sign on a gloria veil and you commit to the curious lifestyle of hopeful christian who married his third wife Ruth in his late 60s she was just 17 they had four children and a 14 and another on the way so what's this area for this is our living quarters the other spread business now whole big family here imitates brothers and sisters and cousins this is where we are it's a remarkable insight into their lives this 20 square metre space home for six so where does everybody sleep all right where's the big boy fight one sleeps up there he's king of the roost it was living quarters like these that former community members complained about saying children were exposed to six they get all the privacy they really want and but we have another plan you're in here a night with the kids and middle of the night everything that's happening there in the middle of it Athens sex even sex no no kids aren't involved in that nothing like that because that's one of the criticisms of some people have left here that children are exposed to their parents having say well that's say all sorts of things you've got kids jumping into bed they come in a bit or not and everything well they're cuddling mum and dad could be cuddling mum and everything at all of it no so let them say what they want to say anyhow doesn't wait till tomorrow else I've had particular guidelines about that sex is for mom and dad and know the children they come into that when I get married themselves that's it but if that's the case things have changed in the 1990s hopeful Christian was at the center of serious allegations of sexual impropriety it split families including his own nine of his children left the community for the outside world what they do is their business I don't talk about that do you not even acknowledge them as your children I I'm not going to discuss anybody that hasn't been that is not here we don't do that do you even consider them to be your children their biological children that's that's that's that's what they are and they're out there living their life one he doesn't acknowledge is his eldest son Phil Cooper these exclusive pictures show Phil kidnapping his wife from the community in 1990 after first leaving with their children as head of the home I've taken that choice and told her as she is going and I feel that it's my god-given duty to make that choice for her but prayer darling as she's now known chose to return to the community where she still lives more committed to loving God she says then her own family she has never before spoken about the kidnapping I said to them I am NOT walking off this place if you want me you'll carry me so I dragged my feet because I knew the cameras were there and I was going to let the world know I'm not walking off this place of my own accord these people are forcibly taking me it's a tremendous hold this place must have over to them not this place God but isn't that selfish to put your faith in kind of your family I guess you could say it that way if you want to put it there yes I want eternal life and I wish the same thing for my children but how can I show them the way to eternal life if I don't live the life that produces eternal life you understand why some people would say you're brainwashed certainly even Jesus wasn't understood when you walked this earth there were others who condemned hopeful Christian after police raided the community in 1993 he was charged with 11 counts of indecent assault he was finally convicted on three in relation to one young woman and sentenced to five years in prison I have to put the question no you know that we're not going into that that's right with with all these all these things where people are not into it there's sexual assault no we're not we're not into it they want to believe what they want to believe they want to say what they want to say they can turn anything good into evil anything that can they turn that into evil you don't deny it I've told you before people will believe what they want to believe tested but not defeated the community has doubled in size since hopeful Christians release from prison at least 20 babies born each year the next generation of Gloria Vail residents appear to us to be healthy contented and well behaved if sheltered for better or worse you kids ever heard of Santa Claus their elders meanwhile hopeful Christian and his executive team the for shippers are planning for the future how many people are you expecting in say 20 years how big will you be in 20 years time alright in 20 years time we would be there'd be a thousand people that's a substantial community well that's right and Musil and needs a population and people and very soon adding to that population will be angel and Josiah remember them the young virgins who've never kissed but are about to be married how many children would you like to have this meaning is Vicky as many as God gives us willing to have well won't be practice birth control it's against our beloved totally children are a gift from the Lord I thank God for giving you to me and I'll always be faithful to you I will never lust after another woman but I'll keep myself for you I know that my love for you will grow and I love you so much today I give to your gift that I have given no other me something that I've keep species with my husband just take me make me yours [Music] [Music] after the long wait for their first kiss the moment stretches into minutes for not just one but two marrying couples [Music] and when purity finally gives in to lust right in the middle of the ceremony angel and Josiah will be formally married especially prepared bedroom awaits it's the constant talk of evil on the outside but keeps people here isn't it it's because of what's happening that that comes up now we'd have no need to talk about the marriage divorce situation unless it was happening we'd have no reason to talk about some of the things that are happening out there unless it's happening we're talking about what is generally it's taken over and that's that's where the evil is that keeps a hold on the people here that doesn't know the hold on the people here's their love for God that's where the hold is they love God there are many New Zealanders who call themselves Christians who don't live the way you do do you believe they'll get to heaven that's the that's God will judge them on on what they are I can't do that I don't know what they are in their heart but what do you think I believe I believe this that this is the way God wants us to behavior [Music]

Channel: One News New Zealand

Views: 73,155

Rating: 4.5911822 out of 5

Keywords: 1NEWS, TVNZ, The first and, only TV interview, with Gloriavale, leader Hopeful, Christian, where, revealed, TVNZ 1's Sunda, television, a decade, Hopeful Christian, Gloriavale, Gloriavale residents, given access, Janet McIntyre, Reporter, religious sect, swirled around, allegations of sexual, 500 members, 55 families., died today., convicted sex of, a convicted

Id: aVJKxZmbvS4

Length: 26min 18sec (1578 seconds)

Published: Tue May 15 2018