Whatever the leader says, followers will do. When Robidoux read the book, ''Born in Zion,'' by Carol Balizet, it led him to make more and more extreme changes. Members do not celebrate birthdays, holidays, read newspapers, magazines, watch TV or movies. They burned all of their old photographs in order to block them from remembering the past. They were told that looking at photographs is an act of vanity.
Men wear long beards and the women all wear long cotton dresses.
In Jan. 2000, Rev. Bob Pardon, head of the New England Institute of Religious Research , was appointed guardian ad litum of the sect's children. Pardon, and his associate Judy Barba, prepared a 20-page report on the sect for Judge Kenneth P. Nasif. After extensive research both say that the cult members do not feel guilty about what happened to Samuel Robidoux or Jermiah Corneau. They believe that if Rebecca Corneau needs medical assistance during her upcoming childbirth, without state intervention, this child might also die or suffer grave injury. Pardon, a Christian minister, is well equipped to understand the workings of the group.