With the entire Josh Duggar molestation scandal coming out to the public within the past few months, it seems that the family continues to surprise us with more and more details of this time in Josh's life. Now, it has been learned that Josh used carpentry to cure his sexual urges in some faith-based counseling.
The 27-year-old "19 Kids and Counting" star has recently confessed to sexually abusing five young girls, two of which were his sisters, when he was a teenager. At the time, his parents sent him away to a faith training center, which belonged to a controversial religious group that the Duggars follow called the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), Daily Mail reports. Josh arrived at the facility on March 17, 2003 with other boys in the Integrity Construction Institute program.
Bill Gothard, 80, founded IBLP in 1961 and he claims that Josh was "cleansed by a godly mentor" at the groups training center in Arkansas. Apparently, this is where Josh turned his entire life around and really found "salvation." Within the program, there was a motley mix of carpentry, "lust counseling," and private classes focused on Jesus' "seven stresses." Gothard explained that he was the one who ordered Josh to spend time in this facility, which many former members consider a cult.
It turns out Gothard himself had gotten into some similar trouble. He left the IBLP last year amid many allegations that he had sexually harassed dozens of women. When it comes to Josh, though, Gothard truly believes this is where he became a "respectful" person.
"Joshua traces his salvation to his time at the IBLP training center in Little Rock," he said. "Once he became a Christian his conscience became more delicate and he wanted to follow and please the Lord. It was a turning point in his life. The incident happened 12 years ago and since then Joshua has lived an honorable life, that speaks for itself, he certainly learnt his lesson and now he will have a whole new respect for young ladies."
Harold Walker became Josh's trusted training leader at the IBLP center. He ran a construction program, which is where Josh feels he found himself and really became a Christian. Besides all the carpentry and labor tasks, Josh also received personal one-on-one faith counseling to help "cleanse" him of his sexual thoughts.
Gothard went on to explain how the faith-based training teaches people that lust affects the immune system, according to Extra. He does believe that what Josh did to these young girls was "totally wrong," but he does not believe Josh is this person anymore.
Read all about the Duggar molestation scandal HERE.
