One of the survivors of the cult Institute in Basic Life Principles featured in the Amazon Prime docuseries Shiny, Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets is naming names and pointing to David Waller as the man who watched her be groomed and molested by Bill Gothard.
Learn more about the Duggar associate and read the victims shocking testimony here…
Shiny Happy People
Shiny, Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets is an Amazon Prime docuseries that was released in 2023. The topic dives into the Institute in Basic Life Principles, a conservative Christian organization that many critics are now referring to as a cult.
The infamous Duggar family, made famous by 19 Kids and Counting, have been associated with the program for decades. Many of the Duggar children, including Jill Dillard, Jinger Vuolo and Cousin Amy King have all come forward to denounce the intense and restrictive teachings.
A shocking testimony
Emily Elizabeth Anderson, who operates under the blog name Thriving Forward, is speaking out after being featured in the aforementioned documentary series.
In Shiny Happy People, Anderson tells audiences about how she was groomed by IBLP leader Bill Gothard while his associate stood watch.
Read her full testimony and confession here:
Since the release of the documentary a few people have asked me who the male assistant was who watched Gothard groom me late at night in his office, so I’d like to go ahead and go on record with that individual’s identity.
The man is David Waller. David and his now wife Priscilla (yes, Anna Duggar’s sister), were both working at IBLP HQ when I was there in 2011. They began their courtship just a few weeks after I left, and soon after Gothard left his position as President of IBLP, David was brought on as the director of The Advanced Training Institute (ATI).
Over the span of two weeks, David watched closely as Gothard sexually groomed me (which included being present for late night sessions and inappropriate questioning as to my sexual and romantic relationship history), as Gothard persuaded me to come up to HQ, and then he assisted Gothard in crafting manipulative ways to coerce me into staying at HQ, against me and my mother’s wishes.
David has since left his paid position as director of ATI and he now serves as lead pastor of Fairpark Baptist Church in TX.
If you are wondering if Waller has since changed in the last decade and now chooses to hold abusers accountable, I can personally say I believe he has NOT. Just last year he penned a letter to the judge who was sentencing Josh Duggar for possession of CSAM and he asked the judge for leniency. He wrote, “As a pastor who cares about the spiritual condition of people, I urge you to consider how much his wife and seven children need him in their lives…to be brought back home to provide not just financial, but spiritual guidance in the family.
David has never personally reached out to me to apologize or take ownership of his enabling of Gothard’s abuse during my stay at HQ.
~ Emily Elizabeth Anderson
How is David Waller related to the Duggars?
David Waller is closely associated with the Duggar family as his wife is Pricilla Lynn Keller – sister of Josh Duggar’s wife Anna Keller Duggar. Not surprisingly, both Keller girl’s husbands are now accused of inappropriate behavior.
David and Pricilla have been married since 2011 and both worked at the IBLP when they originally met. There is no denying their ties to the organization, or their relationship with the Duggars – Josh Duggar was the one who linked Waller up with Keller in the first place.
After getting his number from Josh Duggar, David called Priscilla’s father, Mike Keller, in September of 2011 and asked for his permission to court Priscilla.
Our heart goes out to all the victims of the IBLP, the Duggars, and the Wallers.
Ashley Marie is a writer for Starcasm and the personality behind Twitter’s @RealityByAshley. You can contact Ashley via Twitter or email at realitybyashley(at)gmail.com
