Some Christian sellers of Young Living essential oils are leaving the multilevel marketing company because they say demonic forces are “spreading darkness” in the organization.
In one case, influencer and seller Madison Vining announced on Instagram that she was quitting Young Living. Vining had worked for the company for more than eight years and had reached “Royal Crown Diamond” status, a benchmark where sellers on average make about $1.6 million annually or $137,000 a month.
Vining went on to work for another MLM wellness company, Modere, which sells collagen supplements.
Another seller, Melissa Truitt, said in a now-deleted Instagram story that Young Living was a “cult” and was spreading “demonic” propaganda among its members. She said earlier this year, the company sent its members a New Age self-help book.
“This is so much bigger than money, this is so much bigger than day-to-day life, this is eternal significance,” Truitt said.
Young Living said it did not endorse the book, and one of the book’s co-authors is a top seller at the company. She said she mailed the book to “her own list without the company’s knowledge or consent.”
Several Young Living sellers have left the company, and in August 2021, Young Living sued some of those top sellers, including the Vinings. The lawsuit was dismissed but claimed that the sellers made a deal with Modere to “raid” Young Living’s business.
In an article about the sellers leaving the essential oils company, author Stephanie McNeal of Buzzfeed News wrote, “The denouncement of Young Living as demonic is especially intriguing because so many of its retailers, Vining included, have spent the past several years blending the principles of alternative wellness and medicine the company espouses with their evangelical Christian beliefs, and to great success.”
According to Buzzfeed News, Young Living was founded in 1993 by a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The product has since become popular with women all over the U.S., including evangelical Christians.
“We use essential oils for everything in our home, from seasonal irritations outdoors, to first-aid type of things, to helping regulate hormones and emotions and all that good stuff, and of course restful sleep!” Vining previously wrote. “They’ve blessed our family so so much.”
Vining said that the family used some of their earnings and influence to “point everything back to The One who made a way (Jesus)!”
Truitt said she and her husband felt like the company was “changing.” She also called the book she was sent, My Word Made Flesh, a “demonic” book.
“This book is one of the most darkest and demonic books I’ve ever had in my house,” she said. “I cannot wait to get rid of it, but I had to share.”
Young Living did not respond to requests for comment from Buzzfeed News.
Photo courtesy: ©Christin Hume/Unsplash
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
