In preparation for Linda’s forth coming book, Johann Thorvaldsson shared the following recollections. These incidents took place during the time of the 2004 3ABN camp meeting. Johann and Arild Abrahamsen (the Norwegian doctor who treated Linda’s son) had traveled together and were staying together in a hotel near 3ABN. The reason for their visit? To testify to the 3ABN board about the false accusations concerning Linda’s alleged infidelity. I will let Johann’s words speak for themself concerning Danny's use of surveillance.
Sister
Sabbath morning at breakfast I noticed a man at another table paying eager attention to all that Arild and I were doing. I had a notion who he was, but I did not quite realize how well he was doing his job. Since we were close to Carbondale we decided to take a look at the place where Danny planned on keeping his wife in seclusion until the divorce was finished.
Of course Arild knew about the false accusations about an affair with Linda, and that Danny was using this as an excuse to get rid of Linda. So Arild promised Linda he would go anywhere to testify in her behalf to save her marriage. And since I was present and could account for what I knew happened, I was to come along. So we were there because of Linda.
Linda had no objections to us taking a ride to Springfield, where she was staying with her daughter, since we were not allowed to attend the 3ABN camp meeting at Thompsonville. It was a nice sunny Sabbath afternoon, so why not take a walk together in the Abraham Lincoln Park? As we walked through the park named after this President I was reminded of his biography I read already when I was a child. I thought of this great lawyer in Springfield who was always ready to help the underdog. How would he have helped Linda? Danny had seen to it that hardly any friend of hers dared say a word in her behalf. She had hardly anyone to help her against this Adventist bastion which was crushing her. Someone had to do it, but why were we among the few? Did no one else have the courage? Did everyone else fear for his life against the mighty Danny Shelton. Before long we would also feel the crush of Danny’s anger.
Linda heard her cell phone ringing. Yes, it was her husband. Did he want to help his wife? Was he finally coming to her aid? No. He had a different motive.
Danny told Linda where she was, right there in the Abraham Lincoln Park in Springfield, and he told her what dress she was wearing. He told her he already had pictures of her walk there together with Arild Abrahamsen. He had to admit that Johann Thorvaldsson was there too. Now we knew why a car had been parked half hidden between the trees close to our car. It was used to spy on Linda with cameras and electronic equipment to transmit pictures and information to Danny Shelton. They had been hiding behind trees and bushes as they trailed us around the park.
We realized Danny had told us the truth when he indicated that a wealthy friend of his had promised him he would provide secret spies trailing Linda for the rest of her life, if that was his desire. Danny was proud of giving us the proof, and he confirmed it also in an e-mail to me. I questioned why in the world he wanted such surveillance if it was his attention to save his marriage? Normally such is only done if one wants to get evidence for a divorce, and that seemed to be just what Danny wanted - a divorce, and nothing else, in spite of how he tried to hide it by his request for prayer of Mark Finlay for her return at the camp meeting we had attended.
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When I confronted Danny with this in my e-mail to him, he partly evaded the question in his responses, and yet he told me that since God could use murderers and other evil men like Moses and David, then God could also use him in spite of his faults. So was he just counting on mercy and forgiveness to provide a way of escape for his treatment of Linda?
There was a lot of work to be done after sundown. Linda had some of her material to be sent to the board ready, since she was not allowed to attend the meeting in person, but not all of it. She suddenly discovered that her laptop was not functioning as it should, so what could she do? It so happened that I had in my case a CD with a backup word processor which could be transferred to Linda's laptop, but it was time consuming. Several hours passed by. Her document had to be sent by e-mail to a recipient at 3ABN, printed out and distributed to each of the members of the board of directors who had their meeting where the dismissal of Linda weighed heavy on the agenda. We were prevented from appearing in person because Danny threatened to have us arrested if we showed up.
Later Dr. Walter Thompson claimed that we could have come if we had insisted. It was kind of late to find that out. We trusted that the document provided by Linda would make the difference. Instead Danny used his documents, according to what he told me later. He had pictures that could easily be modified, taken of Linda together with Arild which did not show that we were three together. Some were taken at night as Arild was coming out of the building in the early hours of morning without showing that I was there too, and that it had taken us this long to get Linda's laptop ready to process the documents required for the board meeting.
When I presented these facts to a friend who was on the 3ABN board he quietly dismissed himself as a member.
While riding in Linda's car I noticed a car following us on the freeway, so Linda slowed down and almost stopped. That car passed and we saw it disappearing on the next exit. Then Linda's cell phone rang, and again it was Danny telling us how smart his spies were. Even though one had to leave the freeway for a while, he told us, there were two others farther behind who would keep trailing us.