[FreePaul]

...what makes some people, like Elizabeth, more vulnerable to brainwashing...

Some people are trained to follow authority figures, spiritual leaders, etc. without question. Those people are probably more susceptible to mind control by the lunatics. Children should be taught to question anyone who tries to control them and have a reasonable basis for accepting control. Don't accept candy from strangers. Don't accept spiritual advice from raving maniacs. I know, that could put a some "preachers" out of business but it's still good advice.

[Eva]

I have a theory about how this may have all come about. It's only a theory, so I don't want to get attacked.

Suppose that Mitchell had approached Elizabeth outside the home and told her that he was a prophet and that God had chosen her to be his wife, that this was a very special honor and that God wanted her to abandon her family and her worldly belonging and go with him. Maybe he told her that he would come for her in the night when the time was right, but she would not know when. Maybe he told her to unlock the door every night after her parents went to bed and then one night it happened, he came for her and she went.