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Jinger Duggar revealed that she hasn’t “seen or spoken” to her older brother Josh Duggar in two years.
“Though I haven’t seen or spoken to Josh in nearly two years, I still pray for him,” Jinger, 29, wrote in her new memoir, Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear. “I ask God to show Josh his desperate need for repentance. I want my brother to be genuine and honest about his sin and reject the hypocrisy that has been part of his life for so long. Only Jesus can save him.”
Also in the memoir, which was released on Tuesday, January 31, the former TLC personality detailed how Josh’s actions mirrored the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP)’s founder Bill Gothard’s morals.
“One of the hardest realities in my life is that my brother Josh very publicly displayed some of the same hypocrisy as Gothard,” the Counting On alum wrote about Josh, 34, who is currently serving time in prison on child pornography charges. “He used his platform, and even his job at the Family Research Council, to promote some of the same ideas Gothard taught.”
Jinger added that Josh “looked the part in so many ways,” though the “true Josh appears to be much different.”
“He was living a lie. Even though he claimed to follow Jesus, his actions gave no evidence of a true love for the Lord, a heart changed by the gospel,” the former reality star continued. “Watching all the pain Josh’s sin has caused not only shows me the danger of hypocrisy but also reveals that external religion, a life of performance, has nothing to do with following Jesus.”
After noting that “Gothard’s rules can’t transform anyone,” Jinger wrote that only Jesus can help them. “What Gothard and my brother Josh need is a new heart that only Jesus can give. That’s what I need,” she added. “That’s what we all need. Without a new heart, all the outward religious behavior isn’t going to please God.”
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Josh was found guilty of one count of receiving child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography in December 2021. The second charge was dropped during the 19 Kids and Counting alum’s sentencing hearing. The disgraced TV personality is currently serving time at FCI Seagoville in Seagoville, Texas.
The book was published just weeks after Jinger showed support for Josh’s wife, Anna Duggar, and their children Mackynzie, Michael, Maryella, Marcus, Mason, Meredith and Madyson.
“I am always here for Anna and the kids at any point that they would want to talk, or in any way I could help and love on them,” she told People in an interview published on January 18.
Jinger continued, “I know that they’ve just been through so much and so I just always am here for them whenever they need help.”
After Jinger’s book was announced in November 2022, an insider exclusively told In Touch that her parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, were “bracing themselves” ahead of the release.
“Jim Bob and Michelle aren’t thrilled by Jinger’s book coming out, but they are hoping for the best,” the insider revealed at the time. “They’re not sure of all the topics she’ll cover, but they have prayed about it and hope that it’s honest, respectful and doesn’t dredge up too much of their family troubles.”
The source also shared that that Jim Bob, 57, and Michelle, 56, “fear the worst” for what their daughter will discuss in the book, “especially stories about their faith, raising their large family and especially the dark Josh incident.”
