CHANGEDAGAIN wrote:
> It might have been Wendy, who was also in the
> Redlands church for a while--before heading back
> to Knoxville, where she eventually committed
> suicide. Sweet girl, with a traumatic background
> (I think she was raised by an alcoholic mother,
> who was often homeless). It left her very
> vulnerable and insecure. That atmosphere of the
> Walk was probably the last thing she needed.


Changedagain, I do remember that name. Wendy. I just don't remember the girl, for sure, but it could be the girl in my vision. God knows, it could be that the vision is a reality, it could be that I really die walk by that girl many times on the way to the keg or the pipe. It may not be that i actually knew it at the time, like the vision or dream says, it's always hard to interpret, it may be something the Lord wants to drive home to me, maybe for future reference, i don't know, but God knows I wish i had at least taken it seriously, I was set in as a shepherd, and i was not one. I am so sorry for that.

pbxguy wrote: “I intend to read the posts from time to time. It's like being back in touch with old friends!!!

-----------------------

Same for me too. Now to boost all your egos. I so much more enjoy your conversations than hearing President Monson/official dictates by the Mormon Church on nearly every channel and news report here in the land of Zion.

Somehow, even when on Yahoo News on the internet, the great computer in the sky has decided that my main interests are Mormon news stories.

She was a sweet girl, but I suspect she may have been abused in her childhood... raised by an alcoholic mom, often on the road. I think she mentioned growing up there were men in and out of her Mom's life, which could have easily made her a target...since she obviously was without protection. Sadly, the Walk experience was of no help.


Apostle Dog Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> CHANGEDAGAIN wrote:
> > It might have been Wendy, who was also in the
> > Redlands church for a while--before heading
> back
> > to Knoxville, where she eventually committed
> > suicide. Sweet girl, with a traumatic
> background
> > (I think she was raised by an alcoholic mother,
> > who was often homeless). It left her very
> > vulnerable and insecure. That atmosphere of
> the
> > Walk was probably the last thing she needed.
>
>
> Changedagain, I do remember that name. Wendy. I
> just don't remember the girl, for sure, but it
> could be the girl in my vision. God knows, it
> could be that the vision is a reality, it could be
> that I really die walk by that girl many times on
> the way to the keg or the pipe. It may not be that
> i actually knew it at the time, like the vision or
> dream says, it's always hard to interpret, it may
> be something the Lord wants to drive home to me,
> maybe for future reference, i don't know, but God
> knows I wish i had at least taken it seriously, I
> was set in as a shepherd, and i was not one. I am
> so sorry for that.

rrmoderator Wrote:

> It's not "bitterness" to share for former members
> to share their experience and express their
> feelings about what happened to them.
>
> It's wrong to imply otherwise and comes across as
> shaming or somehow attempting to blame the victims
> of JRS for the damage he and other leaders did to
> them.

So true. I expressed something a similar vein to a friend of mine who had been in TLWF far longer than my 21 year. In those 21 years, I probably gave around $100,000 in tithes and free labor to the leadership, I mean, to God's will...which pales compared to the psychological toll it took on me. Trust me, I'm simply not worried whether there is some bitterness in my soul for what I and others have gone through...in fact, I consider it a sign of being a normal human being. The ones you need to worry about are those that bottle up their true feelings, until the day they explode...perhaps reading about it in the newspaper.

What I wrote this morning to a fellow TLWF'er:
<With all the suppression we experienced for so many years in TLWF, I tend to give a lot of leeway for people in the free speech department. I believe many of the warnings from the pulpit about keeping "a right spirit", not being bitter etc., were actually an effective psychological ploy to keep people from voicing discontent over things that were clearly abusive. The irony, of course, was that Gary/Marilyn were actually some of the most angry/venting people in the fellowship...and given free reign to dump whatever happened to be bothering them
onto the people...in the guise, of course, of a 'Word from God.'

I would like to know what happend to Craig Christian and Larry Hays, and Roy Carnie, I think Roy, or maybe he had a son since I knew him, but somebody named that just graduated from Shiloh university with a master's degree, that is what I saw on one of the Living Word websites anyway.

Those pastors at knoxville by the way did not get divorced to marry any secretaries by the way, but i think the split up at Living Word did have a lot to do with all of that.

Again, thank you to both the Moderator and changedagain.

The Christian Zero Tolerance Policy requiring forgiveness, prayer, no bitterness, no devastation, moving on, carrying it all on your own shoulders and keeping your mouth shut if it’s offensive, outdated, immaterial or whatever is in itself a burden. Blowing with the wind coupled with a prudent, non-liable freedom of speech is providing greater blessings. Silence is not always golden. Up with this forum.

I don't now how many times I have heard the words "touch not God's anointed, do His prophets no harm," or "you have a bitter spirit," when questioning where in the bible they get what they are mouthing as a "word from God?" They never come up with anything substantial to prove what they teach, they just attack the one that questions.

I think your response shows great insight, and the ability to move forward, even in light of difficult past experiences. This involvement with the Living Word Churches and the messages we received under JRS did have a profound effect upon some of us, including those who married within the walk in matches which were deemed suitable in the eyes of those in leadership. Believe me, many of us were affected in that way and we do suffer a lifetime from the damages. But moving forward, in a spirit of forgiveness, can bring change to our lives. We do not have to dwell in the past.
This site is one I come to from time to time. To tell you the truth, it is not very big in my life, but I revisit from time to time just to see if there happens to be new information about people that I did know at one time. We were sort of like an extended family for many years, and so it does seem natural to have an interest in the past.
I hope that everyone that visits this site with frequency, can get to the point where they place less emphasis on the past, and look at their lives from a different perspective, that being, where are we all now, and what do we look to be our future?

It is amazing that there are only a certain class of people in this world that we are not to question. One, of course, is politicians. We should never question them, as they are government officials and the bible does say to pray for our leaders, after all, they are only our leaders because God has them in that position so that we will not be a lawless society. The only ones that are allowed to be lawless, are the politicians themselves. And then, of course, are our religious leaders, they are allowed to be a law unto themselves, because after all, they are given a different set of morals to live by. We, as mindless sheep are required to live under a different standard of morality, again, to keep us in line, because we can’t handle the freedom that is allowed our superiors.

It is best not to question, and certainly, we should never, ever, touch God’s anointed, and we should do his prophets no harm.

Re: Southern Boy

I just want to say that I disagree with RR Moderator's crackdown on Southern Boy's post. I did not find it to be self-righteous at all or to be demanding that others get rid of their bitterness. It was an honest, self-examination of his experiences and I thought it was free of being judgmental of those who have left. He himself says he is glad that he is not in the group, but he has tried to sift out what he learned that was worthwhile and what he needed to unlearn.