Rond, was explained to me Gary justified divorcing his faithful wife using his interpretation of the unequal yoke. Information on this cult site says it is common for cult leaders to interpret the Bible to serve their own agenda. It was explained to me Gary didn't want children. Donna did. At the time, don't think Donna knew how bad ass unforgiving Gary could be. When he wasn't obeyed. Larry Bobo posted that Gary said Donna was a Nephilim. Maybe Gary said it. I never heard it at the time.

I ran into Donna in Ramona (CA) in 1990. She was living there after re-marrying. She was the same lovely, sweet woman I remembered. She told me it took her a number of years to drop the belief that she was going to roast in hell because of what Gary told her during their divorce.

Wouldn't it have been better just to divorce honestly? Part of the reason I left TLW was to escape all the twisting of words, though I really believe there are still good, decent people in TLW. Maybe it's the Captive Orca principle. Some are better off staying captive in TLW because they would face enormous distress making their own decisions from day to day.

NickleandDimed Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Rond, was explained to me Gary justified divorcing
> his faithful wife using his interpretation of the
> unequal yoke.


I left before Gary and Marilyn got married. I still had a few friends on the inside and was told about several divorces. I don't remember them telling me the reason was because they were "unequally yoked." I remember wondering, Didn't God speak over these marriages? Weren't all these people "checked out"?

I'm curious, when people did get divorces, was it explained to the congregation at large, or was this just something that was explained via the rumor mill?

That is how I remember Donna as well. I'm sorry about her daughter. I don't understand what pleasure someone would get out of attacking her.

lily rose Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> kByrne you aren't alone in feeling like you don't
> fit into another church. A number of posters have
> expressed that. It's ironical that JRS said rather
> arrogantly that the LW had ruined us for anything
> else.

> I learned here that Mary left (Blix girl) and went
> on to become a lawyer. She has a website too. I
> think Shannon left right before JRS married
> Marilyn. I think Wendy is still in.

lily rose - I remember now JRS saying that, that LW had ruined us for anything else. It is good to know that others felt the same. I cked out David Cokas. I think it would be exactly that type of church I could feel comfortable in. Unfortunately, I live no where near San Diego. But it does give me hope. And having this Forum helps.

I think I can probably put last names to the girls you mentioned. Do you remember Barbara? She was incredibly dedicated, but had so much anxiety! She would disappear for days/weeks at a time. You could see that she suffered.

And yes, Wendy is still there. My friend had sent me a tape Marilyn made after JRS had died. I listened to it for about 5 minutes and could listen no more. She was talking about Apostolic Order. Marilyn had interpreted AO to mean Chronological Order, and she was Number 1 in the Apostolic Order and others fell in line behind her. It was totally not what I understood Apostolic Order to mean. I asked my friend about it. She in turn asked Wendy about it. Wendy said to tell me that I needed a revelation. If I didn't have a revelation, I would never understand. It only confirmed to me that leaving was the right move!

kbyrne, Gary did said to the congregation that he didn't divorce Donna to marry Marilyn. What I heard. Could have come from a rumor mill. It was from someone on the inside. Puddington referenced experiencing the LW's unequal yoke doctrine. As cynical as is sounds, there were ministries who used the LW unequal yoke doctrine to get younger wives. The original marriage check outs or if God had spoken over the marriage was ignored.

puddington Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The kids would also be told that the Easter bunny
> couldn't come because they hadn't created a pure
> enough atmosphere for Him. They would be told they
> needed to give their spirits to the Easter bunny
> and keep repenting until they had a revelation of
> Him. They need to repent until they break in their
> spirits.
>
> Only the poor in spirit with have full Easter
> baskets.

Or this:
The children learn, "Easter is a pagan holiday--Ishtar". We don't believe in the Easter Bunny---he is bad. If you believe in the Easter Bunny, you are worshipping a different God and you will be punished.

NickleandDimed Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Changedagain,
>
> Gary IMO advanced quicker than his peers not
> because he was more dedicated or submissive. He
> had a greater ability to preach. Those instant
> pastors and their home groups Lily mentioned when
> the LW was growing had to tithe to John. Money
> came in during those years.


I wondered why it seemed everyone was a pastor. I don't think the tithes went to John unless they wanted it to. But I can see that it was a setup that was not lost on M and then began the upward flow. G and M are the ones who really cashed in on that--I mean serious $$$$$.

CORRECTIONS -- I mean Numerical Order....

LampShmamp Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I believe that the assumption that we need
> periodic updates regarding the number of page
> views to date is incorrect. Just saying.

I completely disagree,Lamp. I am glad that Changedagain has kept track of page views. It is good to keep tabs on what is happening outside of this forum. The words we write are being seen by readers even though many are not on this forum, some are curious, some are conflicted. The page views have increased a lot over the past year or so. I derive meaning from that.