puddington Wrote:
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> I recall that divorce attorney coming around the
> LW building during JRS's divorce in the late 70's.
> I think his name was Marvin Michelson.


Yes, Marvin Mitchelson--an American celebrity lawyer.
Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia about him:

"During his heyday Mitchelson owned a 38-room Beverly Hills mansion (which now belongs to Johnny Depp), four Rolls-Royce automobiles, and he epitomised the 1970s California champagne-and-cocaine lifestyle, consuming both in increasingly large quantities until a series of unpaid tax bills and malpractice complaints caught up with him. He was also forcibly evicted, in the late 1970s, from a home he was renting in Beverly Hills. He made a brief cameo appearance on The Golden Girls ("There Goes the Bride"), appearing as himself; his role was as a lawyer for Stanley Zbornak, ex-husband of Dorothy Zbornak. In the episode, he produced a prenuptial agreement which Dorothy had to sign. She refused, and their remarriage was canceled.

Mitchelson was quoted as saying "A divorce lawyer is a chameleon with a law book." In his Century City office he had a chair owned by Rudolph Valentino and an illuminated ceiling of Botticelli's Venus which matched his belt buckle.

He was accused of rape by two women in the early 1990s, but the authorities declined to prosecute. [4]However, on 12 April 1993 he was sentenced to 30 months in prison on four counts of felony tax fraud and failure to properly oversee a trust account. In 1994 he was cited for failing to take the professional responsibility exam, had his probation revoked in 1995, and was disciplined in 1996 for failure to provide accountings or return unearned fees in 14 client matters. A 1993 conviction for not paying taxes on some $2 million in income resulted in suspension from the Bar, bankruptcy and eventually two years in jail from 1996 to 1998. The case was initiated by a former girlfriend of Mitchelson's and was investigated by IRS Special Agent James Lawrence Wilson.

He wept on his first day in Lompoc prison, but ultimately found white-collar incarceration stimulating. He organized an opera appreciation society, ran the library and helped other prisoners with their appeals.

Mitchelson was married to Italian-born actress Marcella Ferri.[5]

Mitchelson died in a rehabilitation center in Beverly Hills, succumbing to cancer.[6

Inspiring

Good detective work, CA. I can only imagine the Lord spoke audibly to John Robert Stevens, "Pick Marvin Michelson. He's a genius."

40yearsin2016, the 1st church I was in met in a house for a while. About 15-20 members. Pastor didn't get a salary. Wasn't much overhead. Pastor was sort of wealthy. Church tithed approx $1000-$1500 a month to LW/John. I liked your post.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/2017 12:42PM by NickleandDimed.

lily rose Wrote:
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> Good detective work, CA. I can only imagine the
> Lord spoke audibly to John Robert Stevens, "Pick
> Marvin Michelson. He's a genius."

Ha--I think it might have went down like this:
The Lord appears to John late at night. He says this:
"Hire Marvin Mitchelson or I will kill you."
John: Thy will be done!

Some information and sharing some personal thoughts to ponder

It wasn't until many, many years later after John and Martha's divorce that I realized that we lived as church members having a different mind set - than those who are supported by the offerings of the people. Martha was accustomed to living a certain life style - what most of us back in the day - would call a lavish life style and the courts whether one's a ministry or not - takes into account the assets of the divorcing couple and divides the assets between them - that can be legally divided.

Martha wanted 1/2 of the assets - and in court, she also asked for the money she was accustomed to have - during their marriage - to purchase very expensive ballroom gowns as part of the settlement.It was at this time I was surprised to learn that Martha lived a life I knew nothing about. Martha must have loved to dance. So naturally in my thinking , I took John's side because John supported and promoted living a life of sacrifice in order to fulfill the vision he had given every one to believe for and I was living a life of sacrifice to the point I could make something almost out of nothing and remained happy doing so because it was in my thinking, for a greater good. I chose to live poor and did not count it as living a life of sacrifice - when I was living that life. Since I came into the church having nothing - I did not know about having anything - so I did not count myself as being poor - for I had grown up poor and did not know the meaning of poor.

But it wasn't until many years later that I realized that John himself had stopped living a life of sacrifice - when everything he needed was bought and paid for - for him and especially when he began to have servants attending to him, and to everything that he had come to own and was given through the offerings of the people. Martha enjoyed what she wanted to enjoy while they were being supported and it is only natural that Martha felt entitled to have half of what had been theirs - since she lived many years married to John when life was difficult - during his early years as a ministry when he and Martha did not know how they were going to pay the rent or if they would be able to put food on the table for themselves or their children because John chose his profession to be the ministry.

I was naive - simple minded - uneducated - un-experienced in life - and I was surprised everytime I realized something was not as I thought it was - when I started - thinking for myself - after I stopped being active as a member. When the light goes on and I realize something more about life - I am still surprised to realize today how much I do not know about life and the world I am living in.

It was a later date (when I realized ) that I did not understand - the world I was living in and how it worked. Nor did I have the ability or knowledge enough thru life's experiences (during the years of my youth) to have the discernment and good judgment I needed to be able to make wise and sensible decisions for the well being of myself or my family. Not that I had the power to determine the direction of my life - I was positioned by John thru the prophecies and personal ministry he spoke over me when he called me up on the platform to minister to me -John positioned me to be a servant and a support for my spouse - to free my spouse to serve in the ministry, unhindered and as if unmarried - yet married.

In John's thinking - I believe he believed that there was nothing more important than his (John's) preaching, teaching, orchestrating and directing people to live the best way he thought was the way to live one's life and to serve the Lord.

I also believe he was a lonely man that needed constant support and assurance that he was loved and all that he was given and all that he enjoyed including the affection of a multitude of people did not satisfy what was missing in his own life. But I think he was trying to find it.

But I think the problem was that John also was sacrificing himself and those he loved in order to fulfill what he believed was more important than his own self and his own family.

And so I considered this, that God did not discount humanity as being less - but loved the world and gave His only begotten Son to save all from themselves and the misunderstandings they have about the life they were given as a free gift from HIM to live.It says - God does not delight Himself in sacrifice and whole burnt offerings - which man continually tries to give Him when relating to Him as God, while living this life.

That's why churches should be treated like a business and no none profit status or no donation write-offs.

Invisible, you said "Martha wanted 1/2 of the assets." I agree Martha was entitled to 1/2 of John's and her personal assets, alimony and her ball gowns. Sounds though, in that quote from kbyrne, that Martha was saying the LW church corporation belonged to John (he is the church) and the LW church was a marital asset too. Do you or does anyone know? Did the court order John to pay part of the value of the LW church to Martha?

NickleandDimed,
In answer to your question - I don't know.

I was just present one of the days for the court proceedings and the only thing I remember is Martha's attorney requesting as part of the settlement certain monies for expensive ball gowns. Stating that she should be allowed to live at the level she was accustomed to living - during her marriage to John.

Invisible Wrote:

> I was just present one of the days for the court
> proceedings and the only thing I remember is
> Martha's attorney requesting as part of the
> settlement certain monies for expensive ball
> gowns.

Didn't Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels write a song about the 'Devil With An Expensive Ball Gown On'? Disregard this comment. I'll go back to my job of posting stats.