REVISED *UNOFFICIAL* STATEMENT from APCO to TLWF:


* Still working on how to spin the 360 degree process
* Trying to hide the fact that 'ministry-training' had everything to do with nepotism and large offering donors
* Concluded this week we are in deep sh*t
* Realized Rick (& Lorena) are a liability that has reached critical mass


Rick & Lorena 'Statement':

We are tired of pretending we love anyone but ourselves. We are being forced out by 'Christ(s) in the flesh'. The only tears we are shedding are for what we stand to lose in the process. Even though it will appear that we are 'gone', our tentacles run so deep we will never really be 'gone'.

For those who have been hurt by our actions, please seek help elsewhere, as the only thing that ever mattered was how we could exploit our relationships with you.


APOLOGY by Matt Walkoe:

I would like everyone to believe I knew nothing of these abuses over the decades, and will plead the 5th in a court of law should I be subpoenaed.

changedagain Wrote:


> -March 8, 1982
> Birth of Donna Hargrave


oops--big error. Dawn Hargrave. I blame my non-existent copy editor for this mistake!

kBOY Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> REVISED *UNOFFICIAL* STATEMENT from APCO to
> TLWF:
>
>
> * Still working on how to spin the 360
> degree process
> * Trying to hide the fact that 'ministry-training'
> had everything to do with nepotism and large
> offering donors
> * Concluded this week we are in deep sh*t
> * Realized Rick (& Lorena) are a liability that
> has reached critical mass
>
>
> Rick & Lorena 'Statement':
>
> We are tired of pretending we love anyone but
> ourselves. We are being forced out by 'Christ(s)
> in the flesh'. The only tears we are shedding are
> for what we stand to lose in the process. Even
> though it will appear that we are 'gone', our
> tentacles run so deep we will never really be
> 'gone'.
>
> For those who have been hurt by our actions,
> please seek help elsewhere, as the only thing that
> ever mattered was how we could exploit our
> relationships with you.
>
>
> APOLOGY by Matt Walkoe:
>
> I would like everyone to believe I knew nothing of
> these abuses over the decades, and will plead the
> 5th in a court of law should I be subpoenaed.

kBOY Wrote:

> In today's climate of exposure of things long
> hidden, they are definitely on the run and headed
> for the cliff they always thought they could keep
> at a safe distance.

If Gary and Matt were not aware of this predatory behavior taking place in their midst for over 30 years, than they should go down as the least perceptive 'prophets of God' in church history. A bit of hyperbole here, but not too far off the mark.
To those being threatened--do what is right, not what you're being told to do.
I'm not a lawyer, but I believe the right to privacy does not exist if you've engaged in criminal behavior. Covering up sexual abuse would fit into that category. Even in this Trump era, I think that should be the case. Well, let's hope so. Things certainly have changed (not for the better).

Are those who sought counseling due to Rick's transgressions not wanting the nature of their complaint(s) against him being exposed?
Or is the ministries that received this 'confession' not wanting people to be aware of what information they were privy to all these years?
What is the intent of this 'clergy/penitent privilege?'
Is it really meant to shield the ministry from charges of wrongdoing (covering up abuse), under the guise of protecting those who had the courage to speak up about a predator?
It seems like this 'privilege' is being used for an unintended purpose. Once again, something being twisted by TLWF leadership...it shouldn't be surprising after 65+ years.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2018 12:37AM by changedagain.

Onion(): The details in your description of the early relationship between JRS and Cousin Marilyn is completely consistent with the stories I heard from my family members. The one thing I didn't know about was the wig. That's a new one for me. Thank you for the information. This adds a layer of “richness" to the family stories.

Allow me to add something from the family lore ... my mother told me that JRS was at one time planning on having two wives, his current wife and Marilyn. I'm not sure how he planned on working that out ... if that story is true. However, if the story is true, the JRS discovered that proposed living situation wasn't going to work out. Anyone, please chime-in if you have any information regarding this.

I would like to address your last comment. I’m not sure this has been true for everyone in my extended family, but I know that for those in my immediate family and for me Marilyn, CLW and TLWF was a side show, something akin to a traveling carnival. I didn’t take anything that Marilyn said or did seriously. To me Marilyn as a con-artist and a fraud as well as a textbook example of a sociopath. So I knowing what she was and I didn't want anything to do with her or the CLW.

Carnivals and side shows may take your money, but they're transient and the harm that they do is short lived. They don't take people's lives away from them ... for years and in some cases, decades. As someone who's related to two of the people who have done so much harm, I really don't know what to say. But I shall look for opportunities to do what I can to help.



Onion Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Larry Bobo: I can confirm that JRS and Marilyn
> had a relationship long before his divorce. I
> moved into the Blix House on 2-14-72 when I was
> 21. I don't remember if it was going on openly
> when I moved in but definitely within 1 year those
> of us living with Marilyn, Bessie, Rick & Marti at
> Blix, knew that Marilyn went away every week on
> Monday and Tuesday. Those are the days JRS went
> away to "wait on the Lord" after his heavy service
> schedule each week. The girls (but mostly Bessie)
> took care of Rick and Marti and within a short
> time, I became the "house sitter/companion" for
> Martha Stevens. I would go over every night JRS
> was gone and sleep in his office because Martha
> was afraid to be alone.
>
> I helped Marilyn pick out the best wig for her to
> wear in the car with JRS so it would hide her
> identity should they be seen.
>
> Martha moved out of the marital residence on
> 9-25-1978. If my memory is accurate, Marilyn was
> with JRS 24/7 after that. At some point whenever
> JRS traveled, he was 1 of a foursome that included
> Marilyn, Phyllis, and Larry Makuakane. At the end
> of one trip, Marilyn decided she hated Larry
> Makuakane and he quickly became a blip in history.
>
> I heard from someone that Rick and Marti always
> threw it in Marilyn's face that she taught them
> how to have affairs and that she was an absentee
> mother. I don't remember who told me about that -
> it might have been Marilyn - but I remember
> hearing about it several times.
>
> So many sad memories, so little time left over
> after a lifetime in bondage.

Hello - First time poster, my name is Shalom Abrahamson (Caples married name) and I would like any support from posters here by going to my facebook post in which I publicly shared an open letter to TLWF congregation. Support in any way; a like, a comment, sharing your own stories and abuses, would be helpful in continuing to expose the truth of this organization. I have been reading this forum for a while now and I know many of you and I believe you and I have privately supported you, but now I am publicly supporting you. Thank you for speaking out on this forum; it has and will continue to help me in my life.

"An Open Letter to The Living Word Fellowship Congregation from Shalom Abrahamson-Caples

Why am I writing this open letter to The Living Word Fellowship (TLWF) congregation?

1. A real problem exists, even after removing Rick Holbrook from the ministry and those in power should be held accountable.
2. I can no longer carry these secrets and their shame and I want to be free of the damage of these abuses.
3. I want the other girls and women and men and children who have also been abused to know that they are not alone. I am not being brave, I just believe that the truth will set me free and hopefully provide a way, a safe way, for others to come forth with their truth and be set free.
4. To start living unapologetically without regrets although I do not know if that is possible because exposing this truth is embarrassing to me and hurtful to many others. I was too trusting and allowed people to control my life decisions that in return hurt me and others around me. I was fearful and intimidated and even worse, I believed they were the only way to God, “Christ in the flesh”. I was raised in The Living Word Fellowship from age 3-35 yo and I did not know other Christian churches or Christian ways, but I am no longer fearful or intimidated. I am free.

Please click on the link below to read the rest of my open letter..."

#metoo #churchtoo #thelivingwordfellowshiptoo #tlwftoo #rickholbrooktoo

[thelivingwordfellowshipthewholetruth.org]

Interesting article I found while reading some of Rick Ross’s information on cults.

“Cult leaders and con artists are opportunists who read the times and the ever-changing culture and adapt their pitch to what will appeal at a given moment. These manipulators survive because they adapt and because they are chameleon-like. So, at some times we get cults based on health fads, business-training programs, get-rich-quick schemes, and relationship improvement seminars; at others we get fundamentalist religious cults, Eastern meditation groups, identity or hate groups, longevity groups, and so forth.” -Margaret Singer

[harpers.org]

puddington – “And now Gary is threatening to sue those that discuss any of this as invasion of privacy.”

I don’t know if this is really true or not, but prosecuting public figures for invasion of privacy is a high bar to overcome in my understanding – and I’m certainly not a lawyer. Does claiming to be God and ruling over other’s lives classify you as a public figure? Not too many people in the world can claim to have achieved the position of God. Information that would prove otherwise I’m sure would be of public interest – especially to those who have given decades of their lives in servitude to such a scam and may now have an opportunity for freedom.

Shalom. My heart is breaking as I read your letters. This is so wrong and sick. I’d like to talk via PM, if that’s ok.