puddington wrote:
I liked the podcast. It’s difficult to include everything in that podcast. There is so much material. One thing missing that I would have liked to have been discussed more is the mental health damage done. And what ex-members are doing about it. I would have liked to have heard a recommendation for people to seek out professional help if needed. I know this helped me greatly with my own deprogramming.

I agree. There have been so many 'minefields' left by virtue of decades of indoctrination via the "living word" and the abhorrent practices of cult leadership. Unfortunately, most ex-members don't have the financial resources to get the professional help they need. And, of course, everything has gotten more precarious with the spread of the coronavirus. I suspect most people will be confined to their home for an indeterminate period of time.
My only recommendation is to monitor any self-guilt, condemnation, regret...and do whatever you can not allow it to take hold. Perpetrators (sociopaths) by nature have a way of transferring guilt upon their victims. For me, I have a consistent, albeit minimal, meditation routine (Waking Up app) along with daily exercise. I also find an outlet in sharing my 'sense of humor,' whether people enjoy it or not :)

Hello,my friends! I am the young man who helped Enos Bender,
on his farm Long before Shiloh was thought of! I was around 14yrs old, when A guy named Monty Ives, and another I knew as Bowman, came to live with Enos on the south entrance house! It Enos was taking me to TlW before it was taken over by John Jr! I loved Dad Stevens, he was a good man! I was at a camp in Lake darling the summer I turned 14 and JRSjr was speaking on a Wed.night! That night God spoke to me and called me into ministry, and he also spoke that he would protect me from harm, till my ministry came to fruition! I never went back to TLW after trhat week! I did nothing about the 'call" till i was 25 yrs old, when I finally gave my heart to the Lord! When I started to think back on that night when I heard God, I realized HE indeed guarded my life against the crazy stuff out at Shiloh! I was utterly dismayed at all the things that were brought on to My friend Enos, and I knew instantly that it was all a huge satanic happening , right in my back yard! The things I saw with my own eyes, and heard from the cultists when I talked with them, blew my mind! I would love dearly , to make contact with you that I hung out with at Enos's Farm! I used to help get the guys together to bring in baled hay and things like that!

Also to be sure I am an ordained minister, living a Spirit-filled life and not following man! I knew the Walk was big, but wow these posts on the forum are mind-boggling! Jesus is the answer, but letting man guide you will always take you places you don't need to go! JRS was an antichrist, PERIOD! I lived in the yellow house north of Richmond Iowa 50 yds from the south entrance to Shiloh! I saw the destruction of lives first hand and I praise God He protected me from this garbage! It hurt my heart to see a good man Like Enos Bender, get screwed out of his life work, and how they manipulated his marriage! I heard that old crap of, Being out of Gods Will because of not following what the deceivers were teaching! But I was just a kid, so who would listen to me!

I lived very close to Shiloh! I helped Enos Bender Farm the Farm before any buildings were built there! I remember Enos beinbg kicked off the place, how they mani[ulated his marriage, and how many of the peoiple i knew that went there, were merely shells of their former self! whee are you Bowman, where are you Monty Ives!

Reep wrote:
Here is a link to a very comprehensive podcast episode about The Living Word Fellowship. [www.ltaspod.com]

From the podcast's home page:
"Let's Talk About Sects is an award-winning, 100% independent monthly podcast focusing on a different cult each episode. Host Sarah Steel takes a storytelling, deep dive approach, looking at the history of a sect's leaders, the recruitment of members, their experiences, psychological aspects, and notable incidents during its existence."

From this episode's page:
"ABOUT THIS EPISODE
John Robert Stevens wrote when he was just 14 years old: “My joy must be in doing His will, in being His slave, in the confidence that whatever comes to me, when following Him, is His doing. In a real sense, I make Him responsible for my life.” He was writing about Jesus Christ, but it would turn out in the decades following that he could well have been writing to his future devotees as to how they should feel about himself."

"EPISODE DETAILS
Written and Hosted by Sarah Steel

Special Guest Caleb LaPlante"

I highly recommend listening to this podcast. The page also has an impressive list of relevant links.

O.K.--I plan to listen to this podcast today. Thanks again for sharing this, Reep.

Fellas, it was starting to develop in the late 60's! if you were there in 72, you were the second round used to build shiloh , or the start of building!I lived next door and helped enos ! I quit going up there shortly aftyer Monty Ives arrived! He had aspirations of being a Veterinarian!

Welcome to the forum th231955

the podcast was incredibly well done. It had to have taken a lot of work to organize the timeline and give credits.

Caleb was so on target.

My son listened to it with interest. For those of us who lived it so much of it, it was very clear. For my son, I had to fill in the details - which is as it should be- not too revealing.

The silver-lining in all this continual bad press for TLW, especially in light of the Covid19-effect on large gatherings, will both allow the legal process more time to play out, and definitely cramp the style of GH who was hoping to once again assemble adoring crowds to witness his new 'world-wide misery'.

Thanks to Caleb for refusing to let go of this bone, sometimes to his own detriment.

WELCOME th231955. You are one more important voice suppling another puzzle-piece to this very ugly portrait.