Re: The Living Word Fellowship, The Walk, John Robert Stevens
Posted by:
changedagain
()
Date: December 05, 2020 03:37AM
Regarding the "transition" in leadership from John to G & M:
Posted by: kBOY
Date: October 16, 2018 12:56PM
ONION:
P l e a s e regale us ASAP with the whole JRS>>MS>>GH/MH transition details, as they seem to have been given a TOP SECRET classification, with access given only to those who have something to hide.
With all the b a g i l l i o n tapes recording every anointed fart ever released, why was there NEVER an 'official' recording of this most important transition detail, since the fellowship was expected to hang their hats on an 'official' transferring of the torch, and not on some late night coup.
Posted by: Onion
Date: October 16, 2018 03:10PM
The JRS-> Gary transition. Holy crap where to start.
Not long after the open house at Kling and the procession of people paying last respects and the subsequent temporary interment of JRS' body at Valhalla, a bunch of us went to Las Vegas. I don't know why the decision was made to go there but for people living in shock and dismay and grief, it was kind of a cool atmosphere because you could wander around in the middle of the, have a drink, smoke a cigarette, and cry and feel totally private. My two cents at that time.
The people who went included Marilyn, Gary & Donna, Me & Dan, Marti, and I think that's all for the one car but I think Rick and Tami came in another car.
Not long after we arrived, spouses were sent home including Dan, Donna and I don't know who else but it seems like more people were there and left.
Not long after that (few days max) Gary and I were walking into the hotel (Dunes) after parking the car and Gary told me he was in love with Marilyn. I remember saying yes I loved her a lot too and then realizing what he meant and I said "Wait - you mean as in love want to kiss her and make out and have sex love her?" and he said YES. Then he told me she loved him too. From then on Marti and I shared a room and Marilyn was shown on the registration as being in our room but she was in Gary's room. Rick and Tami were there for part of this but they may have gone home and come back. Rick and Tami were FURIOUS. A huge family division started between them and G&M at that point and for our sakes, it would have been nice if it had continued.
All together we were in Las Vegas I think for about 5 or 6 weeks. When we got back to L.A. I continued my routine of pretty much living at Kling only now it was with Gary & Marilyn. Gary separated from Donna and was sleeping in the middle yard shed that we had previously used as a meeting room. The dispute with Rick and Tami continued and there were lots of meetings in the backyard with various ministries like John Miller, Brent Finney, and I don't know who else. I was at the house but I was not included in any of these meetings even though JRS always had me attend his meetings because I was like the record keeper and person to follow through. So I knew these meetings were "heavy duty" and very secret. I was told that there was a general uprising among all the brothers over who would take over the church. JRS had left instructions for Marilyn to be the one who took over (I didn't see documents but I heard JRS say this long before he was terribly ill in instructions he gave Dan Statton).
We made another lengthy visit to Las Vegas a few weeks later - I don't remember the timing. We stayed in moderate priced rooms like motels with kitchenettes. They sent for Larry Cotton to join us and during that time Marilyn tried to engineer a relationship for me with Cotton that didn't work out, thank God. But I was told I should get a divorce too. Now that I am free from the nonsense of thinking everything Marilyn did was holy and anointed, I have a lot of regrets from that period of time regarding Dan. He had been JRS' friend and confidante, had cared for him in the sick room, had helped hide all of JRS' stuff after he died and then was treated like he was not even human. So awful.
If I remember correctly, Gary was one of the head guy's at ApCo and I think JRS had commissioned him over CLW and some other locations to bring the word. So he already had standing and a position in the church and probably in peoples' minds.
Slowly but surely G&M started telling people about their relationship. I was aware only of all the people who backed them and celebrated the idea. On March 17, 1984 they had a backyard party and got married informally by the pool (legally with a marriage license, etc.) so then they could live together without having a third party around to make it look kosher. I don't remember the date Gary's divorce from Donna was final but it couldn't have been very long before this March date even if it was only a status only divorce.
The party for the secret wedding was a drunken brawl as you might imagine.
Then slowly but surely Gary kept moving towards the goal of Kingship with his Queen next to him and the rest is history. There was no legal documentation that I am aware of pertaining to Gary taking this role so any legal passage of the baton was probably done through corporate documents especially after Hargrave Family Ministries was incorporated and given nonprofit status as the organization that governs all others. They hired me as their lawyer to get the nonprofit status so that had to be in 1993/94.
Posted by: Twoteetwo
Date: October 16, 2018 03:57PM
Onion, thank you for shining light into very dark corners. My husband and I began to think about leaving when Gary left Donna and baby, and married Marilyn. We thought it was so wrong, but reading the posts, things were worse than we imagined. We were such suckers. We finally left after attending a service in Honolulu where a kamikaze-committed worker from LA stood and spent many minutes pledging her undying allegiance to Marilyn, and Marilyn sat there beaming, soaking it all in. I blame no one but JRS and G&M, but have to acknowledge that if I had been closer to the center of that skewed universe, but for the grace of God, it would have been me pledging my allegiance to M and the new order. So glad you made it out and are peeling back the layers of deception.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/05/2020 03:38AM by changedagain.