Special anniversary today! It has been three years since Shalom posted her Facebook post that went viral. I'm so thankful for her. And I'm so thankful for all the rest of you too.

As am I, Reep :)

Stats:
Posts: 11,961
Views: 2,592,726

bonus:
Number of posters who have lost their covering: almost all

A few post from Oct/Nov of 2016:

Posted by: puddington
Date: October 23, 2016 07:23AM

When I think of Marilyn, I'm reminded of the evil, jealous queen in the Snow White story who said “Magic mirror, on the wall - who is the fairest one of all?”

Except in Marilyn's case it was, "Who is taking the focus off of me? Those people have to go."

When you got on her sh@t list, Walk life became very unpleasant.

Posted by: Sagehen
Date: November 14, 2016 12:19PM

I'm finding it is not pretty when I take a good hard look as to 1.Why did I get in in the first place 2.Why did I continue to think it was only certain people and not the basic roots after being hurt and seeing what was done to others even many years later.
God has lots of work to do in me and I am absolutely open to having Him do it! I am so grateful for the books and comments expressed here, I now have a direction to start forward.

Posted by: changedagain
Date: November 14, 2016 02:34PM

It would be fascinating if everyone who has written in this forum could glance at what would have taken place in their lives if they had not been given to "the kingdom."

Posted by: FCSLC
Date: November 14, 2016 04:44PM

My “do over” would be to honor my own opinion, capabilities and revelation. Instead of kowtowing to self-proclaimed spiritual authorities and feeling obligated to respect and regard “their” thinking as superior, I would give my own Spirit to spirit revelation the priority. That would have nipped in the bud the crippling need to have a covering of permission from others. Just thinking about it makes me want to have another shot of whiskey.

Posted by: puddington
Date: November 15, 2016 11:41AM

My do-over would be my family. My parents, my siblings and my old close friends. Those relationships were trashed by the LW cult culture. A lot of those loved ones are gone now. For others, it was just too much shunning for them to take from me. Those relationships are permanently damaged. I cry when I think of the wasted years I spent in TLWF.

reveal wrote:
And speaking of “Girls Turn it Off” I was even told by her that the only reason that guy I was dating ever wanted to date me in the first place was because I “beamed it at him” to like me.

The message that was needed during that time was "Mom, Turn it Off'...and try being nice every once in a while. What a diabolical mess she was.

The ruinous application of the 'unequal yoke' in the Walk/TLWF:

Posted by: larry bobo
Date: March 13, 2011 10:08PM
(excerpt)

It's difficult to understand how those who claim to have a shepherd's heart can be so calloused towards those they have damaged. Behind the divorces for an "unequal yoke" are spouses and kids whose lives have simply been trashed. If they are no longer involved in the church, they are treated as though they don't even exist. It goes right straight to the top.

The wounds of TLWF are especially deadly because there is a deep sense of starting with the presence of the Lord. It is very difficult to separate the wheat from the tares when they have been allowed to grow together. The generic answer is that if you leave, you must be a tare. Many left as a result of seeing things that they knew deep in their hearts were not of God, even though the leadership continued to imply infallibility. Even when "false shepherds" actions came to light, those who were damaged under their hand were still considered to be in deception for not mindlessly following.

Posted by: paleface
Date: July 09, 2013 06:37AM

I've heard from Walk leaders that the theory behind this is this: If a couple are looking like they might leave the fellowship together, it is best to split them up if there is a chance to retain one of them. It is better if one of them continues to stay in the group than for both of them to leave as a couple. It is all done as a move to correct the "unequal yoke". This theory is also applies to families where kids are separated from parents. Also, with couples, whichever spouse is the most loyal to the leadership (esp. Marilyn) that person is made "the authority" over the marriage and family. Loyalty to Marilyn trumps everything. In fact loyalty to G&M covers a multitude of sins.

Posted by: paleface
Date: January 17, 2014 07:40PM

There are so many LW spouses that live in a fear of being split up from their partners by Marilyn, in the name of the "unequal yoke". This is the insecurity that drives much of the submission to G&M. And we are told "insecurity is the satan of the kingdom". Seems like it is the "glue of the kingdom". G&M's kingdom, that is.


Posted by: changedagain
Date: December 24, 2015 09:36AM

kBOY Wrote:

> Many church-exits led to relationship-splits that ended
> in ‘crash & burns’, some quite ugly, which is
> why great care must be taken if you value your
> marriage.

So much emphasis in TLWF concerning the danger of the 'unequal yoke'...with an acceptance from the leadership of the break-up of long term marriages simply because one partner has a 'revelation' and commitment to an authority (John, Marilyn, Gary, Rick etc.), while the other does not. Even if this is the case, and the one that insists remaining in the fellowship believes he/she is submitting to God's will, it is not apparent, at least to me, that this serves as a scriptural justification for the break-up of a marriage and/or families. As kBoy, Larry and so many others have pointed...the wounds caused by the application of this errant concept are deep and often devastating.

"And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband"
1 Corinthians 7:13-14


Posted by: slandjt
Date: January 04, 2016 10:09PM
(excerpt)

I apologize profusely, but I just read my post and realized that I made an very misleading error. Instead of "Many shepherds (me included) and sheep gave . . . ," I should have typed "Many shepherds and sheep (me included) gave . . .". My ex-husband was the shepherd, not me! He was also an alcoholic and womanizer. When we were deemed "unequally yoked," I faded into the background with all of the responsibility for the children and he went on to marry a woman whose family was considered "Walk royalty." They are still holding court to this day with both present and former Walk folk. My life has been a struggle, but I came out of that situation knowing who I am and what I stand for.

Posted by: paleface
Date: January 05, 2016 06:53AM

An alcoholic, womanizing shepherd. Why does that not surprise me? An all too common situation in the LW, even to this day.

Your story is gut-wrenching, slandjt. The term "unequal yoke" was used to justify leadership directed divorces in the vast majority of LW couples that split up. Much spiritual abuse has occurred in the name of the Unequal Yoke. It must have been awful for you. But on the bright side, imagine how awful it would have been if you stayed?

Posted by: changedagain
Date: January 05, 2016 08:01AM

Unequal yoke--one partner worships Marilyn and Gary, the other does not. The one that does not loses God's favor, and is typically disposed of.

Good for you Slandjt in managing to navigate your life through this mess!

p.s. I stopped praying for the Alcoholic ministry many years ago. It's something I do not regret.

A post by 'girls_turn_it_off' from February 2018:


Date: February 20, 2018 04:59AM

Hi - new poster here!

I have known about this forum for years, but never looked it up until the other day. Once I started reading I couldn't stop - even after my husband told me to (talk about not submitting my spirit!). I binge read the entire thing, all 500+ pages...

There is too much to say, and I wish I had logged on earlier so I could comment on threads in real time. I hope to keep up with the convo from now on and post again.

I was raised in the Walk and it was my entire life until about 8-9 years ago when I moved out of an all-girls communal home and never really looked back. I am a millennial (or part of the Joshua Generation in Walktalk-ese), but my parents joined the LW in the 70's in Indianapolis and moved to San Diego in '87. It seems like most of the posters here are my parents' age and many of you might know/remember them. They are still part of the LW but starting to wake up. Just recently my dad apologized to me for enlisting our entire family into something we didn't choose. He's on the right track!

Reading this forum has been really helpful for me to contextualize where I "come from." As someone who didn't choose to be part of the Walk, but was born into it, I've been burdened with the constant question "WHY ME?!" This forum has helped explain how my parents were reeled in and what kept them committed for so may years. Because my parents are not close with their families, TLW has filled the void of extended family - members of the Walk feel like my grandparents, aunts, uncles & cousins (I think G+M had some words about "Spiritual DNA"?). Digging through this forum has been as exciting and heartbreaking as reading about your extended family on ancestry.com or getting results from 23 and Me. Definitely some "oh, that's why I'm that way" moments...

I wanted to thank some of the long-time dedicated posters like lily rose, kboy, and changed again. Your posts have been enlightening and hilarious. I doubt many of the other forums on the RR website are as witty as this one.

If there are any original Josh Gen kids, YASPers or students who graduated from a kingdom "school" on here, I'd love to talk. Please post or feel free to PM me.

Also, if there is anyone reading this who is still a member of TLW, I want you to know that there is a big amazing world outside of the Walk. There is happiness and freedom to be found.

Much love xx

From October of 2018:

Posted by: Cloudwatcher
Date: October 24, 2018 11:23AM

It doesn't matter to any of TLWF who did what because Gary represents God. He can say what he wants when he wants--do what he wants when he wants with impunity. He has layers protecting him--because you do not question God--ever.

It is doubtful that anyone left will escape that place now. Gary has it covered. I once had a phone conversation with RRMOderator. He told me that TLWF was the worst case scenario and that the odds of getting out were slim. It was a tough pill to swallow with family on the inside, but now I see how true that statement is --they will not use their God-given mind and reason or anything that is rational to decide on these matters. It is sad sad sad. Some of the most intelligent, capable and beautiful people --- captured in a moment long ago--that was it.

Posted by: changedagain
Date: October 24, 2018 12:25PM

I guess TLWF is special after all...as a worst case scenario cult.
Wow, that's interesting and sad.

Posted by: kBOY
Date: October 24, 2018 12:33PM

As interesting as all these revelations are, there is no getting around the sick feeling one is left with in hearing about them. It does fill in some important details as to the leverage Rick has held over Marilyn from the start; first the affair with JRS and then with Gary.

When you couple all these anecdotes with the early history of JRS documented in the Woodrow Nichols expose, you have a pot that was poisoned from the start. No matter how glorious the 'word' extrapolated from the scriptures, it will never be enough to offset the actions of lives lived in contradiction to it.

Posted by: puddington
Date: October 25, 2018 08:34AM

And now Gary is threatening to sue those that discuss any of this. As invasion of privacy.

Posted by: changedagain
Date: October 25, 2018 09:15AM

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.


Posted by: fromsouthchicago
Date: October 25, 2018 09:46AM

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.

Hello everybody.
I am an outsider, and have never been involved with TLW. However, I am working on a story regarding Shiloh, the compound as a physical location. This story will be for a project I've been working on called "Forgotten IA: Lost and Abandoned Places of Iowa".

I photographed Shiloh last year before it was torched, however the research for the story has been a doozy. I have spent the last 3 days combing through 1018 search results for "Shiloh" on this forum, and honestly it's left me with more questions than answers.

I'm looking for anybody that spent time at Shiloh, I understand the stories will vary between generations, however any insight is better than none! I have an idea of the schedules and some of the work done. I'm still struggling to understand why Kalona, why so large, the construction timeline, the land acquisition, how much of the facility was smoke and mirrors?

The last week of research has left me with more questions than answers, this post is somewhat sporadic as I am still working to organize my research and all the information.

Hi ForgottenIA,
I suspect most people who have been involved with Shiloh and have written about their experience in this forum (now at 1197 pages) are mentally and emotionally exhausted addressing this topic. The very first post here, back in 2004, was focused on Shiloh and the poster was looking to start a discussion. Of course, this person was met with an overwhelming response. Anyway, don't be disheartened if 17 years later people are now burnt out on the subject, and the response to your request is limited. Perhaps for many survivors, the torching of Shiloh, and every sordid thing it represented, was the signal to finally "move on."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/2021 09:47AM by changedagain.

changedagain Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi ForgottenIA,
> I suspect most people who have been involved with
> Shiloh and have written about their experience in
> this forum (now at 1197 pages) are mentally and
> emotionally exhausted addressing this topic. The
> very first post here, back in 2004, was focused on
> Shiloh and the poster was looking to start a
> discussion. Of course, this person was met with an
> overwhelming response. Anyway, don't be
> disheartened if 17 years later people are now
> burnt out on the subject, and the response to your
> request is limited. Perhaps for many survivors,
> the torching of Shiloh, and every sordid thing it
> represented, was the signal to finally "move on."

I agree, Changed. ForgottenIA, can you explain a little more about what your research will be used for?