From December of 2019:

Posted by: 4generation
Date: December 27, 2019 09:28AM

Welcome Powertrip, so good to see another brazilian posting here.

Unfortunately what you shared with us is not a surprise to me and only shows how deceived we have been for decades in this church.

For me who was born into this cult and spent years serving these "men of God," cleaning their homes, serving food, and supporting them and their bs, it is devastating to know the truth only now.

The worst for me is seeing that there are people still supporting these leaders, as spiritual leaders and literally denying all the evidences and accusations made. To me this is the proof that religion makes people ignorant and unreasonable, because it makes no sense to continue to preach a doctrine of forgiveness that only favors abusive leaders and forgets the victims and those whose lives were destroyed by them.

I'm ready to forgive, that's not the point. But at least tell me what I'm forgiving you for. Because so far you haven't talked about what you regret.

Silas, should I forgive you for the moral, sexual and emotional abuse committed? Or the authoritarianism and control of people's lives through lies, deception and manipulation?

And you Gary, in your letter you said that you regret because you did not hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. But in what you did not hear HIm? In the covering up the crimes committed by the leadership you have established? Or getting involved with Marylin sexually with John's death? Or in creating a system and a doctrine that idolizes man instead of God?

Leaving everything in the field of subjectivity makes us continue to play that game "truth or consequences". The problem is that so far the truth has not been spoken and we have only lived with the consequences of everything that has happened.

My goal here is not to judge or to see them under the bars because of the crimes committed, thats not my role, there is a legal system for that, but my hope is to at least see some maturity and some balls from you to rise up like freaking mans and tell us the damn truth. And please don't give me that "bitterness" bullshit talk, we've heard you for decades and now you want to hide?

I know both of you check this forum everyday, so what do you think about send a public statement telling what happened? Lets take this to the social media instead of hiding from it? Silas can use one of his podcasts to talk about it and explain it to us, to his political friends or his catholics bishops. Or Gary can do it right from Jerusalem with his rabbis.

We all want to move on with our lives and forgive and do everything we need to do to continue in our personal walk with God. But as the Bible said: "the truth will set you free".. here we are waiting for the truth, for the change, to be heard and to stop pretending that these sins, abuses and actions are "normal" and that's okay to live that way. No more, never again, and regarding the abuses and the lies, there is no way to ever forget!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/08/2023 01:19AM by changedagain.

And now for something completely different: Romeo and Juliet

[youtu.be]

"It's a matter of time before it implodes."
A post from ten years ago:

Posted by: sierradawn
Date: July 12, 2013 12:01PM

Quote
changedagain
My wife knew your parents well. She too originated from Yakima, during the time period you mentioned. Thank you for posting this. It's saturated with a great deal of insight, and though painful to absorb, should greatly help those still struggling with the decision of whether to remain or leave.
If it's any solace, Marilyn and Gary will one day have to give an accounting to the God they claim to know, and I suspect it won't be pretty.

Hi Changed Again,

I don't know who you and your wife are, but yes, it is a solace to know that they will one day have to account for their actions against God. I'm choosing not to hold bitterness, and while my anger is righteous, I also know that the church and the leaders need prayer. The enemy has taken a hold of that church and twisted the truth of God's word. It's easy to judge, and I have a hard time believing that any of the leaders would so intentionally hurt people this way, but maybe there are some leaders that just don't care, but we still have to pray for them. Even my mom, after she left the church, didn't want to judge. She knew the spiritual law of bitter-root judgement and how that can come back and bite you, so I've taken that lesson to heart.

I won't say who told me this but I've been told by an insider that they've been taken over by the spirit of greed and control. It's the worst it's ever been, especially with their dwindling membership and tithes. They've been ousting people left and right, anyone who isn't in line with the MO.

It's a matter of time before it implodes. There's a LOT of great, amazing people in the Body, so let's pray the blinders are taken off and that they see things for what they are and become set free.

"I still think nothing will ever be as bad as hurricane Marilyn."
(former cult member who wishes to remain anonymous)

An eventful year, for sure:

Posted by: changedagain
Date: November 20, 2018 09:45AM

Wishing everyone in this forum a Happy Thanksgiving. It's been a pleasure conversing with you during this eventful year. In fact, I'm almost at the point where..assuming I ever get a calendar...I would definitely consider putting your sh*t on it. That's a big 'breakthrough'(sorry for the walk word) for me! Never thought I could reach this point of openness.
All the best.

love,
Mike Jones

From September of 2018:

Posted by: reveal
Date: September 08, 2018 09:18AM

The "I don't want your shit on my calendar" response on the part of that pastor is so indicative of LW shepherds' dismissive and demeaning attitudes towards sheep. You can't tell me that woman has a "shepherd's heart", LOL. They are so careless and reckless with people's feelings. One thing I became acutely aware of as I started to wake up was how none of my various shepherds ever took the time to listen to anything I had to say or wanted to express. When I tried, they made me so nervous (because they always looked angry, annoyed, or as if they really didn't give a shit what I had to say) that I could scarcely get the words out. They only ever talked AT me, not with me. Sounds like what you experienced when you tried to express the spiritual experience you had. Instead of trying to understand you, they just made you feel like a weirdo. So insensitive. There is such an arrogance among the leadership, as if we lowly sheep have nothing to offer their all-knowingness.

I_woke_up Wrote:

> In addition to therapy, I was prescribed
> meditation as a means to deal with my chronic
> pain. During one of my meditations, I had a
> profound spiritual experience. Well, my naive self
> thought who better to talk to about a spiritual
> experience than ones pastors? I couldn’t have been
> more wrong. I don’t know what I was expecting…
> validation, maybe? Instead, I got what I will call
> a “deer in headlights” reaction. I really don’t
> remember all of what was said but I do remember
> how they made me feel! Like shit!!! I don’t think
> they had any idea what I was talking about.. I
> regretfully assumed, as “pastors” they would
> probably have had similar experiences and could
> relate. NOPE! I left feeling like, something must
> be wrong with me. To be perfectly honest, I was so
> brainwashed with this “elemental spirit” shit that
> I thought maybe I was crazy and “tapped” into
> something weird..

> Oh, I forgot to add.. During all this.. when
> planning a dinner out with the lead pastors of
> Shiloh, my husband was going to send the pastor’s
> wife a meeting request and she told him, “I don’t
> want your shit on my calendar.”

> Sincerely,

> I_woke_up



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/23/2023 02:39AM by changedagain.

A podcast about the Living Word cult. Highly recommended.

[open.spotify.com]

Thanks Puddington.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/23/2023 03:28AM by changedagain.

The podcast is also in video form on YouTube. Great stuff!
[m.youtube.com]

Changed,
Thank you very much for reposting these very timely and timeless reflections from TLWF survivors. And hey, y'all can put your stuff on my calendar anytime! <3