And thank you Reep for all your contributions to this discussion through the years. :)

Reep's links to the Oops! I'm in a Cult Podcast actually work. From this point on I'm deferring to her. Competence matters!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/17/2024 07:36AM by changedagain.

An attempt at levity--August of 2018:

Posted by: changedagain
Date: August 22, 2018 11:05AM

I hope I am not the only one who answered the latest confidential TLWF survey this way. Boy, I'll be in real trouble!

Name something you have received by serving Christ in the Flesh.
PTSD

Posted by: cultfree
Date: August 22, 2018 01:46PM

Hey changedagain. Is there a real anonymous survey going around? Is it being circulated by TLWF, or someone else?

Posted by: changedagain
Date: August 22, 2018 02:34PM

No, there is not cultfree--at least to my knowledge. But my answer is accurate, if that survey existed. BTW, I don't think anything was ever confidential/anonymous in that organization. Most of the time, from what I surmised, you were asked questions mainly to probe whether you were loyal or not to leadership. I don't think anything else mattered.
Any information you provided could and would be used against you.

I have often wondered what happened to all the money and property when this thing collapsed. I was long gone by the time all the Gary/Marylyn stuff went down but I was in San Diego when the RD thing blew up and the congregation wrestled the property from Cronquist.

I guess it ended up deeded over to TLW, therefore Gary/Marylyn. It probably would have been better off with RD? I remember writing letters to the court during that time as the “true” ownership was being sorted out.

What a mess.

What a mess is right, TheJewel. The worst of the worst tend to insist on having complete control, and are obviously willing to do anything to achieve that goal.
Having no conscience works in their favor, of course. Maybe these people will be rewarded by having to spend eternity with each other. :)
Anyway, always good to hear from you.

I guess it ended up deeded over to TLW, therefore Gary/Marylyn. It probably would have been better off with RD? I remember writing letters to the court during that time as the “true” ownership was being sorted out.

What a mess.

They say it's your birthday.
We're going to have a good time etc.

[www.instagram.com]

A few posts from approximately three years ago:

Posted by: Reepicheep
Date: December 26, 2021 02:08AM

Another Christmas without the "Magical Caroling Truck". Wouldn't it have been fun to explain to newspeople that we don't celebrate Christmas and that's why we could work ourselves to death on Christmas Eve instead of spending time with our actual family? Maybe it should have been called The Chief Narcissist's Prey Truck. Oh well. Still hoping for some form of justice for young people who were harmed the most. Merry Christmas, though.

Posted by: puddington
Date: December 26, 2021 03:42AM

Boy, I certainly do not miss the Christmas truck.

Posted by: Reepicheep
Date: December 27, 2021 03:32AM

puddington Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Boy, I certainly do not miss the Christmas truck.

Me neither, Puddington. Christmas music is still triggering.

Posted by: changedagain
Date: December 30, 2021 11:11AM

It's been over three years now since the independent investigation was launched, and still nothing. I'm beginning to wonder if the investigators are still waiting for the Holy Spirit to reveal what happened, and the Holy Spirit...for some reason...is simply not cooperating. If that's the case, the situation is probably hopeless. The Holy Spirit can just hide behind divine privilege, and run out the clock through eternity.
Anyway, sorry for being so fatalistic as the new year approaches. I do wish everyone here much better days ahead. You are all worth it--well, most of you. :)

Re: The Living Word Fellowship, The Walk, John Robert Stevens
Posted by: puddington
Date: January 01, 2022 02:48AM

The Holy Spirit told me “any day now”. The problem is that one day is like 1000 years to God. LOL



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/23/2024 11:44PM by changedagain.

'Just give me a sign.'

Clip of Steve Martin as Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr, in Man With Two Brains:

[youtu.be]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/25/2024 12:52AM by changedagain.

Ask President Carter--SNL
(Dan Aykroyd at his best)

[youtu.be]

Approximately seven years ago:

Posted by: changedagain
Date: January 08, 2018 08:01AM

puddington Wrote:
I recall hearing in LW services, teachings about
the “unforgivable sin”, i.e. blaspheming the Holy
Spirit. It was said that to deny that Christ was
coming forth in his people was equivalent to
blaspheming the Holy Spirit. The LW teaches that
the 2nd coming of Christ will happen with Christ
coming forth in his body first. Then later, the
actual reappearing of Jesus. This doctrine
empowers the leaders to claim they have the mind
of Christ. It was said often (in back room
meetings) that to have “Marilyn’s thinking” was to
have the mind of Christ.

There was an immense amount of pressure during my 21 years involvement in the walk/TLWF (1976-1997) to regard the voice coming from leadership (John, Marilyn, Gary) as the voice of God. John himself often said from the pulpit that the word he spoke was the equivalent of scripture, and in fact, was elevated beyond scripture since it was supposedly revealing what God was doing now ('living word'). When the mantle supposedly fell to Gary/Marilyn, the same held true. To question them was to question God...committing the original sin in the garden ('hath God said?"). Heavy stuff. With that type of clout over the fellowship, the door to control people's lives (which is really what 'divine order' became") was unlimited. As people who spent many years in this cult have noted in this forum, over and over again, every aspect of a person's life was subject to surveillance by 'Christ in the flesh' (aka Big Brother in the Flesh). I think the purpose of the 'designated relationship' phase during G & M's reign...was to keep tabs on the thoughts and actions of members of the fellowship, so any resistance could be swiftly dealt with. Apologists who scoff at the idea of coercion, either are ignorant (perhaps because they lived on the periphery), or purposely dishonest...for whatever motivation. The place was, and likely still is, saturated with coercion. It's scary even thinking of breaking away from this cult when you are heavily involved...as evidenced by the stories of the many who have done so in this forum, and the difficulties they experienced. The bonds of oppression are powerful.