Apostle Dog,

I don't think the valley church was sold??? do you mean a different church.


The first I heard of JRS arranging a marriage was in the mid 70's. A couple from the NOrthwest that JRS put together came to the valley church for ministry ( they pretty much hated each other.) The showed up at the living word one day and it was clear it was not working out. My recollection is they got the okay to divorce but it probably came second hand.

Larry Bobo has posted about the suicide of his friend Mike Wood after JRS died and G&M took over. I heard second hand that Mike had been given a word in the mid 70's to marry one of the blix girls but Mike didn't have a witness. Again, second hand info, the blix girl started drinking. I don't think they every married; don't know for sure.

Not too long ago a poster (I think Lane) recounted a sad story regarding the failure of her arranged marriage but I'm not sure who arranged it.

A few years ago I ran into a male friend who recounted the failure of his arranged marriage by JRS. He never had a witness and at the time said he viewed it as a word from God. Later he came to see it not as word but a manipulation. He was still struggling with bitterness.

Also heard that in the early 80's JRs gave a word to another blix girl and a guy from maui to marry. I heard years later second hand from the male friend mentioned above that it didn't work out.

I wasn't aware that changedagain had an arranged marriage. Congrads that it worked... probably due to making his wife laugh a lot like he does us.

In the decade prior to the death of JRS when talk was flying in the inner sanctums that he was Christ incarnate, if he said get married it would have been seen as a word. No question about it.

Apostle Dog Wrote:
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> I have heard from many people that the money that
> came from the sell of the Valley Church went to
> Marilyn's retirement fund, I think that fund was
> called something else, but if that money went to
> Marilyn at all she can go to prison.


Are you referring to the South Gate church?

It could have been the South Gate church. Remember, I am speaking from second hand information. I am asking questions, not making statements. I do know that one of the LA churches was supposedly sold and the money from the sale going to Marilyn's trust fund or retirement fund. The only church I ever attended in LA was the Valley Church and that was just the sheperds meeting called when Marilyn was in the process of taking over after JRS died. That is the first time I had ever been out there, and the first time I ever saw Marilyn. Before that she was just a voice on the tapes to me, (*I wish I had left the church the first time I ever heard her voice.) but anyway, once saw Marilyn and listened to her in person, I knew that it was time to get out of Living Word. The tapes of that meeting were supposed to be unedited, but they were certainly highly edited before they were sent out to the churches.

Apostle Dog Wrote:
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How were the tapes edited? Was anything significant edited out?

> once I saw Marilyn and listened to her in
> person, I knew that it was time to get out of
> Living Word. The tapes of that meeting were
> supposed to be unedited, but they were certainly
> highly edited before they were sent out to the
> churches.

lily rose Wrote:
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Thanks--she's a good woman. However, at that time, my priority should have been returning to college. I had dropped out with nearly three years of credits since I was convinced my time was better spent praying for the apostle to the kingdom to enter into resurrection life, than obtaining a college degree which would be useless once he broke through.


> I wasn't aware that changedagain had an arranged
> marriage. Congrads that it worked... probably due
> to making his wife laugh a lot like he does us.
>
> In the decade prior to the death of JRS when talk
> was flying in the inner sanctums that he was
> Christ incarnate, if he said get married it would
> have been seen as a word. No question about it.

Changedagain,

It's question Sunday:


what year was Grace Chapel Southgate sold? Do you know what happened to Larry Cotton after he left?

I left South Gate in '97. I think the church was sold within a couple years after I left. I'm certain someone reading this forum knows for certain.
I have no idea what became of Larry Cotton.

Regarding the shuting down of churches and the liquidation of assets. The local elders and people who gave the most and sacrificed the most to pay down and payoff mortgages were not consulted. This decision seems to have resided with G&M. And the funds appear to transfer to a different LW corporation. But one with "Apostolic Fathering Minestry" oversite. Which means the funds were transfered to a corporation with final control from G&M. It's not clear where the shell game will lead. In the case of the Valley Church, it appears that real estate holdings are the final goal. At somepoint, I think, G&M will die. The LW corporation will be disolved and the assets will transfer to Marilyn's heirs. Mostly Rick, I'm guessing.

On the Living Word website, it says the Living Word is a group of non-denominational churches, it leads one to believe they are independent local churches. If that is the case, then they are not owned by the Living Word.

I would bet a dollar that if there was an investigation, the Living Word is a for profit organization and much of the church is really owned by an individual.

In answer to Changedagain: The parts that were left out that I regarded the most significant was where one of the elders there said that "I don't know this Jesus dude, I Know John" There was cheering for several minutes. Also when Marilyn started threatening to go down the isle and ask each person there if they are loyal to her. She also demanded that Bill Maybe pledged his loyalty to her, but Bill said he would repent until he got the revelation of her. That rather sickend me. I always had more respect for him than that.

The pastor that I was sitting with and made up our mind that if she asked us, we were going to tell her off. This is no exageration that I am going to say next. Our plan was to fight our way to the door and get out of there. We already had our plan. It is that cultish. Living Word Fellowship, at that time, proved to me that it was a dangerous, idolaterous cult. I was sickend by what I saw. I only wish that I had gone out to California and witnessed John Robert Stevens in person, to see what he was like. I don't believe he would have married her had he been any different than she.