Whether we explore God from a scientific standpoint, observing the fine tuning of the universe or the complexity of DNA, or dig through as many historical documents as possible trying to find the perfect spiritual teaching, it is still only a starting point of recognition that there is a Creator that we know very little about. I would suggest most are unwilling to even start the journey to get to know Him and would rather debate the reasons for not doing so. The wounds suffered in TLWF topped my list until I realized they didn’t come from Him, but from those who said they were Him. I would suggest that God didn’t tweak our DNA so that we could have free choice – “Do you love Me for who I am or for what I can do for you?”. You find out what is in you when you face adversity and have to either continue to move forward or come up with excuses for not doing so. Fortunately, God can empower us to do what we could never do in our own strength and we will begin to recognize there is something at work in us beyond our human abilities. That’s the walk of faith – totally dependent on Him for all the practical stuff in this life and carefully following His daily leading and then watching as He amazing provides what He has determined we really need. That’s also the sonship TLWF promised but never delivered. You find He’s way better than anything you imagined at the beginning of your journey.

Any believer worth their salt that I have run into has suffered. Yet they will say as Paul, “We also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Paul also said, ”We share in His sufferings that we may also share in His glory” and “our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” On the surface it seems like a quick formula for a life of abuse and misery and the casual seeker will take a pass. To those who hang in there and begin to bear fruit, there is life in the Spirit right now – not just a carrot payable in the afterlife offered by someone using you for personal gain. That’s religion – not a relationship with a good Father. When He disciplines us, it is for our good and there is actually peaceable fruit as a result - not counseling to recover from abuse.

I’m probably taking a step off most people’s belief radar, but the journey ends up being longer than necessary if it is not mentioned. You eventually begin to learn in the school of hard knocks that Jesus is the only way to the Father. Obeying His commands is what produces life and nothing else. His commands are the opposite of normal human understanding. I know that produces explosive reactions, but it also is the narrow path to life. Jesus was simply passing on what the Father had spoken to him and we simply pass on Jesus’ words – and many have died for doing so. There is a reason he said to “teach them to obey everything I have commanded you” in the Great Commission. There is a Pearl of Great Price hidden there. It's also the point of the most controversy.

You can have a PhD in theology and know all the right stuff, but at the end of the day you will have to put it into practice or none of it means anything and will not work. I think the greatest gift we can give each other is to encourage one another to read Jesus’ words and put them into practice. His word never returns to Him void – it always works and will produce faith. There is a spiritual life that begins to happen beyond anything that can be conveyed in a book. The Bible hasn’t continued its influence because it’s great teaching (which it is), but because its God breathed to those who will obey. People through the centuries have found that He the reward – not just the idea of some mansion in heaven. They have even been willing to lay down their lives, not because they are extra religious, but because they have experienced and are in love with their Creator.

Interesting perspective, larry bobo. Thanks for sharing.

I have questions: does anyone have any information on the current condition of leadership since Matilyn's death? Has Gary hooked up with anyone? Did Marilyn leave any command of who Gary must marry? Has Rick taken on a new title? Have any churches left or been shut down? I have no connections with anyone except this forum. I'm just very curious. Or is this movement folding with a whimper? Is it now just mainstream? Any power plays. Maybe lurkers who are still members would be willing to clarify this. The first generation must be nearly gone, and the second generation is starting to die. My understanding is third generation rarely maintains the vision of the first generation, and these must be in their 40s, pushing 50. Any info?

For those interested in seeing all the information TLW attempted to delete from Wikipedia, here is the link to the motherlode:

[en.wikipedia.org]

Wow. Very interesting kBOY.

kBOY Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> For those interested in seeing all the information
> TLW attempted to delete from Wikipedia, here is
> the link to the motherlode:
>
> [en.wikipedia.org]
> _Fellowship


Wow, you know, the history of LWF sort of reminds me of Armstrong's World Wide Church of God. I think most of you will remember the old guy that was on TV all the time, he founded a church system that, after he died, split up in dozens of different versions of his philosophy. It turned into dozens of smaller organizations. I guess in a way LWF did that, only they didn't much go anywhere, probably because LWF was more into idolizing the leader than they were, even though they pretty much considered Armstrong as not capable of error. When he died they publicly repented for the errors and just started over.

AD:

For more than a decade, there has been a concerted effort by TLW to exercise damage control, orchestrate spin, rewrite history, and sanitize the past. I know this because I was a part of early efforts to root out every negative comment that could be discovered on the internet, and pass the information forward.

There was even a major introduction at one of the feasts shortly thereafter of the PR firm that was hired to repackage TLW as legitimate. This resulted in the loss of many comments on multiple pages that portrayed TLW in a negative light. Fortunately, not all accounts were able to be modified or deleted.

"Lurker" is an insulting term. Uncalled for.

TheSarge:

TLW has been in a slow, steady decline since the passing of JRS. After the initial shock of the event and a few years of steadying the vessel, it seemed to find its own momentum in a second incarnation.

For those of us who were involved a number of decades past that milestone, there were no similar traumatic events, just a slow steady decline in membership, fads that would come and go, a more tightly scripted ‘our way or the highway’ type of crowd control, and a more acceptable ‘normalization’ than we witnessed during the 70’s.

The ‘triumvirate’ that really ruled the roost were G&M and Rick. With mom out of the picture as a go-between, there is no telling whether TLW will continue to die a slow death or result in a serious crash-n-burn. I have noticed a tightening up of information dissemination, as two recent weddings of some significance had no mention or pictures posted on popular social media.

KBoy says, "two recent weddings of some significance had no mention or pictures posted on popular social media"

Speaking of weddings, I attended one last weekend, the marriage of Matt Larson and Shannon Skinner from the San Diego church.

Shelly Skinner, if you're out there, or if someone could pass it on to her, your daughter simply lights up the room. She was radiant. The couple clearly is in love, and I am certain they have no recollection of anything that was said during the ceremony. They were too entranced with one another for anything else to register.

I recognized maybe four people there. My goodness, but it's been a long time since I was around anything "Walk" related. I was also surprised at the omission of the usual fare of prophecy, singing in the spirit, and so on that usually is included in Walk weddings. It was pretty vanilla. It was also the most unprofessional wedding I have experienced in all the weddings at TLW, and that's saying something if you are familiar with TLW marriages. The preacher was clearly unrehearsed, and had no real idea of what he was doing. Kept referring to notes, and checking with his wife to see if he was on track. Not an insult, just an observance. Maybe it was his first wedding.

I was a little disappointed not to see Gary Hargrave. I figured since the Larsons have so much "juice" in TLW, that he would have come.