A good Monday morning to all!
I came across this short, simple quote today, and although it references only journalists, I think it applies to anyone who places themselves at risk to combat the corruptive influence of unchecked power. Enjoy:

"Journalists do vital work to tell stories that must be told and hold power accountable. They’ve earned our respect and our thanks."
-Adam Schiff

I just came across this video on Youtube:

"1990 Shiloh Amphitheater - I saw satan fall from heaven like a lightening".

Link Below:

[www.youtube.com]

I remember this performance, I was there. My emotions when I first viewed this after all these years, coupled with where I am today (out of the Living Words clutches) was a bit riveting. Below were some of my initial thoughts:

1. Seeing Bob McClane sing his heart out, thus believing whole heartedly what he was singing. And then thinking of Bob's children, particularly Sandy, who I love with my whole heart and think of often.

2. Seeing so many other faces that I actually considered my family for years, thus putting my "true family" to the back; this still breaks my heart... how could I have been so blinded? On a side note, seeing Paul Seward dancing made me smile... Love you Paul and your beautiful Momma.

3. Grasping the fact that I was in a cult. That I actually believed in this mind control BS! The words in this song, i.e. "We loose Brother Stevens... We loose Papa John". This is / was so wrong!

I am sharing this, not so much for those of us who have come out of the Living Word, but for those that happen upon this forum, those searching as we all did and continue to for the truth and knowing that worshiping anyone else besides our Heavenly Father / Lord Jesus is wrong.

light777 Wrote:
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> I am going to keep this very short, as I
> intentionally do not want to upheaval too many
> unfavorable memories from the past, as I have
> spent the last several years (to the best of my
> ability) purging the sick B.S. that The Living
> Word so successfully forced me to believe.
> Perhaps at some point I will talk more, but for
> now, I will keep it brief.
>
> I was very close with the Hargrave family... I saw
> / heard a lot. However for reasons that are too
> complicated, I chose to overlook the obvious, even
> though I knew that it was wrong / not of God.
> Example: Gary leaving his wife and daughter to
> marry Marilyn and lead the church... And yes, Gary
> does have a daughter... she is beautiful and looks
> so much like him. I had such a hard time with
> that. Where in the Bible does it say to leave
> your wife and children to marry another...??? And
> we all believed the lie that they fed us! Ricks
> multiple marriages... each new wife younger than
> the ex wife. And again, we were told that this
> was all of God! The mind control, "labors of
> love", serving the ministries, and the list goes
> on and on and on. Truly, if I did not really know
> the Lord, I would perhaps despise christianity.
> However I do know that the Lord is very real... he
> see's all. And despite all of our hurt, anger,
> anguish, deceptions, etc... We somehow have to
> forgive and move on. I am still working on that
> end.
>
> What I do know, without a doubt, is that The
> Living Word is a cult and I am beyond thankful
> that I had enough of myself left to leave. Why I
> became one of their subjects, is beyond my
> comprehension... I am still in the healing
> process... It has not been easy... but I am
> thankful for where I am today.
>
> My heart goes out to all of you who are going
> through the same, if not similar. May the Lord
> give you clarity and peace.

A portion of your first comment here. Very powerful.

Regarding the Bob McClane music clip: that’s all pre-recorded. Everyone is slip syncing and fake playing. Just another magic trick by Rick H.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/03/2018 09:01PM by puddington.

light777 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> 2. Seeing so many other faces that I actually
> considered my family for years, thus putting my
> "true family" to the back; this still breaks my
> heart... how could I have been so blinded?
>
> 3. Grasping the fact that I was in a cult. That
> I actually believed in this mind control BS! The
> words in this song, i.e. "We loose Brother
> Stevens... We loose Papa John". This is / was so
> wrong!
>
> I am sharing this, not so much for those of us who
> have come out of the Living Word, but for those
> that happen upon this forum, those searching as we
> all did and continue to for the truth and knowing
> that worshiping anyone else besides our Heavenly
> Father / Lord Jesus is wrong.

Thank you for sharing, Light777. Your posts are very enlightening and sum up what many here feel about those years of being controlled by the manipulations of the LW.

I can't watch the clip. It brings back too many memories, mostly bad ones. As Puddington says, it was all orchestrated by Rick. (Except for the lightning storm, which was just dumb luck.) I believe the purpose of the extravaganza was meant to create a hysteria of "oneness". Oooo aaah

P.S. GH has now moved on to judgment.

Wasn't there a lot of hoopla during that performance & the building of the amphitheater itself about the imminent return of John? I think a great deal of the enthusiasm centered around that expectation. I can't recall the exact phrase that was being spread among the faithful at the time. Was it...
"If we build it, he will come."
"If we fake it, he will come."
"If we just show up, he will come."
Not sure. Maybe it's a good thing that my memories are now sketchy :)

That sounds familiar, changedagain. Something like that.

This video was a reminder to me of the many, many years of poisonous lies / deceit that I ate, swallowed and digested! It was difficult for me to watch the video as well GoingRogue, I completely understand why you do not want to, as there is no need to open up old wounds and then douse them with salt. For me, it helped to further solidify some of the reasons that I left.

Puddington: I believe that those who were a part of TLW and even CTLW were aware that Rick pre-recorded EVERYTHING!? It was those in the local churches that were perhaps clueless of the craziness that went on in LaLa Land! Perfecting the music / shows was of the utmost importance, and Rick did quite well at that, thus utilizing the talents, time, blood, sweat and tears of so many dedicated and faithful sheep to accomplish his desires.

Changed again: Yep... there was much hoopla with building the amphitheater and the return of John, however, like you, my memory is also a bit sketchy!

By the way, I now look forward to the return of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I always did, but I had to hide that part while I was in TLW! So sad....... "deep sigh"........

Much love and light to you all.

light777 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This video was a reminder to me of the many, many
> years of poisonous lies / deceit that I ate,
> swallowed and digested! It was difficult for me
> to watch the video as well GoingRogue, I
> completely understand why you do not want to, as
> there is no need to open up old wounds and then
> douse them with salt. For me, it helped to+
> further solidify some of the reasons that I left.

Yes, Light777, it's humiliating once the lightbulb turns on and you realize how you have been used, and how much of your life was wasted on people claiming to be God.

Is anyone else watching People Magazine Investigates: Cults or Cults and Extreme Belief? The shows are painful to watch. Cult leaders seem to all use similar tactics to fool people. The beliefs may vary, but it doesn't matter. It's always all about the leader.

I watched the 1990 Shiloh Amphitheater YouTube video and it brought back good memories for me. I worked on the electrical portion of the amphitheater and had a great time with those that helped build it. In hindsight, I believe I really had faith – it was just misdirected. It’s true that the battle of faith comes down to “Hath God said?” The real question is who is God – some human or what was called a fantasy in the sky? I would suggest “Our Father who art in heaven” is not a fantasy and that fact becomes a problem for those who want to take His place if He is not made to seem insignificant. Many have noted the failed prophesies of those claiming to speak for God in TLWF. In contrast, God’s word never fails. It’s the way you can tell if it is God or not. We have to be careful about getting our panties in a bunch over unfulfilled words that He never spoke in the first place.

A book I would recommend is When Prophesy Fails – A Classic Study by Leon Festinger, Henry W. Riecken, and Stanley Schachter. You’ll be surprised at the number of Christian cults down through the centuries that have claimed to speak for God, only to leave their followers with nothing but disillusionment. One interesting take-away is that followers will double-down on their belief when confronted with something that is obviously not true - e.g. end of the world dates that come and go, or in the case of TLWF, the kingdom dawning in 1979. Instead of critical thinking functioning properly and calling a spade a spade, emotions well up and become more deeply entrenched. At stake is a person’s very emotional foundation and the incredible difficulty of facing the fact that they have been believing a lie. It’s like being blindsided in a marriage where one spouse is discovered to be in another relationship and the other spouse has no clue. There may have been some form of unhealthy love, but it is not the same as the real deal.

I’ve taken a special interest in some of the recent cult programs on the FLDS group, since I’ve done electrical training in their town in Utah on several occasions. First of all, they are wonderful people – as are those in TLWF. They have a very similar dynamic to TLWF. They have a leader that the average person would not even consider following. The key to his control is that he has convinced them he is speaking for God. His followers give him their power – he doesn’t have much going on himself. What they don’t realize is that they can take that power back and the sky will not fall. When you are not in the group, it’s hard to believe how strong the spell is that is cast over the followers. Most of us could care less about what the Pope thinks about the direction of our lives – but we’re not Catholic. It’s refreshing to see more and more people getting their sea-legs outside of TLWF and making their own personal decisions again. However, I would caution not to throw the baby out with the bath water. God is not a grumpy old man trying to make your life miserable – although humans can tend to be that way when they are attempting to play God. When it starts to sink in that everything He does is for your good – and actually works for a change – it becomes easy to ask Him about stuff.