Many of us learned our lessons well. We spent much of our time reading, listening, and attending. The mind-control used was/is real. The very habits used to control us can also lead to freedom. Martin Luther demonstrated this in his life. When we become co-dependent on others, the bondage seems to increase. The adverse appears to also be true. Healthy questions deserve healthy answers and c
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Reepicheep Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Well, hi folks. Today my husband received an > unsigned letter with no return address in the > mail, postmarked HONOLULU, HI > > Here is what they wrote. Please give me your > thoughts, or let me know if this has ever happened > to you. > > "Husband's Name, > > I k
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteSagehen Posted by: Sagehen () Date: May 01, 2017 06:31PM I agree with much of what "larry bobo" posted May 1, 2017, I too had to ask myself why I fell for the hook! Mine took me back to the Charasmatic teachings in the early '60s and led right into what JRS was teaching in the early '70s when we , my late husband and I joined. I also see this is still the focus of man
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

40yearsin2016 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Had a moment this week, visiting with some very > old friends (not from the church), found myself > saying out loud to them, "yeah I was part of that > cult" First time I've ever used the "c" word and > that admission out loud in public. A mill stone > dropped from my s
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

MATTRESS ROOM- One thing for certain, people at Shiloh were people. That room was well used. I even used it a couple times myself, for prayer. I guess I believed it had the HOLY JIM CANYON atmosphere. To this day, I am not sure why I thought it was a better place than others. And yes, it was discouraged and forbidden. During the period of confusion......... The pastor (Holbrook) from Reyn
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

This Weeks - dumping I remember when I started unloading almost 9 years of "This Weeks". I was beginning to come to grips with the Walk and my life. They were not going together very well. At first, it felt like a betrayal, but shortly thereafter, LIBERATION. I had become a slave to them(This Weeks) to the point of ignoring almost everything else in my life, including my Bible. In the
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quotelily rose BenThar: You mentioned in your discussion regarding Dad Stevens about things that were going down in Shiloh then. From a purely historical perspective, lol, I would be interested in hearing more about that if you feel comfortable talking about it. I am willing to a point. People need to have some room to repair their lives. I do not wish to try and destroy them here. I also do not
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quotehowmidoing Date: March 31, 2017 06:32PM Has anyone considered a large group letter writing campaign? Flooding the LW with letters from former members all over the country? Explaining how we believe they have twisted the scriptures for their gain and they are not winning souls for Jesus. And hurting people along the way? I have been on 2 sides of this thinking. Both times, it was a futi
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

My dream - I had a recurring dream that involved the sawmill. I kept losing fingers. When I got back to Shiloh, Rich L. kept telling me how lucky I was. He kept saying, "it wasn't an arm like Jeff C." ---the dream eventually went away but stayed with me for at least five years. I was really glad to DUMP that nightmare. It seemed so real at the time.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quotelily rose Posted by: lily rose () Date: March 30, 2017 11:08AM Cloudwatcher said "Freedom is not overrated." Although it was many years ago, I never felt as free as when I freed myself from freeing the Apostle. That is an understatement. At first I experienced guilt but it was soon replaced with joy. Who knew that fleeing would be so freeing ! ?
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteLarry Bobo I’d been around church – and I mean a lot of church – my whole life, and I never experienced anything so profoundly healing as actually doing what Jesus said to do. It went down into subconscious levels that nothing else came close to. You’d think somebody would have least mentioned we might try doing what Jesus said, since Christianity was named after him! Jesus’ teaching always
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quotelily rose Ben if you care to comment, I 'd be interested to know what dad Stevens or even Francis told you. I read on this forum that dad Stevens and JRS had a falling out towards the end. Everyone loved dad Stevens. Dad Stevens was on the outs with his son, at the time of our conversation. I had hoped he would give me some insight. He did. He was apparently trying to show John some of
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Hello All, The WALK, CLW, TLW - Does the chameleon, really change colors? This is a most interesting thread with some meaningful conversations. I have "Ben" THare" and experienced most of it. I held the TLW idiosyncratic beliefs for about a decade. Then, I became a 'BenT''Hare',looking for a way out. Many years have passed for me since the TLW insanity
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families