lily rose Wrote: -------------------------------------------------- > Eventually absolute power and control can corrupt > an individual and they feel justified in using > deception. > > Perhaps JRS really believed he was called of God > but along the way as he gained our trust and > control over us, he justified using deception > (absolute power corrupts) in putt
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

TheJewel Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Most of these guys were natural salesmen with a > salesman’s flair and a well developed ability to > read people. The question for me has always been > is whether JRS and RD (the ones I knew the best) > did this deliberately or whether they had drank so > much of their own “Kool-Aid” that they decei
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Ahhh...the BMW! I remember that. And the carved turtle coffee table and the fabulous home in Hawaii where they couldn't decide how wide to make the walkway. There were several homes, all complete with slave labor. The perks of being a cult leader...
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

changedagain Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > BTW, aside from weathering criticism from those > who lost their life savings in the mine > debacle...did John take a significant financial > hit? I recall an allegation in the divorce trial > that he was worth 30 million. Even if that number > was grossly inflated, and he was worth say 4-5 &
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

changedagain Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Papa is his latest mark, apparently. Poor Papa. > > "A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a > person or group after first gaining their > confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. > Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the > human psyche, such as credulity, naïv
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Yes, I think so...
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

NARCISSISTIC MANIAC ON THE LOOSE ALERT: We Must Foster And Nurture The Holy Spirit’s Presence Posted on January 24, 2018 By Gary Hargrave On Monday, January 22nd, I was honored to speak to the leadership of the Catholic charismatic movement in Brazil. I began by expressing the deep oneness I feel with Papa Francisco and my appreciation for what he is doing to create oneness in the Body of
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

lily rose Wrote: -------------------------------------------- > Corboy I don't know if the walk had/has shrills. > It seems like most of us were just duped and when > we presented our involvement to others to get them > involved it came from a place of spreading kind of > a fairytale. Lily rose and corboy, I don't think that JRS used shills, that I was aware o
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

More Random Thoughts... In Nichol's book, the reason for the split in the Valley church was revealed to be related to rumors of a "spiritual marriage" between JRS and an elder's wife. Several elders in the church were becoming very suspicious about the situation. They were also upset about the "special" relationship between JRS and the group of women known as the
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Random Thoughts... I came into the Walk just after there had been a split in the Valley church, supposedly over someone that JRS called a witch. However, Woodrow Nichols' research paper, An Experiment in End-Time Apostasy: The Walk of John Robert Stevens, tells a more complete story. In Chapter 9: The Split of 1967, Nichols talks about division in the eldership. All I heard chatter about
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

larry bobo Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I’ve posted information about TLWF for almost > twenty years, starting with Factnet, and have > never been threatened to have personal information > released from shepherd’s files.... > However,“The only thing necessary for the > triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” – > Edmund Burk
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

lily rose Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hi Reepicheep...last yr (1/30/17) Invisible posted > about marrying M and giving commitments to G&M. Is > that what you were referring to about getting > people to sign non-disclosure agreements? No, lily rose. I heard second-hand that some people in the organization who "knew too much"
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

larry bobo Wrote: -------------------------------------------------------- Within TLWF, looking for direction from the leadership is considered a mark of maturity. corboy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- A disciple is not the same as an inmate. It is a bad sign when a group of adults continually gaze at a leader the same way a gun dog looks up to his mast
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Oh, by the way, sometime in the 90's, people in the churches were told to write down everything about themselves, embarrassing or not, and give it to the pastor. I believe we were all given a set of questions to answer. I wonder where all THAT is?
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lily rose Wrote: ____________________________ > After reading > kbyrne's post about how all the personal ministry > was typed up, shared, and probably archived for > years, I wondered how or if it impacted members' > lives years later when G&M conducted their purges. Now there's a horrible thought, lily rose! Those typed up notes were called comm slips.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Kbyrne and TheycalledmeJonah, the incident that NickleandDimed mentioned regarding the Honolulu church and Craig Gruenberg happened in the 80's. I don't believe he has been a principal pastor since then, but has remained very involved, especially in the worship. I'm interested in the experiences you shared, kbyrne. I think that most or all of the members of TLWF have either rece
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Great video, great list of points about destructive cults and great dicussion. #10. If you question something about the group, are you told it is your reactive mind, Satan, etc. and the problem is you – not the group? If I ever questioned anything, it was because I needed a revelation. It was sometinnes attributed to my carnal mind, a critical spirit, transference or a Jezebel spirit. If I
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

I'm wondering if TheycalledmeJonah has any more recent examples of TLWF leaders or members being pushed out of the group because they asked too many questions or crossed the wrong person? Since many have already seen how the same strategies were used by JRS/G&M to rid themselves of people who had become noncompliant in some way, it would behoove members and and leaders alike to learn
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Cloudwatcher Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > This lady knows about the LW in Los Angeles Area > and has helped a lot of people. > > Great video, Cloudwatcher. Thanks for posting it!
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

larry bobo Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > We constantly heard the evils of denominationalism > preached, and I would suspect it was more about > John’s excommunication and his refusal to have any > personal accountability than what he led us to > believe. It’s interesting that he demanded more > control over others than any group I’ve co
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Larry, it's so interesting hearing about what happened in Des Moines. Was Vere Thomas sent elsewhere, or was he just cut loose entirely? I didn't know that Vere and Mahota were sent on a long world tour to get them out of the way. Fred and Eva were also sent on a long world tour for the same purpose. I believe that a common dismissal during that time went something like, "Thank you
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Is TLWF finally down to only two people who can't get kicked out or side-lined? Congratulations to Gary Hargrave and Rick Holbrook. You guys won the grand prize. But what is it worth if everyone else gets fed up and leaves? Oh, that's right...greener pastures in Brazil.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

lily rose Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Nickle, Reep and changed-the events at Grace > Chapel Honolulu were happening all over the Walk. > It was 1979 and the kingdom didn't come. Woodrow > Nichols said JRS was restructuring the Walk and > removing leaders he didn't trust. He mentions in > his book some 34 changes. JRS also re
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

NickleandDimed Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > But John went ahead and removed > Gruenberg. He could have just counseled him. Told > him to end the clique. Instead he removed > Gruenberg. It humiliated Gruenberg. No one thought > he should have been removed. To me, that kind of > discipline was part of the 10% rat poison. The root probl
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

changedagain Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I didn't know Craig well, but the impression I had > of him based on relatively few encounters was that > he operated from a place of integrity. Maybe what > John was referring to as socializing, was just > someone allowing himself to be accessible. That was my impression too, changedagain.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

corboy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > No one has to answer any of these questions about > the back room meetings Puddington mentions. > > I came up with the questions just in case they > help clarify what people remember and wish to > describe. > > Since those back room meetings were kept a secret, > no one who was not in th
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

lily rose Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I used to feel the most extraordinary anointing > when I prophesied in an Italian accent. "The Lord > has prepared for you a table of resurrection life, > sonship, and spaghetti." Sorry about that. Haha! I always felt the most anointing when I just kept quiet. Or prophesied in Pig Latin. That
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

larry bobo wrote: _______________________ > Reepicheep – Are you serious in implying that God > has not limited Himself to speak in King James, as > He did through John in the early days of The Walk? > How can we lowly congregants possibly distinguish > true words from God from the ramblings of men? At > least it’s not in Latin! After all, if Jesus > spoke in King J
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

TheycalledmeJonah Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > One aspect of the Living Word Churches which > always made me feel weird was that as a church, > they are always pushing toward something - > breaking through. What does that even mean. It > seems as though all the words brought are meant to > "fix" us so that we can break through
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

puddington Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Corboy, by my estimates > > 1) What proportion of people in LW were also > attending the back room meetings? Probably only > 10% > > 2) Were these back room meetings generally known > about, or secret? Only known to those invited > > 3) What did a member have to do before he or
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families