A few posts referencing Jean Koonz (sp), from all the way back to 2006...or approximately 11,850 comments ago: Posted by: righteous mama Date: January 20, 2006 04:57AM My neighbor was highly involved in this cult and I attended with them many times. They went to the North Hollywood church...and Anaheim. I took piano lessons from Jean Koonz (sp?) I remember JRS and remember when he died. I
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Reep wrote: Although my mom was not a leader, she was important to me. She was also a paper editor at TLW. I was told to stay away from her during a very difficult time in my life. She must have known something that they didn't want her to tell me. yes, most likely Excerpt of a post by 'reveal' from September 2018: Posted by: reveal Date: September 02, 2018 12:52AM
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

A few posts from July, 2020 on the subject of forgiveness and 'gossip': Posted by: Reepicheep Date: July 11, 2020 05:27AM Hi corboy, Nice to hear from you. This subject of demands for forgiveness seems to keep coming up. Frankly, I have trouble taking this kind of religious pomposity at face value. It reminds me of one of the last services I attended in TLWF. The golden boy h
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

A few posts from February of 2019: Posted by: Tmason Date: February 13, 2019 09:48PM Speaking of how the G&M dynasty drummed out any would be competitors....I was thinking that its seems very odd that the extremely popular elders that were beaten with an organic carrot and hung by their toes to dry seem to have family members that assumed leadership roles after their executions. Think
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Onion wrote: Gary and Marilyn said they were going to have a baby and that baby would be JRS' return. I don't know how open they were with this plan but of course it never happened. Wow--you think Rick was spoiled. Imagine the adulation JRS, the apostolic baby, would receive from those believing this nonsense. Good grief.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Paleface wrote: And, like you said, if you question this, you are regarding in the fellowship as someone with a "critical spirit" and thus being a vessel of witchcraft. Yes, in that corrupt organization, you asked questions at your own peril. Posted by: larry bobo Date: May 16, 2019 02:55AM At the time of John’s death, the upward flow had already started. As Gary and Marilyn
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

A couple posts by Paleface from 2011: Re: The Living Word Fellowship, The Walk, John Robert Stevens Posted by: paleface Date: February 09, 2011 07:46AM The feeling of "not measuring up" in the LW is strong, even today with the current word. It took me a bit of time to shake all of that off. With prayer and seeking Him, the Lord convinced me that He loved me even with my flaws an
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Thanks for sharing the poem by Janja Lalich, Reep. It certainly connects to the experience most of us here had while in TLWF. Posted by: Reepicheep Date: May 21, 2020 09:51AM kBOY Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > “Collateral damage” is not necessarily a > resume enhancement for one seeking to reboot a new > world-wide 'misery', aka,
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Hope you are doing well, 4generation. And thank you again for contributing to this forum: Posted by: 4generation Date: December 28, 2019 12:28AM Welcome Powertrip, so good to see another brazilian posting here. Unfortunately what you shared with us is not a surprise to me and only shows how deceived we have been for decades in this church. For me who was born into this cult and spe
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Have a pleasant Saturday! And a pleasant Friday, too! :) #StillWakingUp
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Not that it matters, but here are the latest stats for our group discussion on the obscure cult we were involved in: Posts: 11,836 Page Views: 2,367,785 Have a pleasant Saturday!
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

BTW, I recall one summer while working on a project at Shiloh I was approached by an Apco member that had never spoken to me before. He wanted to let me know that Marilyn (Mom) thought her sex life was dead after John passed, but it had been revived with Gary--better than ever. That was pretty much it. I'm not sure why I needed to know this. Perhaps I was to spread this 'exciting'
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Reepicheep Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Indeed, Changed. Or perhaps the sin card of the > Divine Lamp repented for not worshipping herself > enough. Ha--that's more like it.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Reep wrote: Because isn't it hilarious when others are humiliated while being literal and obedient? Yes, the rank and file took the directives seriously, with negative long-term consequences, and the key leaders basked in being exempt from any accountability. And later it occurred to the Divine One that some people may have gone into great detail on their card, while she herself just
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Reep wrote: And then that evening, in the church bar, Rick said that they were considering selling the “sin cards” to the highest bidder. I doubt this 'sin card' ever made it onto a cross, but if it did, I wonder how much it would fetch: "This is probably not a sin, but I was aware that my son was sexually abusing young women in the fellowship for many years, and did nothing
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Thankfully, I was long gone before this bizarre (even by TLWF standards) service took place. I suppose there is no better time to confess your sins than on Easter Sunday ;) Posted by: Reepicheep Date: April 21, 2019 10:57PM To all those who frequent these virtual halls, I wish you a happy Easter, or Resurrection Day, or day that TLWF eschewed in favor of Passover. In all of Christendom, t
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Posts by kBOY and Chachakitty from November 26, 2019: Posted by: kBOY Date: November 26, 2019 06:26AM C H A c h a You provided a succinct summation of the core 'reality' of TLW. Apparently, no one had the decency to inform us we were all dwelling in FantasyLand for decades. I'm sure RickDisney had a hand in maintaining the illusion, seeing as how his 'vision'
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Reep wrote: Hopefully, this will never happen again anywhere in Iowa, especially in what used to be Shiloh. Marilyn's funeral sounds like a clown show. I hope that the illustrious leaders felt good about themselves. Their special seats amounted to thirty pieces of silver for throwing the rest of us to the wolves for so many years. true reveal wrote: Four, at the reception everyone wa
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

A few posts from April of 2019: Posted by: puddington Date: April 09, 2019 02:17AM Prettyboy - You say that we are letting Gary & Rick win. I’m not really keeping score and I’ve already prepared myself for an outcome where they both walk free. As far as I am concerned, the war is over souls and setting the captives free. By that metric, we won already. So many people are free now. Gar
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

,
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

I don't know, Camus. I see that you've asked about Larson in a previous post. I think he is involved as a board member of the Jerusalem Center. Posted by: Camus Date: February 05, 2019 12:20PM Does anyone know happened to Bruce Larson of the San Diego church? Fired? Still active? Or simply moved on? Posted by: kBOY () Date: January 15, 2021 06:41PM "Gary Hargr
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Forgoing groceries... Posted by: Chachakitty Date: November 25, 2019 02:57PM And Gary is very much living in reality. He already knew the cult was going to end prior to Shalom's post. Peaced out and is going to something different. No remorse. Bc he knew the hold time he was leading members in a fantasy world while in reality here on earth he was playing King and taking everyone’s mo
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Imapurple wrote: Also them showing me a check for 30k that someone had just given them. Possible response that is unlikely to be well-received: 'Wow--that's fantastic! God is helping you help fund the Shiloh Senior Center!!'
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Cruelty was the order of the day, Reep. Oh well, Marilyn is gone...and Gary has moved on to a higher calling he created. Posted by: Imapurple Date: November 01, 2019 10:52AM Seeing Donna in the middle yard with the baby while G&M were beginning their relationship ( while JRS was in bed dying) was heartbreaking. I remember one time while in Shiloh G&M putting Donna down and thin
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Reep wrote: Also, someone wanted to buy flowers for the front porch. A few people shared the cost, but we were told not to put our names on the card, because we shouldn't try to get credit for doing something nice. Hi Marilyn, Since I know I will not receive brownie points for sharing in the cost, I decided to not contribute. Sincerely, You-Know-Who
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

that little red flag wrote: Long story short, come Monday after they had left, I was directed to gather and repackage everything, even if it had been used and return it all for a refund. Well, knowing what we know now, I think your response to this directive should have been: "I don't want your shit on my calendar!" :) Posted by: I_woke_up Date: September 07, 2018 06:08PM
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

I haven't opened a Bible for a very long time, but there are still a few scriptures that I hold dear to my heart, and can accurately quote. Like this one: "Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none. My worldwide ministry hasn't taken off yet." -Acts 3:6
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Reep wrote: I, too, believed all of those things for many years, even after leaving the cult. And finally, I had to begin dealing with my own cognitive dissonance. Yes, the vision of the Kingdom John supposedly had back in '72, is a big one. Many life decisions were heavily influenced by that "vision." Of course, there was never an acknowledgement by a TLWF authority to the con
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Reep wrote: These are the things that I was told to believe about JRS, and so even when his actions, words and manner of relating to me didn't match these beliefs about him, I clung more desperately to those beliefs. Yes, I did the same thing. It took me a very long time to realize that these people I was exalting were basically self-absorbed assholes. Or as my Mom put it, the first time
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

And yet, some will live out their lives convinced that 'The Apostle' spoke a "word from God," was laying the foundation for the Kingdom age, and was motivated by a consuming love for God's people. Those who had personal encounters with him as lowly 'sheep,' however, tended to think otherwise. A couple posts from FoolMeTwice...suggests that who he presented himse
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families