Posted by: GSchaeff Date: October 29, 2018 02:32AM For any new visitors to this forum, one thought I'd like to dispel is that this type of abuse being uncovered is unique to R Holbrook, or that it has not been prevalent in TLW from the very beginning. If anything, R Holbrook had a textbook example of sexual exploitation in his stepfather, JRS. There are numerous alleged accounts on this
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Changedagain wrote: Thanks, Reep. I also read the Factnet forum for quite some time before I began participating in the wild west of cult discussion. It certainly wasn't easy taking that step--but no regrets. There was so much conditioning to shed, and it helped toward that end. Freedom is incremental, at least in my experience. p.s. I was going to write something about The Apostle wea
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

"Typer wrote: I'm sorry I didn't break free much earlier. You and the other old time posters have provided courage for us new posters to help us find our voice, plus what Shalom has done for all of us. I am thankful for you. Leadership cloaked in so much darkness, we are now shining together to burn away the darkness." Hear, hear! Changed, you and others did so much good b
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Thank you, Blowout. Much appreciated.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Blowout, No, I haven't heard anything about Tony dying. If you have any more info, could you please share or PM me? There have been multiple reports of him being a serial abuser, and of G&M and others covering for him.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

changedagain Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- Lilith on the necessity of walls/boundaries: Posted by: Lilith Date: January 18, 2020 07:05AM As we navigate our way through all of this I think it’s a good spot right here to remind people that while we can agree that everyone in or out of TLWF are victims not everyone is a survivor. Some survivors are still str
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Wow, Changed. That was, uh, so special. Thanks for sharing? ; )
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Replica900, Further down the page of the first link, next to last paragraph: "The name ‘Church of the Living Word’ also designates two other Christian fundamentalist organizations. The first originated as a house group in Euclid, New York in 1972, and with Robert J.Mazur as its first pastor, it gained early support from ex-hippies. It has now expanded to larger premises in Syracuse, Ne
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Replica900, It's likely that the group you mentioned is not affiliated with The Living Word Fellowship this forum is about. I do know that at one point in the 1970s, there was a church connected to JRS in Claremont, NH. There was also one in Martinsburg, PA. Neither one seems to be operational anymore. The former pastor of the Claremont church left JRS' group years ago and joined ano
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

changedagain Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- BTW, one thing that has helped me the past 3-4years is having a consistent meditation practice. The app I use the most is Waking Up, created by Sam Harris. Below is a link...which includes a free month to sample its offerings: Thanks for the tip, Changed. Personally, I kind of still "have my walls up&quo
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

FCSLC wrote: I suspect it’s not a hallmark of “The Kingdom” that TLWF envisioned either. In my fears, TLWF’s “every knee will bow” agenda intended a worldwide “lord over” stripping away all freedoms such as ‘separate & equal station,’ individual choice, individual thinking, personal autonomy, individual passions. *************** Very true, FCSLC. I distinctly remember JRS saying that
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Great post, changedagain. Over three million views! You forgot to mention yourself, so I will. First of all, 3,000+ posts on this forum alone. I think that it is safe to say that you have kept this forum going, sometimes in the face of vicious attacks from trolls. Isn't it weird how they all magically disappeared after Shalom posted her story on FB? Anyway, thank you for all your hard wor
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Changed, I agree with your assessment of the doctrine of Christ in the Flesh. When I first started attending church in The Walk, I was shocked by how much JRS talked about "submission" and "divine order". These were not talked about much, if at all, in churches I had attended before. He talked a lot about The New Testament Church and church order (read hierarchy), apostles and
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

sierradawn wrote: "My mother felt she couldn't make decisions on her own. That is spiritual abuse, dxxn it. All these years of her being involved destroyed that decision-making ability and then some. I'm embarrassed for my Mom when I read her emails to you, pouring out her soul, looking for validation, approval and direction. That is what the church reduced her to. I'm glad
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Posted by: Imapurple () Date: November 28, 2019 10:38AM Interesting. JRS held onto all the coins from all the offerings for many years so I wouldn’t be surprised if a Sh*t load ended up in Shiloh. I know they must have come and cleaned out many of the valuable items like Van Dyke paintings, guns and so forth way before all This started.... Posted by: Onion () Date: November 28, 2019 12:
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Dear Wasted and KSargent, If you're reading this, I hope that you both come back and tell us more of your stories. <3
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

DahliaLost wrote: Was there a tree house of sorts in the front and the kids from the church would be allowed to play at times? Do you mean in front of the church and school buildings? There were two big trees. No treehouse in my memory, though. They did build a playground in the courtyard surrounding the back of the school. Maybe there was a treehouse at one of the nearby houses?
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

DahliaLost wrote: So many memories that I hate. They will never go away. Yes. So true. I hope that you heal from the bad memories, DahliaLost. I hope that we all do. I remember that collating machine. It was much easier than walking around and around a table with Sister Schwinger. Lol.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

In two weeks, it will be the 110th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Here is a satire that I wrote and posted three years ago. The ending is strangely prophetic of what has actually happened with Gary and TLWF. There allegedly is no longer a TLWF, only Hargrave Ministries (previously known as Hargrave Family Ministries). Will these abusers never be held accountable? So, in the TLWF an
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Changedagain, As you probably surmised, not once did any leaders stop to feed or care for Rick's horse. Rick did briefly try to talk cult members into networking their backyards to allow him to drive through without having to drive in the street. God only knows what kind of a nightmare scenario that would have created.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

changedagain Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- An example of answering a question by revelation. Question: Who is the drunk guy driving the red golf cart? Answer: That is King David /s ************************* To this day, I cannot stand the sight of golf carts. Good thing I don't play golf, I guess. Too many memories of "dear leaders&q
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Posted by: fool me twice Date: March 24, 2019 05:17AM "It would be interesting to know if there is even one former TLWF member did not have at least one, or several, family members that saw those red flags from the beginning. I sure did!" ************** My husband gave his mom a JRS tape to listen to back in the seventies. After listening, she returned it and said, "He so
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Maybe the public at large should be alerted to the fact that the Center of the Universe (not just the Center of the World or the Galaxy, mind you) has been burned to the ground due to foundation issues. You know, in case they want to stockpile dried soybeans for the last days or something. :o
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Good job, ForgottenIA.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Welcome, Shamrock. That's an interesting link to Charles Parham's biography. I'm inserting a link to your post in case this goes to a new page. I noticed that you have participated in several threads on this forum, so am assuming that you were not part of The Walk under John Robert Stevens or the more recent version of the group called The Living Word Fellowship under Gary Harg
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Changed-- This thread you reposted is pure gold. Our own kind of hidden treasure. Another detail about John and his wife, Martha, was that all during the sixties and seventies JRS had "intercessors" praying for her death. At the same time, he was disgracing himself by seducing various women in the church. Martha finally divorced him. He wouldn't divorce her because oddly enou
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Here is an interesting post from the day after Shalom made her historic FB post (which immediately went viral). Fromsouthchicago identified himself as Marilyn's cousin. ********************** Re: The Living Word Fellowship, The Walk, John Robert Stevens Posted by: fromsouthchicago () Date: October 26, 2018 08:46AM I think it's important for all of you to read this to understa
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

"There has been a lot of work on the Shiloh Cemetery (which is now called the Memorial Park). I'd get asked constantly to work all day on a Saturday and you say yes, because you don't feel the freedom to say no, even when pastors and leaders are constantly saying 'Don't do anything if you feel obligated.'" That right there. Not only were we made to feel oblig
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Hi Bruce. Welcome. I was in the Sepulveda church during those years. I liked Martha too. What we didn't know back then was that JRS was carrying on with Marilyn (and others) for several years before the divorce. Nephilim spirits attacking children through the toilets is a new one on me. Wow! I'm sorry to hear about what you were put through. I don't know the current status of so
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Changedagain said: Neighbor: Just wondering--do you use Google maps or Waze? Me: Neither. I listen to the Holy Spirit. Changed...good luck. I think that's the same guy that kept the children of Israel going in circles for forty years.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families