Through the Looking Glass

Why would they publish something like that? Doesn't sound like very good PR... What was the motive?

I'm a little surprised way folks aren't afraid of inviting unclean spirits into their house, by purchasing items off ebay from possessed cop-outs...

You might be in a cult if.... You have to write a MANDATORY letter of praise, stroking the leader's ego, after taking his new bible class. And if said letter must first be proof-read and edited accordingly by your local leader. Because we want to bless the man of God and wouldn't want him distracted by any spelling or punctuation errors.

If you try to get away with framing a postcard so you don't have to hang a tacky poster above your mantle... If you you break all the wings off your angel "HoHo" ornaments...

If you mark out the words "wishing" and "hope" on greeting cards and replace them with "believing"... you are most likely in a cult

bliss, do you have his contact information? I really need to get in touch with him.

I believe they are in Memphis, TN. They were running the Branch there, probably still are.

I know this thread was started awhile ago but thought I'd let you know Boone is on myspace http://www.myspace.com/parkerspidy

You can say "Merry Christmas!" and not feel guilty. You can celebrate holidays without giving them less devilish titles. Household Holidays, Happy Hearts Day, Happy Egg Hunting Day are no long part of your vocabulary. Your house may be messy and your closets unorganized, but you aren't afraid it's an open door for the adversary. Your house can be messy and you don't have a panic attack at the thought of another believer stopping by. You don't feel compelled to give every single person at church a hug or stand up to greet them. You don't spend 30 minutes prepping your toddler on how to make sure and greet Rev. SoandSo by making eye contact, smiling, shaking his hand, etc.

Is it possible Don had ulterior motives? Didn't I read that there was a lot of tension in the BOT at this time? I can only imagine there might be a little jealousy on Don's part. From everything I've read and heard it seems Don is smart and calculating. There must have been more to the reason BG was invited if they went through the trouble of footing the bill. Just a thought. Waysider, I get what you are saying now but I'm not sure I can buy it. He had a massive ego and it probably wasn't to hard for him to buy into all the yarn he was spinning himself. People can get so wrapped up in a lie that it becomes truth to them. But that's just my take at this point, it could change.

I was taught in TWI that music was originally made to appease the devil spirits.... Did anyone else hear this?

Late 90's does sound about right. I think I remember getting some before the Y2K fiasco.

Wow! This is all very interesting stuff. Sunesis, I wonder if LCM's reaction sent warning bells off in anyone's head? Is it possible he thought he would lose his following to BG?

Yeah, I don't think PFAL is available anymore. I remember awhile back (around year 2000) my LC was giving away PFAL books for free. HQ had sent boxes of them to give away to anyone who wanted. Why else would the Way give away something for free? My hubby worked bookstore just a few years back so I'll try to confirm.

Thanks for the info you all have. I would really like to hear more about this. I wrote this reply to Waysider last night, but we had some bad weather and the internet went out before I could post. Nothing will ever justify the atrocities VPW committed in the name of God. However, if B.G. and VP did have an amicable relationship, maybe even a trust or respect for each other, that does make it a little harder for me to see B.G. as a victim who was swindled out of his life's work. I'm saying that if he didn't view himself as a victim then why should I? Did he ever specify exactly what information he got directly from God? It's obvious that he had a tendency to embellish, if not just make up whatever stroked his ego best. Specifically what information did he claim to have that was unknown to anyone but himself? (I already heard about turning snow into fire or something nuts like that). Maybe Fred Brito was benevolent to some people in some cases. I don't really see people as all good or all bad. People make a series of choices throughout their lives, some good and some bad. Now someone may tend to make more bad choices than good, but that doesn't mean he can't make some occasional good choices. Are you using this story to say that B.G. was conned by VP, unaware of the deception, even to the point that he attended his funeral? Please clarify the point you are trying to make. That would be why I am asking these questions. Why would BG attend the funeral of someone he felt wronged by? Did he even feel wronged in the first place? Did he go with hopes of setting the record straight? Maybe there is another issue at hand here. Are we indignant on the plagiarism of B.G. Leonard's work because of moral and ethical standards? Or are we so worked up because we were had? I am unoffended, as I hope you are. Just trying to fit some of the pieces to this rather large matrix together.