Tzaia

This is where I really don't get it. People KNEW it was bad behavior and simply because people were TOLD that it was ok, or that the person was in "leadership" so that made it was OK, and we were to simply believe that it was OK. Clearly from a scriptural perspective it was NOT ok. It was NOT ok. The things like adultery and fornication did not require "careful study" to determine if either was right or wrong. I didn't know about the adultery. I did know about the use of fornication to get people to take the class, and I confronted leadership about that - at the limb level. Not because I had a problem with premarital sex, but I had a huge problem with using people relationally in that manner to get them into the class. As I told that one guy who I knew did it, "We don't have a good thing going here if this is what you have to do to bring people to it." I was given the standard, "You obviously aren't spiritual enough to understand this, " alluding to my lack of name tag. To which I replied that my bible says we're all given the same measure of holy spirit, and it doesn't take a name tag to determine what is right or wrong. I was told by the limb leader that this kind of behavior was isolated. However, the whole experience of being on team running a class was a real eye-opener. I came away with a very bad taste in my mouth and I never participated at that level again. I got my first mouthful of never being able to do enough, or be good enough while others were given a free pass. When people would ask me to help out, I told them the one time I did it was one of the worst "Christian" experiences I'd ever had, and would never subject myself to that again. There would be no second chance. Harsh? Perhaps. That's when I realized that people weren't applying any of the "keys to studying" that we were given in PFAL. Was it that people didn't dare?

I prefer fabulous. Although when guys say it, it's just a bit too Mahvalous for most people's taste.

I did very little writing in my bible - mainly because I don't write or print neatly and I don't like to mark up books unless I buy them for that purpose. It is rather interesting to peruse my husband's well-marked-up bible to get an idea where people's heads were. I'd keep it if for no other reason than to look back at how crazy it all was.

Suggestion to the innies: take very seriously the admonition to check things out for yourself. Just because someone says that does not mean that their words are true. It's just as likely that it is merely an attempt to lure you into thinking their words are true.

Aren't they all?

TWI was (is?) full of users. Yet people felt bound by a sense of loyalty to them. And weren't the users pretty much always leaders?

Privacy is an illusion. Period. By the time one has been issued a birth certificate, it's too late to absolutely ensure one's privacy in life. As much as I would like a publicly available profile on FB, I won't do it because I can no longer control what information outside sources can see. Since I can't control it all, I don't make any of it public. Ironically, within FB, what people can see is under my control. Charlene - even though you've deactivated your account, it is still there just waiting with all your information intact. An account on FB never goes away - not even when you die.

My husband took the class in 1974. I took the class in '79. While I felt roped in and pressured after signing the card, he paid for the class, which made it ok. We got married in 1980 despite the lack of support from our fellow twig members. At first, I really wanted to be a part of TWI, but my husband had no desire to be that involved, which turned out to be a blessing. I have always found it difficult to give myself over to religious organizations, but I really liked the (supposed) de-emphasis on "legalism". However, that wasn't a reality. Anytime our level of participation in TWI got higher, I just didn't like what I saw. I didn't like how our family was treated because we weren't all sold out, but we really didn't fit in with regular church (which we tried). I couldn't get past the whole trinity thing. Technically, we were "in" until someone gave me a packet of letters in 1987 that grew into about 500 pages - then we jumped to an offshoot - which technically we were "in" until January of 2005. However, we started sending our kids to a church in 1993 and my husband started attending the church in '97. I started going regularly in 2001. We continued to financially support the offshoot until we reached a logical conclusion, which was when I was no longer the offshoot's computer tech consultant. I was never sold out with TWI, but finding out that the sexual behavior that I had observed was not isolated (as I was assured it was) and that it was sanctioned from the top was the breaking point for me. We continued to receive stuff from headquarters (letting our subscriptions run out) until we received the homosexual rant from LCM. I called HQ and asked them to remove us from the mailing list. I can't even tell you when that was, other than sometime before July of 1991. I broke ties far quicker with the offshoot. I have no doubt that had I gotten as deeply involved as others that I would have had a much harder time. It was that lack of involvement that didn't make the offshoot seem so bad - and I'm not so sure that any of it is all that bad as long as one keeps some sort of balance. I think every religion organization is culty at the core. I've just found that as long as I keep some sort of distance that I can keep it from taking over.

At the very least, she's got some pretty amazing filters in place. Unfortunately probably many of the people who want to remain "faithful" to TWI will simply take her word for it, and she is counting on that.

I don't think believing one has the "truth" necessarily guarantees sincerity. Ironically, sincerity was not valued in TWI, but in other philosophies it is considered a virtue.

When (in essence) one believes that every other Christian organization is counterfeit, to think that their own particular organization is "God's ministry" is not necessarily absurd. To an outsider, or one who has moved beyond the rather narrow (and self absorbed) line of thinking, it is.

And I think there were a fair number of people who thought so at the time, but no one spoke up (that I know of) and said it out loud. I think that people thought that TWI was bigger than its leadership - and that might have been had it been more Christ centered. However, it wasn't, and that was really the problem all along.

Don't beat yourself up. Did you know about this when you referred to him in this manner? Probably not. What would be sick is continuing to do so after hearing about it. Personally, I thought the adulation for him and leadership bordered on idolatry, but I don't tend to get that sort of thing.

What sort of consequences DID ensue? Seriously, they went about their business pretty much unchallenged, which in and of itself is empowering. There was, IMO, a strong sense of creating a "master race" of "believers" and not much tolerance for those who wouldn't make the cut - like say a schizophrenic. People outside of the mindset were "those people" pretty much not worthy of life, so who gives a sh!t about them?

I am so sorry. I don't know if all of this was deliberate, or if it was a result of people simply not thinking. I would like to hope it was the latter.

and ridiculous. But somehow people got shamed (bullied) into doing the ridiculous.

Which is interesting considering the de-emphasizing of SIT in CES - at least at the local fellowships closest to the home offices. However, they were really into prophecy.

Usually one in the twig/group felt inclined so we could actually see the productions. It was already glaringly apparent that betamax was not going to win the tape wars and I was at a loss as to why TWI chose it. After that, I was (secretly) glad we hadn't spent the money. $800 was a bit much to spend just to watch TWI productions.

All of this is ironic given the admonishment to not get our doctrine from pictures - i.e. the nativity.

I was only in it once. I can barely remember what it looked like. What I can remember is the "valet's" wonder at our car (a new Ford Tempo) as he got in it to park it. I can remember all the brass rails and glass that people were continually cleaning and polishing. That bothered me because I'm sort of along the line of if it's that hard to take care of and keep nice - you don't need it. We were all encouraged (pressured) to become members of the $1k donor's club. Call me hard-hearted - I had/have a hard time giving that kind of money to anything I'm not going to use with any sort of regularity, or that isn't going to help clothe, feed, or shelter someone. There were too many people who were doing without to put money into this kind of extravagance.

Only "a" terrible mistake?

Which only confuses the spiritually mature in WAY-Ville. OMG, I think I may have just invented a new FB app based loosely on farmville.

While telling you that it was your own voice.

With you getting 4 hours of "comp" time, you aren't exactly volunteering. If you do this during work hours, you're not volunteering at all, you're just working somewhere else.

You could literally go through and "block" them. That means they'll never see you and you'll never see them.