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SUGGESTIONS!--MO November 1, 1971 NO.124

WHO IS TO BE TRUSTED AS A LEADER

To All My Dear Children Around The World: Greeting in Jesus Precious Name!
1. LEADERS: WHEN WE ADDRESS A LETTER TO LEADERS ONLY, WE MEAN the Shepherd and his wife and his immediate staff of his TOP MOST TRUSTED LEADERS WHO CAN TAKE THE REAL HEAVY STUFF, including shocking revelations, radical revolutionary information, sharp criticism of bad mistakes, the worst kind of bad news and drastic and fanatical changes, etc.--the real strong meat for very mature brothers and sisters who can take almost anything without being offended. This should be you and your top staff members, the inner circle of spiritual mothers and fathers who are not going to stumble no matter what happens! You will have to ask the Lord to lead you as to who.

QUALIFICATIONS TO BE A LEADERSHIP TRAINEE

2. LEADERSHIP TRAINEES: Commonly known as Older Brothers. The age and quality of these will vary according to Colony and country, so we have found that we cannot set any definite age limit as to length of service. What it takes to do in about six months here in the States, it only seems to take a few weeks in other countries, as even our Babes abroad seem more mature and trustworthy, sincere and dedicated, and already more accustomed to responsibility and hard work than the average happy go lucky, spoiled, egotistical and easy-going American kid who's never known what it is to have to make his own way, or help his father in the business at an early age, or her mother care for the house and a large family and do heavy cooking and hard work like most young people in most foreign countries, or should I say, countries other than the U.S.!
3. WE HAVE FOUND THAT MOST YOUNG PEOPLE IN COUNTRIES OTHER THAN THE U.S.A. have a seriousness which goes with a sobering sense of near poverty, or at least not riches, and a humility from knowing that their nation is not the richest and most powerful on earth, and cannot push people around like the Ugly Americans. Most of them are still seeking answers, instead of thinking they know it all, like the affluent American Systemite kids. They have seen war, terror, hardship, deprivation, separation, poverty, dictatorships, and even hunger and suffering. So they know all the horrors of the end results or the modern so-called civilized System,--so they're not cocky about it as so many young Americans who have never known these things!
4. Neither have our BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN MOST OF THE REST OF THE WORLD been so familiar with the pampering hands of indulgent worshipful parents who have babied them from the cradle to immaturity, even still running after them long after they have come of age, to try to smother them with over- protectiveness, and a selfish display of inordinate affection! So that children in most other countries of the world have grown up in fairly large families where selfishness was nearly impossible, sharing commonplace, hard work compulsory, and responsibility a necessity, and the sobering seriousness of facing a very uncertain future!
5. THEREFORE, YOU LEADERS OF EACH COLONY WILL HAVE TO DETERMINE ACCORDING TO THE ACTUAL QUALITY AND THE AMOUNT OF RESPONSIBILITY WITH WHICH THEY CAN BE TRUSTED as far as the age or spiritual experience of your Leadership Trainees or Older Brothers are concerned, and this includes sisters also, as this may vary greatly from Colony to Colony and country to country. Therefore letters addressed to Leadership Trainees may be read to whomever you think is able to handle them, according to their quality and maturity and responsibility in your particular Colony.
6. KEEP IN MIND PARTICULARLY IN THIS RESPECT THE VERY IMPORTANT MATTER OF SECURITY as to what these Trainees will be hearing and whether you think they are strong enough, mature enough, loyal enough, and faithful enough not to backslide with possibly dangerous or damaging information, which they might turn over to the System to use against us, as some have recently. Time is great tester; therefore, usually the longer they've been with us, the more likely you are to be able to trust them, although this is not always true in every case. As a general rule, Leadership Trainees would not be Leadership Trainees unless they had already passed this initial test and entrusted training for positions of leadership themselves.

POLICY ON SECURITY OF BOOKS OF MO LETTERS AND NOTEBOOKS

7. NOTEBOOKS AND BOOKS OF MO LETTERS: It is therefore vitally and legally essential that all notebooks given to new Trainees, especially Babes, be PLAINLY MARKED "PROPERTY OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD--MUST NOT BE REMOVED FROM COLONY WITHOUT PERMISSION!" It might even be well to have them checked in at night before retiring, at the secretary's office, and KEPT UNDER LOCK AND KEY UNTIL CHECKED OUT in the morning, AND PERHAPS ALSO DURING WITNESSING, WHEN THEY SHOULD ONLY CARRY A BIBLE--TO PREVENT LOSS OR THEFT BY CARELESSNESS OR BACKSLIDING. There have been some serious losses in this regard, and some of our materials are now being used against us by the Enemy. Some of our statements therein when taken out of context and twisted, could have damaging results. But if these now misused notebooks and books of letters had been properly marked as our property, we could charge those so using them with theft, therefore somewhat discrediting their stolen use by an obvious thief, if not actually helping us to repossess them. So mark those notebooks just like the hymnbooks of a church, and make them leave them in the Colony at all times. We've discovered most of our backsliders usually slip away at night or while out witnessing, so checking them in at night and making them leave them at home may help prevent this. I would say this goes for all Babes and even Leadership Trainees. This might also help them get more sleep, instead of studying half the night! If they need to read something during these checked in hours, they can read their Bibles and memorize verses! Praise the Lord! If you're following the proposed "Schedules", all-night study should not be necessary. Rest is essential to our rigorous life, so "abuse not the temple"!

TIPS ON CHECKING ON BABES

8. BABES: These, of course, are your new disciples, new trainees, who have not yet reached the status of Leadership Trainee. BE PARTICULARLY CAUTIOUS ABOUT THE MATERIALS THAT YOU GIVE THEM in print, that it is only that which is designed for Babes, and that no materials, classified for Leadership Trainees Only fall into their hands until they are proven LT's themselves, especially MO Letters! Some of these of a highly critical nature could be misused to our disadvantage. Remember also, that as a matter of security, no new disciple, if he's a genuine sincere disciple should object to a thorough search of both his person and his belongings before he enters a new Colony for any items which might be incriminating or dangerous to your Colony, such as drugs, weapons, or pornographic materials, etc. Better safe than sorry! A responsible leader should also check him or her out thoroughly as to their spiritual experience, as we have discovered some babes in some Colonies who are not even saved yet! A word to the wise is sufficient! We still also cannot accept underage children without written, and preferably notarized permission, nor those with legal problems which might endanger your whole Colony. Again, I say, we cannot risk the whole Army for one soldier's personal problems!

WINNING AND TRAINING LEADERS IS OUR MAIN TASK

9. ALSO REMEMBER THAT WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR LEADERS, AND THIS IS OUR PRINCIPAL PURPOSE at this stage. We must have quality more than quantity. If we have quality now, the quantity is bound to come in the future. Just to rake in all the riffraff off the streets to give them free room and board is not our goal. Even though Jesus' disciples were unlearned and ignorant men, they were everyone a potential leader, as proven afterward. If we get ourselves so loaded down with Babes now, who are never going to be leaders, we're going to find our hands full with orphanages and nurseries and schools for the retarded, like the churches, instead of Officers' Training school developing a qualified cadre to lead a worldwide spiritual Revolution!

LEADERS NOT TO MARRY BABES

10. This is another reason why LEADERS SHOULD NOT MARRY BABES unless they have unusually strong leadership potential, which is obvious and already in use. This has already caused problems for some of our best leaders! "Not a novice"! Experience is still the best teacher and no one should be placed in a position of top leadership or even near the top unless they've already had considerable time and experience in other positions of leadership.

NO ONE TO LEAD WITHOUT TRAINING AND APPROVAL

11. We were horrified to discover recently that a number of near Babes had been left in charge of Colonies, either by accident, emergency, or actual appointment because of a leadership shortage. NO ONE SHOULD BE LEFT IN CHARGE OF ANY COLONY, HOWEVER SMALL, MUCH LESS LARGE ONES, WHO HAVE NOT BEEN WITH US AT LEAST A YEAR AS A GENERAL RULE, AND HAVE ALREADY WORKED NEAR THE TOP AS A TOP leader's assistant, or proven himself in a position of heavy responsibility already in some Colony. We have even had some good men to backslide who were put in positions of too great responsibility, whose pressure they just couldn't handle, and one even ran away after being appointed to such a job because he knew better than the leader who appointed him that he was not qualified for it!
12. Some men may make good top sergeants or executive right hands and still not be able to stand the full pressure of total responsibility without immediate supervision! Don't expect too much!

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