HomeARC ML 0143
"PERSONAL VISITS"--Part I--Sin in the Camp--MO December 1971 LTO No.143
PERSONAL NOTES, SUGGESTIONS, AND COMMENTS
1. My Dear Children: Greetings in Jesus' precious name! We've received so many good letters, reports, photos, tapes, etc., from you, that we'd just love to answer them all if we could! SO WE'VE DECIDED TO TAKE A LITTLE TRIP AROUND AND VISIT AS MANY OF YOU COLONIES AS WE CAN IN THIS LETTER! We probably won't be able to see everybody or thank everybody personally for your communications, but at least we'll try to answer some of your most pressing questions and make some needed comments on certain situations. Since I'm following the map before me, I'm going to try to visit you in geographical order as I come to you!--So be patient!--From West to East, then Europe, God Willing!
2. VANCOUVER: Thanks for your thoughtful tapes and other communications, D.Z.! Sounds like you've been doing a good job up there considering how the Devil's stirred up against you! He wouldn't bother you if you were asleep like the churches!--SO THAT'S ANOTHER THING THAT PERSECUTION SIGNIFIES: IT SHOWS YOU'RE REALLY ON THE JOB, WHICH REALLY MAKES THE DEVIL MAD! I'm sorry, however, that we lost Russ, but I don't blame that entirely on you, but on higher leadership who delayed too long in doing what I recommended, to send you a strong, older leader to help you up there, to keep the situation in hand! We walked a mile to the phone a couple of times weeks ago to urgently warn Josh to send you more help immediately or this was bound to happen, but he apparently got too absorbed in Burlington and other things--"BUSY WITH A LITTLE HERE AND THERE UNTIL THE MAN WAS GONE!" YOU'LL FIND THE STORY IN 1KINGS 20! READ IT!
3. Did you find out who was distributing that handbill against us up there! This is very important, and I have asked you before about this! Also, did you turn copies of these tapes of libelous broadcasts against us, over to our lawyers up there for prosecution. Be sure to do so. The same goes for all Colonies who receive a libelous or slanderous attack in any of the news media! Send a copy immediately to your Regional Shepherd for his attention, but we cannot do anything unless you send us, with it, the name and address of the person or persons newspaper, magazine, or broadcasting station that is distributing it! Do this without fail!
4. Please D.Z., and anyone else guilty of the same, do not ever again send us a personal communication [ALERT! CHECK FOR SANITIZATION: in a way that is ] contrary to your communications instructions. See your last Advisory on communications for full details!
5. ALSO, BE SURE SON, THAT IN ANY SHIFTS OF LEADERSHIP WITHIN YOUR COLONY, TRY NOT TO HUMILIATE OLDER LEADERS UNDER YOUNGER ONES! And the same goes for the rest of you! "NOT A NOVICE!" BY DEMOTING AND HUMILIATING OTHER LEADERS TOO MUCH, YOU MAY DISCOURAGE THEM AND LOSE THEM! Amen? GBY!
6. ZADOC, thank you for the new section to the comic book! That would at least improve it. If we can add this to the old ones we took out of circulation, maybe we can now pass them out and get rid of them. Next time I hope they'll produce something more positive instead of so negative. I WISH ALL OF OUR LITERATURE WOULD BE MORE POSITIVE AND LIFT UP JESUS, INSTEAD OF SO MUCH OF IT BEING SO NEGATIVE, SO DOWN ON THE SYSTEM AND ALWAYS AGAINST SOMETHING. MOST PEOPLE KNOW IT'S LOUSY! WHAT THEY NEED IS THE ANSWER! You don't have to tell a guy in jail he's a sinner and a prisoner! What he needs is Salvation and a way out! There's no way out but up! Give them the upward look! JESUS SAID, "IF I BE LIFTED UP I WILL DRAW ALL MEN UNTO ME!" Let's quit looking at the waves, and look up to Jesus, or we'll all sink! This is particularly true in your relations with the outside public and strangers!
READ "PUBLIC RELATIONS" MO LETTER.
7. Glad to hear about your new cabin-camp up there! Sounds like a nice little hideaway for a Babes' Ranch or Study Colony! Tell us more about it! Could be a good emergency retreat also. I AGREE WE NEED A CLASS ON "WHAT TO DO IN CASE OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY" OR EVEN A LOCAL CATASTROPHE.
8. WE ALSO NEED TO LEARN HOW TO HANDLE PHONE CALLS FROM THOSE OPENLINE RADIO TALK SHOWS, so as not to offend or antagonise them by keeping them waiting too long on the phone. By being polite, considerate and cooperative and wise in answering questions, you might be able to use it for good, instead of letting them turn it for evil.
9. BITHIA, thank you for your thoughtful ministry to the Lord's Royal Family! God Bless you!
10. BURLINGTON: Japeth, I'm glad to hear you're working on LT classes. DON'T FORGET TO INCLUDE THE MO LETTERS. MOST OF THEM ARE ALREADY LT CLASSES AND SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN DAILY LT SESSIONS. BUT PLEASE ONLY ONE MO LETTER PER DAY. IF YOU STUFF THEM TOO MUCH THEY'RE APT TO GET INDIGESTION, OR NOT EVEN BE ABLE TO ASSIMILATE ALL THEIR FOOD VALUE. The same goes for all of you Colonies where I've heard you're reading several letters in a row, sometimes all night long. This is too much for anybody to absorb in one sitting without becoming bored or exhausted, please! Give the poor kids a break! DON'T TRY TO CRAM TOO MUCH DOWN THEIR THROATS AT ONE TIME OR THEY MIGHT CHOKE!
LATE REPORTS
11. BURLINGTON CONTINUED: We note that neither you nor Seattle filed your reports in time to make news in either of the last two issues of the newsletters No.7 and 8, Nov. 18 and 26. This is inexcusable. If you didn't happen to make it once in a great while because of some unavoidable delay, it might be understandable, but for both of you to each miss two issues in a row is gross neglect of your duties.
12. May I suggest therefore, that all of you be sure that your reports are mailed at a post office or mailbox where they will be picked up the same day. AND BE SURE THEY ARE AIRMAILED IF COMING FROM ANY GREAT DISTANCE, for, although most mail goes by airmail nowadays if mailed a distance of over 250 miles, nevertheless that which is marked and posted "AIRMAIL" IS SORTED, PICKED UP, AND DELIVERED FIRST, WHICH COULD SAVE A DAY OR TWO OF TIME, so I suggest these reports get in by airmail, please.
13. TO THE NEWSLETTER SECRETARIES: HOWEVER, GIRLS, IF A REPORT SHOULD NOT MAKE IT IN TIME TO MAKE THE CURRENT ISSUE of the Newsletter, PLEASE INCLUDE IT IN THE NEXT ISSUE MARKED "LATE REPORT" and giving its date, SO THAT WE WILL NOT BE TOTALLY WITHOUT INFORMATION on that particular Colony, sometimes possibly for weeks on end because they're always late (like Burlington and Seattle). Also, this total lack of statistics for late reporting Colonies shows up badly in missing statistics, throwing off our overall totals considerably on the minus side, making them quite inaccurate and to our disadvantage, not giving us full credit for what we're actually accomplishing. WE NOTE THAT IN THE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS THE FOLLOWING COLONIES HAVE BEEN SO DELINQUENT and either mailing their reports so late or no report at all, so that they were listed in the Newsletter as not having reported at all: Burlington, Colorado, Seattle, Merkle, Toronto, Essen, El Paso, Chicago, Green Acres, New Orleans, San Diego, Ohio Farm, Atlanta, Miami, New Jersey, Vancouver Camp, Zion, California, Beaumont, Michigan Thumb, Dorion, Cragsmore, Long Island and Scotland; Also possibly Horsmonden. Bermondsey and Grove Park should now each be treated as separate Colonies with separate Shepherds and filled to capacity to take the load off the factory and spread out the disciples, the ministry and the Message by decentralisation. It could be that the Newsletter Secretaries either did not list some of these or the Colonies themselves did not report because they consider themselves so-called SELAH COLONIES, or whereabouts unknown. BUT AS LONG AS THE NAME DOES NOT DEFINE THE EXACT LOCATION, WE CERTAINLY WANT THEM LISTED, THEIR STATISTICS ENUMERATED, AND IT CERTAINLY DOES NOT EXCUSE THEM FROM REPORTING. Please get in those reports, and Newsletter Secretaries, please list them. We want to get as true and accurate a picture of our overall operation as possible. Tks!
14. EVEN IF YOU ARE VISITING ANOTHER COLONY FOR THE WEEK, YOU STILL NEED TO REPORT, please!
15. BUT CERTAINLY YOU BIG COLONIES HAVE NO EXCUSE WHATSOEVER! Again the small Colonies outshine you with their faithfulness and dependability. IF YOU'RE TOO BUSY TO REPORT, YOU'RE TOO BUSY!
16. I ONCE WORKED AT A JOB FOR THIRTEEN YEARS IN WHICH I HAD TO WRITE A LENGTHY DETAILED WEEKLY REPORT OF MY ACTIVITIES, AND I NEVER MISSED A REPORT AND WAS SELDOM EVER LATE!--How much more so WE SHOULD BE FAITHFUL IN REPORTING THE LORD'S WORK! Be faithful stewards! GBY!
17. However, we are receiving reports from Burlington, Seattle, and some of the rest of you which were not listed in the Newsletter, so we don't know what the secretaries problems are on this score, unless you were getting them in late, and therefore thought you didn't have to list them, since they were too late for this week and too old by next week. But on the contrary, we STILL WANT TO SEE THEM LISTED, EVEN IF THEY'RE A WEEK LATE, OR A WEEK BEHIND! Thanks!
REBELLION AGAINST LEADERSHIP--HOW TO DEAL WITH IT.
18. HOWEVER, WE DO HAVE A FEW THINGS TO SAY TO YOU, (BURLINGTON), REGARDING A VERY SERIOUS SITUATION WHICH DEVELOPED THERE RECENTLY AMONGST YOUR LEADERSHIP which was far more serious than the attacks you were suffering from outsiders: INSUBORDINATION AND REBELLION AGAINST LEADERSHIP CANNOT BE COUNTENANCED IN ANY MAN'S ARMY, regardless of who the leadership are and what the problem is! REGARDLESS OF WHAT MISTAKES YOUR LEADERSHIP HAVE MADE AND HOW MANY BALLINGS OUT THEY HAVE RECEIVED FOR THEM, IF THEY CONTINUE TO BE LEFT IN CHARGE BY THEIR OVERSEERS, THEN YOU CONTINUE TO OWE THEM YOUR ALLEGIANCE, RESPECT, AND OBEDIENCE. "To obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry!" (1Sa.15:22,23).
19. WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES, INCLUDING YOU AND ME, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE QUIT RECOGNISING EACH OTHER'S POSITION AND DULY CONSTITUTED AUTHORITY. As they used to tell us in the Army, "You're not saluting the man, but the uniform he wears, the position and authority he bears, and the government he represents. "HONOUR TO WHOM HONOUR IS DUE!" (Ro.13:7) "OBEY THEM THAT HAVE THE RULE OVER YOU IN THE LORD, for they must give an account for your souls!" (He.13:17) To resist their authority and defy the orders of your officers is insubordination, mutiny, and insurrection against the King and the Kingdom they represent and who put them there! See thou do it not!
20. As one of my first under-officers told me once long ago, "I THINK YOU'RE WRONG, BUT YOU'RE STILL THE BOSS, so I'll do what you say!" IF REASONING, DISCUSSION, AND PRAYER WITH YOUR LEADERS IN LOVE, CANNOT CHANGE THEIR MINDS ABOUT SOMETHING YOU DON'T AGREE ON, THEN YOU ARE STILL OBLIGATED TO OBEY THEM WHETHER YOU LIKE IT AND THEM OR NOT. Otherwise you are breaking the chain of cooperation, which is anarchy and will bring chaos!
21. YOUR LEADERS HAVE MADE SOME MISTAKES IN THE PAST, BUT SO HAVE YOU--and I didn't throw you out! YOU'RE STILL MY CHILDREN AND WE MUST STILL WORK TOGETHER FOR HIS KINGDOM and try to learn to do better next time, even by our mistakes. We have scolded them for some of these mistakes, but THIS DOES NOT GIVE YOU ANY EXCUSE FOR DEFYING THEIR AUTHORITY AS THE REGIONAL SHEPHERDS.
22. ANYONE OF YOU LEADERS WHO DOES NOT WANT TO WORK UNDER THEM OR COOPERATE WITH THEM IS FREE TO REQUEST A TRANSFER to some other Region, where possible, but as long as you remain in that Region, you are obliged to give them your full cooperation. ANYONE OF YOU WHO HAS DEFIED THEIR AUTHORITY, PARTICULARLY PUBLICLY, AS I HEAR SOME OF YOU DID, MUST PUBLICLY APOLOGISE TO THE LEADER YOU DEFIED, EVEN IF YOU CHOOSE TO LEAVE, as they still represent the Lord and His leadership. Remember, that whatsoever ye do in word or in deed, you're to do all to the glory of God, not as unto man, but as unto the Lord. If you cannot do this there, I suggest you transfer.
23. ALTHOUGH, IF YOU CAN'T RESPECT AND OBEY YOUR LEADERS IN ONE AREA, HOW CAN WE EXPECT YOU TO DO SO IN ANOTHER? I would therefore suggest, in fact, heartily recommend, that in order to help solve your problem and that of other under leaders elsewhere, and to assist in our present process of decentralisation, that you be given the team of your choice, with whatever vehicles and equipment you need to LAUNCH OUT BY FAITH ON YOUR OWN AND START YOUR OWN COLONY where you can be the boss and have the full responsibility, and KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO TRULY HAVE TO BE A LEADER AND A RESPONSIBLE SHEPHERD WITH THE CONSTANT CARE OF ALL YOUR SHEEP.
24. However, if you have not yet learned how to be a follower, I doubt if you'll make much of a leader. It's one thing to ride the back of your leaders and letting them bear all the load and get all the blame, while you're resting on their faith and the broad shoulders of their responsibility in running the Colony, but IT'S ANOTHER THING TO HAVE TO GET OUT THERE ON YOUR OWN FAITH WITH YOUR OWN COLONY WITH ALL THE RESPONSIBILITY OF SERIOUS DECISIONS, HOUSING, SUPPORT, PROTECTION, ORGANISATION, ETC., WITH NOBODY ELSE TO LEAN ON BUT THE LORD, GETTING VERY LITTLE OF THE CREDIT AND MOST OF THE BLAME!
25. I think this would be very good for you, and some of you have been around long enough that IT'S TIME YOU WERE ON YOUR OWN, LEADING YOUR OWN COLONY ON YOUR OWN FAITH--AND WE NEED TO REDUCE THE SIZE OF SOME OF YOU BIG COLONIES AT ONCE! SO I SUGGEST YOU DO IT NOW IF AT ALL POSSIBLE! DISCUSS IT WITH YOUR LEADERS AND WORK OUT THE DETAILS. If there is already an opening in some other city--fine! If not, in some climates you could camp out until you've pioneered your own, and our prayers and love will go with you as you learn to live by faith--And not riding on somebody else's back while digging your spurs into them!
26. WHOEVER, THEREFORE, HAS CHALLENGED THE LEADERS SUPERVISION should be dealt with immediately, reprimanded before all, apologise, confess, repent, and seek forgiveness and manifestly acknowledge the error of their ways. If the leaders choose to forgive them, and the offending parties wish to remain under their supervision in that Region, they may be kept on PROBATION THERE, IF THEY SO DESIRE! OTHERWISE, LET THEM REQUEST A TRANSFER OR START A NEW COLONY!--AND THE SAME GOES FOR YOU LEADERS WHO HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEMS IN ANY OTHER COLONIES! WE ESPECIALLY ADVISE THAT IF YOU HAVE ANY FORMER COLONY LEADERS NOW WORKING UNDER YOU IN YOUR COLONY, THESE SHOULD BE GIVEN AN IMMEDIATE OPPORTUNITY TO ORGANISE THEIR OWN TEAM TO HIT THE ROAD AND PIONEER A NEW COLONY ELSEWHERE, either where we already have an opening or where we ought to open.
EXCESSES IN THE FLESH--PREVENTION AND CURE.
27. ANOTHER VERY SERIOUS SITUATION WHICH CROPPED UP IN ONE COLONY AS IT HAS RECENTLY IN SOME OTHER COLONIES. IS A SPIRIT OF REVELRY AND PARTYING, even to the point of overindulgence in wine and some other things to the point THAT IT SEEMS TO US THAT SOME OF YOU HAVE BEEN MORE INTERESTED IN PLEASING THE FLESH and enjoying all things that are yours in Christ Jesus more THAN YOU HAVE BEEN CONCERNED ABOUT THE LORD'S KINGDOM, HIS SHEEP, OR LOST SOULS--EVEN TO THE POINT OF NEGLECT OF YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES AS LEADERS, AND CAUSING EVEN SOME OF THE WEAKER BRETHREN TO STUMBLE! THIS IS INTOLERABLE DISORDERLY CONDUCT!
28. SOME OF YOU SEEM TO HAVE FORGOTTEN WHAT YOU JOINED THE ARMY FOR, and I would suggest that like the man who got so busy fixing watches, that you be sent to the front lines where the fighting is hot, the opposition rough, and YOU WON'T HAVE TIME TO DO ANYTHING BUT BATTLE WITH THE ENEMY, INSTEAD OF WITH YOURSELF AND YOUR FELLOW LEADERS! You seem to have forgotten that you are to SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND THEN all these other things will be added unto you! But if you start putting other things first, you are sure to hurt the Kingdom and your own position in it!
29. SO I WOULD SUGGEST THAT ANY LEADERS OR PERSONNEL CAUGHT SO DOING AND INDULGING IN SUCH EXCESSES BE SEVERELY REPRIMANDED, and if the offense is serious enough, PERHAPS EVEN BE REMOVED FROM THEIR POSITION AND SENT BACK FOR FURTHER TRAINING. IF THEY HAVE HURT THEIR INFLUENCE IN THEIR PRESENT COLONY TO SUCH AN EXTENT THAT THEY CAN NO LONGER BE USEFUL THERE, IT WOULD PROBABLY BE BETTER TO TRANSFER THEM TO SOME OTHER COLONY AND DEMOTE THEM to some position of lesser responsibility until they learn their lesson--that WE DID NOT JOIN THIS ARMY TO PLAY GAMES, but to fight a War, which we intend to win, NOT BY SELF-INDULGENCE, BUT BY SELF-SACRIFICE!
30. SUCH PEOPLE NEED TO STUDY THE SCRIPTURE AGAIN WHICH WE GAVE RECENTLY IN THE HEADING OF OUR LETTER "LOOKING UNTO JESUS," PARTICULARLY ROMANS 14! ANY SUCH OFFENDERS OUGHT TO HAVE TO MEMORISE SOME OF THESE PASSAGES ON THE SUBJECT! We're beginning to wonder if some of you really care about evangelising the youth of the world, or are you just here to enjoy communal life and indulge in special privileges and excesses of personal fellowship! Your lack of wisdom along these lines has even CAUSED SOME OF THE YOUNGER ONES TO STUMBLE and ask if you can do what you're doing, why can't they indulge in extramarital sex and smoke grass! What's the difference?! I'll tell you what the difference is: YOU'D ALL BETTER FORGET YOUR LITTLE PLEASURE TRIPS AND GET BUSY WORKING FOR THE LORD AND THE SALVATION OF LOST YOUTH AND THE INTENSIVE TRAINING OF YOUR TROOPS for the BATTLES AHEAD, OR YOU'RE GOING TO GO DOWN AS A CASUALTY BECAUSE OF YOUR OWN WEAKNESS in displeasing God and losing His blessing! Amen?
31. LET'S GET BACK TO WORK AT WHAT WE JOINED THE ARMY FOR! THIS IS ANOTHER REASON WHY WE NEED TO BREAK UP THESE BIG COLONIES WHERE TOO MANY PEOPLE ARE RIDING COMFORTABLY and indulging along on someone else's faith! GET 'EM OUT THERE ON THE FIRING LINE ON A ROAD TEAM, OR PIONEERING A NEW LITTLE COLONY, and that'll get them so desperate with God and so busy with His Work and so occupied with caring for His Sheep that THEY WON'T HAVE TIME FOR ANY OF THIS FOOLISHNESS!
32. As we've so often said, THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS GOD COULD GIVE US IF WE COULD BE TRUSTED with them! But if you can't be trusted as a good steward with a ministry, a responsibility, a Message, a method, money, health, popularity, power, or freedom, etc., God's apt to take these things away from you entirely until you learn your lesson! Salvation is your right, and you can demand it, but the special privileges of HIS SERVICE AND THESE OTHER THINGS ARE A PRIVILEGE, a blessing, and a reward, and can be withdrawn from you at any time by the Lord if you are abusing it, instead of using it for His Glory! So beware!
33. ACHAN'S THEFT--ONE LITTLE WEDGE OF GOLD--CAUSED ISRAEL TO LOSE AN ENTIRE BATTLE and many lives, and finally cost him his own life and that of his family! (Joshua 7) SIN IN THE CAMP CAN CAUSE THE LORD TO WITHDRAW HIS PROVISION, FRUITFULNESS AND PROTECTION AND RESULT IN SERIOUS DEFEATS! IF YOU DO NOT REPENT QUICKLY, COME BACK TO YOUR FIRST LOVE, AND REPEAT YOUR FIRST WORKS, He can remove your candlestick from its place, even cut you off from the land of the living, and from the fellowship of your brethren! BETTER TO GET RID OF ONE ROTTEN APPLE than have it cause the whole barrelfull to spoil! And the Lord will do it if you don't watch out!
34. NO WONDER SOME OF OUR HOME COLONIES ARE HAVING SO MUCH TROUBLE, financial difficulties, and suffering inroads of the Enemy! GOD CANNOT PROTECT YOU, PROSPER OR BLESS YOU WHEN YOU ARE OUT OF HIS WILL AND RUNNING AROUND OUTSIDE OF THE SECRET PLACE AND FROM UNDER HIS SHADOW--His Wings--and His Fortress of perfect fellowship with Him! WHEN YOU DO THIS, YOU CAN NO LONGER CLAIM THE PROTECTIONS AND DEFENSES OF PSALM 91, AND HE MAY EVEN LET YOU FALL A PREY TO THE ENEMY, like Lot, because you're playing around with fire and living so close to Enemy territory! You'd better read some of the warnings He gave the churches in Revelation, chapters 2 and 3! There's still time! Repent! Go thou and sin no more, lest a worse thing befall thee!
STEALING--BORROWING WITHOUT PERMISSION--PREVENTION AND CURE
35. ANOTHER ABUSE OF YOUR SO-CALLED FREEDOM, which I must caution you about, is the perverted idea that some of you seem to have about having all things in common. WE BELIEVE IN VOLUNTARY SHARING, NOT COMPULSORY SHARING! If you choose to voluntarily share your pen or Bible or guitar or some item of clothing with someone who needs it, this is genuine Christian love, unselfishness, and self-sacrifice! But snatching a brother's pen or other materials which have been given him for his use-- snatching it when he's not looking and doesn't know who got it, and EVEN BORROWING WITHOUT RETURNING, IS JUST PLAIN THEFT OR STEALING, INCLUDING BORROWING WITHOUT PERMISSION!
36. WE ARE NOT LIKE THE COMMUNISTS WHO SAY, "WHAT'S YOURS IS MINE, AND I'M GOING TO TAKE IT AWAY from you at the point of a gun!" But we are Christians--the Children of God, who say, "What's mine is yours, and I want to share it with you"! But TAKING ANYTHING FROM ANYWHERE OR ANYONE WITHOUT THE OWNER'S KNOWLEDGE OR PERMISSION IS JUST PLAIN STEALING, FORBIDDEN BY THE LORD! We have even had some potential DISCIPLES GO BACK BECAUSE OF YOUR LACK OF LOVE ALONG THIS LINE! One idealistic Presbyterian minister became disillusioned with us, disappointed in you, and felt you didn't really love him and he could no longer enjoy our fellowship, because someone stole his clothing right off his bed! That was stealing, Brother!--And God's going to hold you responsible!
37. CONTRARY TO WHAT SOME OF OUR ENEMIES HAVE REPORTED OF US, WE DO NOT TEACH, MUCH LESS PRACTICE THAT YOU CAN DO ANYTHING IN THE NAME OF JESUS AS LONG AS IT'S FOR THE LORD! It's still stealing, no matter what you call it, if you took it or kept it without the owner's permission! If you need it, and haven't got one, and you know your brother doesn't need it, then HUMBLY ASK HIM PERSONALLY IF YOU CAN BORROW IT, USE IT, TAKE IT, OR KEEP IT--BUT DON'T STEAL IT!
38. WE KICKED A GUY OUT OF ONE OF OUR FIRST COLONIES ONCE, FOR STEALING A JAR OF PEANUT BUTTER, for which he refused to repent, and which he denied and hid under his bed and which we only found by forcible search! We told him if he would confess it, repent, and produce it, we would forgive him, but if we had to search his stuff to find it without his help, he would be cut off from amongst his brethren--and he was! I understand this has become very common in some Colonies, contrary to our earlier hard-line against such practices! Brethren, these things ought not so to be!
39. ONCE AGAIN, AND FROM NOW ON, AS BEFORE, IF ANYTHING IS MISSING IN YOUR COLONY AND NO ONE SEEMS TO KNOW WHERE IT IS, AND NO ONE CONFESSES THAT HE HAS IT, IF YOU HAVE TO STOP EVERYTHING with FASTING AND PRAYER AND A DILIGENT SEARCH UNTIL YOU FIND IT, you should do so! First, give them a chance to confess and produce it, but if they refuse to do so, search everyone on the premises and all of their things thoroughly until you find it, and deal with the thief accordingly! IT IS ALSO EVERY MEMBER'S DUTY TO REPORT ANY SUCH THEFT OR VIOLATION OF ANY OTHER RULES BY ANY OTHER MEMBER! OTHERWISE, YOU YOURSELF ARE AN ACCESSORY TO THE CRIME AND ALSO GUILTY! When the ITEM HAS BEEN FOUND AND THE CULPRIT EXPOSED, HE SHOULD BE SEVERELY DISCIPLINED, CONFESS AND REPENT OR BE DISMISSED FROM THE COLONY UNTIL HE DOES! SO SHOULD IT BE IN ALL COLONIES!
40. THIS ALSO INCLUDES ANY SO-CALLED "SPOILING OF THE SYSTEM" on the outside, without the System's permission! Remember, the Israelites asked permission of the Egyptians to borrow their gold and jewels when leaving, only while they were gone, Egypt and the Egyptians were destroyed and they couldn't return them across the Red Sea! But GOD'S WORD SAYS THAT WE ARE TO PROVIDE ALL THINGS HONEST TOWARD THEM THAT ARE WITHOUT, THAT THE MINISTRY BE NOT BLAMED (2Co.6:3; 8:21) and so that you do not bring reproach on the cause of Christ as well as the name Children of God!
41. THIS ALSO INCLUDES YOUR FAILURE TO RETURN BORROWED ITEMS WITHIN THE SPECIFIED AND PROMISED TIME AND YOUR FAILURE TO PAY BILLS OR DEBTS THAT YOU RIGHTFULLY OWE! You are to owe no man anything, save to love him. This also includes, of course, wife- or husband-stealing ! God's word says, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his ass," or even her ass. It's still stealing, Brother or Sister--So stop it! NOW! Remember, love worketh no ill to his neighbour! "How canst thou contrive evil against thy neighbour seeing that he thinketh that he dwelleth safely by thee?" (Pro.3:29) "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself!" (Le.19:18)
42. I used to have a teacher, when I was a kid in school, who said YOU SHOULDN'T TEMPT PEOPLE to steal, either, by LEAVING YOUR STUFF LYING AROUND where it shouldn't be, or you're almost as guilty as they are!--And that ought to include your wife or husband, too! And that includes Go-Go girls. I said something recently about some of our bands having some nice pretty dancing girls, and made the mistake of calling them Go-Go girls before I really knew what a Go-Go girl was--and some of you took me literally, which was a little humbling for the girls and a little hard on the single brethren! Please let's not be guilty of indecent exposure or pornography! Not that there's anything wrong with nudity or the way God made your body at the right time with the right person in right place, like with your mate in bed! So, watch it!
43. WELL, ONE COLONY, HASN'T BEEN GUILTY OF ALL THESE THINGS, NECESSARILY, BUT ONE SUBJECT SORT OR LED TO ANOTHER, AND SOME OF THESE ADMONITIONS HAVE BEEN NEEDED FOR A LONG TIME! And that sort of naturally leads me to the next subject about babies and children:
DECENTRALISATION OF NURSERIES AND SCHOOL--HOW TO
44. WHEN WE ONLY HAD ONE COLONY and were all living there together, including parents and children, the communal nursery seemed to work out O.K. Parents could keep their children in the nursery in the care of a few girls, while they themselves could be freed thereby to do other work. The parents were also close enough to spend plenty of time with their children!
45. But now that we have so many Colonies so far from each other, it does not seem fair or good for the parents of the children or those that have to take care of them to have parents and children so widely separated that they do not even get to see each other very often! This seems particularly true of the babies and toddlers who need a great deal of care and attention and love and who often miss their parents very much when separated for so long a time!
46. IT IS ALSO UNFAIR TO EXPECT ONE COLONY TO BEAR THE BURDEN OF THE CARE OF MOST OF THE CHILDREN UNLESS THEY ARE OF SCHOOL-AGE AND THAT COLONY HAS OUR ONLY SCHOOL, in which case I still think that each major Area should have its own school, so that the parents even get to see these older children more often! Also, there has been some question raised by the authorities regarding the lack of parental custody or written permission from the parents for the custody of some of the children in the hands of the Nursery or School, which could cause trouble!
47. Therefore, I recommend that all children under Montessori school age be returned immediately to their parents to be cared for either by them or a nursery set up in their own colony where the parent is present or nearby! Otherwise it is possible that the authorities might claim abandonment or neglect and take custody of the children even to the point of declaring the parents unfit for custody because of same!
48. PARENTS WHO WISH TO LEAVE THEIR CHILDREN IN OUR SCHOOL MUST IMMEDIATELY SEND NOTARISED WRITTEN PERMISSION for the same in order to avoid difficulties with authorities! Even this may not be acceptable if the authorities in the state where it is presently located for some reason fail to grant us a license, which they require for such a childcare centre, or fail to recognise our school, both of which are still pending!
49. SO I SUGGEST THAT EITHER THESE CHILDREN MUST BE SENT IMMEDIATELY TO THEIR PARENTS, OR THE PARENTS TRANSFERRED TO WHERE THE CHILDREN ARE to avoid serious difficulties which might ensue, even to the loss of your children! This is an emergency and must be attended to immediately! We have stalled the authorities off as long as possible and now this move must be made without delay!-- before it's too late! Parents please take action on this at once! The poor nursery girls are already overloaded, and this will also relieve their situation; as so few seem to have the burden for the care of the children, you parents are going to have to take care of them yourselves or organise your own nursery in your own Colony or your own school in your own Area! This includes Europe! Some of the Colonies there seem fairly well established now, and as large as they are should have their own nursery and school, and seem to already have some available personnel for same--and I don't think the climate there could be any worse than it now is in the Northwest!
50. CHILDCARE IS A HIGHLY SPECIALISED AND SACRIFICIAL CALLING and our nursery girls have done an heroic job under very difficult and overburdening conditions, but it is now time to decentralise the nursery operation also, and perhaps the school, too and spread this responsibility a little more evenly amongst the parents and other Colonies and other nursery girls! The trained ones that we now have could perhaps not only deliver your children to you, but also help you organise your own nursery and maybe even travel from Colony to Colony training other nursery girls, as well as midwives! Perhaps Rachel could head this programme, as she seems to have the burden for it! God bless you, Girls! You've done a great job! Now here's an even bigger one! We must expand our horizons, so our growth will be unlimited, including the increase of our population by natural childbirth! Hallelujah! Let's get moving!
51. THE NATURAL CHILDBIRTH VIDEOTAPE of (Becca) having her baby was beautiful, wonderful, thrilling, and nearly perfect, with excellent, informative instructions and a vivid illustration of how to handle it! Perhaps one of our top midwives could also travel from Colony to Colony as various births are due teaching the local girls the fine art of midwifery, one of the world's most ancient professions, thousands of years old, and first found mentioned in the Book of Exodus and Genesis. Perhaps Rachel could handle this job also, along with her setting up of nurseries and training of nursery girls in the individual Colonies. Decentralisation!
52. And if the authorities there will not recognise our present school, perhaps the teachers could have a bus and a couple of teachers and take them on the road as our mobile school Colony, moving from Colony to Colony as the need may warrant! Travel in itself is quite an education! In most States, you can be a visitor, or tourist, with your children, for at least three months before you are counted as a resident and forced to put them in public school! Our mobile school could easily meet these requirements! There is such a mobile school operating now in the Mediterranean on a ship, travelling from port to port and supported by wealthy parents! What an education! Let's get this show on the road! That's the way I used to teach mine and kept them out of public school--And look at the results! It's a Revolution! How about that for a solution?!
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54. WHICH REMINDS ME, NEVER INVITE OFFICIALS IN AND ASK THEM TO TELL YOU WHAT STANDARDS THEY WANT YOU TO MEET on your building, school, childcare centre, etc. Don't worry! As soon as they find you have one, they'll probably be in there anyhow telling you what to do! But if you invite them, you're just apt to encourage them to volunteer more standards than you can meet! If you must, go to them and ask them personally what their minimum requirements are for such a school, etc.
PRACTICAL POINTERS ON BUSES, EPILEPTICS, TRAVELLING CREDENTIALS, AND VIGILS
55. SPEAKING OF BUSES some of you are also badly in need of buses! But for goodness sake, don't expect the Colony where you're trying to dump a load of your personnel to send you an empty bus to pick them up in, thus having to make a long distance trip of several thousand miles! Delapidated buses could not even stand such a trip one way. So let's have a little common sense and don't expect the impossible if we can help it! ALSO, WATCH OUT FOR EXHAUST FUMES IN THE BACK OF YOUR BUS! THEY CAN KILL OR MAKE YOU AWFUL SICK! PASSENGERS, REPORT SUCH FUMES IMMEDIATELY TO YOUR DRIVER, and Driver, have that exhaust pipe repaired, or those back windows closed so your exhaust is not sucked back into your vehicle! And (Saulo), thank God He has blessed you with the means to buy a bus for your little (El Paso) Colony!--So by all means do so, and save the balance for your rent! And BE SURE YOU HAVE A DRIVER WHO KNOWS HOW TO DRIVE A LARGE VEHICLE WITH ALL THE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS NECESSARY! That goes for all of you! Driving a bus or truck is not like driving a car, and requires much more care, prayer, caution, planning, and attention, as I've said before! Be sure you have a good mechanic who knows something about buses and their value to help you pick out your bus!
56. By the way (Shem), that was not carbon monoxide poisoning, but SOUNDED MORE LIKE AN EPILEPTIC FIT! Exhaust fumes put you quietly to sleep, slowly, and not suddenly, make you drowsy, and you just shut your eyes and go to sleep forever! WHEREAS EPILEPTICS KEEL OVER SUDDENLY, USUALLY WITH THEIR EYES WIDE OPEN, AND STARING, SOMETIMES WITH THEIR FACE DISTORTED, FROTHING AT THE MOUTH, AND OFTEN WRITHING ON THE FLOOR, DEPENDING ON THE DEGREE OF DEMON POSSESSION! So watch out! And it could be, as I have known in the past, SOME EPILEPTICS DON'T GET THE VICTORY BECAUSE THEY'RE ASHAMED TO FACE THE FACTS AND CONFESS THEIR NEEDS! REMEMBER YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CAST OUT DEMONS in the Name of Jesus, and if they really want to be delivered. He will deliver them, Praise the Lord!
57. AND SPEAKING OF PEOPLE TRAVELLING AROUND, WE OUGHT TO ISSUE THEM SOME KIND OF CREDENTIALS, PERSONAL RECORDS, OR THEIR PERSONAL REPORT CARD, just like you need in going from school to school containing their name, record, and all pertinent personal data, as well as signed travel orders from the Colony of origin to the Colony of destination authorising the trip! Otherwise, they SHOULD NOT BE ACCEPTED AT ANY COLONY WHERE THEY ARRIVE WITHOUT PROPER CREDENTIALS OR WITHOUT CHECKING WITH WHO SENT THEM! I notice some of you are prone to ship off people from one place to another, sometimes without even getting the permission of the other Colony to accept them, and without any case history on them whatsoever, which has caused considerable difficulty in some cases! LET'S START ISSUING SUCH PAPERS IMMEDIATELY! NO MORE OF THIS OR HAVING SOMEBODY ARRIVING AT A COLONY SAYING, SO AND SO SENT ME, UNLESS THEY'RE CARRYING WITH THEM WRITTEN, SIGNED ORDERS!
58. ALSO, LET ME WARN YOU COLONIES WHO MAY BE PLANNING VIGILS: God told us to so vigil in sackcloth, ashes, yokes, and rods! But you'd better be sure you're also led of the Lord in where you vigil and to whom: Not to Systemites, but to the youth, or you may find you're just wasting your time or even causing yourself serious trouble in arousing the ire of the System!
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family}
