PERSECUTION JEWELS!--No.13!      DO 2912  Comp.2/94

Our Enemies' Criticisms of the Family
(This is a letter that was sent to Pearl and others involved in her court case:)
         1. (From Mama:) We're especially praying for you during these trying times of our enemies barraging you with this attempt at vicious legal deprogramming, with all of the worst material that could possibly be thrown at you hour after hour, day after day. It cannot help but affect you. And if you don't stay very close to the Lord and in the Word, you'll not be armed with anything to counteract it. As you well know, there is much more to come. Everybody and everything and every subject and every location will be attacked until they make the Family out to be the worst, the most evil, the most damaging place to be in the whole world!
         2. Our enemies usually relate lurid accounts of life in the Family that directly contradict the accounts of those who are still within the Family, and even some who are not. It reminds me of how almost everything in life can be seen in more than one way. If one's attitude and heart are not right and are evil, then everything looks evil. For example, Mene didn't conclude she was "abused" until she was told that after she left the Family, upon entering Bible college. Other former members who are now detractors also claim that they didn't think they were abused or confused while they were in the Family. They don't usually come up with such claims until after they've been in contact with professional deprogrammers, anti-cult psychiatrists, etc.
         3. It's a little like Dad has said how even Heaven, as wonderful as it is, would be criticized, condemned and murmured against by some people if they were allowed to go there. Everything is colored by your heart and your attitudes. And what for some people is a beautiful experience, for others is just the opposite. Almost everything in life is interpreted differently by different people--from the very smallest inconsequential details, to the greatest principles. What is a delightfully fragrant perfume to one woman may be a complete turnoff to another. What is received as an act of love by one person may be looked upon as an act of lust by another, depending upon their attitude (Luke 6:45 and Mat.6:22,23).
         4. There are also the sacrifices which this kind of a life for the Lord demands--the discipline and the suffering that Jesus promises to those who follow Him closely. And, unlike the things mentioned above, these things don't look good to any of us. When they come along, we cringe and try to avoid them. Some accept them, knowing that it will please Him Who hath called us to be soldiers and will fit us for the life to come, but others turn away, like the rich young ruler, too attracted to the things of this life to be able to see the glories of the next.
         5. Christians through the ages have often resisted the strong call for obedience and sacrifice given in the Bible. They haven't liked the "spare the rod and spoil the child" principle in training up their children, nor the idea of giving up your life to save another, nor Jesus' proclamation that, "He that forsaketh not all that he hath, cannot be My disciple" (Luk.14:33). Obviously, many of those who heard Jesus "went back and walked no longer with Him," unable to take His "hard sayings" (Jn.6:60,66). He couldn't even tell His disciples many things, because, He said, "they were unable to bear them" (Jn.16:12).
         6. So when those who have committed themselves to a life of discipleship and have started down that path decide that the demands are too great, it is only natural that they should then speak hatefully against those requirements, to try to justify their decision to go back. And the whole world is all too eager to agree with them, as they have long ago rejected the truth of God's Word and turned so greatly against it that they not only view it as inconsequential and even ridiculous, old-fashioned and not applicable to today's world, but they even brand the principles and instruction of God's Word as inappropriate, injurious or even downright immoral. However, God's Word says, "Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil, that put darkness for light and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter" (Isa.5:20).
         7. Then there is the whole area of actual mistakes that former Family leaders have made, things that were done that were unwise, immature and unloving, that you can be sure that these backsliders will play to the hilt. Every single mistake that anyone in the Family has ever made will be portrayed in great color and detail. But don't forget to remind yourself that the Family has been comprised of thousands upon thousands of people over the years, all of whom were imperfect, all of whom made mistakes, all of whom could not be controlled by anyone at the top, but were free moral agents, and who interpreted things in their own ways and acted upon their own interpretations.
         8. The "accusers of the saints" are only interested in pointing to the "buttons off the vest," and not all the wonderful, positive attributes of the Family, whose value is inestimable and which makes the problems or mistakes of Family members seem infinitesimal when seen in the proper perspective and through God's eyes--Who, unlike our detractors, doesn't condemn or criticize us for past mistakes, but instead encourages us to "sin no more" and get on with the great job that He has for us to do, which is much more important to Him than our weaknesses, frailties and failings. After all, imperfect human beings are the only ones He has to do the job, He didn't make any other kind.
         9. The problem is, when you're hearing only from the enemies, you don't get any comparison between the bad and the good. All you hear is the bad. This is only a forum for the problems and the mistakes and the grievances, where they are put under a microscope and magnified to gigantic proportions. Moreover, the problems and the wrongs and the grievances that these people recount, even though some are genuine, are critiqued and evaluated and interpreted with evil, bitter intent, misinterpreted and distorted with vengeful, hateful spirits bent on revenge and destruction.
         10. You'll have to continually remind yourself under this vicious, diabolical barrage, that even the "truth" included in their testimonies is not truth, because it has been subjected to their bitter, hateful interpretation and distortion.
         11. Also keep in mind that "the Devil is a liar and the father of lies," and his "expertise" is a whole range of untruth--not only outright lies, but deception, evasion, innuendo, insinuation, misinterpretation and distortion. So don't let him or his cohorts get through to you. Refuse to accept what he is trying to do to you--the doubts he is trying to fill your mind with. Hang on to the Word as though your life depended upon it, for it does.
         12. Remember that even Jesus, Who was perfect and the most loving Man Who ever lived, had associates and contacts who, though they knew Him well, were bent on destroying Him through whatever means they had at their disposal--through lies, through misinterpretations, through distortions of His actions and message. What was good and Godly and beautiful and pure to His friends was evil and Satanic and ugly and impure to His enemies. The Bible says, "Unto the pure all things are pure, but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure, but even their mind and conscience is defiled" (Titus 1:15).
         13. Don't ever get into thinking, "Well, if we hadn't done this and we hadn't done that, or if we hadn't had this doctrine, or if we hadn't made that mistake, we wouldn't be in this big mess." Remember that Jesus never made any mistakes, never did anything wrong, never was unwise or unloving--yet He was subjected to the same censure, the same criticism, the same vitriolic attacks. He was tempted in all points as we are. So look unto Him, the Author and Finisher of your faith, Who endured the cross, despising the shame, and is now in Heaven with His Father, as you too will be some day when this life's battle is over and you can receive your reward for having fought a good fight and for having kept the faith.
         14. We love you so much and are proud of you, our frontline soldiers, who are strong in His power and His might and who have put on the whole armor of God, that you may withstand these attacks of the Evil One. May you continue to be strengthened in the inner man and go from strength to strength, not fearing their faces, nor the darkness around you.--But seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and keeping your eyes on His face and your hand in His hand.--With much love, prayers and admiration, Mama, for Dad and Mama.

The Sensitive Subject of Change!
         15. (From Mama:) The whole subject of change is a rather sensitive one in our court cases and with outsiders, and they can "get you" coming or going. If you prove that you have changed, do change and are willing to change your methods and policies, then they can say that you're unstable; they don't know what you're going to do next, and maybe you'll change back to what you used to be like. If you try to prove how stable and consistent you are and that you don't change excessively, then they'll try to say that there are a lot of things in the Family that you need to change and therefore they can't expect you to change.
         16. On any subject they attack us on, they can approach it from whichever side we're not on, and make anything look bad. So let's just keep on doing and saying what the Lord wants, and He will help us look good to those who want and need the truth about us. His good will shine through the darkness of their lies!
         17. Someone told us that they're trying to find out if we can be found to be willing to change, and not just for the purpose of putting on a good face to the public! Goodness gracious, I don't know of anyone who loves change more than Dad! We all know that he is constantly changing things, and his changes are always for a purpose and for the better. If one thing doesn't work, he'll immediately try something else, and if that doesn't work, he will have another idea.
         18. Some of these theologians have a funny idea of God! I guess they take the verse, "I am the Lord, I change not," and broaden that to not only mean that He doesn't change, but that He never changes anything else either! And they certainly don't think God ever changes His mind, although it is plain in the Bible that He has and does change His mind.
         19. These theologians need to realize that not only is change one of our tenets or doctrines, but so is simplicity. As far as change, almost everything in the Word indicates the need for change: "Pressing toward the mark for the prize," "running the race that is set before us," "fighting the good fight of faith." All of these action words signify movement and change. And as far as simplicity is concerned, the Bible says, "Except you become as a little child, you can in no wise enter the Kingdom of Heaven," and "without faith it is impossible to please Him." Faith comes from the heart and bypasses the mind. Too bad they just don't present us like this, instead of trying to make us so complicated!


Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family