By MariaMaria #583 CM/FM 3364 9/01

Dear Family‚

1. As you've read in the previous parts of this series, the Lord is doing all He can to pre­serve the Family as we know it, so we'll still be a revolution in the years to come, rather than getting lost in the maze and morass of the church system. Some of the points covered so far are:

2. • The CM Family needs to be a sample of full-time discipleship so the new members who join as a result of the Activated program will be believers who are following the teachings to the best of their ability, not lukewarm members like the millions of sick sheep in the church system.

3. • The Lord warned of a coming purge of some kind if those who are compromising don't change or move on. This purge would be brought about either by more apostates' wild stories, or by actual persecution from the media or authorities. That means get rid of the compromises in your life and Home, and if you don't want to be in the CM Family, move on to another place of service, either in the FM Family or the churches.

4. • All need to be delivered from the spirit of lethargy.

5. • We must overcome the destructive div­ision in the Family; we must rid ourselves of the evil Sel­vegion. This is the last warning to get united, or be chastised by the Lord Himself.

6. • Most Charter members who hold System jobs are not in the Lord's highest will.

7. • The CM Family needs to get back to the sample of Acts 2:44 and 45—living communally and sharing all things. There are too many single-family Homes.

8. • God will supply if you work hard for Him. If you don't put in the hours witnessing and following up, you can't expect Him to supply. Many are willing to work much harder for the System than for the Lord.

9. • We are disciples‚ missionaries, pioneers, and an army on the move‚ so buying property can cost you your freedom and eventually your discipleship.

10. • Getting System jobs with the hope that years down the line you can go to the field with financial support is compromise for gain, not to mention the fact that it's a rare exception for it to even work.

11. • Using Activated and winning a "con­grega­tion" who will support you through their tithes is the "retirement plan" the Lord has provided for FGAs. This isn't just a financial plan‚ but a plan to obey the Lord‚ feed and strengthen His sheep, and avail yourselves of His blessings and promises. Work hard to win your flock now while there's still time.

12. • If you're a disciple of Jesus, then you'll spend most of your time working for Him. How you spend your time is how you live your life.

Compromised Church Members

Or Endtime Prophets?

13. It's clear that the Family has got to change‚ and when I say the Family, I mean you. You are the Family. The sacrifices required to change have been spelled out, and our Good Shepherd has warned that we will suffer the consequences if we don't heed His admonitions. We've got a lot to lose; it's a precarious time in our history.

14. Your commitment to full-time discipleship is being weakened by the distractions or sins in your lives, and in addition to that, many of you are moving toward toning down our mess­age, trying to fit in and be generally "accepted." Isn't that the age–old temptation of every revolution? With time, the natural tendency is to want to conform, to please man, to walk a more accepted path and be more "mainstream." Of course, the arguments for such a shift are many. I hear them a lot.

15. The time has come to assess where we're headed regarding our message so each of you can honestly determine what you want to do. Some complain because our message and life­style are becoming too compromised; others complain because we're too "different," too radical, too controversial. Obviously, we'll never please everyone. So the only thing to do is to determine what the Lord wants and then you can each choose where you stand.

16. One thing Peter and I will not do, and what Dad never did, is to let others convince us that we need to compromise or conform for the sake of support, comfort, or to look good in the eyes of man. We are revolutionaries. We are dropped out. We are prophets. Since when did the prophets of God give a convenient message that was accepted‚ so they could avoid rattling the masses or preserve the status quo? They didn't! And neither will Peter and I.

17. Some of you have very logical arguments as to why we should be more "reasonable" and why we need to tone things down and not be offensive. I imagine you've had a lot of prac­tice preaching your arguments to your friends and even your converts. But I have news for you—we are not getting more main­stream or more acceptable if that means compromising the very important messages that the Lord has given us and expects us to be examples of. Again, this brings us back to the question of: Are we part of the established church system, along with the millions of others? Or are we God's chosen End­time mouthpieces? I know what we as the Family should be, but what are we? What are you?

18. It's not like we can blend into society and be just like everyone else for now‚ for the next X number of years, and then when things get hot in the Endtime we'll just morph into a radical, disciplined, united army of disciples. It doesn't work like that. We will be what we are becoming! What we'll be tomorrow depends on the choices we're making today. Are we becoming those Endtime prophets and disciples, or are we becoming compromised, lukewarm church members? We have to make the decisions today that will enable the Lord to fulfill His promises! It's a day-by-day process. We're either walking the walk of the dropped-out army God has intended us to be‚ or we're heading back into the System.

19. This is a defining moment, a turning point for each of you and the Family as a whole. At this time in our history we have the opportunity to grow and be tremendously strengthened, or we face the threat of compromise to the point that the Family, as we know it, will cease to exist.

20. That's why the Lord is doing everything He can to put clear choices before you, and that's why He's even willing to allow suffering or persecution to various degrees in order to try to preserve the Family. So much has been invested in each of you. Each one of you is a unique creation of the Lord, trained and prepared. But you stand at a crossroads, and the threat of compromise and defeat is very real.

21. There are other inroads of compromise in the Family today, besides the ones I've addressed so far in this series, including System schooling for our children‚ an inordinate desire for the world (Internet‚ computer games, worldly knowledge), pursuing System education, living in the Family because it's a cushy life and the Lord provides more abundantly for you than you could for yourself, etc.

22. All of the ways that the Family sample is weakening and each individual's life is less fruitful due to compromise are part of the Enemy's attack on the future of the Family. We've given our lives to this revolution‚ and we who have been around for any length of time have seen cycles of growth and purging. There has been a time of independence and years of "floating your faith," which in some cases has given way to a lot of compromise of the basic foundation of the Family. The Lord allowed such a time, obviously, because through it some lessons have been learned that couldn't have been learned any other way. But now we must all recognize that the Lord is leading us back to more dedication and full-time discipleship, as well as a purer sample of Jesus' teachings and the lifestyle that makes the Family different and revolutionary.

Charter Members Must Remain

Pure and Free of Compromise

23. Now is the time for this change, because there will be many new members joining our ranks. The foundation of our inner circle of discipleship—the CM Family—must be strong, so those in each of the outer concentric circles will honestly know what the Family is all about and will be strong in faith and conviction. We're not just after quantity; we're after quantity and quality! Yes, we want the Family to grow by leaps and bounds! We want to win disciples, laborers‚ supporters, and believers who will be a part of us, who will make the Family their "church." But along with that quantity we want quality!

24. But let me ask you, what is quality? What are we looking for? What is the right balance between gaining new members and having them be strong‚ sold-out fighters? How much do we expect of those who want to be a part of us in some way? How do we know if we're either expecting too much or compromising for gain? The Lord defined it simply as follows:

25. (Jesus speaking:) My beloved bride dis­ciples, I know that not everyone who comes into your fold will be a dropped-out‚ full-time disciple. That is unrealistic. That is not what I expect, and neither should you. That was the ­vision in the early days when there was no place for those who couldn't or wouldn't drop out and live communally, giving their whole lives to Me. That was My will in the beginning when David was building the foundation for the army of the End. There could be no in-between, no compromise with My call to full-time discipleship‚ no watering down of the vision that "straightway they left their nets and followed Him."

26. But now I put before those who would be members of the Family many doors of member­ship, and each one leads closer and closer to the life of full-time discipleship. You can beckon the "other sheep" to come in, according to their own faith. For now the Family is a mature and well-trained army, and you are prepared to shepherd such a varied flock without losing sight of your goals and your personal "identity." Now is the time to win many sheep to enlarge your flocks, so you'll be bulging and happy as productive, fruitful shepherds.

27. But all the while, you must keep your inner circle (the CM Family) pure and free from compromise. That's the key. You can walk freely in the pastures, calling for the sheep and tending to their needs‚ and there is room for much variety in lifestyle of those who would sit at your feet to be fed. But the shepherds who call themselves My full-time disciples (the CM Family) must remain pure and unspotted from the world.

28. There will be many, many sheep, and they will choose the place where they feel safe and happy. They will seek out the pasture where they like to graze, and you will care for them. But they must all know who the true shepherds are, who the leaders and guides are. Those of you in the inner circle, the CM Family, who claim to be full-time disciples must be those who the sheep recognize as the head herders of sheep, the experienced and mature ones, and they will see this by how you live, what your fruit is. Then they will hear My voice and they will follow. (End of message from Jesus.)

29. (Mama: ) The vision of the expansion of the Family is still developing. We have received many promises of how the Lord will bring many into our folds, many "other sheep," referring to those who cannot or will not drop out. We are preparing a place for these sheep‚ and we will receive them with open arms. We aren't to condemn them or reject them for the limitations they place on their service to the Lord‚ for now is the time for the Family to diversify and grow. We will no longer be just an officers' training corps that specializes in and only has time for those who will be leaders. Now we will broaden our gates and many more will enter, and we will care for multitudes of sheep at various levels of dedication and availability. (See ML #3308:91-99‚ GN 908.)

30. The point the Lord wants to make clear, however, is that even though there will be members of the Family at many levels of service, the inner core, the CM Family, is not to weaken through compromise. We are to remain the dropped-out disciples that we have been called to be. That's the key. There will be various ­levels of service, sacrifice, behavior‚ lifestyle, dedication, and adherence to the Word for those who cannot or will not serve the Lord full-time, but their becoming members of the Family on their level should not change the CM Family. You who are Charter members are to remain focused on the Lord's call in your lives to full-time discipleship. You are to continue to be the sample, to show it can be done, that it is possible to live the Word, that Jesus' Words are just as real today as when He walked the Earth. You are to continue to be Jesus for those who look to us as their shepherds. You are to be as His disciples, following 100 percent.

31. The greater tolerance and flexibility in the Family is meant for the new sheep—not for those who are Charter members. For you who are full-time disciples‚ there should be no change in your conviction, lifestyle, goals and discipleship. As we open the door to those who are not able or willing to live full time for Jesus, you can't let their decisions justify your compro­mises. Always, we must remember that we're to be the samples. The inner core of the Family is still to be a sample, not a sermon! That has not changed. That is the foundation Dad laid, and we are not departing from it!

32. If you are a Charter member, but you personally don't feel you can live the life of a full–time disciple anymore, that's okay. You can choose a different circle of membership within the overall Family, or another life altogether, outside of the Family. That's perfectly okay. But for those who choose to stay as Charter members‚ that means disciple­ship—as in following Jesus, living the Word, dropping out, not compromising for gain, living Acts 2:44 and 45, etc.

33. I hope that clears things up for those of you who seem to have gotten the wrong idea. Many think the Family has given up our early radical goals because we can't live like we used to anymore. That's wrong! That is precisely where we're headed—back to the purity that the Family has lost, back to the level of dedication that has been compromised!

34. That is the whole point: The Lord wants the Family to look a whole lot more like it used to as far as dedication‚ full-time service, unity‚ communal living, having all things in common, witnessing full-time, living by faith, home school­ing our children, etc. We're the only ones doing it, and the Lord is determined to preserve that sample. In fact, the need to preserve that sample is the main reason the Lord will allow suffering‚ persecution, and more detractors to test and try you‚ so that all of you who need to will make some decisions—either to get right with Him and live as you should, or to find a life that is more suited to you, either in a different circle of the Family or in the System.

35. The sample of full–time discipleship in the CM Family is the crux of what the Lord is dealing with. We love our Fellow members and you're each very important to us; you are a vital part of the Family. Those who will be joining the other circles of membership—Active members and general members—are also crucial to the forward movement and fruitfulness of the Family. But the difference is that as Fellow members you aren't claiming to be living as full-time disciples. That's not the standard you are required to uphold, and that's okay. The Charter members are, however, and that's why there cannot be such compromise and worldliness in the CM Family; otherwise it weakens the whole concept of what full-time discipleship in the Family is all about. That's why it's necessary that those who cannot or will not live as disciples in the CM Family become Fellow members. It's a matter of honesty. It's a matter of owning up to reality.

36. It works both ways‚ of course. Just as Charter members can seek reclassification if they don't feel they can meet the qualifications for full-time disciple­ship, Fellow mem­bers, Active members, and others can seek to become Charter members if they do meet those qualifications. Your obedience, dedication and disciple­ship will make room for you. In fact, we're thankful that you've chosen to serve the Lord no matter what circle of discipleship you choose to serve Him in.

Faithfulness to

Our Unique Message

37. Okay, after that summary and recap of those important principles, I want to go back to the subject of faithfulness to the unique mess­age the Lord has given us, the children of David. I'm referring to the meat of the Word—the radical, different, controversial Words of David. Even if these other weaknesses are strengthened—the division, the dependence on System jobs, the lack of living communally as Jesus' disciples did‚ the compromise for gain, etc.—that won't be enough if we're not willing to be true to the message the Lord has given us. Even successful communal living and trusting the Lord for supply, even building a greater church isn't the all in all, if that means you're discarding or burying the unique and important Words of David that the Family is blessed to have received.

38. There are those of you who write in, chiding Peter and me for what you consider our lack of wisdom regarding what we've printed. There are those who feel that your experience being out on the field makes you the experts on what's to be preached if we're to avoid "blowing people away" with what you call "unnecessary doctrines." The bottom line of your suggestions is: "Can't we just preach Jesus and the Bible?" The argument that's made is: "That's all you need to be a missionary, so why stumble the sheep with all this other stuff, these strange truths that no one else is preaching. And if no one else is preaching it‚ why do we need to? After all, couldn't we have a perfectly effective missionary movement and win new members without having to get all distracted with these new private doctrines?"

39. The thinking of these who want to do away with the revelations the Lord gives us is that they're intended for the Family, as private reading, but whatever we publish becomes available to the general public fairly quickly. We acknowledge that that is true. Peter and I are completely aware of the fact that putting designations on our literature doesn't in any way keep it out of the hands of those outside the Family. We keep that in mind with every GN! We prayerfully consider the legal implications of everything we publish. We have many proofreaders, as you know, and they often bring up questions related to security that are seriously considered and prayed about.

40. So we are aware that whatever we publish in the GNs is quickly made available to outsiders, even to our enemies. We also realize that there is a possibility that anything we publish could be presented as evidence against us in a court of law in the future. Peter and I and our counselors in WS are fully aware of this.

41. That brings us to a question: Where do you draw the line? If we were to listen to those of you who want to avoid anything controversial falling into the hands of the general public, our enemies‚ or even new converts, things would be very different in the Family today. Because if we want to prevent anything that's new‚ radical, and not according to the mainstream church system from reaching the public or those we're witnessing to‚ or our enemies, the only solution would be to not print it, to completely censor the Lord's Words. Really, is that what you want?

42. Here are excerpts of what one person wrote not too long ago:

43. (Comment from witnesser: ) I don't think that at this point we are really persecuted for being a radical Christian group. I don't mind being perse­cuted for that. When we speak about "New Wine," we mostly speak about new revelations, like the practical application of the Law of Love and the "Loving Jesus" revelation (not the spiritual one, as the spiritual one is also easily explained and very well Biblically founded). It is written in the Letters that these new revelations are reserved for us (the Family) in these days. These are doctrines particular to the Family. I think that what we face really as persecution is the result of our lack of discretion with these things‚ which I feel should be and stay private.

44. I think that some very sensitive things come out even in CM/FM mailings, which we need to realize will be made public to the whole world nearly immediately. [Note: Examples given were: "Loving Jesus" revelation, ML #3024-25 and 3029-33; mention of striptease at Peter's birthday party, ML #3296, GN 893; innuendoes of sexual sharing on Valentine's Day, GV 84; automatic "waving" as an application of loving Jesus intimately, ML #3284, GN 912; and the date Mama had with Steven, ML #3345, GN 939.]

45. I personally have nothing against these things, except maybe the fact that they are rather personal and I wonder if it's wise to publish this in these days when we no longer have any security. The Statements state that our sexuality is something private, and I think that it should be. Unsaved or even saved people who are new in Jesus will take this as adultery, which I agree we do not necessarily believe in, but why make it public to the world that does not understand and will auto­matically turn our "good" into "evil"?

46. I am only talking as a witnesser. In my last six years of discipling, I have seen that these things hurt us more than they help. We are having more success now by putting these things on the back burner and just preaching Jesus and the Bible. As soon as I mention The Family, these things mentioned above are the things that I have to defend, instead of teaching the Bible and teaching the sheep to love Jesus and witness. I don't think that these things should even come into the picture‚ as they're not part of what is needed to be saved and learn to be a missionary. …

47. In the early days, when we started out‚ we were only required to believe the basic Bible elements of the "Revolutionary Rules," which didn't even require believing that Dad was a prophet. (I didn't even know there was a "Dad" when I joined in 1975. But the Holy Ghost confirmed it with time, as it is in itself "meat" to a "babe," and ­really is not even essential to salvation nor to be a fruitful missionary for the Lord.)

48. Again, please understand, I don't have any­thing against the doctrine; I just think we need to be more cautious with our lit and doctrines, and that our "gospel" that we preach should not be the "new revelations" the Lord gives us between Him and us in our intimate life together, but that it should be the simple Gospel of Jesus for the world as outlined in the Bible‚ as it was with us when the Family first started. I know that we don't preach these things as our Gospel purposely, but by not being cautious, we actually are, and by making these things, which are actually the personal maturation of the Family in 30 years of growth, part of our essential beliefs, we are actually stumbling sheep by not letting them grow with the "milk of the Word." (End of comments.)

49. (Mama: ) I understand this person's point of view. I believe there are quite a few of you who feel the same and who have resorted to the same kind of witnessing.

50. It is perfectly acceptable to feed babes with milk and to not get into controversial ­issues when it's not appropriate. But I must clarify a few points that this person and many of you have lost sight of.

51. As I explained earlier, and as this person also mentioned‚ there is no way that what we publish for the Family will remain private. That doesn't happen. So if Peter and I really wanted to keep anything radical, new, or controversial out of the hands of the general public or our enemies, we'd have to not publish it. That would be our only choice. That is not generally an option.

52. Peter and I are responsible before the Lord to give you the Word He gives us, prayerfully considering the security aspect. You probably don't realize it, but we have even consulted various lawyers before publishing our more radical GNs, to be very sure the presentation is appropriate and safe. There's nothing illegal in what we say‚ much less in what we practice, but we are aware that controversial subjects can be twisted and made to appear that way unless they're presented with care and prayer. We aren't living in a dream world; we know that what is published will come back to us, and we want to do all we can to protect you, the Family. That is also our responsibility.

53. But what this person that I quoted earlier is saying, along with anyone else who feels the same, is that we should just "forget all that New Wine and just stick with the Bible," that we should just preach "the simple Gospel of Jesus for the world as outlined in the Bible, as it was with us when the Family first started." That is clearly not what has made the Family what we are today. If you only want to witness the Bible, you should be in the churches! If you want things to be like they were in the early days when you only had to follow the "Revolutionary Rules" and you're willing to downplay or forget 30 years of Letters since then, then you're in the wrong place! God help us!

54. The feelings this person articulates and the stance he has taken in his witnessing is a clear example of the kind of deadly compromise that has seeped into our ranks regarding our witness. Clearly he doesn't want to have to defend any of these doctrines in witnessing, and since they come up when the Family is mentioned‚ I assume that he no longer witnesses in the name of the Family. And if he believes that you only need Jesus, the Bible, and salvation to be an effective missionary, I can't help but ask why in the world he or anyone else who feels this way is in the Family. Why should you risk being persecuted for our radical beliefs? Why go to all the trouble of covering up the doctrines of the group you've been a part of for years if you don't even believe they're necess­ary?

55. For God's sake, if you can't take even a mention of sexual freedom and sharing between consenting adults in our in-house pubs, if you want to avoid mentioning anything at all sexy, or the fact that there was a semi-nude dance for Peter in our all-adult birthday party, if all this is so "personal" that you'd rather it never even be mentioned in the pubs—in fact, you wish it would just go away—then you're in the wrong place! What do you think the Family has become? If some of you can't take any mention in the pubs of legitimate‚ Godly, Charter-allowed sexual freedom, then there is some­thing seriously wrong with you! And if you think you can be in the Family and witness without letting your converts or even new disciples know about Dad or our radical doctrines, you are mistaken! It's ridiculous!

56. For Heaven's sake, think about it! Do you realize what you're saying?! You're wanting to gut the Family of everything that is unique to our message, and you might as well start building church buildings today‚ because that's what you're becoming! It's pitiful and upsetting!

57. I'm very concerned about the conservative, churchy, religious element in our CM Family, wondering what in the world happened to many of you! Where's that dedication you once had to the Words of David, when you were even willing to get out the most radical Letters and posters on the streets by the millions? Now any little mention of sexual freedom or sharing or anything that might stumble someone is hooted down as unreasonable, unwise, unnecessary‚ and a lack of discretion!

58. What in the world do you want? Do you want all the unique doctrines of the Family to be forgotten, or to be just for your private personal enjoyment, or even to be relegated to the shelves in our older Volumes as a part of our "history" which we'd just as soon forget? I'm sorry, but all of those options are impossible! Some of these same critics are plenty willing to practice the sexual freedom of the Law of Love in their own lives, and yet they'd deny this truth to the sheep the Lord brings across their path! And it goes further than that with a lot of you; you don't even want people to know about Dad or the Letters or that you're even part of the Family!

59. It's this watering down of the message and compromise through cover-up or deliberate denial that we cannot have in the Family. Of course, there are plenty of things about the Family that a lot of people won't like‚ especially if you're witnessing to churchy, narrow-minded, got-their-minds-made-up reli­gious people. Just to name a few: the fact that we believe in David‚ our Endtime prophet; our history of FFing; our belief in and practice of sexual freedom as per the full truth of the Law of Love that Dad taught us; hearing from the spirit world (not just Jesus, but spirit helpers and departed spirits); Dad continuing to lead the Family through his mess­ages in prophecy; the practical application of the "Loving Jesus" revelation, etc. Let's face it, the Family is not mainstream‚ and we never will be.

60. We have accepted into our outer circles those who don't or can't drop out, and we have lots of excellent literature to feed the GP and new converts that is similar to the productions of other Christian groups or churches. But I want to make it clear that the radical elements of the Family and the meat of the Word are not going to disappear, so you're doing yourself and your sheep a disservice if you try to lead a double life where you read the GNs in your Home and maybe even practice them privately, but in your witness you try to completely divorce yourself from the doctrines of the Family or even the Family name. That just isn't fruitful, and it won't work! Your sheep will find out eventually and then they'll distrust you and disrespect you for your lack of honesty.

61. Again, the argument that our radical doctrines should remain private or that they "shouldn't even come into the picture" is irrelevant to Peter and me‚ because we fully realize that anything we publish or have published won't remain private—not in this day and age. It will come into the picture eventually! You can think that you're keeping our meaty doctrines private by not teaching them and by not witnessing in the name of the Family, and you can hope they won't come up, but that's only a stopgap. That only delays the inevitable. If you remain a part of the Family, your sheep will find out, and when they do, your lack of honesty will be a terrible testimony. Not only will you look like a hypocrite‚ but a liar.

62. So take my word for it, if you want to remain in the Family and win new disciples, you'd best be much more honest and open about what we're really about—our history and some of our radical doctrines. You can explain some of these things with the Statements that are available for your use. Those provide very well-presented and well-rounded explanations.

63. I'm not saying you should immediately give your sheep the meat of these radical doctrines. I'm not saying you should necessarily preach them; but neither can you hide them indefinitely. There will be persecution eventually, and when that happens, your sheep or new disciples will find out about our radical past, our former persecutions, the accusations made against us, and our controversial doctrines. They'll find out about these things through twisted tabloid TV shows and exaggerated, lying newspaper articles, or through publications of apostates‚ things posted on the Internet. Is that how you want them to be taught and introduced to these doctrines? Of course not! Be wise, and teach your sheep yourself, with love, prayerful­ness, wisdom, and patience. (See also "Preparing Contacts for Future Persecution," ML #3243:80-123, GN 845.)

64. Regarding the mindset that any of you have that's similar to what's expressed in the letter from a Family member that I quoted earlier, the Lord said:

65. (Jesus speaking:) This is precisely the kind of compromising of the message that I want to root out. It's not that I expect the Family to actively promote the radical, private messages or to try to stir up controversy and trouble, but the deliberate hiding and denying of the radical doctrine is a compromise that must stop. This is exactly the kind of compromise that I hate, that which compromises and denies My Word!

66. The compromisers are those who think everything is fine with just the Bible and salvation. If everything were fine with just that, why would I still be talking today? If that were all that is needed today, why would I have raised up David and Maria? Why would I have even ­created the Family if all that were needed were the same messages the churches give? It's ridiculous and is the epitome of compromise of the meat of the Word.

67. You see, some people get a little confused‚ and when you talk about not compromising the message they get scared, because they think that means they need to actively promote or even preach the radical Word, the truths that are unique to the Family. That is not the case. That's not what I expect. But I do expect that they won't deny them, or try to bury them or pretend they don't exist‚ or that they won't try to hide them from their converts at the time when they should be feeding their sheep the meat.

68. Some of these conservative, fearful, compro­mised shepherds are like irresponsible parents or teachers who only feed the children in their care mush and baby food and milk, when they should be giving them meat loaf sandwiches, hamburgers, or a stew with plenty of tender‚ juicy meat! It's pitiful. Those kinds of care­givers can be charged with negligence. When the heads of the folds of David don't provide proper nourishment for their "chil­dren," that is negli­gence in the spirit, and the reason many of them don't do it is because of compromise for gain. They're afraid of losing their flocks, but part of the problem is they're not winning the right kind of sheep in the first place; they're winning churchy, lukewarm sheep. Or they're not willing to put forth the time and patience needed to teach them and answer their questions and help them understand and receive the truth of the meat of the Words of David.

69. Any way you cut it, that kind of compromise of the Word is wrong and cannot be tolerated. Those who are the caregivers and shepherds of the sheep of David must have the faith to explain and teach (when appropriate) the meat of the Word. The sheep will find out anyway, and it's a matter of either preparing them step by step, with wisdom and patience, or letting them stumble upon it themselves, usually with the spin of your enemies, which makes it almost impossible for babes to understand.

70. Those of you who think you can hide these truths from your folds are living in denial. That is naïve and ridiculous. I will not let these words be hidden. They will be revealed and shouted from the rooftops, because these are the very truths and messages that will win the strongest leaders and laborers. You aren't to go out of your way to preach it, for I will open the doors in My way and My time, but neither are you to deny the truth, or blatantly hide and bury it. I will not bless that, and your sample and character will be tarnished as a result of such shenanigans, as there will undoubtedly be questions as to why someone would even remain in a religious movement if he or she were ashamed of its doctrines and message. (End of message from Jesus.)

71. (Mama: ) As I said earlier‚ I realize our enemies do eventually get ahold of our CM Letters or things that are written specifically to certain circles of the Family, or to certain Family members in specific situations. They take those words and quote them out of context, wrest them, misapply them, and do their best to use them against the Family as a whole. Sometimes they prepare entire compilations of "twisted truths," which they've used against us in past court cases.

72. While we regret that these Letters have fallen into their hands‚ and we certainly hope none of you are guilty of passing them on, we don't regret the words and truths themselves! (I'm referring here to the pubs still in our Homes. We acknowledge that some of those purged in the lit purge lacked the needed safeguards, or were easy to misconstrue, and for that reason they are no longer in our Homes.) In defending them, in "contending earnestly for the faith that was delivered unto us‚" it gives us a chance to present our side of the story, God's message and full truth, and to spread it far and wide. So nevertheless, the Gospel is preached, even if it's through contention sometimes! In defending the faith, we've often made more progress, gained more friends‚ spread more message, and won more people to the Lord than we could have any other way. All things truly do work together for good to those who love the Lord, thank God!

73. I want to remind you of what the Lord said in Part 1 of this series:

Only if the Family members are strong in faith and willing to preach the truth as given in the Words of David will you fulfill your special place in the big Endtime picture. It's that uncompromising witness that will allow Me to continue to give My full blessing to the Family. This is one of those spiritual principles which is contrary to the mind of natural man. You would think that the Family would grow and prosper and be­come strong and financially powerful by re­cruiting sheer numbers, by tickling people's ears with what they want to hear, by ­making them feel good about themselves and not "blowing them away" with strong unconventional doctrine. But the opposite is true.

By remaining true to your unique calling, by preaching the Word—even the uncomfortable, seem­ingly unpopular Word--and winning those who are willing to follow in your footsteps in spirit, will your new members be strong, powerful, and fruitful, and the result, with time‚ will be much, much more than had you tried to walk the more conventional route and not tested and tried your new members with the strong meat (ML #3361:57-58‚ GN 957).

Points to Consider

About the Meat of the Word

74. Each of you in the Family needs to make a decision about your stance concerning the meat of the Word. Take the following points into consideration when deciding:

75. • Peter and I will not compromise the message the Lord shows us to publish. We will be wise, yes, and we will prayerfully consider security, but we will obey the Lord.

76. • You can be sure there will be more new truths and strong meat published in the future!

77. • What we publish for the CM or CM/FM Family eventually falls into outsiders' hands. We realize that‚ while these are essentially private messages or doctrines for our personal edification, that doesn't mean they'll not be made public eventually. You must therefore be prepared to deal with that.

78. • Peter and I have no intention whatsoever of becoming like the church system, where our mess­age to the world is only to preach Jesus, salvation, and the Bible.

79. • The Family has a lot of radical beliefs that many people don't like. Those are not going away. We are not becoming mainstream and ordinary.

80. • You cannot hide or deny the Family, Dad, or our radical beliefs indefinitely, because your sheep will eventually find out.

81. • It is your responsibility to teach your sheep, to bring them along, to help them receive the basics of the meat of the Word. If they can't handle it when taught lovingly‚ patiently‚ and in the Lord's time‚ then they would do better to become members of some active charismatic church.

82. • We will never have strong disciples unless we win the kind who can receive, believe, and live the meat of the Word. We're after quantity and quality!

83. • The Word teaches us that all who live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution‚ and that we will be persecuted for right­eousness' sake, for the Gospel's sake. Are you willing to stand up for the Gospel—the Words of David—that the Lord has delivered unto us and given us to preach in these Last Days? Do you believe that the meat of the Word is part of the "righteousness" God has given us as His Endtime children, with the message of David our Endtime prophet? If not, you'd better find a place with more basic beliefs you would have the faith to stand up for, bearing in mind that you'll probably be persecuted even for those someday!

We're Still a Revolution!

84. Here is a message of confirmation from Dad:

85. (Dad speaking:) This Family began as the Revolution for Jesus! We weren't church folks or namby–pamby spineless noodles for Jesus; we were radical, dropped-out revolutionaries who wanted to change the world for Jesus—and we still do! And you don't change the world by becoming just another church, just preaching Jesus and salvation. We started off by preaching the full Gospel, everything Jesus said, and not only preaching it, but living it full time.

86. That's what made us news around the world and why we hit the headlines in nation after nation! We were different, we were news, and the Lord's message made news! Even if the media sometimes twisted it and misrepresented us, nevertheless the Gospel was preached!

87. We weren't your normal meek and mild little Christians who drifted along, witnessing a little here or there when we had time—the silent majority, who have never made a sound, never changed a jot or a tittle‚ never sank so low or rose so high, never made a mark, never made any impression, so you never even knew they ever existed! We were fiery, fervent followers of Jesus, and still are. We don't believe in being conformed to the world but in being transformed! We believe in offering our bodies as a living sacrifice unto God, which is just our reasonable service after all the Lord has done for us!

88. You may say, "Well, Dad, those days of the Revolution for Jesus are sort of past now‚ aren't they? That was the sixties and seventies. Aren't we the Family now, and aren't we a little more mainstream, so shouldn't we have doctrines that are a little more mainstream?"

89. Let me ask you a question: What does the Family stand for? It's short for the Family of Love, a Family that was born in the white-hot fires of the FF Revolution! That's another revolution that changed tens of thousands of lives around the world and spread our message—God's message—further than we could have ever imagined! We don't FF anymore‚ but that's the revolution that gave us our present name, won multitudes of souls, and made God's love news in hundreds of news articles around the world!

90. Now we witness the Word instead of FFing, and that's a revolution too, because it's not just the Old Wine of the Bible; it also includes all the New Wine the Lord has given us over the years. As we've obeyed His Word to the best of our ability, He's given us revelation after revelation‚ showing us what His Word ­really meant, from our earliest days up to the present.

91. He's shown us the best way to reach the world is to live together in unity, having all things in common, and distributing our belongings to each man or woman as they have need. He's shown us that He meant it literally when He said we should love Him with all our hearts and our neighbors as ourselves, and that all the law hangs on these two commandments—His Law of Love! He's shown us that we can live this Law of Love in every way, even sexually‚ for you who are of age. He's shown us that we are literally the Bride of Christ, and that He's our Husband, and we can love Him intimately. He's shown us that we really are in the Last Days, and that time is short and we need to redeem it and do His work while we still can! He's given us the keys of the Kingdom and is teaching us how to use them to harness the greatest power in the universe!

92. So we're still a Revolution for Jesus—not some sort of reformation or revival‚ much less a church service for Jesus! God has called us out of the church system to work full time for Him, to believe fully in His Word, and to give our hundred percent to living it and preaching it. That's revolutionary, and that's what's kept us from drifting back into the System and becoming just another ho-hum, do–nothing church, even one that might have thousands of members.

93. We're different, and that's why we can accomplish so much, and why people are attracted to our message. We're different, and that's why we must remain dropped out rather than settling back into the mire and morass of the mainstream along with the flotsam and jetsam of "normality." We're different because we're God's new Church, His new Bride, not His old Church!

94. Now I know it's hard being different sometimes, and we get some bad publicity and persecution for it. But if we didn't, I'd be worried! After all, Jesus said He's chosen you out of the world, so the world often hates you, just as it hated Him. Well, thank God the world isn't your friend‚ because that would be enmity with God. If you find yourself wanting to become the friend of the world, you may be on your way to becoming the enemy of God. That which is highly esteemed among men is abomination to God. That's God's Word and warning—pretty revolutionary, huh?

95. There's a lot in the Word that's revolutionary, and we believe in it and follow it and do it, and people know we do. People who know the Family at all should know that we stand for all-out, full-time dedication to Jesus. They may not always agree with what we do and say, but they know what we stand for, and if we weren't willing to stand up for our beliefs, they'd figure we didn't believe in them very strongly—and that they weren't really worth believing in the first place!

96. Not only that, but the Lord Himself would be ashamed of us, because we're ashamed of His Word, the truth He's given us over the years. He was willing to give everything for you‚ to live and die for you, and yet you're ashamed of His Word and don't want to preach it or stand up for it because it's a little controversial and sometimes people are stumbled by it.

97. Well, let me tell you, if you're not willing to preach His Word—all of His Word—the Lord will see to it that it gets preached anyway, even if He has to find someone else to do so! I'm not saying that you should run down the streets pro­claiming that you're the bride of Christ or start talking about the sexual aspects of the Law of Love with the next passer-by. But if you're ashamed of these doctrines or want to sort of sweep them under the carpet with your long-term friends and contacts and even new disciples, you can be sure that "there is nothing hid that shall not be revealed." The truth will come out, whether it's in the form of a news article, slander from your enemies, a comment from someone else who's known you a long time, etc. Then how will you feel for having tried to cover it up, and how will your friends, contacts‚ or new disciples feel about you?

98. The words the Lord has given us over the years are His words, and they're what make us the Family we are. In your efforts to make us look more presentable or attractive or to sort of modernize the Family, watch out that you don't weaken the structure. Remember "Builders Beware!" When you start carrying out the bags of grain for some reason—any of our doctrines that you feel are maybe a little controversial, a bit too radical, inconvenient, things that need toning down or tossing out or whatever—then you're in trouble! Those words‚ those bags of grain, are what keep the building on its foundation—steady, stable, sturdy and strong! Builders ­beware!

99. It would do some of you good to dig into those bags of grain that keep us on a firm foundation and remind yourself of what's in there! When's the last time you read "Dropouts" or "God's Explosions" or even looked through "Revolution for Jesus" in the MOP? You're wondering why we can't be a little more conventional and "normal" in our life and outreach? When's the last time you read "Did God Make a Mistake?" or "Jesus People?—Or Revolution!" or dozens of other Letters along the same lines! Those Letters have not been superseded by the Charter. The Charter is built on the Word, and they're the Word too!

100. And you know what? Most of the Letters I just mentioned are GP, along with hundreds of other early Letters. I not only told the Family what God had shown us, but I told the world, and the youth of the world loved it, and so did many of the public! The Letters went like hotcakes, and you still meet people who remember you and your message from those days. They write you at your e–mail address; they see your Web site, and they're just thrilled that the Family is still around‚ still going‚ still witnessing the same things!

101. So I was faithful to preach and to live what God showed me. I was faithful to the mess­age and the Man, the Son of God, and that's what started the Family. Will you be faithful too? Will you keep going for Jesus‚ bold and brave and unafraid, committed to His Word, His truth, His message? I hope you will. I pray you will. You don't want to miss His "Well done, good and faithful servant," nor His standing to receive you at His throne, telling His Father and all the angels of Heaven that‚ "This is one of My faithful witnesses who loves Me and was not ashamed of My Word. Come, dear bride, and inherit the Kingdom that I have prepared for you from the foundation of the world!" Hallelujah! (End of message from Dad.)

102. (Mama:) Thank God for Dad's faithfulness to preach and teach and live the full Word of God! That's why we have a Family, why millions upon millions of people have heard about Jesus, and why 25 million of them have received Him and will live forever with us in Heaven! Here are a few quotes from some of those Letters that Dad mentioned:

Revolutionary Quotes

From the Early Letters

History is a record of nothing but dropouts—because they're the only ones that made news! There was nothing new about the rest of the people—the System robots who followed the party line—the conformists and conventionalists that nobody ever heard of! It was the nonconformists, unconven­tion­alists, individualists, iconoclasts‚ rejects, and dropouts who really made history! You'd better believe it! So if you want to make history, just be a dropout! If you want to sink into the oblivion of the forgotten man, conform to the System! ("Dropouts IV," ML #34:22-23).

To Hell with the proper way! The proper way is of man! The unexpected and the improper, the un­conventional and untraditional, the unorthodox and unceremonious, contrary to man's natural expectation—this is the way God usually works! "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the Earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts!" (Isa.55:8, 9). Who can know the mind of the Lord, and who can show Him anything?

Who the hell do you think you are, anyway, to tell God what to do and how to do it? God knows His business and it's none of your business how He does it! So quit trying to tell Him how He ought to do it! "Now, Lord, You must do it this way or that way‚ so we'll be accepted and people will understand." … Just trust God that He knows what He's doing! "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart: and lean not unto thy own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths" (Pro.3:5,6). ("Did God Make a Mistake?" ML #35:13-15.)

103. (Mama:) Here's a real classic‚ one of my favorites, which, by the way, was printed in 1973 and classified GP—that is, for the general public!

Jesus Himself said He had to pour His very New Wine into very new bottles who could expand their receptivity sufficiently to take it, accommo­date it, and even rejoice in it, for it spoke their language and helped Him to reach the drunks and the harlots and the pub­licans and sinners and the radical young zealots with whom He associated. It also proved He was not part of the System and was not bound by its conventions, inhibitions and prejudices. …

A revolution is a total break with the traditions of man and his churches and his preconceived ideas about God and misconceptions of morality. We have turned completely around and are going a different direction, no longer man's way but God's way, and we are free to enjoy to the full the beauties and wonders of His creation with all of its pleasures, which He Himself created for our enjoyment.

This is no day for the weak and the fearful and those who are unable to bear the many more things that God now has to say to us in these Last Days when He must tell us the whole truth and nothing but the truth‚ so help us God!

I'm sorry, but the revolution did not begin with our trying to please people and giving them only what they were able to believe and accept. … If you are not young enough in spirit‚ pliable enough, resilient enough, and elastic enough to expand your vision and faith to accommodate this New Wine of the Lord‚ you will certainly be unable to take what's coming, and your vessel now shaken will be truly shattered! …

If naked truth bothers you‚ you are definitely an old bottle and had better avoid the crash! But if you can accommodate this New Wine without asking why or trying to analyze its ingredients, God has such thrills and intoxication of the Spirit in store for you that you will be glad you drank it without question, and you'll be whisked off into a world which you never dreamed existed, where you'll enjoy the very wonders of total intimacy with a sexy, naked God Himself in a wild orgy of the Spirit as His totally surrendered Bride!

Otherwise, you're like the old church, an old bottle, cracked, broken, useless, and doomed to abandonment and oblivion! May God help you to know where you belong!

P.S. Remember the warning Jesus gave to some: "I would that ye were hot or cold, but because ye are lukewarm, I will spew you out of My mouth!" Halfway, half-hearted, half-baked disciples make God sick at His stomach! Please don't be one of them! It were better that you had never heard the truth than to have heard and gone back! God says, "My soul abhorreth him that turneth back!" Cut loose and come on! (From "Come on, Ma‚ Burn Your Bra!" ML #286:3-5,13,14,18,23‚24,27.)

104. (Mama:) And the Family hasn't changed in being a Revolution for Jesus, even though Dad has passed on. We still believe in the Word‚ all of it, and that inevitably makes us different. As I said several years ago, right after Dad's Heavenly Homegoing: "We can never be only a missionary organization doing relief work and 'Consider the Poor' ministries. We are believers in sex, prophets of the End, portrayers of Heaven, separatists from the world, destroyers of darkness‚ and fighters for the truth! And in all these, beloved, we are preachers of the Gospel and lovers and winners of souls. And it is because of all of these other things that we are the successful missionary organization we are today" ("Why We 'Preached Sex' in the Press Release Announcing Dad's Homegoing!" ML #2957:13, Lifelines 21).

We Can't Compromise

For the Sake of Church Christians

105. I don't believe in going out of our way to antagonize sincere Christians, but neither do I believe in toning down or compromising our message in order to make friends with those who are already saved and already belong to a church, etc. Those people are not our main audience. They already know the Lord, and if they're churchy at all, you can be pretty sure they're not going to like our kind of religion! Some of you have written in, asking why we have to be so controversial as to blow away the Christians you've grown close to; or if they're not blown away yet, you fear that they will be as soon as they hear of some of our radical beliefs. Here is some counsel from Dad on that and other points.

106. (Dad speaking: ) If you're talking about toning down the presentation of some of our doctrines so that you can work with the church system and be more acceptable to them and make friends with them and have them accept you‚ I can guarantee you that you're going to be ­toning things down so much that you're going to have very little of God's present-day message left!

107. As far back as 30 years ago, church Christians were having difficulty with the Family's doctrines of personal witnessing! And even 40 or 50 years ago, that used to get me into so much trouble when I would talk to churches and church folks about personal witnessing‚ because they didn't want to do it; most of them didn't want to be involved in it or make the sacrifices to get out and personal witness. They wanted to leave that up to the pastor on Sunday morning. And they didn't want to accept forsaking all, they didn't want to accept the fact that you didn't have to have a church building to go to in order to worship God—that you could worship Him standing out in the park with your friends. And they certainly don't want to accept our beliefs on sex! They never have, and I wouldn't be surprised if most of them will never fully be able to accept it. And if they're not willing to accept God's simple, basic Law of Love and Godly sex and sharing and giving love one to another, they're certainly going to find it even more difficult to accept Loving Jesus.

108. Of course‚ you can tone down the presentation of our doctrines in certain given situations. You have to be led of the Lord and His Spirit and His wisdom. There's a time to present the Family's beliefs and doctrines to outsiders in a way that will make it as easy as possible for them to understand it and accept it. You don't have to go and stand in front of the church doors and insist that they believe the way that you do.

109. But we have every right to what we believe and what we stand for. God has every right to get His message out through the Family, and we're free to believe and live and practice and follow the message that God is giving to the Family today. And although it's not our aim to force anyone to believe and accept our beliefs or doctrines or lifestyle‚ we would like them to believe and accept, and we want to give them the opportunity to hear the message. But we also have a firm belief that we have every right to our freedom of choice and belief and doctrine and religion and lifestyle and mode of operation and everything.

110. The churches tried to persuade me for years, as did my first wife, that I was going about things the wrong way, that I shouldn't be challenging them left and right, that I should tone things down‚ that I shouldn't be going around telling people that we really can live according to the Bible, that Jesus did really mean that true Christians should be willing to forsake all and follow Him. The minute I started standing up for the truth, I was never fully accepted by the church Christians.

111. And that's why the Lord had us start the Family, because in you He saw people who were willing to accept His message. The Family didn't want it toned down. They wanted to believe it. They were excited and thrilled and turned on and happy to have finally found ­others who wanted to live the Word‚ to preach the Word, to give the Word, and to obey the Lord and follow Him no matter what! They were willing and happy and were honored to deny them­selves and take up their cross daily and follow Him.

112. That was what turned them on! It was their key! And the more the Lord asked them to do, and the more He presented them with, the crazier the idea, the more it challenged or exposed the System or the churchy Christians, the happier our people got—the more excited they got! They got even more conviction and more fire to give everything to Jesus and serve Him with all their hearts. They loved Him, so they loved the truth. They loved His new fresh wine! They loved His new fresh revelations and mess­ages!

113. That I was David‚ the Endtime prophet, was the greatest thrill in the world to our one hundred percent, sold-out, loyal disciples! Because that's what they needed—a shepherd who could lead them through the Endtime, someone who the Lord had anointed with great conviction‚ faith‚ and boldness, who wasn't afraid of the wrath of the System, who wasn't afraid to stand up and face the lion's roar. They had to face my roar! Ha!

114. You are personally responsible for what you do in your life and with your life and with the truth that God has given you. No one can tell you what to say, and no one can make you say anything when you're face to face witnessing to someone. It's between you and that person and the Lord, and it's up to you to deliver the Lord's message to them—whatever the message is that He wants you to give that individual. And it varies a great deal from person to person depending on where they're at in the spirit and how much they can receive at a time. Some need to be spoon-fed with milk, and then they grow and grow in the spirit and they can take stronger feedings, and then they can take the meat‚ and then they can take the fresh New Wine and revelations.

115. But you're the instrument and the tool that delivers the message. God's given the Family His message for today in all of its wonderful glory. He's given you His revelations, His leading and guidance through me, and now through Mama and Peter, and it's your choice what you do with it, how you treat it, how you handle it‚ how you deliver it. It's one thing to tone down your presentation of one of the Family's doctrines like "Loving Jesus" or the voice of prophecy, or whatever, with the purpose in mind of helping the person to receive it and fully understand it and gradually letting them grow in the spirit until you can give them more and more. If you're being motivated by true, genuine love for that soul and for that person, then the Lord will be faithful to lead and guide you as to how to present the message.

116. But if your goal is to tone down the message because you don't even like the mess­age, and you don't want to talk about it, and you don't want to present it in the first place, and maybe you don't even believe in it, then that's a whole different story!

117. Like I said‚ we have freedom of religious belief and the freedom to follow the Lord and obey His message. The church also operates according to their belief, and they have the freedom to do so. Each individual has the freedom to decide where they feel they fit best.

118. God called me out of the church system so that He could use me and make me into the vessel that He wanted me to be to give His message to the world in the Endtime. He personally spoke to me and to others and told me my calling and my job. He was the One Who told me that I was David for the Endtime, that He would set up one shepherd over His sheep and He would feed them. And even though I didn't under­stand everything at that time, I still had the personal conviction and faith to follow God. I believed that God knew what He was doing and that He knew best.

119. And that's what each person has to decide for themselves. No one is forcing you to believe anything that you don't want to believe. You're not being forced to stay in the Family. You're completely free to stay if you want to uphold the standards and beliefs of the Family, or you're completely free to serve the Lord in another way, whether it be with the churches, with another Christian group, or whatever. You have freedom of choice.

120. Our Family beliefs are not a secret; we're very open with our beliefs and the Lord's message. That's our job. We are witnesses. We are His tools in the Endtime, His mouthpieces. That's what we live for—to bring people the truth‚ to set them free, to give them Jesus, to bring them happiness and eternal life. And although the road may sometimes be rough and bumpy, we know that we're doing the Lord's will and we're obeying Him. (End of message from Dad)

Comments from one of our COs:

121. It's not uncommon for the Family today to be looking at the seeming success of some churches and question our ways, methods, tactics, message, etc. I think this is something that will need further clarification as we proceed with the Activated build-a–church vision. It's real easy, when we're talking in terms of building a church, to compare ourselves with those in the church system who have been successful with that type of thing. I guess because the terminology is the same, you sort of inadvertently compare with different churches‚ what they're doing‚ how they're attracting people, what their message is, etc., and because they are often pretty successful at drawing larger numbers, then they look more successful at serving the Lord.

122. But we're talking about two very different things here: Building a church and having a place where people come for spiritual feeding is one thing; being the priesthood or serving the Lord as one of the 12 is very different‚ as well as being responsible to serve up a meatier message. That is our calling, and that is the standard that we have to judge ourselves by—not by the 70 or the 120 or the 5,000. (End of comment from CO.)

Denying Association

With the Family

123. (Mama: ) As has been brought out, toning down the message is closely linked with distancing yourselves from the name of the Family. This sub­ject was covered fairly extensively in "Mama's Memos #9," "Preparing Contacts For Future Persecution," ML #3243:80-122, GN 845, which was published in March 1999. Please reread that counsel. Also, the Lord gave more counsel recently in "Activate the World, Part 1‚" ML #3348:57-72, GN 943.

124. One of the COs recently commented:

In one country in our area there was a prevailing fear of persecution due to past persecutions, which resulted in their toning down the Family's radical message and distancing themselves from the Family. The counsel at the end of "Activate the World, Part 1," "Don't Hide Your Light ­Under a Bushel," was a real help in clarifying the right way to approach this‚ and I think gave the Family greater faith in this area. It was interesting to hear some brethren talk about other Christian or Catholic groups who get persecuted there, but who are very bold and upfront in their witness, and are growing by leaps and bounds. This also helped dispel their fear. (End of comment from CO.)

125. (Mama:) Not too long ago, the European Media Desk wrote about a problem situation that came up in an Eastern European country where one Home had a fruitful, long-term ministry going‚ but they had never mentioned their association with the Family. Eventually a journalist put the pieces of the puzzle together and did an article showing how they were indeed the Family. The media desk wrote:

126. (From EMD:) This situation is a sobering example of the hazards of not letting people know that you're part of the Family. In this case, their whole work is now in jeopardy, and they're going to be fighting an uphill battle with everyone, from their landlord onwards, as to why they never said they were part of us and why they never helped their friends understand the Family better. There is little we can do for them at this point. Of course, we can pray for them, and we have offered some suggestions about how to explain themselves now. We are concerned for their landlord, to whom they basically denied outright that they were part of a "sect." Their sponsors may also be unhappy, not to speak of the places where they've been ministering.

127. For the short term it must be easier in many places for support‚ and to be accepted, to avoid connecting to the Family, especially in places where there has been a concerted anti-cult campaign going on for years. But now, in a case like this, their whole work and financial support are shaken, and we don't know if they will even have a work to speak of at the end of it, not to mention the poor testimony that they haven't been upfront, which can reflect nega­tively on the Family as a whole. The issue of "deception" and "front organizations" is a hot one.

128. I don't think there's any problem with doing a project in a different name provided the affiliation to the Family is acknowledged when appropriate. We explain it like this: Each Family community is independently run and self-supporting. Family mem­bers undertake local projects and choose to adopt a name for that certain project.

129. However, if the name of the Family is never mentioned, then you're opening yourself up to an allegation of deception. If a Home has friends and supporters who either ask directly or they are dealing with them closely and regularly‚ and the Family members have never mentioned that they are affiliated with the Family, aren't those supporters going to feel deceived? (This is one of the points made in "Mama's Memos #9.")

130. If we don't acknowledge the Family part in our project or foundation‚ if it comes out later and we then try to justify the reason we never mentioned the Family because, "The Family is my religious belief and therefore it doesn't have much to do with the project," I'm not sure it's going to work. For one, it isn't really true. We are Family members and we do receive Family literature. For another, this is not the government's perception of us.

131. On the other hand, if we have openly stated that we're affiliated with the Family‚ then an article like the one in this particular country wouldn't have nearly as much effect. In many ways the article in question was a good testimony of all of our good works, and the history was fairly accurate and up to date, although it did have some negative twists. But the fact that the Home's relationship to the Family was never acknowledged is going to make people wonder and suspect that there really is something wrong with the Family, or why would the brethren have never mentioned it?

132. It doesn't take much for someone with a nose for information to ferret out all the connecting pieces and come to the conclusion that this reporter did—that these people are part of the Family. And now what kind of a testimony will it be to their friends?

133. We got something interesting from the Lord when praying about this situation. He said: "Bear in mind that in this day and age the warfare is a complicated one, with information spread around the world. This reporter, sitting at his computer, found out much information that you yourselves have published. He just strung it together. So all should take heed to this‚ for this is not the first time that something like this has happened, and it will not be the last." (End of comments from European Media Desk.)

134. (Mama: ) We realize, of course, that there are times when your connection with the Family would need to be kept secret, such as when you're in a country where your work is banned, or where the authorities would imprison you, or where being a Christian in itself is dangerous. But obviously the trend to not make known your connection with the Family is much more widespread than that. I asked the Lord for more counsel about it, especially how this fits in with His call to rid ourselves of the compromises that are making us ineffective. His message is very clear.

135. (Jesus speaking: ) Much depends on the motivation and the details surrounding each individual situation. If a Home deliberately hides their association with the Family to the point that they're actually denying their faith in the Family and the Words of David, then it's a pitiful‚ terrible sample! I can understand taking on a certain name for a particular "Consider the Poor" project if that name has meaning and possibly communicates more to the local people than simply the name "The Family." I can understand that it might be more effective for the upfront name of a project to be such things as "Defeating Drugs in Our Neighborhood" or "Help for the Homeless" or "Tough Love for Teenagers" or "Foundation for the Benefit of Underprivileged Families," etc. Such names are immediately self-explanatory, and therefore people know right away what you're doing.

136. If the motivation for adopting such names is for such a legitimate reason‚ then it's acceptable. But there should always be some association with the Family, some explanation or tie with the Family; otherwise your presentation is deceptive and I cannot fully bless you. If you deliberately hide or even deny your association with the Family, then when it becomes known that you are not just associated, but actually longtime, full-time members of the Family, your reputation, testimony, and works will be tarnished!

137. Your supporters and colleagues will conclude that you've been lying, and if you lied about something as fundamental as that‚ then they'll wonder what else you're lying about. The trust you have worked so hard to build with ­others will be dashed, and your Christian testimony will be sadly tainted. News will travel, and you'll find many doors that would have otherwise been opened to you will be permanently and tightly closed. In the end you will suffer much more for your deliberate deception than you would have had you been honest and presented your association with the Family wisely‚ at the appro­priate time and in the appropriate way.

138. Those of you who think you can indefinitely work under another name with no association with the Family‚ while remaining members of the Family, are living in a dream world. It is foolishness and naïveté for you to think that your membership in the Family will not eventually be discovered. So unless you want to face devastating embarrassment and a collapse of your work, you must be upfront and honest.

139. That doesn't mean you need to tell ­every single detail about the Family immediately, but to actively hide or actually deny your association with any religious movement and to not mention the name of the Family fairly early on in your work relationship with others is extremely unwise and will only backfire.

140. The worst part of this is not just the way your work will suffer, and how you might even have to completely shut down and move on to something else, because your benefactors and sponsors will have lost faith in you and will have to retaliate to save face‚ but even worse is the damage it will do to your personal sample as a Christian. You should be known for your integrity, honesty, and fairness. You should be known for love and truth. You should be known for doing the right thing, for making choices according to your conviction, even to your own hurt. You should be known to be like Me, the Man Who was known for going about everywhere doing good.

141. But how can lying‚ covering up, being decep­tive and actually leading people astray through half-truths, omissions, and lies be looked at as "going everywhere doing good"? You'll be very sorry, but the damage will be impossible to undo. Once you've hurt people's faith in you by lying and deceiving them, even if not by what you say but by what you don't say, it's impossible to regain it. They'll always, forever after, be thinking in the back of their minds, "Hmm … I wonder if they are telling me the truth."

142. Not only is it a terrible, damaging sample to your supporters and something that destroys your personal testimony as a Christian, but it also under­mines the conviction of your children and the younger ones and new disciples who work with you. Just stop a moment and think honestly about what you're saying to the younger ones when you deny association with the Family. Do they see that you're proud to be a member of the Family? Do they see you boldly standing up for the truth? Do they see you accepting your place as a prophet and voice in the Endtime? Or do they see you compromising‚ cowering, and hiding?

143. You who have lied, deceived, and compromised in this way should be ashamed of yourselves! I am ashamed of you! You know it is written: "Whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My Words, of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed." To deny the Family name and to deliberately cover up your association is to be ashamed of Me and My Words that I've given to the Family. You might try to justify your actions and get out from under the conviction of this verse by saying, "Well, I do tell people about Jesus. I do witness salvation. I don't deny the Lord or the Bible." That's not enough for those who claim to be part of the Family. Because you have received much‚ much is expected of you. If you are ashamed of the Word as you know it, as you've been taught through the Words of David, you are ashamed of Me.

144. If you have so little faith in Me and My ability to raise up those who will stand by you for what you truly are, as part of the Family; if you have so little conviction in the message I've given the children of David; if you have so little pride in the work and lifestyle and sample of the Family; if you can so easily hide your faith and deny your association with the Family; if you're so worried that you're going to blow away your churchy contacts; if you're compro­mising for gain so much that you can't even let people know you're part of the Family or use the Family tools or promote Activated‚ then you might as well not even be in the Family! You should have enough conviction to drop out of the Family and join some organization that you aren't afraid to at least say the name of! For Heaven's sake and your own personal testimony, if you can't bear to be a part of the Family openly, then you shouldn't try to be a part secretly!

145. The privilege of reading the GNs that you receive as a tithing member of the Family can't be that important to you, and they certainly can't be making much difference in your life if you're so compromised that you won't even let your association with the Family be known. As I said in earlier times, "I would that you were hot or cold, but because you are lukewarm I will spew you out of My mouth!" It's time to decide. Are you hot?—Or cold? Quit being lukewarm! (End of message from Jesus.)

146. (Mama:) After reading an advance copy of this GN, Dawn in EURCRO com­mented:

147. This GN talks a lot about our relation­ship with other Christians and churches, and compromises that come about because of fear of people's churchy reactions. In Europe, I feel the bigger problem is with the AC anti-sect propaganda, which has spread throughout Western Europe and many of the EE countries now, too, as well as actual anti-freedom-of-religion laws that have passed in some countries and are being considered in others. Many countries are still free as far as their religious laws go, but the Enemy has sure spewed out his flood of media-incited fears and propaganda, so the Family is hard–pressed in an increasing number of countries to find people who haven't been polluted and brain­washed to auto­matically react negatively to anything that looks or sounds like a sect in general‚ and against anything that sounds like the Family in particular.

148. This of course affects the Family's witness‚ so many brethren tread softly with an initial introduction and explanation that whoever they're talking to will understand and accept, but then often they don't let the full truth be known for fear of rocking the boat. I suppose it's the same basic problem as compromise for the sake of gain, just from a different angle.

149. It seems that if anyone has chosen to remain in Europe, seeing the times are changing so rapidly toward the fulfillment of the Endtime Scriptures for these countries, they should be prepared to be wit­nesses even amidst the AC spirit, which we all know is going to become even more rampant here in years to come. It seems that as long as the countries haven't adopted actual laws which ban us or our witness‚ that the counsel in this GN should apply no matter how AC-leaning a country is or how strong the anti-sect media and propaganda is. Of course, wisdom and discretion are necessary, but our goals and message should still be the same. (End of comments from Dawn.)

150. (Mama:) These are good points from Dawn! As some of you might know‚ in some Euro­pean countries it seems like the Family is trying to be as clandestine as we can be, while the Scien­tologists or Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons and others are operating relatively openly—not flaunting their presence, but not ashamed of who they are, either. They don't necessarily get bad publicity related to the same accusations we do, but they do get beat up and have their buildings bulldozed or get refused permission to operate and things like that, so they undergo perse­cution as well. Here is some important counsel from the Lord on this subject.

151. (Jesus speaking:) Not associating yourself with the name of the Family‚ especially in countries where there is a strong anti-cult move­ment, re­inforces in people's minds that all new religious movements are bad, because they never hear or see otherwise. They're left with that delusion, and with time grow more and more close-minded about it. They don't have an opportunity to see the truth. Whereas if you're continuing with your good, solid, Christian sample‚ while at the same time being honest about who you belong to and what you believe, then people can see the truth for themselves, and it breaks down the negative, twisted perspective built up by the media and the ACs.

152. That might not seem like such an important point now‚ but in the future it will have great consequences. The Antichrist is trying to condition people to think a certain way, to be closed to anything out of the norm, to assume the worst about small groups who don't do things the established way. He's preparing them for his takeover and total control.

153. You are a shining example of living outside the System, of living a perfectly healthy and productive life, and anyone in their right mind can see that. You are a living example of truth. You are part of My truth to the world in that way‚ and part of the choices and chances I want to give them to see the truth and receive it. But if they don't hear or see the truth from you‚ they will slowly swallow more and more propa­ganda from the AC, and in the end they will be easy prey. Whereas if you are more open, more honest‚ more upfront, even if some people don't automatically receive you or want to help you, even if it makes things a little tougher‚ it gives people a chance to see the truth and to see that you're not ashamed of it, that there's nothing wrong with it. And it helps to prepare them for the days when they will have to make a choice, whether to accept the AC control or to help AACs, like you! (End of message from Jesus)

154. (Mama:) I pray that wakes you up and motivates all of you who are using a different upfront name in your projects, provisioning or witness­ing, to really get desperate about your testimony and presentation, to make sure you're being true to the Revolution! This is one of the most serious inroads of compromise, and for your own good, and the good of the Family, it needs to stop!

Each of You Must

Make a Decision

155. Peter and I know what compromises are creeping in. We know that many of you claim to be Charter members, but your lifestyle is hardly dis­tinguish­able from the average System person. We know there are still a lot of half-hearted or unbelieving people in our Homes who shouldn't even be in the Family. We know what doctrines many of you are trying to bury due to fear of man, lack of conviction, or compromise for gain. We know there are many who are hardly witnessing at all, much less full time, and that System jobs are sweeping whole continents. We know division threatens to defeat many works and whole countries.

156. The Lord has made it clear that the compromising of our basic fundamental beliefs and what makes the Family different cannot be tolerated any longer. If you think the Family will just keep getting weaker and more compromised and worldly, you're wrong. If you think we no longer believe in forsaking all to live together, being full-time missionaries who live by faith‚ and being dropped out of the church system, you're wrong. If you're hoping things are going to "calm down" and that we'll become more "mainstream" and start preaching just the "basics of Jesus and the Bible," you're wrong.

157. Our radical doctrines are not going away, and if you honestly can't handle it, or you're ashamed of them, or you deny being associated with the Family in your witnessing, and you wish you could just be "independent missionaries," then that's probably what you should be. Things are only going to get hotter! So get ready by getting with it, or getting out!

158. I hope you realize that we're trying to help you make an educated decision by clearly stating that Peter and I will continue to publish what the Lord shows us. We have no intentions of doing away with the radical doctrines we now have, or the ones the Lord may reveal in the future. It's not like Peter and I are "forcing" you to preach the meat of the Word; we're showing you realistically what you can expect if you choose to remain a member of the Family. And of course no one is forcing you to stay in the Family. You must, however, understand that to stay in the Family but try to hide your association with the Family and deny the meat of the Word will not work; it will only hurt you and those you work with. The Lord will see to it that the meat of the Word is preached one way or the other! That is our unique calling and message as Endtime prophets, and we must obey the Lord.

159. Each of you needs to make a decision! To do this you must:

1. Pray about where you stand. Be honest with yourself. Decide where your convictions lie and whether you're willing to stand up for the radical doc­trines of the Family. Take into serious con­sidera­tion that the Family is not becoming main­stream‚ and the meat of the Word will become known eventually. You can't hide from it or think it won't be an issue.
2. Determine where you want to serve the Lord--in the Family as CM, FM, or Active member, or part of our general membership, or in the church of your choice.
3. Make whatever changes you need to make. That could mean a change of your classification in the Family, or no longer being part of the Family and beginning a new life in the System.
4. If you decide to continue as a Charter member, you'll need to rid your life, Home and work of the compromises that will only hurt you and others, including your toning down, ignoring, or denying either the radical doctrines of the Family or the Family name.

160. Peter and I are praying for you. Claim the power of the keys for the changes you need in your life, and for renewed conviction and power of the Holy Spirit to be His witnesses. Call on the keys for faith to know that as you remain faithful to the Lord and His Word‚ He will be faithful to you and will supply all your needs!

With prayer and love in our Miracle Man,

Mama

Additional Reading from Dad
—Answers to Questions
Sent in by You!

Q: Why do we have to even talk about the meat of the Word, when our main job is to preach the Gospel to every creature? Isn't the Gospel Jesus and salvation?

162. (Dad speaking:) I started a revolution‚ and the Family is still a revolution today! You are the called-out ones—called out from the church system. Nothing has ever changed that. You've been called out to preach a message of love that no one else is preaching; that's what I've always taught, and nothing has changed.

163. I've never been mainstream, the Family's never been mainstream‚ and it never will be! Those of you who want a mainstream message, who prefer to stick to milk instead of meat, can take your pick. If it's only salvation you want to preach‚ then go to the churches. I mean it! If that's what you want, I'll send you with my blessing. There are some wonderful folks in the churches—sweet, sincere, and dedicated Christians who love the Lord and want to preach the salvation of Jesus.

164. This doesn't change the fact, however, that the Lord has given the Family a unique calling—that which is distinct from mainstream churches. And we've got to stay true to that calling—the particular calling He's given us!

165. I'll grant you‚ you've been experiencing the maturation of a movement for a good many years now. But just because the Family has grown wiser, just because you're branching out with new methods, new tools, new modes of operation‚ and new tactics to win the world, just because you've grown and have learned better ways to become all things to all men, doesn't mean you can back down on standing true to the message that the Lord has given you. And that is a unique message, a radical message! It's a message of love, of the Endtime, of the Law of Love, of loving Him and doing more for Him, of letting His Spirit live, think, and move in you, of standing up and defying the forces of evil that prevail in the world today, of getting activated!

166. Yes‚ the main job of the Family is to preach the Gospel to all nations. You are to make disciples of all nations. I have no doubt there are sincere Christians in other groups, but when the Lord tells you to make disciples of all nations, He means for you to preach the unique message He's given you to preach! He's given the Family a new religion—a religion of love, a religion of life and liberty‚ of loving each other and loving the Lord. The Family's message is real religion, alive religion, Endtime religion!

167. I've never taught you to pull your punches, and I'm not about to now. Look at the Letters! If anyone thinks I only taught you to preach the milk of the Word, go back and brush up a little on the older Letters and what I taught you. Granted, I taught you to use discretion‚ to not go out of your way to offend people, but I've never been one to hide or cover up the truth of the message the Lord was giving us to preach either.

168. What you folks need to do is balance Scripture with Scripture. Never in all my years when I was with you there on Earth did I advocate the Family concentrating only on the milk of the Word. Are you kidding? Take a look at the radical things I led you in! From our red-robed prophet days, to reaching out to the most despised and rejected of all—the hippies. We let the world know about our views on politics, the fall of America, the Arab Wall, and the Green Paper Pig, just to name a few. We passed out millions for the billions of MO Letters around the world—and those Letters had meat in them! There was nothing mainstream about that! The world heard about FFing—we didn't hide our light under a bushel. Then came our posters that were read around the globe, and our view of Heaven was a far cry different than most mainstream institutions. If you'll do a little homework‚ you'll see I never taught you to stick to only a mainstream message‚ to just the milk of the Word.

169. Use wisdom in bringing your babes along‚ yes, but the idea is to get them off the milk and on to meat!

170. There's nothing like the Family on the face of the Earth! You know why? Because the Lord Himself has called you to live His Law of Love. He's called you to be dropped out of the mainstream. He's given more truth, more of the pure waters of His Word to the Family than to any other group on the face of the Earth, and He doesn't expect you to sit on it and not live it or preach it!

171. When you start settling down to where you want to please the mainstream, you'd better watch out! Yes, you've got to use a little wisdom. You've got to be Spirit-led. I'm not saying you need to go out and knock people over the head with our radical doctrines and beliefs right off the bat. You've got to know your meat, and most of all you have to pray and be Spirit-led on what to give to whom, on where you give it to them, and on how fast you need to go in feeding your friends and sheep the meat of the Word.

172. The Lord has called you to be His mouth­­pieces, to deliver His very unique mess­age to the world—and that message is a radical message compared to what others are preaching. The message He's given the Family to preach today is about the Endtime‚ about loving Him, about witnessing. And for those who want to be disciples and get closer to us, it's about being His Bride. It's about loving Him and praising Him and hearing from Him in prophecy.

173. Did I ever pull my punches? Didn't I always teach you to hit things head-on? What I taught you was to obey God, to follow God and to be true to giving out His message. If it's persecution you're worried about, you'd do better to worry if you're not getting some type of persecution for righteousness' sake. "Beware when all men think well of you!" Of course, we don't want to go out of our way to bring problems upon ourselves, nor do we want to make the Lord have to bring persecution to stir us up or make us obey and get out the truth, but Jesus promised that if they persecuted Him, they'll persecute you. The good news is this: He's promised to keep you through it. He's promised to help you rise above, and you will come through victorious!

174. What you need to worry about is not preaching the message He's given you to preach! What you don't want to do is receive persecution for not obeying what He's told you to do. I've never been one to pull my punches, and I'm not about to start now. The unique mess­age the Lord has given you to preach is what the Family is all about. And now, in this era of action, with the Activated vision, the world is going to hear about it.

175. Why do you think the Lord is giving you the power to rise above and the keys of the Kingdom? He's giving you the power over all impossibilities because He knows that's what you're going to need to preach the unique mess­age He's giving you today—the message of love, the message of His Law of Love, the mess­age of the End.

176. Yes, I've always taught you to preach Jesus, and who knows more about Jesus than you do?—About His personal life, His Heavenly Kingdom, and how He works and operates? What better way can you preach Jesus than by teaching the world His true ways, about loving Him and loving others—about His Law of Love! Jesus said, "The words I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life." He said‚ "My words are Me." So if you want to preach Jesus, you've got to preach the words He's given you to preach. It's all Jesus. That's what the Family's message is to be—the words He's given us.

177. Yours is a special calling, a unique ministry, a unique message. It pays to obey the Lord. It pays to stay true to what He shows you. That's what He's calling the Family to do today. That's what Mama and Peter are doing, just like I did. That's the calling of prophets—to obey what the Lord shows them today and trust Him for the future. (End of message from Dad)

Q: Since most saved Christians don't accept that David can be our prophet, and certainly not "the prophet of the End," should we try to hide this fact, or should we even let go of this doctrine?

179. (Dad speaking:) God has a plan and a purpose for the Endtime‚ and if some people don't want to believe that God used me as the Endtime prophet to give out His message, then that's up to them. You can't force people and beat them over the head and make them believe! And I'm not surprised that church Christians don't believe it, because they don't even believe that God is still speaking today. So it's ­really going to stretch their faith to believe that not only is God speaking today, but that He chose little people like me, and now Mama and Peter, to speak His message for the Endtime.

180. I never thought of myself as a great prophet; I just knew the Lord was real, He was moving, He was speaking, and for some reason, He chose me to speak through. And I couldn't let the Lord down. I had to obey Him by faith and give the words and message that He wanted me to give to you and to the world. I loved the Lord so much and I knew that He loved you so much and He was counting on me to be willing to speak His message, no matter what the cost.

181. I knew the church Christians in general wouldn't like it or receive it and that they would persecute us for it, but you can't stop the Spirit of God or His message and what He wants to do and what He wants to say because you're afraid that it might upset some Christians and make them mad. I mean‚ if they haven't even been able to accept that a prophet has been among them, good night, they're going to have a hard time with the things the Lord has in store for the future! So I think if you're worried now to even let it be said that I was a prophet, and not only a prophet but a great prophet, and not only a great prophet but the Endtime prophet, you're going to have a lot more worries than just that! Because the Lord is not going to stop there!

182. I never considered myself great and I'm not great, but the Lord has a great message to get out and He's not going to stop there. You just have to make up your mind if you're willing to go on with the Revolution and go full speed ahead into the future or not! You can stay back there with the church Christians and read the Old Testament and get a few jewels out of the New Testament, but I'm telling you, you haven't seen anything yet!

183. God is about to explode! The future is so far out that if you haven't even got the faith to speak the name of Father David with great faith and conviction and pride in our message, then Lord help you. I couldn't care less if a few church Christians' feathers are ruffled. So what?! Are they going to be the ones who are going to stand by your side and stand up for the truth and uphold the standard and the Lord's Name in the Endtime when the battles are really ­raging? Are they the ones? Some of them might be, but you're certainly going to know who it is by who is willing to receive the Lord's message of ­today‚ today.

184. It's a new day! These are new times‚ and the messages that are coming in are brand-new! So you'd better fasten your seat belt‚ because you're in for the wildest ride of your life! You're either going to go on with the Revolution, with Mama in the driver's seat—and she is one wild and willing driver—or you had better get off at the next stop. It's up to you. (End of message from Dad)

Q: What's wrong with making friends of believing Christians?

186. (Dad speaking:) There's nothing wrong with making friends with believing Christians. We want friends, and we try to cultivate good, fruitful, meaningful friendships with others—not only Christians but with anyone who shows a sincere interest in the Lord, the Family, and our work. You Family members are highly skilled witnessers who have been trained by the Lord Himself and by me to put your best foot forward and present your witness in a way that will be easy for the person you're talking with to relate to and accept.—Providing they have a hunger and a vacuum in their heart for the Spirit of God and for the truth and His mess­age. And the Family knows that in order to do that, you have to show yourself friendly and have a friendly approach and cultivate their friend­ship. That's just natural!

187. So of course there's nothing wrong with making friends with Christians or with anyone—you have to do that. That's your first step‚ and that's your starting point in any witness. But true friendship is based on honesty, openness, and good communica­tion, and that type of relationship is built on faith and trust in one another. And if whoever you're witnessing to, whether it's a Christian or anyone else, knows that you're going to be open and honest with them and that they can trust you to not be deceitful or hide the truth, but that they can trust you to be the kind of person that's going to be open, then that's going to win their respect and deepen your friendship even more.

188. So if you really want to win friends and cultivate true, lasting, fruitful friendships‚ honesty and openness are a very big part of it, and that means you're going to have to be honest and open with them about your beliefs, your lifestyle‚ our doctrines, who you are, and why you're doing what you're doing. Because of course they're going to be interested, they're going to want to know about you.

189. If they're interested in the Spirit of God and in the spirit they see in you, and they start asking you questions, it's because they want to know, they want to be fed. They're hungry, they're sucking, they have a vacuum in the spirit, and God is using that vacuum because He wants to fill it. And He's going to fill it through you, if you're yielded and willing and open to be the channel to give them His Word, love, comfort, encouragement, guidance and mess­age.

190. So if they start asking you about your beliefs on sex, for example, you can't just clam up and say nothing! Because they're going to think that's pretty strange and they're going to wonder why you're suddenly not willing to discuss something with them and be open and up­front and honest about it.

191. It's true that church Christians don't generally like the sexual freedom the Lord has given to us. He's willing to give it to anyone, but very few people have been willing to accept it, believe in it, and obey it. They think there's something inherently wrong with enjoying sex and being open and honest about it‚ especially if you're a Christian.

192. But the Family doesn't think there's anything wrong with sex—we never have! We've always been very open and forthright and honest in our belief that sex is God-created, God-ordained, Godly, beautiful, pure and wonderful in His sight. That is‚ good, Godly sex, of course. I'm not talking about perverted, worldly, selfish sex; I'm talking about real loving sex where you're giving and caring and sharing and concerned for each other.

193. The Family has never felt there is anything wrong with sex, and thank God He used me to help set the Family people free to believe it and live it and enjoy it and not be dragged down by guilt, condemnation, and the lies of the Devil.

194. So, I'm sorry that it is a point of controversy with church Christians. They've always screamed "blasphemy" or "heresy" when it came to our sexual doctrines, and I'm sorry if it's a difficult thing for you to explain to Christians. But don't worry if they're not willing to receive it. We're not trying to conform to them and to what they like or don't like, and to the way they think we should be, think, or operate, and what they think we should be preaching and how they think we should be living!

195. The Family was not created to conform to the church system! The Lord ordained the Family to be different‚ to be dropped out of the church system‚ to be new and revolutionary and radical and willing and open to receive God's messages. God knew He couldn't count on the church Christians to accept it, receive it, or live it. That's why He started the Family, and He's been using the Family ever since to be His vehicle to show the world not only the beauties of good, Godly, loving sex, and how it can be lived in love and enjoyed and shared, and that it's not a sin, but also other messages that God cannot trust the churchy Christians with because they just reject them. They won't receive it and they won't do anything with it, so He can't give it to them! He has to choose people like you, the Family, who are willing and ready to accept it.

196. So I'm sorry if you can't get the church people to see eye to eye with you about sex. You're just going to have to decide what's more import­ant to you. If it's more important for you to maintain your friendship with your church group or your circle of church Christian friends‚ well, then so be it; that's your decision and your prerogative. But they're still going to want to know your beliefs on sex. They're still going to ask you those questions, and you're going to have to answer them. So you'll eventually have to make a decision between them and us!

197. It just comes down to the fact that you have to decide if you believe in the message the Lord has given us or you don't! And if you're for it and you believe it, you're not going to have any trouble saying so and standing up for the truth and the standard! And if you don't, then you might as well quit pretending and make some decisions in your life about where you want to serve the Lord. After all, if you no longer have faith in our radical message and you continually want to hide it and deny it‚ you'd probably be happier in a different outfit whose beliefs are more in line with your own. (End of message from Dad.)

Q: If something isn't done about our approach regarding our radical beliefs, we are going to go on stirring up the media, making enemies, and for what purpose?

199. (Dad speaking:) You have to keep your eyes and mind on the goal and vision and spiritual warfare. The media gets stirred up because the Enemy stirs them up, because he does not want the Family to get out the Lord's message. These are the Endtime days and the spiritual warfare is becoming hotter and more intense, and the Enemy knows that the Lord is pouring out His message to the Family‚ and that the Family is willing to deliver it to the world.

200. The Devil knows that the messages you've been given in these Endtime days are just what the lost sheep are longing for and desiring to hear. They're radical, they're revolutionary, and the Enemy gets so mad that he tries to stir up the media. He's willing to do anything he can to stop the voice of God. Of course, he can't stop the voice of God, but he's still crazy enough to try.

201. God is in control and He knows just what the world needs and when, and who to give it to and how to give it. And don't worry; if you're faithful to obey God's voice and where He's leading you‚ He'll take care of you. He'll protect you and do miracles for you in order to take care of you. He'll do mighty things for you as you step out by faith and boldly and un­ashamedly tell the world God's message. You have nothing to worry about, because when you're in the center of God's will and being used as His mouthpiece and His tool, the media and all their puny efforts are nothing in the face of God's mighty power and anointing.

202. So what if the media gets stirred up?! Don't worry if you offend a few people and make a few enemies. Jesus always had enemies, those who tried to kill Him because of what He said and what He stood up for.

203. I don't care what our enemies say; all I care about is what the Lord tells us to do and say! That's what we're in this business for! I love the messages the Lord has given us. I love His fresh‚ hot, radical, beauti­ful, wonderful, thrilling messages! Wouldn't you rather have to suffer a few mockers and scoffers and the ridicule and criticism of a few enemies and the lash of the media, than to give up your faith in God and what He's doing today, right now, in these End­time days?

204. The Lord has to use a new approach to reach this generation because they're so lost. They're even more lost‚ more hungry, and more cold and dead in the spirit than previous generations. They need His radical, revolutionary, far–out messages! That's what's going to warm their hearts and give them hope and open their eyes. So don't be afraid to deliver it.

205. It's only the beginning. God has much more in store! He wants to reach His lost sheep, so follow closely and God will use you mightily and to the full, and you'll never be sorry. Because one day soon, all those that you were in­stru­mental in reaching‚ all those people that you helped to win to the Lord will be with you in Heaven, and you'll be able to thumb your nose at all those scoffers and mockers and at the Devil himself, and tell them that's what it was all for, that's what the purpose was—so that we could win as many as possible into His Heavenly Kingdom. (End of message from Dad.)

Letter Links

Following are some relevant Letters on various aspects of discipleship, our controversial message, and conviction versus compromise:

q"Jesus People?—Or Revolution," ML #148‚ DB 4

q"Old Bottles," ML #242, DB 5

q"Expensive Bargains," ML #1401, Vol.15/DB 1

q"Revolutionary Discipleship," ML #1965, DB 8

q"We Are It," ML #2222, DB 8

q"The Dangers of System Influence," ML #2967:1–11, Lifelines 22

q"Charter Responsibilities," ML #3197:46-193, GN 803

q"Mama's Memos, No.9," ML #3243:80-123, GN 845

q"Witnessing and Follow–up Pitfalls," ML #3245:57-77, GN 847

q"Mama's Memos, No.12," ML #3287:18-28‚ GN 885

q"Issues, Part 3," ML #3302:29-38, 48–88, GN 904

q"None of These Things Move Me," ML #3307:132–149, GN 906

q"Issues‚ Part 5," ML #3322:80-99, GN 925

q"Discipleship‚" MOP 1

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