[ToGodAlone]

Originally Posted by UntoHim

“A very large window of hope in spite of the issues swirling around us” – Wow, what an insightful observation by such a young man! Good for you. Whatever you do, whatever happens, do not give up this positive outlook, for it will serve you well for the rest of your life. In the meantime, I know you are in a tight situation with not much experience to draw from. Whether you realize it or not, you’ve run into one of the largest collection of well-meaning geezers on the Internet – well most of us are geezers compared to you. Though most of us are “ex” Local Church members (some of us have been out for 10-20 years), many of us still have family and or friends in the movement and keep close tabs on what’s going on in “The Lord’s Recovery”, so much of the advise you get here may not be as stale as you might think.

Haha thanks for that. I don't consider myself as one likely to have profound insight on things, but it's good to know that I'm on the right track here. And if I thought your advice stale, I would have gone elsewhere. It's people with experience and insight that I was looking for, and I believe I found it here.

Originally Posted by UntoHim

Now for the bad news. However, I feel as though we will only grow in our relationship as God intends for us if we settle the differences between the LRC and other churches. I am going to tell you right here, right now, that if your relationship is going to be dependent on whether or not you can settle the differences between the Local Church and other churches, you are cruzin for a bruzin. The simple truth of the matter is that the Local Church exists for, and thrives upon, their differences with other Christians and other churches – if they compromise then they lose their very reason for existence. As you may know from looking around this forum, they even reject members and churches of their own movement who would make the smallest of compromises with “Christianity”. Now, as others here have mentioned, some of this depends upon what city or region the particular church or individual is in. Also, according to what I have seen, things are “loosing up” a bit in the movement, especially in America, so time may indeed be on your side after all.

I know that the old adage “love conquers all” is not exactly biblical, but I think it may be applicable to your situation. As you may have gathered, “Christ and the Church” is more than just religious dogma to Local Church members. Though they consider themselves Christians, anything and everything to do with Christ is inextricably linked to the Church – Their Church, The Local Church, The Local Churches associated with Witness Lee. This strong link carries over into even the most intimate of human relationships. I wish I could tell you that love can even hold a candle to, much less conquer this religious mindset, but I would probably be giving you false hope. So maybe love does not conquer all, all of the time, and it may be that your love for your girlfriend will eventually conquer the wedge that this religion drives between people. I will be praying for you and her and your situation.

I know that the LRC thrives on the differences, but the key here is that SHE doesn't. The differences bother her. I don't know how much or how strongly she believes in the differences of the LRC vs everyone else, but I do know that they bother her at least. Whether or not she still thinks the LRC as superior is unknown to me, though I am inclined to think that she still has the "LRC is superior to all" mentality. Again, I attribute this to her lifetime involvement within the LRC rather than something that has manifested of her own thoughts and beliefs.