[Ohio]

During the cold war days, I worked with a Russian engineer who was released during the Carter administration. An opportunity opened to emigrate to the US and he took the chance. Though he was not at all religious, his papers said he was "Jewish," because a parent of his also was so labeled, as were his daughter's papers.

The Soviet propaganda machine daily smeared everything "western." That's all the people knew. Radio Free Europe, the only source of outside information, was regularly jammed by Soviet authorities. The Soviet people daily were brainwashed that theirs was the best life on earth, while America was a cesspool of capitalistic criminals. It was said that half the people in Russia were engaged in spying on the other half. Mikhail settled in Columbus, OH simply because Columbus discovered America. That was his only point of reference with his new home.

After Mikhail got work at my company, and began to acclimate to American life, he sent a letter back to his brother in Moscow. He sent pictures of his home, his family, and his two used cars. His brother promptly disowned him for lying about owning those two cars. Impossible he felt, since Mother Russia was the best place on earth, and he was still waiting to obtain his first car.

Back in those days, there was a saying about those behind the walls of Soviet domination. Absent any honest information, and unable to inform those people of the truth, it was said, "open the door, and see which way the people go." If communism was that great, then all the people would stay. If capitalism were that bad, then no one would dare go there. Open the door to see which way the people go!

Where fear and propaganda run rampant, we can draw a few similarities between life in the Recovery and life behind the iron curtain. I always found it simply amazing to hear how quickly some saint could be "poisoned" and leave the Recovery. We always blamed it on the devil, but if life in the Recovery was so good, and life out there in Christianity was so bad, then surely none would dare depart. Later on I learned how much I was held by fear and false promises. I discovered how much unrighteousness existed at LSM, and how they treated those brothers brave enough to speak their conscience.

It is worthwhile to ask why the leadership at LSM is so afraid of the internet. Jesus and all the Apostles were constantly lied about, but could care less since they walked in the truth. They trusted in God. LSM, however, has many secrets they wish to remain secret. That's why they are so afraid of the internet, and that's why they must quarantine and eliminate any saint who knows something.