[Freedom]

At a basic level, I think WL's use of repetition could be attributed to the fact that he had a lot less to say than he would have liked anyone to believe. I remember when I was reading through the Life-Studies, time after time, I encountered passages that were essentially repeats of something I had just read. I never though much of it, and just assumed the repetition was being employed as a rhetorical device for emphasis - a minor annoyance. It would seem, however, that it would be hard for anyone to argue such was the case, because there are plenty of examples where the repetition was clearly unnecessary. Probably most LCers don’t think much of it.

That being said, I think repetition can be used to induced an 'altered' state to the extent that it is used to manipulate. I wouldn’t say it is definitely used that way 100% of the time, however, I have seen clear examples of it being used manipulatively. For example, I was in the car once with an elder, it was just the two of us. The entire drive, he wanted to call on the Lord out loud, and I really had no choice to do the same. It quickly got to the point where I felt it was awkward, but what could I do? If I told him we should stop, then I'm sure he would have found some way to criticize me. But in a situation like that, there are all kinds of conversations that could have taken place, even a 'spiritual' conversation. By being pressured to engage in a repetitive calling on the Lord, the hidden implication was that having a normal conversation, particularly small talk, was not acceptable. So it can be guaranteed that kind of repetition is used in a manipulative manner.

Just from what I've seen of WL's printed ministry, all the repetition, the emphasis of things that don't need it, it seems there is a least one noticeable side effect. That is that people who read it assume that the repetition is for their own good. They think that as "small potatoes" if they can't understand why WL spoke on a certain topic so much, then they shouldn't question it. So it serves to keep people in their place. Then people get bizarre ideas about needing to pray-read and 'digest' it, constantly trying to decipher it. It diverts attention, keeps them from moving on to more profitable things.

I watched a youtube video some time ago where one of the blendeds was telling everyone about the ‘proper’ way to read the Life-Studies. The claim was that it was necessary to find and understand WL’s ‘burden’ behind each message. Of course, if someone actually tried do that, it would be a wild goose chase, because only WL knew his ‘burden’. But again, what this does is keep everyone at the elementary school level. They read and somewhat understand WL’s words, but they never graduate to the position of being capable of scrutinizing it or looking beyond it.