How Do I Leave As A College Student?

Hello everyone,

For some context, I grew up in the local churches and to say I am heavily indoctrinated would be putting it lightly. I was very zealous for the LC movement up until I moved to my college in 2022, but I always had some doubts surrounding some of Lee's ideas. My locality's serving ones and my stepmom especially would always put it off as you're eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil and need to eat more from the tree of life, which would always be a subtle push to read more ministry or bible with footnotes from the LC instead of just the bible. I can't believe I am saying this but before college, my life long dream was to go to the FTTA and become a full time serving one.

Anyways, my first quarter of college was a very big turning point where I met my girlfriend, who is a Christian believer not from the LC, whom I obviously tried to recruit to my campus's Christians on Campus club. She instantly was able to discern something was very weird with my group with the way we prayed and called on the Lord, but she was very wise to drag me out slowly overtime. My heart was very hard during that time, so had she done it too fast, I would've had thought it was just another attack on the LC movement.

When I fellowshipped with some elders and full-timers about my dating situation I was very surprised as most actually expressed hope that perhaps God is using me to let her come to the LC movement, but there was one elder who sternly told me to think carefully about dating outside the LC as I might be led astray. Ironically, I am fully convinced now that my merciful God used her in order to finally help me to conclude that LC movement is a cult, and as I read many of the threads on here and watch the many Youtube videos on the subject I am starting to realize how erroneous this path is and just how much past history the "shepherds" I've looked up to have hidden.

Now to get to my main point and situation, I want to leave my local church for good and cut all ties from the LC, but there is just one problem which I wish to receive some guidance on. I am currently living with two other college aged brothers from the local church who are not church kids but were both saved around their 1st year of college. They are both very involved with the campus club and college trainings/conferences, but I would say they're not too deep in the rabbit hole of indoctrination yet. It would be easier for me to leave the local church if I wasn't living with these brothers but I renewed the lease with them for another year, so I will have to be in the same house as them until fall of 2025. I have prayed and prayed over this matter and God tells me to have faith and rely on Him and get of the LC but I know as long as I am living with them I am still vulnerable to the "fellowship" of my local church's elders and campus full-timers who will be questioning my decision and gaslighting me. I know I will be criticized and questioned by the brothers I am living with but that's not a big concern for me as I still want to care and be there for them.

I am making this post to ask for similar experiences and advice from any ex-members who have left in college or just in general. Obviously I won't be putting what college I go to as that would be doxxing myself but I am seeking to personally chat with current ex-members through email if possible as I do feel very lost and confused at the moment as you can imagine since this was the past 20 years of my life and I am now entering a new season.

Sorry if this was a very lengthy post and if I still carry traces of Lee's and LC's indoctrination in my linguistics.

Thank you saints and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

-S

[aron]

Originally Posted by S

I can't believe I am saying this but before college, my life long dream was to go to the FTTA and become a full time serving one.

Hello S,

First off, don't blame yourself for who you were. Small children uncritically absorb and mimic their environment, which is how they survive. You did what you needed to make it through childhood. So congratulations. No small feat.

Originally Posted by S

Anyways, my first quarter of college was a very big turning point where I met my girlfriend, who is a Christian believer ... I am fully convinced now that my merciful God used her in order to finally help me to conclude that LC movement is a cult, and as I read many of the threads on here and watch the many Youtube videos on the subject I am starting to realize how erroneous this path is and just how much past history the "shepherds" I've looked up to have hidden.

An important point here is that you recognize some value in your path. A merciful God. Another thing to be grateful for. Many who wake up and realize it was all a scam just throw up their hands and say, "Why bother" and give up eeeeveeerythiiing. But you didn't go through all that for nothing, and the merciful God isn't merciful for nothing. So, hold on & don't let go.

Originally Posted by S

Now to get to my main point and situation, I want to leave my local church for good and cut all ties from the LC...

Most who post on this discussion forum were in some way LC-entangled, and in some way gotten (or getting) free. But every journey's different, even unique. So here's advice for anyone, in any situation. Always remember that what you do to others, that is what God will do to you. Be patient and caring, be kind, be pleasant. God will watch over you. Your two companions in that house are a divinely arranged opportunity to manifest something of the kindness and mercy that has found you. Give, and it will be given to you: pressed down, shaken, running over.

Everything in the LC was designed to shut off your God-given faculties. Now, you can freely use them. So do the things that were forbidden: 1) get information; 2) think about it; and 3) ask questions, lots and lots of questions... If you model these behaviors for your companions (very carefully, yes, I know) they'll pick up some of the breadcrumbs. They were designed to think, too. Just paint the picture, plant the small seed, trust the LORD to water and life can grow...

(Sotto Voce) Hey, Bob! I was reading about what Witness Lee called the Center of the Universe, here in Booklet XYZ. I got interested, & did a Google search on "Witness Lee Center of The Universe" and lookee here!! He's proposed not one, not two, but five distinct centers for the universe! What should we think about that, I wonder? How can he propose five centers, when by definition 'center' is a singular entity? Look, the altar, the laver, the tree of life, the throne, the human spirit,... all the center?

Bob: "Uh, I dunno, I guess I'll go exercise my spirit"

Hey look at the RecV footnotes. Some Psalms are held as fallen because the Psalmist was supposed to curse, not bless, right? So, it was deemed fallen and natural, not the Spirit revealing Christ. But look over here, the same kind of imprecations are said to be a type of Christ defeating Satan. I wonder why it's interpreted one way here, and differently there? What do you think, Bob?

Bob: "Huh.."

And look here, David hit Goliath with a rock! Shouldn't he have blessed him, along the same interpretive metric? And then Samuel with Agag! Wow, wasn't that natural? Seems funky in these OT interpretations, how one thing is natural and another is fallen and another is 'Christ'. And yet they all look the same.

Bob: "Uh, you're thinking too much"

Yeah, maybe... you know, I read WL's biography of Nee, called The Seer, it has a whole section on Dora Yu & Peace Wang. I wonder if they'd be allowed to speak at a Blending Conference today. How come sisters can't function today, but 100 years ago they were leading lights in the Recovery? There's a whole chapter on them in the Biography. Margaret Barber, Madame Guyon, Ruth Lee, et al... But today they're taking care of toddlers. What do you think? Odd, no?

Just keep asking questions. Read, think aloud, gently but persistently challenge. It may make folks uncomfortable, but they'll get it. It's like riding a bicycle: once around a few times, you get the hang of it.

p. s. all of us here on this planet have just a little time together. Occasionally I get feisty, trying to wake people up. But mostly I really, really try to get along, to appreciate, to value, to see commonality, not difference. So I'm mostly not combative with LC types, even fire-breathers. (I was a fire-breather, once). Or the agnostics, for that matter. Or the atheists. Or the evangelicals. Every person God gives us here, is a chance for mutuality & grace. And the tougher the nut to crack, the more satisfaction there is. So, be at peace, you're where you are. God can make a home, there.

p. p. s. For every one who asks, there are forty more out there thinking along the same lines, but they're afraid to speak up because the earth will open up & swallow them, maybe. So if you muster the fortitude to write, others will be encouraged.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I am making this post to ask for similar experiences and advice from any ex-members who have left in college or just in general. Obviously I won't be putting what college I go to as that would be doxing myself but I am seeking to personally chat with current ex-members through email if possible as I do feel very lost and confused at the moment as you can imagine since this was the past 20 years of my life and I am now entering a new season....

Hey God bless you- I would pray earnestly for God to make a way for you if it is really concerning you. When I lived with people in cooperate housing and wanted out, God really pulled through for me in unimaginable ways when I decided to leave. It's good their not too deep in though as you said.

I only say this because there really is another spirit operating behind this organization, and it feels/is damaging. God will provide and protect you either way. Thank you for sharing !

[ThankfulForever777]

Originally Posted by loopy

I only say this because there really is another spirit operating behind this organization, and it feels/is damaging. God will provide and protect you either way. Thank you for sharing !

In my own journey, I began noticing discrepancies while still involved in the LC, but it wasn't until I completely distanced myself that the Lord gradually revealed much more to me. I came to understand that there was another spirit at work within that movement, and the teachings and practices were far more damaging and anti-biblical than I initially realized. This separation also accelerated my healing process.

It's essential to be bold and resolute in following the Lord. When pursuing truth, we must anticipate and be willing to bear the cost. Breaking away from a controlling religious environment is never easy and often comes with significant challenges. When my wife and I made the decision to leave, our parents, who were deeply entrenched in the Witness Lee and the Lord's Recovery movement, were living with us. If we had waited for a "better" time to depart, we might have missed the Lord's prompting to leave altogether. However, shortly after we left the LC, the Lord provided a new living arrangement for our parents and they moved out which was not feasible earlier.

It's remarkable how the Lord provided you with your girlfriend who helped you see through the deception. In my case, the Lord sent me a friend who truly understood and prayed alongside me. It's crucial not to isolate yourself from other believers during this transition from cult-like thinking to embracing normal human and biblical perspectives. Surrounding yourself with genuine Christians for support is vital during this challenging time.

Originally Posted by ThankfulForever777

In my own journey, I began noticing discrepancies while still involved in the LC, but it wasn't until I completely distanced myself that the Lord gradually revealed much more to me. I came to understand that there was another spirit at work within that movement, and the teachings and practices were far more damaging and anti-biblical than I initially realized. This separation also accelerated my healing process.

It is interesting you came to that conclusion that another spirit was operating there as well. I talked to a few people who have felt the same. It was hard to discern because they say alot of the seemingly 'right' words, but the fruit of it all is horrific..