How to help people whose friends and relatives are active members of the LC

"You could, just stop caring. Is that even an option?"

It seems like an option, but it's not. You'll always care. I know I may be young and out of my league here, but I'll always care about my friend. It just turns into a matter of suppressing your care. Because where I'm at right now - where they are mean to me - I don't deserve that. But I'll always care.

[awareness]

Originally Posted by NeedofHelp

"You could, just stop caring. Is that even an option?"

It seems like an option, but it's not. You'll always care. I know I may be young and out of my league here, but I'll always care about my friend. It just turns into a matter of suppressing your care. Because where I'm at right now - where they are mean to me - I don't deserve that. But I'll always care.

I thought so NoH ... and also think so for ICA ... but will hold that until he speaks.

Caring about each other is far better than caring about the ministry. But will earn you castigation eventually, and considered a Judas against total loyalty to the ministry.

No one should fall for that. Jesus made it clear, in the gospels, that love is the way ... and caring about "the least of these" is caring about Jesus.

[InChristAlone]

Thank you, brothers, for your support. You helped me to look at the situation from another point of view.

I must think it over. My original decision was to stop participating in all activities of the LRC. I love my wife, I do like the saints (the latter care about me more than I care about them and they do it sincerely). But I don't want to belong to an organization that deceives its members, preaching a false gospel. To me, attending their meetings is like giving them moral support. Of course, I didn't do it for the LRC or saints. I was giving moral support to my wife. She always dragged me to the meetings even if I told her about their uselessness. Maybe she was afraid to lose her face. Maybe she wanted to "save" me. Or maybe she didn't want me to lose my face in front of other saints. In case if some of them started thinking that there was something wrong with her husband.

I need to pray about the situation. On the one hand, I don't want to nod and say countless "amen" to their hogwash. On the other hand, I don't want to quarrel with saints, struggling to explain them that they follow a false teacher. However, I also don't want to quarrel with my wife. And I do want to give her support. But I'd not like to support her by my participation in something that I consider a wrong thing. Unfortunately, my wife thinks that it's the right thing. She even wants to take part in the summer/winter training in Anaheim. It's gonna make a hole in our budget. And I always stopped her from doing it but this time I feel like saying, "Go ahead." If she is still hungry, I want her to eat the word of Lee as much as she can digest. There is a danger that she will never be full. But there is also a chance that she will be fed up one day. It's hard to guess what may come. I just see that my tactics of telling the truth about the LRC didn't work out. So according to my logic, my next step should be cancelling my activities in the LRC. It's going to be painful for my wife. She may lose her respect for me. This can be tough for me since I love my wife and I don't want to lose her. Well, maybe I just need to go through it.

So far, it's a dilemma and I really have to pray for the solution.

[awareness]

Originally Posted by InChristAlone

I love my wife, I do like the saints (the latter care about me more than I care about them and they do it sincerely). But I don't want to belong to an organization that deceives its members, preaching a false gospel. To me, attending their meetings is like giving them moral support.

Well I certainly wouldn't want, in such a situation, to be an enabler.

My ex became a drug addict, and impossible to live with. Her heart preferred drugs, to me and our child.

From what you've said so far, you seem to be caught in a gripping, maybe impossible, matter of the heart. Your heart is to your wife. Her heart is to the local church. Your heart is not. There are no easy answers. You've got to be torn.

So maybe it's a good idea to encourage her deeper into the local church. Maybe if she dives in, and over time, doesn't see the promised results, she'll wake up ... and put her heart where it belongs, where likely the lord wants it, to her marriage and husband.

In short, the local church has usurped her heart. She's caught in a cult, or cuz cult is such a loaded term, at least a semi-cult. At any rate, in any case, it appears, her heart and mind aren't her own.

Lord, be into this situation, and with our brother ... and his wife.

Mat_11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

[InChristAlone]

Originally Posted by awareness

Well I certainly wouldn't want, in such a situation, to be an enabler.

My ex became a drug addict, and impossible to live with. Her heart preferred drugs, to me and our child.

From what you've said so far, you seem to be caught in a gripping, maybe impossible, matter of the heart. Your heart is to your wife. Her heart is to the local church. Your heart is not. There are no easy answers. You've got to be torn.

So maybe it's a good idea to encourage her deeper into the local church. Maybe if she dives in, and over time, doesn't see the promised results, she'll wake up ... and put her heart where it belongs, where likely the lord wants it, to her marriage and husband.

In short, the local church has usurped her heart. She's caught in a cult, or cuz cult is such a loaded term, at least a semi-cult. At any rate, in any case, it appears, her heart and mind aren't her own.

Lord, be into this situation, and with our brother ... and his wife.

Mat_11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Thank you so much, Harold. That was really kind of you.

I feel sad about your wife. If I am not mistaken, your ex was Chinese by blood. My wife is also Chinese. I believe I idealize and adore Chinese girls, maybe because I love mine so much. I am a sentimental man, so I feel really sad when I hear bad news about Chinese women. It's like a spot or corruption that sticks to my ideal. I don't want this ever happen.

I have decided to leave the LRC and let my wife dive into it. Well, that's what I am saying now when I am in another corner of the world, thousands of miles away from my wife. And I have no idea what I will say when I see her. I am praying for her so that the Lord open her eyes before I come back. It would be a miracle if she and I could leave the LRC together. The chances are slim, but prayer is the only thing I can do now.

[InChristAlone]

I talked to a priest, asking for his advice about the LC. He didn't recommend me to leave them abruptly: "You have to save your marriage. So, try to leave the Local Church slowly, attending it less and less." It was not the answer I expected to hear, so I need to think it over. Anyway, I'll have to talk to my wife and explain her the reasons why I want to leave the Local Church.

InChristAlone,

If you find any success, please share which method worked out the best. I've still lost my friend to this madness.

What's worse is that she's just turned into this heartless, rude, mean person to me. I hate it for her, because we are about to embark on the time of our lives - the part that we're supposed to have fun and enjoy. And I just feel like she's thrown it all away and is feeling like that's the only answer.

Let me know, and I hope the best for you.