Complete Trust and Devotion

Whenever my friends or I try to share our concerns with WMSCOG members (such as these contradictions or behaviors) we are met with the following responses.  Are any of them familiar to you?

• "The problem is that you're putting your own mind to it." (In other words, "We must be told what to think and not think for ourselves.")
• "God's words can't be judged by man's common sense." (In other words, "Even though God gave you the Bible and a sound mind, you are not capable of using them by yourself.")
• "You can't understand the Bible by reading it by yourself."  (In other words, "Only our leader can interpret the Bible for us.")
• "Do you believe the Bible?"  (In other words, "If you believed the Bible, you would believe our interpretation.  Never mind that many (ok, most) reputable Bible scholars disagree.")
• "God's sheep hear His voice."  (From John chapter 10.  In other words, "If you don't believe this it's not because it's wrong, it's because you are not one of God's people.  And if you are not one of God's chosen people, then I'm not going to waste my time with you.")
• "The secrets of the kingdom have not been given to everyone."  (From Matthew 13:11.  In other words, "God has not entrusted you with these secrets, and that's why you don't understand.")
• "The problem is that you don't understand God's administration."  (In other words, "It doesn't make sense because you don't understand it...and I'm not going to explain it.")
• "You refuse to accept the truth of God."  (In other words, "I won't consider problems with the teaching, the problem is with you.")
• "You haven't studied enough.  If you completed more of the WMSCOG's studies then it would make sense."  (In other words, "Again, the problem is not with the doctrine, it's with you, and I can use this line no matter how much you have studied with us.")
• "Satan is using you to attack me and try to take me away from the truth."  (In other words, "What you say makes some sense, and now I'm confused.  But I must not doubt!  I will trust in this 'truth' even if it doesn't make sense.")

All of these responses mean one thing--a refusal to consider any thoughts that don't line up with the "truth" as taught by the WMSCOG.  The following is a direct quote from a conversation between "Carly" and "Lizet" (two WMSCOG members) on Jamie's Blog illustrating this.  (The bold emphasis is mine.  The typos are from the original posters.)

Lizet: "...If you really believe in Father and Mother, these things [that 'Father' and 'Mother' had been married to other people and had children] should not change your faith...."
Carly: "...I had no idea about this matter [Carly had previously said that it's a false rumor that 'Mother' has physical children that came from her own body.]...are you 100% sure??  Of course they are Elohim no matter what but that doesn't make any sense, I don't understand...."
Lizet: "Yes, I am 100% sure, unless I was lied to when I first came to the truth, but I refuse to believe that was the case....  Pls let me know if i am the one who is wrong, althoug that would mean i was lied to.  In any case let's not allow these things to shake our faith."

Here's the main problem... and I'm speaking now to our WMSCOG friends:

Has the WMSCOG earned your unconditional trust and devotion?  How will you know if they are worthy of your complete trust unless you thoroughly test them?

Please watch these videos of other people who give their complete and unconditional trust and devotion to their leaders.  Would you agree that these other churches are not worthy of that trust?  And yet, they have convinced these followers of just that, so much so that they will use any and all of the above responses to avoid testing their leaders and finding them false.

How can you know that you are not deceived just as much as they are?  Don't just say, "Well, I know I'm not!"  A deceived person doesn't know they are deceived--that's the definition of deception.

The only way is to put the WMSCOG to the test, with an open mind, being willing to accept the results even if it proves the World Mission Society Church of God as false.  The people in the following videos have obviously not done that with their "churches."  I pray that you will.

(Please notice that the members of these groups are all very happy and sincere in their faith.  Happiness and sincerity are not the primary indicators of truth.)

Wayne Bent
A Russian Messiah
Brian Leonard Golightly Marshall
Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda
Harold Camping (yes, he still has followers)
Westboro Baptist Church

Now for something inspiring...
You may have heard of the Worldwide Church of God, founded by Herbert W. Armstrong.  After Armstrong's death, the church's new leadership realized the doctrines they had held dearly were actually false.  They were brave enough to stand up for the truth, despite resistance and splintering within their church.  And what emerged was Grace Communion International church.
Here's their uplifting story.  It's a long video, but well worth the watch:
"Called to Be Free"