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The Birth of the MO Letters |
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 "When I get into writing my Letters, I feel I've got a personal, intimate, tangible touch with every human heart in our whole Family." |
During these travels abroad, David realized
that God had a new calling for him, one of providing written counsel, teaching and
guidance to his followers from afar. No longer was he to be personally involved in the
day-to-day administration of the Children of God. Rather, his role was to remain in
seclusion and lead his flock through his writings. He wrote: "Little did we realize at that time that the Lord had sent us far from our beloved flocks and communities back in the U.S. to reveal and give to us an entirely new ministry! -- A ministry that would prove to be more far-reaching, more lasting and more helpful to millions of God's children than anything we'd ever done before! "I never really found my life's calling till we were far away from our precious children in the Lord and we started writing Letters! That became what was really my calling and what the Lord had designed me for and ordained me for from the very beginning -- to write Letters to feed and lead His children! ... Mind you, prior to this time I had never really written anything. I got out a couple of little leaflets to my first (and last) church pastorate, but that's about all." [44] For the remainder of his life, David remained faithful to this calling. As a religious leader, he was unique, shunning the spotlight, known only to his followers and the public through his writings. While the Children of God and later The Family rapidly expanded throughout the world, he remained behind the scenes, constantly teaching, advising, guiding, and at times chiding them, all the while applauding their efforts to take the Gospel and Love of Jesus by whatever means possible to a weary world. David's writings defined and set apart the Children of God -- and later the Family -- from other Christian groups and denominations. In the last 25 years of his life, nearly 3,000 of his Letters were published. He poured his heart and soul into his missives. He once remarked, "When I get into writing my Letters, I feel I've got a personal, intimate, tangible touch with every human heart in our whole Family." His writings are intensely candid and uncompromising. He intended that the Letters contain the essence of his spirit and character, and in that he succeeded. He bared his innermost desires, hopes and aspirations, as well as his personal fears, defeats and shortcomings. Those who knew him personally affirm that to know the man's writings is to know him. |
