Amnesty GN - Part 1

Renewal: Amnesty
By Mama and Peter FD/MM/FM 3495 4/04

[Note at foot of page 2:]
Note: This amnesty concerns the Family's religious beliefs and policies, and does not absolve anyone from legal ramifications of breaking laws of the country in which they live.
While an amnesty is generally used by legal authorities to pardon, and for a specific period, to make confession of certain illegal activities prosecution-free, for our purposes this amnesty will be a Charter prosecution-free pardon for all probationary status and some excommunicable offenses, not legal offenses.

Dearest Family,
1. I have the honor of announcing a very special gift from the Lord. He has shown Peter and me to grant a period of amnesty as part of the beginning of the renewal period. This period of amnesty begins when this GN is posted on the MO site, and ends August 15, 2004, and applies to offenses committed before this GN is posted, but not after. Offenses covered under the amnesty include probationary status offenses and most excommunicable offenses. We'll get into more specifics later in the GN.
2. The Lord originally showed us that He wanted to grant this amnesty for the sake of those of you who wrote in since the Letters on the Family restructuring were published, especially after reading the "Choices and Consequences" series--those of you who have been convicted to get your hearts right with Him and come clean of unconfessed sin. The Lord is so proud of you for taking that stand of dedication, humility, and conviction, and He highly commends you. Peter and I are proud of you too, especially since you took that step knowing that you would have to endure the consequences--which in some cases would have been excommunication or probationary status. That shows a healthy fear of the Lord and respect for His Word, and you can be sure He is going to bless you tremendously--and with blessings that will mean a lot to you and really make a difference in your life.
3. Plus, He showed Peter and me that He wanted to grant a period of amnesty for your sakes, as an extra and very unexpected blessing, so that those of you who would've normally had to be excommunicated can have another chance, and those who would have had to go through a PS term don't have to. He wants to give everyone possible the opportunity to be strengthened, at whatever level of membership you choose. He wants us to become a strong, uncompromised, winning team.
4. Besides wanting to give this unexpected pardon to those of you who have already been confessing and taking steps to get right with Him, the Lord has shown us to grant this period of amnesty to all in the Family, because He wants to give everyone the opportunity to come clean and have your hearts right with Him as we go into this period of renewal. He loves each of you very much. He wants you to fully benefit from the renewal, holding nothing back in your hearts. He knows how unhealthy unconfessed sin is for you, how much it weighs on you and weakens you spiritually, and makes you vulnerable to the vicious attacks of the Enemy. He knows how the condemnation of unconfessed sin can kill your faith to be what He wants you to be and do what He wants you to do, and to expect and claim the miracles He wants to do for you--in your life, in your work, in every area! It's also one of His laws of the spirit, even if it hasn't been super apparent to you, that you can't receive His full blessings if there is unconfessed sin in your heart. So He is granting this period of amnesty in the hope that you will take the opportunity to be cleansed and strengthened in every area of your life.
5. You might wonder how this message of amnesty fits in with His very clear message in "Choices and Consequences" about the consequences for disobedience, and how our faithful Shepherd is not going to let us get away with things anymore. Well, that message still stands, and is the Lord's message for us today. But He also knows that many of you who are dedicated‚ or want to be dedicated and obedient, have things in your past that you need to confess and be free from if you're going to have the strength to obey and the faith to claim the spiritual protection you need. He wants to give you this opportunity to come clean so that you can be strengthened, so that you can go on from here with full dedication, thankfulness, and faith to be what He needs you to be.
6. You shouldn't be thinking, "Oh, good, now I can disobey and not confess‚ because eventually another time of amnesty will come around." If that's the message you get from this special gift from the Lord, then you're going to find yourself in a lot of trouble down the line. The message you should come away with is: "The Lord loves me so much that He's giving me a clean slate and an opportunity to be strengthened. He's serious about me obeying and being right with Him, and now that He has wiped the slate clean of the past and given me this opportunity to start over, I'm more accountable than ever." He's not going to put up with continued disobedience, and He's not going to wink at it if we continue to sin and cover it up or take it lightly when we step outside the boundaries of His protection. But He wants us to be free of the past so that we can be and do what He needs us to be and do today.

7. (Jesus:) This amnesty is another of My gifts of love to the Family as you begin this period of renewal. As you can see, I'm doing all I can to help you make the right choices and the fastest progress. I've asked you to forsake all worldly input for a time, so that you can focus on the more important things in your lives for Me. I'm giving you the Word and the instruction you need to direct you on the path of progress. I'm helping you focus on the priorities that I know are important. I'm giving you promises about your future so that you can glimpse what I have in store and have a goal to work toward. And now I'm giving you this period of amnesty to make it easier for you to confess anything that you have held back or been afraid to be honest about, so that you can have clean hearts before Me and each other.
8. Having a clean heart is imperative if you want to have your spiritual line of defense strong and solid against the Enemy's attacks. Otherwise, he can use whatever has been held in your heart to condemn you. In those moments when you need to know that I understand and that I'm there for you, he'll use any unconfessed sin to drive a wedge between us. In the moments when you need to know that I have forgiven you, he'll condemn you with the remembrance that you haven't yet confessed, and so can't really receive My forgiveness. When you need to believe in the love of your brothers and sisters and mates, he'll remind you that there's something you haven't confessed, and he'll try to convince you that if they found out, they probably wouldn't love you anymore.
9. Unconfessed sin destroys your faith. In destroying your faith, it destroys your force field of spiritual protection. So having a clean heart before Me is a prerequisite for strengthening your spiritual walls of defense.
10. Confessing sin that you've been harboring in your heart also helps you to grow spiritually and make faster progress, because you're making a conscious choice that you want to be right with Me more than you want to hang on to your pride. It's a step of humility and repentance, and it enables you to really learn from your mistakes. It's humbling‚ so it helps you to be more mature, understanding, loving‚ aware of your need for Me‚ willing to forgive others, and less self-righteous.
11. You also feel so much happier and more at peace, because it's one of My spiritual principles that a clean heart is a happy heart. That doesn't mean you'll never have battles, but it means that you have faith to face and overcome them, because you know that I'm fighting for you. Having your heart clean before Me gives you faith. It opens wide the doors of Heaven to let My blessings come tumbling down on you.
12. And once you've been cleansed and given this new, fresh start, you'll want to do all you can to stay clean and right with Me--not by being perfect, but by confessing and repenting of mistakes or sins as they come up, and not letting them build up in your heart and weaken you spiritually.

13. (Mama:) That's the way the Lord sees it. Confession is a wonderful thing in the spirit, and the long-term results are great and more than worth it. But getting down to the nitty-gritty and thinking about writing a letter and actually telling someone the sins and disobediences you've been unwilling to confess until now is a different story, and will probably be quite a test.

14. (Jesus:) Taking this opportunity to come clean before Me will still be a test, even with the grace period of amnesty, because confession is humbling and your pride will make it difficult. The Enemy will give you a lot of very good reasons for just pretending nothing happened, "leaving it in the past," and going on without getting your heart right. Those reasons will sound pretty good, because he'll be appealing to your pride, and not confessing will seem a lot easier than going through the whole process of confessing and enduring the consequences. Even though you aren't being excommunicated or put on probationary status, sometimes there are other consequences that are unavoidable, like making things right even when it's difficult. This is part of the way I teach you that it doesn't pay to sin and disobey and do the unloving thing. When you have to confess something‚ you're usually admitting that there has been a breach of trust, and sometimes that takes a while for people to get over. It takes time to regain their trust.
15. But, My loves, look at your pride and what it will cost you if you have to confess something. And then look at what you stand to gain through making your heart right with Me, closing the breaches in the spirit, and having a clean start. You'll have to choose what's important to you. But if you look at the long term, you have very little to lose by being honest and confessing, and so much to gain!
16. Another principle to keep in mind when deciding whether or not to take this opportunity is that the more you are given, the more I require of you. What that means in this situation is that I've given you a chance to come clean without the usual disciplinary consequences. If you choose not to take it, you are accountable for that, and things will become harder for you. You might start to feel more of the weight, more of the penalty of harboring sin in your heart, because I gave you such a golden opportunity and you chose not to take it.

17. (Mama:) You who have already confessed, not knowing about this amnesty, definitely deserve the greater credit. You were willing to endure the consequences in order to be right with the Lord, and as I said earlier, because there were quite a few of you who obeyed the conviction of the "Choices and Consequences" series and confessed to past offenses and were facing Charter discipline or excommunication, you are the reason the Lord showed us to grant this amnesty. He's extremely proud of you, and Peter and I are too.
18. You did the right thing, and even if you had to go through some or all of the regular Charter punishment‚ I don't want you to feel like you should have waited longer to confess or that you missed out. You can be sure that the Lord will make it up to you in some special way. He always blesses obedience, honesty, and confessing, even if you do have to endure the consequences. It's still the right thing to do. And that goes for the future, too‚ after this time of amnesty has passed. There will probably still be slips from time to time, and the right thing to do is to confess and make it right. Remember the Lord's message above. Confession brings cleansing and blessing in the spirit.
19. Back to the Lord's intent for this period of amnesty: Some of you probably don't have Charter offenses to confess. But please don't blow this off as something that doesn't apply to you. While this amnesty is granted for the specific excommunicable offenses that are listed later in this GN, as well as all offenses warranting probationary status that are listed in the Charter Amendments GN (GN 1033), the Lord's intent in giving you this amnesty is that you will come clean in every area of your lives and hearts, from anything that is unconfessed or hindering your growth and spiritual progress.
20. Sins such as stealing, gossiping, lying, selfishness, bitterness, self-righteousness, criticalness, etc.‚ do not have immediate Charter punishments attached to them, but this is also the time for you to confess and get them off your chest. Confessing is saying that you don't want to disobey anymore, that you're taking a stand against the sin and that you want help, you want to change. Confessing is also saying that you don't want to hold on to your pride or reputation or fears of man any longer, but you desire the Lord's blessings more than those.
21. These non-Charter sins and offenses should be confessed to the person you have sinned against--whether that's your Home teamwork, your mate, or even your whole Home--and it would probably be a good idea to ask for prayer from them as well. In some cases you will also need to apologize and ask for forgiveness, whether from individuals or your whole Home. As I shared with you in "Renewal: The Big Picture," please do this prayerfully and lovingly. It's a test for you to humble your pride and confess these things, and it will likely also be a test for the person you have to apologize to. So please pray about it, and get counsel from the Lord and even from your shepherds if necessary, so that you can present it as wisely, humbly, and inoffensively as possible.
22. Any Charter-related offenses should be confessed to your VS regional chairperson(s). If you wish, you can also share your confessions of these Charter offenses with your local VS or Home teamwork or parents, or whoever the Lord shows you to confess to. And in some cases, it would be a really good idea to share it with someone who's around you and can pray for you‚ and you can ask them to help set safeguards for you if the Lord shows you that would be helpful. But in order to qualify for the amnesty you're only required to send them to your VS regional chair(s). Sharing your confession of Charter-related offenses with your local shepherds, parents‚ teamwork, co-workers, or whoever, is up to you, and between you and the Lord. If you share them, you will benefit from the help, prayer, shepherding and safeguards that others can give you.
23. I know your pride will be a struggle for some of you. You'll be worried about what others will think. You'll want to protect your reputation. You want past offenses to remain in the past and not come up and spoil things now. I know the Enemy is going to try hard to keep you from availing yourself of our Husband's mercy and forgiveness and cleansing, so I asked Him for some new key promises that will help give you strength.

Call on the keys of humility and they will give you the grace and conviction to confess your sins and come clean before Me and others.

When Satan tempts you to protect your pride and hide your sins, grab on to the keys of humility and repentance. They will enlighten your mind and remind you of all you have to gain through obedience and confession.

Claim the keys of honesty and humility‚ and they will create a wall of protection against the Enemy's lies and nagging whispers entering your thoughts. When he tries to convince you that it would be better all around if you didn't confess, hold up the power I've given you in the keys and he will have to flee.

If you feel condemned when you think about your past, reach out to the keys of faith and peace. When you confess, I forgive you, and the Enemy has no right to condemn you.

Claim the keys of humility and wisdom as you work on making things right with those you have wronged. The power of the keys can mend all breaches, restore unity, and cause you to love with My supernatural and forgiving love.

24. (Mama:) This is not a new push in the Family to start talking about all of our sins and begin spreading our dirty laundry around. But some of you have gotten very familiar with the Lord and each other, and now consider it no big deal to sin and cover it up, or cover up for each other, or just hope no one finds out. This mentality of flying under the radar needs to change, because even if no one else ever finds out, the Lord knows, and it's His blessings that we're most concerned about, because that's what really makes or breaks our lives and service for Him!
25. So while I'm not trying to get everyone into having big confession sessions or anything of that sort, many of you do have things that you should confess and make right with the Lord and your shepherds, and if you do‚ you'll feel much better afterwards! Please do confess to the right people--which, if it's a Charter infraction, would be the chairperson(s) of your regional VS board, and if it's something non–Charter-related, would be your Home teamwork or mate or co–workers. If there's something that's wrong between you and someone in your Home or area, you can pray about how to wisely and lovingly and humbly work to make it right, and I know our Husband who understands every heart will give you good counsel. (Please do not write confessions that are not Charter excommunicable or probationary status offenses to your VS board chairs, as they will already have an increase of communications to read.)
26. The idea is not to be digging down into your life and heart to find something, anything, to confess. But if there is something there that's not allowing your heart to be whole and right before the Lord, then please, by all means, get it out. Now is a good time to do so! I'll be praying for you, that the Lord will give you the humility, grace, conviction and strength to do it.

The Lord's sense of righteousness and fairness compared to ours
27. (Jesus:) The Enemy will try to tempt some of you with self-righteousness, with all this confessing and forgiveness going on. Even if you don't know or hear about the details of who is confessing or what is being confessed, he'll try to make you suspicious or feel "righteous" toward others. He might encourage you to question My ways of working or My sense of fairness.
28. Think back over the many instances you know about where I worked in mysterious ways to accomplish My purpose. Jonah warned the city of Nineveh that in 40 days they would be destroyed, and then when they repented, I no longer destroyed them. John the Baptist warned the people to repent, and then I came in the flesh and died for them to forgive them. The thief who hung on the cross next to Me repented at the last minute and was welcomed by Me into paradise.
29. There are many, many examples of things I have done that might not make sense to you, but they are perfectly in line with My sense of fairness and justice. And you can be sure of one thing: No matter what something looks like on the outside‚ I see the heart, and that's what I judge you and everyone else by. It's a fair means of judgment, and it's far beyond what your mind can reason out by looking at outward appearance. So please don't let the Enemy come in with a sickening spirit of self-righteousness or condemnation or questioning My sense of fairness. You don't need to be judging those around you and wondering what they really deserved. You can rest assured that I see everything, and eventually, everything works out fairly.
30. Your attitude should be one of praise and thanks to Me for My mercy, goodness, righteousness, and justice, and you should search your own heart and desire to partake of this spiritual cleansing too, as the others around you are. The sins of the spirit are sometimes more hidden or easier to get away with. They're harder to discern, and sometimes you don't get the shepherding and correction for them that you need. But if those are the sins you're most prone to, I encourage you to take this time of cleansing for yourself too. You need My forgiveness just as much for the hidden or less obvious sins of the spirit, so reach out and take it. Don't let your pride and self-righteousness get in the way of My cleansing and forgiveness. Don't be so busy pointing the finger at others that you don't take hold of the cleansing and deliverance that I want to give you.

31. (Mama:) And here's a good reminder for all of us:
32. (Jesus continues:) Remember too that My message of accountability and obedience still applies to each of you today. I am wiping the slate clean of the past, but those who try to test that mercy or clean slate in the future will find that I hold them more accountable than ever. So praise Me for My faithfulness and goodness, and then go and sin no more.

Details of the amnesty
33. (Peter:) Here are a few important points to take note of regarding the amnesty.
34. * The amnesty period begins on May 3‚ when this GN is posted on the MO site, and ends August 15, 2004. It covers offenses committed before this GN was released, but not offenses which take place after May 3.
35. * This is a one-time amnesty. You can't expect to receive a pardon or commuted sentence later. If you commit a probationary status or excommunicable offense after May 3 (the date this GN is posted), or if you confess an earlier offense after the amnesty period is over, the RCC and your COs will have no choice in the matter and will have to administer the appropriate discipline. No matter how much they like you and love you and wish they could grant leniency, they must abide by the Charter. In order to preserve the Family's communal lifestyle as well as our testimony and witness, the excommunicable offenses are things we cannot allow in the Family on any level, and that's why they're excommunicable, and they will continue to be in the future. The offenses warranting probationary status will continue to warrant probationary status in the future. This is a one-time amnesty.
36. (Jesus:) My loves, you must realize that these rules are to protect you and your children and loved ones. Disobedience to these rules jeopardizes the Family, and that's why the consequences for disobedience are appropriately strong. It's because I love you and want to keep you safe. So be thankful for the serious consequences, knowing that they effectively protect you from a lot of bad things happening. They're My love to you. (End of message.)
37. * In order for this amnesty to apply to you, you must confess the offense.
38. * This amnesty is retroactive to confessions made since November 15, 2003, when "New Year's Challenge for 2004" was published, and applies to all who willingly and of their own volition confessed to probationary status offenses as well as the excommunicable offenses that fall under this amnesty. This means that if you willingly confessed to an offense and are currently on probationary status, you can end your term without having to communicate with your VS board CO and without the need to get any kind of confirmation from them. Or if someone who confessed (from November 15, 2003 onwards) has been excommunicated for an offense covered by this amnesty‚ they can begin the rejoining process if they wish.
39. * If you confess to knowledge of an excommunicable offense committed by another person, or if you confess to your own PS or excommunicable offense that implicates another person, please inform the other person/people involved that you are doing so.
40. (Jesus:) I place a lot of stock in a person's willingness to humble their pride and confess. It's a sign of true repentance, because you're willing to endure the consequences in order to be right with Me and right with others. There's a big difference in My eyes between willingly confessing and wanting to make things right, and hiding your sin, hoping no one will find out, or blowing it off as no big deal. (End of message.)
41. * Please send your Charter–related confessions to the chairperson(s) of the VS board in your regional area. All regional VS board chairpersons are COs and will handle your confessions wisely and lovingly. They will not gossip about these matters. At the top of the first page, or at the beginning of the file, please include your name, Home number, and the offense. For example, "Sex with outsiders" or "smoked marijuana." This will make it much easier for the VS chairperson when reading your confession. If you choose to send your confession by e-mail‚ please close it with the appropriate PGP key so that it's secure. They probably won't have time to write you a response, more than a simple, "File received, thanks very much!" But please know that they love you, and we love you too and are praying for you. The e-mail for your regional VS chair and their key will be posted on the MO site by the time you receive this GN, Lord willing. (Lord willing, you will receive a post office box address as well, so you can send your confessions on paper, if you wish.)
42. Verbal confessions also "count," but written ones are more convenient for the VSB chair(s). Please do not, however, request to meet with the VSB chair(s) or call them to make your confessions verbally. This option of a verbal confession would be for those who live with or near or have some contact in the course of their ministry with the VSB chair(s).
43. * The amnesty period is from now until August 15, 2004. If you want to receive amnesty for your confession‚ you must send your confession by August 15 at the latest. After August 15‚ all offenses in the Charter and Charter Amendments GN will be handled as stated in the Charter and Charter Amendments GN.
44. * If you choose not to confess something during the amnesty period and it comes to light later, you will receive the penalty listed in the Charter.
45. * If you have had sex with outsiders, you will need to get an HIV test six months after your contact with the outsider(s), and you must abstain from sex with anyone but your mate during the six months until you have the test. That's not a punishment; it's simply to protect the Family from any possible disease.
46. * If your COs or VSs are recommending you for a change of status or reclassification, please don't try to use this period of amnesty to renegotiate that. If you're being asked to move to a different classification of Family membership‚ it's based on the guidelines the Lord has given in the Word regarding the requirements of the various categories of Family membership. This amnesty does not override their recommendation that you have a change of status‚ even if part of the reason your shepherds give for such a change of status is based on your Charter-related infractions or other sins. Please take their recommendation as the Lord's will for you, and remember that if you want to change to a different status later, you should begin living at the standard required for that level of membership now, and in January 2005 you will be able to apply for a change of status to where you want to be.
47. * Fellow members who acknowledge to their reporting office that they are participating in the renewal period are also eligible for amnesty for the excommunicable offenses listed below.