Ronald Weinland and the IRS have reached a settlement in his civil case against them. The IRS has agreed to withdraw the summonses it issued and reissue them withdrawing the demand for records of transactions in 2008. While Weinland's motion was being litigated, the original summonses were put on hold.
The reissued summonses will apply to tax years 2004 through 2007. They will also apply to records of transactions by Laura Weinland or by the "Church of God". Because of notice requirements the examinations of financial transactions will not occur any sooner than late this month.
So while there's a settlement in Weinland's civil case against the IRS, the criminal investigation of Weinland by the IRS CID continues, and the scope of the investigation appears to include the wife of Ron and the Church of Ron although they are not named as the subject of the investigation.
I have more to say about this development in a later post.
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17 comments:
In reading the pro-Weinland witness blog, it is apparent to me that RW has a lot of cooks who are generally end-of-the-world types who are slightly, if not fully, off their rocker and given over to conspiracy theories, no matter what the source. They seem to latch on to Ron Weinland's craziness, but yet are more free-agent than RW would like in his churchdom. My suspicion is that RW’s Internet campaign has had him visit so many insane people, and he really has no way of vetting them for his church like the WCG did with their qualification process. I doubt these people tithe to Ron Weinland and are the observers that RW talked about in his recent sermon.
RW truly was sensational at the beginning of 2008 with his bold dire predictions. Of course, he is just another false prophet in a long line of false prophets and his days as a preacher are only as long as his delusional followers will support, or the U.S. government will allow under IRS regulations of fraud. If he can’t breathe fire on the IRS (as a TRUE Revelation witness), then he must go to jail, do not pass go, and do not collect $200 tithe dollars.
"RW has a lot of cooks who are generally end-of-the-world types who are slightly, if not fully, off their rocker and given over to conspiracy theories, no matter what the source."
That was typical of the WCG as well. The more things change...........
When its a few years, or even a few months prior to what the so-called prophet says will be some awesome and undeniable end-time event, its easy to sit back and wonder. The prophet's critics do not yet have a sound refutation against the prophet, since the date he or she has predicted things to happen on has not yet come to pass. Such was the case with Ronald Weinland. He had told the world (not just his own Church but the whole world!) that there would be some massive event on April 17, 2008. He also made it clear that by now (September 2008) there would be nothing left of the United States Of America and the world would be plunged into a state of chaos that it had never seen before.
Well, none of that happened. Weinland was 100% wrong. He had said repeatedly that is the things he had predicted did not come true on the most literal sense, that he himself would declare himself a "false prophet". He has yet to do this. I think he would actually gain some respect if he did this. He would at least bow out of this absurd freak show with some credibility, having stuck to his word and putting his flock above his own ego. But again, this appears to not be happening as Weinland has only tried to reset his time line of "end time" events.
Prophecy is exciting and inspiring. Its enthralling when we read it and try to imagine how the events described in the Bible could one day play out. But at the end of the day we all know that the events detailed in the Bible are so vague that they could apply to any era of history. Any time could be the end time. We also know one other thing. It is made very clear to us that no one will know the hour or the day when these events will begin. Certainly Weinland does not know!
There is one way in which Ron Weinland has fulfilled prophecy... he has been a "false prophet" in every sense of the word. And the Bible does tell us that there will be people like this.
Any prophet should be considered false until he proves that he's a true prophet.
Have there been any true prophets in recorded history? I'm talking non-trivial prophecies. And I'm also not talking about the fables in the bible.
Have there been any true Prophets in history, beyond those that we believe through basic biblical teachings? I do not know. I know that there are millions of people who would say YES, citing their own religious leaders, who in some cases are automatically prophets through the office they assume. The President of the LDS Church is one such example.
But no one has done what Ron Weinland has tried to do and been right about any of their predictions. Of course, if someone had been right about such things then we wouldn't be contributing to this blog right now.
OK, I'll bite. What prophecy, again non-trivial, of any president of the LDS has come true?
In 1972,before Watergate,I predicted that Nixon would leave the Presidency in 1974.Before Monica,I predicted that the same fate would befall Clinton.We'll he was impeached.
Predicting the end of the world is too difficult for humans.Too many variables.
BTW,if you think the economy is bad now,wait until 2011.
To Anonymous 2:37 AM. Are your predictions documented anywhere? And does this include all the predictions you've made, including the ones that didn't pan out?
I predicted months ago - yes months ago - that Senator John McCain would pick Sarah Palin as his VP running mate. I even told my friends and family about this forecast when I first predicted it. So imagine how proud I was when the story broke and "nobody saw it coming". But guessing candidate's VP choices is a far cry from figuring out how the world will supposedly end. And of course, I do not attribute my guess of who McCain was going to choose to some divine inspiration, but rather to being an astute political news junkie.
I was mentioning how the LDS president is regarded as a prophet, but I cannot think of any prophecy he has ever come out with that has come to pass.
And I don't think there is any prophet in the world today who we can really be sure about. There have been hundreds, probably thousands of Ron Weinlands.
Right now, I think that Weinland needs to give up this whole ridiculous charade and tell his flock, his readers, and everyone else that he has been wrong, that he's been a false prophet or just misguided. He needs to recant all his previous writing and work.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with being wrong. Maybe Weinland was just overcome with zeal and excitement or something. But I there is something very wrong with him continuing to present himself as a prophet even after he has been proven to be totally wrong, even by the standards that he set for himself.
'Gonna need a bit better documentation of that before I'll buy into you as a prophet.
If you want to establish your bona fides as a prophet, publish all your predictions for the future and tie them to an identity other than "anonymous", so we can evaluate them for accuracy.
Think of what you're saying about yourself if you call yourself a "prophet". You're saying you're a pretty special person - one that God has chosen among billions of people. In in the Bible there are very few prophets. Saying you're a prophet is not a far cry from saying you're an angel or the Messiah himself.
A careful read between the lines suggests that Anon False Prophet is a member of the FLDS, and is using the "air of the mysterious stranger" tactic, to try and suck the unwary sheeple in.
It must not have hung around very many ex-Armstrongist blogs; we can spot one of those from miles away!
If Weinland predicts "trumpets" for September 30, then I wonder what he thinks will happen? And what he will say the next day when nothing has happened?
Actually according to the False Prophet's second timeline, Sept 30 which is the Feast of Trumpets is the reSealing of the 144,000. The reOpening of the 7th Seal is on Nov 14 (and the world is to be in Shock and Horror), and the reBlowing of the First Trumpet is on Dec 14.
Still confused? Don't feel bad -- trying to keep track of Ron's ever changing story can be dizzying.
That is confusing!
I'm sure Ronald wishes he was back in the good old days (like about 4 years ago) where 2008 was far in the future and none of his inane "prophecies" could be proven real nor disproved. Back then he had a free ride, distributing endless copies of his book and collecting as much cash as he could.
But today, with each passing month, his story grows more and more ridiculous. But even sadder is the loss of dignity for him, the growing perceptions that his intent is criminal and fraudulent, and the bad name that he brings to religion in general.
The trumpets are silent. There have been no thunders. But 'the end' of Weinland's ministry is now in sight.
My guess is that within a year he will really fade from his own community and not be heard of by anyone. But then he'll probably pop up again with another book or something.
I can see it now: “2016 - God’s Final Witness” Get your FREE copy today!
Here is a pro-Weinland website:
http://theweinlandwitness.wordpress.com/2008/10/04/ronald-weinland-and-the-countdown-the-final-weinland-window/
According to the site, the anti Weinland people have been unreasonable. I disagree. I think these people have simply listened to the prophecies, waited for the events predicted by Weinland, and then spoke up when nothing happened. Anyone who has listened to or read Weinland knows that according to him, the USA should barely be a nation by now, and there should have been at least one nuclear war. These things have not happened. And Weinland himself said that if these things did not happen, he would declare himself a FALSE PROPHET.
No one is being unduly critical of this man. No one is speaking out of hate. I think people are just calling a spade a spade. No one thinks Weinland is evil. They just think he is wrong and needs to be honest with his flock and with all those who have taken the time to read his work and listen to his sermons.
Any reasonable analysis of Weinland - even by one hoping he is right - shows that he has been completely wrong about everything that he has predicted.
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