I learned about Irvine during my first few years in the work, 1979 to 1981.What I heard was vague and incomplete, but by 1981 (or so) I had enough info and curiosity built up that I was inspired to do my library research, which I did at the Baylor (Baptist) University library in Waco, TX. I found the most complete archives on us there, that I have ever seen anywhere, looking up such keywords as "Irvine," "Cooney," "Walker," "Jardine," "Carroll," "Two-by-Two's," etc.

H. Gene Nelson

Originally we saw an ad in our local newspaper offering information about a nameless house church. We were curious but shocked to learn they were referring to US! The literature we received really helped us understand all the missing pieces.

The history, when I learned it, was really quite satisfying, because my scientific mind said there had to be such a thing, and since it was workers who told me about it when I first started asking, I guess I wasn't aware that there had been such a concerted attempt at a cover-up.

In about 1991 one of the friends told me that she heard there was a book called THE SECRET SECT. She said that one of our elder’s wives had read it and that it is was all a bunch of lies and that we were NOT to read it. She said the elder’s wife would not show her a copy of the book. I determined to find this notorious book. When I finally located a copy of it I learned about William Irvine and how it all started!

Sandi Gunther

Information was mailed to me about the beginning of the Way. That’s howI found out about it!

I had never heard of William Irvine or Edward Cooney until I found the VOT web sites. It was such a shock!

You were asking how we first heard about the history of the group.Well, I seemed to learn some gradually, and some through the book "TheSecret Sect".

One old woman in Dublin told how when she professed in 1906 there were only 4 friends in Dublin, and my best friend's mother used to talk about going to Crocknacrieve convention around 1917, and said it was the only convention in the British Isles at that time.

My friend (who is still professing) and I sometimes used to speculate about how the meetings started, and we quickly realised that most of the headworkers throughout the world were Irish. From these facts we were able to reason that the 2X2's started in Ireland, or at least in the British Isles about the turn of the century. We were puzzled about the secrecy regarding the first worker or workers, but I put this down to the problem that a group which preaches that one can only be saved through a worker, finds it very hard to admit to having a first worker, as he obviously must be an exception to that rule.

I first read George Walker's statement to the Select Service System about 1958, and was completely taken in by it, as in seemed to support what I already knew.

There were however a lot of gaps in my knowledge, and also in George Walker's account. I did not know about Irvine, or that the group started as a "workers only" movement, or that they had not always preached "No man cometh unto the father but by us". Neither did I know that Irvine had continued to accept Faith Mission support and make use of Faith Mission supporters while setting up his new group.

The workers were always vague and evasive about how the group started, but when I read the Secret Sect I realised there was no mystery about it at all, and many of the workers that I had listened to such as Wilson Reid, Hugh Breen, and Andy Robb had joined the group within a year or two of its formation and knew exactly how it started. Any mystery about the start had been deliberately created, and created what's more by the workers.

I suppose I first read about Irvine in the late 1970's. But the book (an encyclopedia of religion) contained so many errors about the group's beliefs and practices, that I thought that the book was describing a different group. I also saw some historical materials at this time (Cooney's Princess Victoria story, etc.). 1/97

Kevin Daniel

About finding about Wm. Irvine: It was late 70's or early 80's I found out. We were often visiting some of the friends and we talked (and still do) about the false teaching in the 2x2. When I mentioned the teaching that others were not saved he said "that's not true" and then told me quite a lot about Irvine and that he lost out. As far as I can tell he understands saved by grace through faith. I asked him to try to get my wife to understand this. He had no better luck than I. He has a nephew in the work. It turns out there were plenty that knew about William Irvine and said very little if anything. From statements heard I gather that very few in any of the meetings we were in had heard of Irvine.

At the Gilroy Convention I heard Joshua Gamble (spelling?) tell in quite detail about the start of the "Truth and Way". He didn't call it that. Likely the sister workers made a copy of his talk but it would have been destroyed. I heard later Joshua was in trouble because of his disclosure but no one (members) seemed to ever be concerned about it. I've heard some say God raised up a prophet. That fit in but Joshua didn't say that. 1/97

Darrell C. Mansur

When we were in Ireland in 1982 some of the friends told us, in a whispered manner, that a man named William Irvine started the fellowship and he was followed shortly by George Walker, et al. They told us of Mr. Irvine having a death-bed conversation with his sister and this was supposed to have influenced him in some way. They also told us to be sure to see the hardware store, Wier's on Baggott Street, where "The first Sunday Morning Meeting was held." We almost don't like to tell this, because it will show our "slowness" to comprehend; We thought they meant THE FIRST IN IRELAND.

In the Spring of 1994 we received the first in a series of letters which told of the history and other background of our fellowship. An order form was included in that first letter so we ordered one of everything. In that reading process we read The Secret Sect, The Church Without A Name, Has The Truth Set You Free. Those were devoured as quickly as we could read. At that point, we realized that what the friends In Dublin, Ireland had told us 12 years earlier was THE FIRST SUNDAY MORNING MEETING ON PLANET EARTH - the William Irvine way.

Since then, we have asked several workers about William Irvine. Some deny his existence, others acknowledge him - as a prophet - others as just another worker who had "heard the gospel" from a couple of workers before him, etc., etc. 1/97

Last year I came across a message on an online bulletin board from a lady requesting contact from anyone who had been in or knew of the '2x2s'. I had never heard that label in connection with the Friends, but something clicked. I sent her a message, and we began writing. She directed me to the web sites, and places I could contact other exs. I was so excited to find others who had quit going to meeting, my husband and friends are wonderful and supportive, but they really can't understand fully, because they haven't been there! 1/97