Do they still DF people???

toladest

I visited my sister recently (she is not a JW and was never baptized but is very close to my mother and brothers) and she was telling me that they are no longer DFing people. I told her I heard that too, but that they now announce people as no longer being JW which effectively means the same thing. She said that they don't even do that. My ex-sister in law cheated on my brother and began smoking as well. My sister said that NOTHING was ever announced about her even after having elders visits regarding the issue. She has since married outside the witnesses and still nothing. My sister said she also knows of another incident and no action was taken in regards to any announcements.

Is this accurate? Or maybe the local congergation is handeling it "wrong"? If they are no longer DFing what does that mean for all of us who were DFed? Are we still DFed or what?

I found it weird that one of my brothers is talking to me now after years of not talking to me. He just says we can't discuss spiritual matters. I have not tried to contact my mother or other brothers yet. Not sure if it's got anything to do with this, but I sure would like to know. I haven't been on here much and have not kept up lately. Sorry if this has been discussed before....

Laurie

AlmostAtheist

I just called Brooklyn (718-560-5000) last week or so and confirmed that they do still shun people announced as "no longer Jehovah's Witnesses". So no change in policy. :-(

Dave

wanda

It would be nice if some elders are ignoring Brooklyn. (Shhhh...)

blondie

No matter, so one would tattle on them.

david_10

Hi Laurie. Basically, the elders can do anything they want---------------they have total power and they'll use it any way they see fit. As far as your ex-SIL was concerned, I would guess that none of the elders (or their wives & kids, for that matter) had an ax to grind with her, so they've left her alone, so far. But, if even one elder gets it in for you, he can sway the whole bunch to make your life miserable. And you don't have to start smoking and commit adultery, either. Any little thing can be used to drum you out of the congregation if they decide they don't like you. Their reasoning? "We didn't disfellowship you for what you did-----------------------------it was because of your unrepentent attitude." I know quite a few people who got disfellowshipped because they couldn't figure out why they were being dragged into committee meetings and they let their frustration and anger out. It was their bad attitude that done 'em in.

Anyway, in answer to your question: YES, they disfellowship people all the time. I'm not sure what name they give it these days, but it's the same old disfellowshipping. Some deserve it, some don't. Some that do deserve it get special treatment and are left alone. It's whatever the elders want to do. Are you trying to get reinstated? If so, they make the rules (and often they make them up as they go along and change them at will), and you'll have to jump through the hoops like they tell you. Good luck, I hope everything works out for you.

David

sass_my_frass

I think the change in policy is just a PR exercise; it's no longer called disfellowshipping from the platform or in the publications, but it's exactly the same thing. The announcement now goes 'XYZ is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses'.

They've probably realised that they shouldn't use a word that doesn't actually show up in the Bible anywhere. That would be a bit Catholic.