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exJW_2004

Hopefully someone will be able to help answer this...

My friend is still a JW, but she hasn't been going to the meetings regularly and she hasn't been out in service in ages, so I guess she's inactive. A "friend" of hers ratted her out to the elders for something and they now want to meet with her. She's been reproved three times and threatened with DFing before, so if she meets with them, she will most likely be DF'd. If she refuses to meet with them, can they still DF her? My thought is that they can't. Because in a judicial meeting there are three elders, and they document everything. So if she speaks to one of them on the phone and says, "I'm just not emotionally able to meet with you right now or talk about anything." and they have no documented proof or confession from her that she did anything, then they can't DF her, right? Or if they do, won't she have legal recourse against them for defamation of character, slander, etc?

zeroday

If they have two or more witnesses to her wrong doing they can disfellowship her without her being present. If not they can not. She will become a priority and they will do everything in their power to get those witnesses.

exJW_2004

There are no witnesses to what she's being accused of, only hearsay. But two of the people who ratted her out to the elders are known to lie. Sick, isn't it?

I hope you're right. I don't think she's still 100% convinced that it's the true religion, but I don't think she's ready for the demoralizing process of being disfellowshipped either. I'm hoping with time she'll come around...

jgnat

Elders can do what they want. It's not like their little rule books are law or anything. I've heard of JW's being DF'd for being unsubmissive, i.e. refuse to go to the meeting.

Lady Liberty

Dear exJW_2004,

Unfortunately, they march to the beat of their OWN drum!! Since when has anything been done fairly! If it has, its rare! Refusal to meet is showing a uncooperative spirit! They most likely will take it as a sign of guilt. Just by her not being active, they now with the new "policy", can announce she is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses. From what I understand, they are no longer announcing, "so and so has been Disfellowshiped" for legal reasons. Although the outcome is the same, a talk given after the annoncement to let everyone know of your "crime" wether true or fabricated. Then the shunning process comes into play just like when you got D'fd. Now though they can clean house and sweep out all the "Rriff Raff" who are inactive...like myself ... without any wrongdoing. (I am waiting for the axe on me too!) Simply for not "participating"!! They figure if you aren't coming you probably have good reason, good enough that you may be considered a threat in some way. Anyhow, this has been my experience, and of those who are close to me.

Sincerely,

Lady Liberty

looking_glass

It is my understanding it is still the 2 witness rule. However, she may want to keep in mind that sometimes the elders set people up like the police in that they play mind games with the person so they tell their story before the JC says anything. As such, many more people admit to things that were not known, only suspected of.

However, there have been people who have come forward to say they saw something and in order to have 2 witnesses they convince someone else that it is true and they go in together. The JC will not interrogate the 2 witnesses to determine if the info is correct, they assume that the two active JWs would never tell a tale on someone who is inactive.

But I have known of cases where they have df'd someone because they failed to show up for a JC because it was deemed as "going against the elders and Jah's arrangement".

In otherwords, its a crap shoot.

Lady Liberty

P.S. Welcome to the forum!!

L.L.

A Paduan

But two of the people who ratted her out to the elders are known to lie. ; Sick, isn't it?

Very, but they have been moulded to lie - the thing your friend needs do is whatever benefits her the best however she achieves it, discounting formalities of jwism - it's not like some kind of fair playing field or something.

A Paduan

And when the elders told their tale, the servants were greatly ashamed, for nothing like this had ever been said about Susanna. The next day, when the people gathered at the house of her husband Joakim, the two elders came, full of their wicked plot to have Susanna put to death...........................

And as she was being led away to be put to death, God aroused the holy spirit of a young lad named Daniel; and he cried with a loud voice, "I am innocent of the blood of this woman." All the people turned to him, and said, "What is this that you have said?" Taking his stand in the midst of them, he said, "Are you such fools, you sons of Israel? Have you condemned a daughter of Israel without examination and without learning the facts? Return to the place of judgment. For these men have borne false witness against her."

Pity the jws choose not to include that in their bibles

Balsam

Many years ago an inactive sister was seen with a man not her husband. She was accused of adultrey by the witnesses who saw her. Well she went into the JC and flatly denied it all and said that the witnesses were mistaken or lying. By her denying it all the Elders could not disfellowship her because no one actually saw her in bed with this guy, just at a restaurant. The Elders wanted to disfellowship her but had no proof so she got of scot free. She later got pregnant by this guy, denied it and said her husband (who was gay) child. Again she got off. She was one smart cookie. She would go to JC meetings but deny everything and got away with it every time.

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