A LETTER TO MY NEWS PAPER...........

by vitty 12 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  vitty

  I tried cut and paste a letter but it wont come up
  I thought I would write a letter to my local paper and I was wondering what you all thought of it.
  
  Dear Editor
  
  I thought your readers may be interested to know how to stop your local Jehovah’s Witnesses calling at your door. A simple request to be put on the “Do not call list” that every congregation holds will ensure no more call.

  Of course genuine mistakes are made but on the whole this will stop them calling for at least a year. After that someone may call to see if you still live there or have changed your mind and would really like to be called on again in the future.

  This may to some seem like a strange reason for writing and sending this information to your readers but as a Jehovah’s Witness myself for over 20 years, I do feel I need to warn families in this town.

  The witnesses that call at your door are likely to be nice, sincere people who believe they are doing Gods work. I did so myself, until I was given information that gave me the truth on the organization and its history. Unfortunately it is the most vulnerable people in the community who are at most risk, the depressed, the sick and the stay at home mother. These are the people the Witnesses will say need them the most and that any criticism is persecution. Also if any family member or friends tries to warn their loved ones not to get involved, this is also an indication of persecution or Satan the Devil trying to stop you learning about the bible and God.

  This is not any harmless religion, where the members are trying to live by Gods word. This is an organization that splits families, crushes the growth of its children and puts enormous pressure on everyone involved.
  Once you join you can never leave (cant think of the right word to put here) ……with out a huge fallout. Once you join you will not have freedom of speech. There are many stuck in this religion desperate to get out but know if they leave they could be disfellowshipped and shunned If you have genuine questions or doubts you WILL be disfellowshipped and shunned by all your family, long life friends, sometimes if you are employed by another witness, this again causes enormous problems.

  This organization has many scandals that their members are completely unaware of, as they are told over and over again not to go on the internet or read anything that is critical of the society. The most disturbing one is the child abuse problem and the way they deal with offenders within the congregations. Big out of court settlements have just recently been made, with of course a gagging order on the victims. If you ask a Witness about this, they will maybe genuinely not know about it or say it is the work of apostates (former JW members with an axe to grind) in short they wont believe it!

  I myself write this because I am a witness that can not just “ walk away” I have family whom I love and want to remain in contact will. It is a daily struggle trying to open their eyes but also not exposing myself to being disfellowshipped.
  If you are having a study with a witness, I urge you to research for yourself before you commit to anything
• 

  JH

  I have that problem too when I copy from Word and try to paste it here, or from a source that the fonts are different.

  OK, now I see it
• 

  vitty

  If anyone spots any gramatical or spelling mistakes please say

  Now I just have to have the courage to do it

  Do you think they would publish it, or is it liable
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  eclipse

  Great letter, Vitty!
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  Sunspot

  That letter rated a four thumbs up Vitty!

  hugs,

  Annie
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  skeeder

  I love it!

  Will they print it if you do not give your name and address?

  S
• 

  tula

  It is certainly worth a try. Let us know the outcome.

  I think most letters to editor require your identity.

  You can give your identity and ask the publisher to withhold it from print.
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  LaniB

  Great letter, the only suggestion I could make is to possible look at explaining "disfellowshipping" and "shunned" as some outside may not know what the terms mean

  ie "if you question you will be put out of the congregation (disfellowshipped) and lose all contact with family and friends (shunned)" or something like that.
• 

  Gopher

  Vitty,

  I think the letter has lots of good points. To get printed, you may need to get it focused on one or two main points of interest to a reader.

  Just a suggestion, it could go something like this:

  Are you annoyed when your Saturday mornings are interrupted by someone trying to sell you their brand of religion? There's an easy step anyone can take to ensure that this will stop.

  The next time Jehovah's Witnesses make an uninvited visit to your door, cut to the chase and ask them to be put on their "do not call" list. If you want to take it a step further, warn them that you will call the authorities if they fail to honor your request and call again. Then close the door.

  This will prevent them from calling for at least 1 year, although they may call again after that to make sure that you still don't wish to be called on.

  I'm a longtime member of the local congregation, unable to leave because of the strict rules that would prompt my family to shy away from me or shun me if I were to leave. I write because I have seen the Witnesses focus their message towards the most vulnerable in the community, including the depressed, the sick, and those who have had sudden tragic changes in life. This religion divides families, crushes its children's growth and puts enormous pressure to conform on its members.

  I urge anyone who has questions about the Witness movement to research them on the Internet. You'll see plenty of problems below the shiny surface they present.

  Name withheld by request

  - Gopher (of the I-was-a-high-school-newspaper-editor class)
• 

  worldtraveller

  Nothing will get printed without verification. You should ask to speak with a reporter. Usually,a reporter will have sympathetic ears. It could get published as a story if you pursue, but your name would have to be anonymous . Good luck-please perservere.