are we inactive or what? (page 25)

flipper

INACTIVE- You are getting a lot of good advice here! How are things going ? Keep us posted as many are concerned ! Hope you are doing better as time goes on and your daughter too, keep close to her ! Peace out, Mr. Flipper

erandir

shopaholic

After being told that our reaction to all this would prove ourselves, we stood firm, and on that wretched day of the announcement of my daughters disfellowshipping, my husband and I sat in the second row like we always did. The elders kept asking if we were sure we wanted to be present. We said, 'we did nothing wrong, we are making our stand'. They put it off and put it off, finally just before the song, they announced it, i looked the elder in the face, the whole congregation gasped and cried and could not sing. So for 6 months we never missed meeting, or service, and continued our pioneer hours. In the meantime, slowly but surely, the shunning began. No one called, no one came over, no one would work in service with us, we were asked to sit in the back of the hall, my husbands priviledges were removed, then the 7th month, we were told our time would no longer be accepted, the next month they stopped giving us publications, and the next month were told we should go elsewhere.

Your story sounds very normal because something very similar happened to me. I went to a congregation that decided I was a fraud of a pioneer, people shunned me and even when I boldly confronted them, they would just walk away. I went out in service as usual and the brother would not assign anyone to me and told me that as a pioneer I would be okay working alone. I spoke with the CO as well with no results. Then finally after one meeting, an elder told me that I should go elsewhere. Its been a year now that I've been away, not even one call around the memorial or for a CO visit of inactive persons.

Ask yourself why you want so badly to belong to a religion that treats you that way. There was no reason for you and your husband to lose your "privileges" in the congregation. If you daughter was 21 and a pioneer she was fully accountable for actions, even if she lived at home with you. Being a JW is not about serving Jehovah, its about obeying the elders and being accepted by the congregation. There are so many ways that you can serve your God and I don't think cleaning up after JW's is one of them.

Inactive, I hope you and your husband take the time for quiet reflection to figure out who you really are and what you truly want to accomplish in this life.

I wish you peace, happiness and calmness of heart.

S.

Rosalee

shopaholic ...

why did they consider you a fraud?

this doesn't happen for no reason.

shopaholic

shopaholic ...
why did they consider you a fraud?
this doesn't happen for no reason.

To put a long story short and as OTWO summed it up onetime, someone messed up my paperwork. I served abroad for a few years. Came back to the States but to the warmer parts where a good pioneer friend had recently relocated. I was fine while I was in a foreign language congo but after almost 3 years, I transferred to a different language group that was hosted by an english congregation. That's when all Sheol broke lose. They also claimed I never served abroad even though I showed them all my papers including my missionary id granted by the other country and copies of my consulate papers. But you wanna what gets me, one brother said he thought it was very strange that my KH in the other country didn't have an address or a phone. He's obviously never been outside of the US or to rural America! I told the brothers to call the branch in the other country or to write them, the address is in the back of the bible!

Like Inactive, I tried very hard to get within the good graces of the congregation. It didn't work. The brother said I should go elsewhere and I did but a letter followed me and the same thing started at this third congregation. So the elders from my first cong (the non-english) contacted me and told me that they believed me and that I was welcome to come back there...this after I've moved to a new place to be closer to help out the little language group.

There are so many little strange details to this story...like the brothers asked if I ever went to pioneer school and at the next meeting I brought them my class picture and my book. The brother asked did I take the notes and I said "Yes"...then he asked me to write something to verify it was my writing. I'm not kidding. In the past, I've only told the jest of the story because I knew that I would be treated like Inactive, people wouldn't believe me.

I don't know if Inactive is telling the truth or not, all I know is that her story is NOT hard for ME to believe. I personally cried almost everyday for a few months and felt like I wanted to die if I couldn't be a pioneer in the org. I continued to put in pioneer hours and went out with the morning group although I had to work alone and during this time people would continue to shun me. If I walked up to a group of folks talking they would just walk away...LOL...I can laugh about it now because I see the absurdity in it all. Then the brothers would ask if that was really my time or if I was generously estimating my time on my slip. Then one night as I was getting ready for the TMS school, I couldn't go...I just couldn't bring myself to do it...and all those doubts that I fought to suppress came back up but I forced myself into the car but ended up at the mall. Then Sunday came...I got dressed and said I'm not going to let them get between me and my God, I got in the car with all intentions of going to the meeting but I ended up at the mall...after all they did recommend that I go elsewhere.

Rosalee

If you were able to walk away that easily. did you really have faith to begin with?

Did you ever consider contacting headquaters and asking what was up with these elders?

I don't understand someone being so easily put off and doing nothing about it ... if they figured they were in the right belief.

What do you do now?

Do you have any belief or faith?

p.s. you do have the ring of truth in your story ... inactive does not ...

Bobbi

Hi Rosalee, nice to see you again. I guess after a weekend filled with spiritual association and food at the proper time, you felt the need to pop onto your local apostate website for a dose of reality.

I am a just so happy you have a place like this to come too... don't you you agree?

Bobbi

OnTheWayOut

If you were able to walk away that easily. did you really have faith to begin with?
Did you ever consider contacting headquaters and asking what was up with these elders?
I don't understand someone being so easily put off and doing nothing about it ... if they figured they were in the right belief.

This thread has become a sounding board for doubt about telling the truth and doubt about faith.

Rosalee, if you are able to post on this site, knowing your faith condemns doing so, do you really
have faith? Do you consider contacting HQ and asking them, "Is the truth afraid of the lies? Shouldn't
the light be on top of the lampstand, revealing the lies, instead of under the lampstand with everyone
afraid of the darkness?"

Shop just finally saw this light after much agonizing in the shadows of it.
Perhaps the same is true for you too. Welcome to the place where we are not afraid to shine the
light into dark places. Keep posting, you are good at spotting ducks, but maybe you are one of
us more than you are one of them, which would make "them" call you a duck.

Lady Liberty

Dear Inactive,

WELCOME to the forum!! I was unable to post until recently because my keyboard was on the fritz.. however I was able to read your post and everyones replys.

I believe your story, as crazy as it seems, because my husband and I have been through the ringer with our old congregation ourselves. In March we will have been out for 3 years. My how time flys!

My husband and I were sickened at how you and your family have been treated. I really found it suprising that some here were doubting just how cruel and unloving you were being treated within the congregation. As with most of us here, we have not been treated much better. We all know that each and every hall has their own quirky set of rules that are in place based on their own elder body. You can go to one hall and something is accepted, and go to another and it is a shunned and is a sin! So personally, we believe your story and our heart goes out to you and your family!

Sadley and recently, the forum was dupped by someone who had the hearts of almost all here. Now many are reading with a sceptical eye. And it doesn't help that some JWs like Rosalee are here to stir it up and cause true JWDers to doubt you. It is clear she is deliberately trying to get you to feel badly about being here so you won't find friendship or support here. Too bad we some through her though!

Here is a thread she posted..I suggest going through her comments and seeing how unkind yet JW typical she truely is!

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/29/142621/1.ashx

Quandry pegs her here....See comments from the above thread (Rosalees comments are in yellow):

Quandry ... thank you so much for highlighting those posts for me. Brought back memories of some fun I've had ;) So there we have it, folks. Straight from the horse's mouth. She was looking for some fun. Like a naughty child poking a small animal with a stick. Unfeeling, uncaring. Just out to get a rise out of people in pain. You are not a nice person, Rosalee. You do not imitate Jesus in any manner, no matter what you say. Your actions have spoken otherwise.

Funny how none of the JWs wanted to believe my story as to why I began questioning the organization. They wanted to blame it on my parents and their influence because they had left the organization 2 years before us. So I truely understand your frustration!!!! As bizarre as my story is, it is true. And I believe yours as bizzare as it is!!

Here is our story: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/109978/1.ashx

Hang in there! There are ALOT who believe you and care about you that are on this forum!

Sincerely,

Lady Liberty

Rosalee

Actually, I was only interested in what 'shopaholic' had to say since we were discussing her story.

I'm sure the rest of you enjoyed jumping in ... I'll wait to see what 'shop' has to say.

it appears that inactive is living up to her name.

are we inactive or what?

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