What was your first taste of "apostasy"? Mine was Bonham, Texas (page 2)

WTWizard

I visited, and read, the site at Beyond Jehovah's Witnesses. (I googled "ex-Jehovah's Witness" to find it and many other sites), and started reading them as they came up. It was as if the lights came on.

Lady Zombie

After 1975. I think it was at a DC in 76 or 77. I would have been 6 or 7 years of age. Apostates were picketing. My mother was just about shitting herself. She had my hand in a death grip and ordered me not to look at them on our way in. She was so focused on the apostates with signs, that she didn't notice one who didn't have a sign and was walking around trying to just talk to the JWs.

She looked like a kindly lady and smiled at me. I smiled back. When my mother noticed the apostate and I smiling at each other, she freaked out and grabbed me by my ponytail and yanked my head so that it faced forward.

I had no idea what an apostate was or what was going on at that point. I just remember almost despising my mother and thinking about the smiling lady and what could have possibly been so horrible about her.

Now I know.

donny

what became of Ralph Deal, and the others?

I wish I knew. I tried locating him in 1993 after I had disaasociated myself, but I could not find him. I went to the old kingdom hall site on Pecan St and the hall was there and a sign read "Christian meetings on Sundays @ 10:00 am" but it was 2:00 pm when I arrived and the place was empty. His name was mentioned several times in the first couple of years after the "great defection" and Witnesses in North Texas really seemed to be fascinated at what had occured.

Big Tex

Donny

I went to the White Rock congregation back then (75-83), not too far from you. I remember the Bonham scandal, and whate intrigued me was that no one would really give details. It was just a generic, "the elder body had to be replaced". No whys or wherefors. So I never really knew what happened. Thanks for the update.

Chris

wednesday

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/11218/1.ashx

one of the previous threads on this subject. I believe this one was from 06.

donny

I remember the Bonham scandal, and whate intrigued me was that no one would really give details. It was just a generic, "the elder body had to be replaced". No whys or wherefors. So I never really knew what happened

They did their best to keep it under wraps but it was such a big event. When I tried to press for more detail I was usually rebuffed with statements like "They just apostasized, what else needs to be known?" I had heard that Ralph Deal had been in contact with Ray Franz before the schism, but I dont know much more than that. I remember after the dedication talk by governing body member Lyman Swingle, I approached him and asked him what had happend to Ray that would cause him to give up his seat on the GB as well as being disfellowshipped.

Suprisingly, he simply said that Ray was not a bad man, but that he just understood the scriptures to say things that the others did not. That was the end of the conversation.

One dope comment was made by an elder in my congregation, Jared Hardie during the dedication ceremonies. He commented that during the building of the new Kingdom Hall, a cattle truck was heading west on highway 56 and all of the cows were looking toward the project. He then said "Even Jehovahs lower creations understand there is something significant going on here."

I laughed inside and thought "Yeah they are on their way to possibly be on one of Jehovahs higher creations dinner plates."