by Open mind 42 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
creativehoney, I understand were you are coming from. There really is alot of elders who are hypocritical. My daughter and my wife have fallen victims to that and I can never go back and I'm so angry too. I thonk om is different than the normal elder. Alot of the elders I know (sorry knew) had one rule for one and one for another - THATS HYPOCRICY!!!!!!
Etna
An apostate Elder, in good standing, is the WTs worst nightmare.
He is in the best position to drop seeds of doubt while still being listened to.
If you you want to help your family and friends to escape from the cult, your best chance is by being the last one out, so don't give people who are doing that a hard time. They need your support.
Cheers
Chris
" So here's the brilliant idea that I don't have the chutzpah to carry out. The next time a JC is formed, I'll volunteer to be on it and will likely be chosen since the others are getting pretty burned out. That's where Jury Nullification comes in. Unless the accused admits to child molestation, (In which case I'd excuse myself to call the cops before he could leave the building) my stand would be:He/She is repentant. Private reproof. Period."
Elders are appointed with Holy Spirit ..right
So the fact you are still an Elder must mean you have Jehovah's approval.
So if you are on a JC which is ( supposedly) under the direction of the Holy spirit and you decide to do what you said and it is accepted then it must be the right thing to do..right.
If you are doing something wrong, Jehovah would see to it that you don't serve on a JC or as an Elder..right?
So you should do what you think is right, right?
Open mind - that's my approach too. I haven't sat on a JC for about a year, and have vowed not to sit on anymore, thankfully we have a couple of Elders who love to be on them.
we have a lot of elder hypocrisy in our congregation and they are able to paint a person righteous or unrighteous in one stroke. Conversely if an elder steps down he has to face a huge barrage of insinuations.
But I think its a fact that elders and their families have a decided advantage in getting their own family out when they decide to fade and can dodge may of the awful repercussions ordinary rank and file have to face. I guess though that elders who come on here are indirectly helping rank and file members of JWN who may be reading and don't know the ropes of how to fade/leave with a minimum of bad effects
Reproving them rather than following the hard-line rules will only keep these people in the cult longer. If you really care about them, then DF them, and set them free.
OPEN MIND- I know and understand that you are trying to help as many from the inside that you can. I'm amazed by your ability to not be affected mentally and emotionally by staying around mind control crap you always have to listen to in the JC meetings or normal meetings. Just be careful. Just having that mind controlling info constantly droned about can even reach into our subconscious thought- even though you might consciously fight against it to keep it out. I just hope you can gradually get your wife and children out in time- so you won't have to be around the mind control. I admire your helping any who need a tender hand when facing up to a malignant JC meeting. Perhaps you can assist them to fade like another poster mentioned
This feels like I'm in the middle of a Kafka story.
Fer god's sake folks, I stopped REALLY acting like an elder at least 2 years ago.
I have been a "flaky" elder ever since.
Did any of you who are saying I'm looking for advice on what to do on a JC even bother to read my thread?
I said I vowed to myself 2 years ago not to sit on any more JCs and I HAVE KEPT THAT PROMISE.
Hello?
(insert cricket noises here)
I was just playing a little "what if" game on a thread here on JWN, not actually messing with my fellow elders or other people's real lives like I did when I was a true believer.
Thank you Black Sheep for your observations.
I looked to the experiences of others when I first started reading on here and learned a lot.
The poster "Amazing" aka Jim Whitney gave excellent advice on how he got his family to think from the inside while still serving as an elder.
I think this is a no-brainer. If you really want to give your immediate family the best shot at waking up and smelling reality, you've got to stay in and play it day by day until they're finally awakened. Now, here's where I part ways with OTWO. He says step aside as an elder very quickly and do a fade. You're powerful stand will wake up your family.
Maybe. It's all a crap shoot.
I say, keep your "privileges" and work on them from a position of "spiritual strength". When you 1. step aside and 2. become inactive your credibility goes straight in the crapper for anyone still gripped by the clutches of the cult mentality.
Is it hypocritical?
Yes. I've got the mantle of elderhood while actually believing that much of JWism is total BS.
But since I believe it's a mind-control cult, why should I care about being "true" to their rules?
I care about my family and I'm going to do my best to get them out.
So far, I'm doing pretty well. My oldest child is 99.5% (the highest percentage I've posted to date) free of JWism. It looked like he/she was going to take the plunge for social reasons a few months ago, but now it looks like that's probably not going to happen. Sweet!
My wife is making slow but sure progress. She's a born-in like me and I'm giving her as much time as she needs.
All my kids are allowed to participate in extra-curricular activities. They have "worldly" friends. They know my wife and I think much of JWism is BS.
It's a work in progress and I think we're getting there.
Cast all the stones you want. I only share my experiences here so others can weight it out in their minds before pursuing their own plan.
Namaste,
om
It's a theocratic war and you are behind enemy lines.
In my role as a study I get to ask questions and share "research" that most JWs would not be permitted to face.
I agree with Black Sheep:
An apostate Elder, in good standing, is the WTs worst nightmare.
I think that might be even more terrifying than the internet!
But, of course, it is the internet that keeps the apostate elders informed.
