Elders? do the rest of us know what they know..? (page 6)

jookbeard

cant really remenber there is nothing earth shattering in there, and he did not have hardly any notes, as regards the 5 year rule, good question that I dont know the current policy on, I think a lot depends on the CO and if he wants to get dead wood out of the cong

Georgiegirl

AE - thanks. I truly am fine, now. But yes, THIS is a prime example why JW apologists (meant gently!) encounter so much anger here when they come on and talk about how wonderful the organization is and how it has never done any harm.

Know that many of the ones who have been harmed are OUT - and many of them b/c they were disfellowhipped to keep the events quiet. There are verifiable cases and cases and cases of this. Those that are in - wouldn't know unless they come to sites like this - which is why the society discourages visiting "apostate" sites. The truth always does come out, one way or the other, I find.

You know what? I don't blame him, honestly. I think he was a sick sick man who did horrible things, yes. But the fact is that he was ENABLED to do so BY the organization who didn't remove him as an elder and allowed him to serve for TWENTY MORE years, then never reported him to the proper authorities when there was finally more than one witness to the abuse and THEN re-appointed him!!!! And that was not the policy of a few imperfect men in a random congregation. That was organizational policy. And yes - I hold them far more responsible.

Georgiegirl

Not sure the question, AE? Haven't attended for five years in general? As in, do they hunt them down and DF them? Or just in general don't attend?

truthseekeriam

Hello AE,

My child's molester has been put in prison for his acts against my child as well as others and was never disfellowshipped as well. I'm at a total loss as to why not and that along with how we were treated has lead our family to question everything we knew about our loving ORG.(?) I can't understand how the most innocent of Jehovah's sheep mean so little to the men who deal with these cases within the congregation.

In my opinion after knowing first hand how things are done I don't see any child being safe within the congregation and that makes me really sad because I really thought we were in a spiritual Paradise with our B/S instead it seems the only Paradise is for the molesters who have more rights then the victims.

If you have children please be aware it's never the brother who gives you the creeps I mean I thought I was really good at picking out the bad guys. It's always the one you and the whole congregation least expects.

TheClarinetist

GG - Do you blame the organization as a whole, or the GB? I've come to think of "Jehovah's Witnesses" as a separate entity with a mind of its own independant of the individuals that make up it. LoL.

angel eyes

GG, its in general, I know a sis who has been to meeting for 5 years and shes started to go back, she got divorced etc long story but she asked me do the elders approach her to have a study with her? Or speak before the ministry? Or what?

truthseeker..sorry to hear of your ordeal too, so glad he is locked away but how on earth could they keep him as an elder..sis the scum bag deny it then?

Georgiegirl

You know...that's a tough question. I personally know some of the GB (or knew - heh) so it's hard to reconcile the "little old men loving Jehovah" image with the facts. Giving them the benefit of the doubt with the two-witness policy - and assuming they never originally thought about the fact that it could be used as a loophole for pedophiles - the FACTS show that they were later clearly informed what was going on AND POLICY DIDN'T CHANGE, and didn't really change until the monetary settlements. That in and of itself is more than enough to show me that these decisions are not spirit directed.

If you are referring to the organization as everyone that is a JW, no, certainly not. I really believe the vast majority are misguided and true believers. They are in a cult. They want to love God and serve Him, and got caught up in a cult and don't know it. I can't blame them for that.

If you are referring to the organization as the administrative structure that runs things, and makes and enforces the rules? Then yes. I blame them for not doing the right thing. If they are truly shepherds who weep when sheep are "skinned and thrown about" - this policy would NOT be in place.

Does that makes sense, Clarinetist?

truthseekeriam

Correction: He wasn't an elder at the time of the molestation but he was in good standing at the KH. He remains a JW in prison.

angel eyes

I know a sis who has been to meeting for 5 years and shes started to go back, she got divorced etc long story but she asked me do the elders approach her to have a study with her? Or speak before the ministry? Or what? What is the elders duty regarding this?

Georgiegirl

AE - they can keep him on as an elder because the organization allows them to do so.

GG - I can only answer your question from what I knew before - any of the current elders on the board might have a more accurate answer. Typically the elders would want her to study again with someone they consider spiritually strong. Who she wants to study with her is irrelevant, by the way. This is because the "truth" is constantly changing so what she was taught all those years ago is more than likely, not the current teachings. Unless she was d/f'd or d/a'd, I don't think they can keep her from the ministry, although they will probably assign her a partner at first. They will probably also want to ascertain her current status (i.e. has she re-married, b/f, etc.) And they could, in fact, disfellowship her NOW that she's going back if they feel she committed adultery in the past and hid it and was not properly punished for it.

Each case is different because of the circumstances.

Elders? do the rest of us know what they know..?

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