Did You Hope Certain Newly Appointed Elders Would Change Things In Your Hall?

by minimus 23 Replies latest jw friends

  • cantleave
    cantleave

    I thought I could make a difference. But ended up beating my head against a wall.

  • minimus
    minimus

    There were some elders that believed the Organization might change for the better. These "reformers" tried but were outgunned by the majority. Any hope of reform has died.

  • zoiks
    zoiks

    Yes. I have seen some nice young guys become part of the machine. It's so sad to watch that last little glimmer of humanity in their eyes slowly fade away.

  • littlebird
    littlebird

    Min, did you have trouble being accepted because you were appointed young?

    To your question, not really. I didn't think about it much, except that my husband was always jealous because he couldn't understand why he was never appointed.

  • minimus
    minimus

    Littleb, some had no issue with me being a young elder. Others werecontent to speak to "older men" with family problems and I couldn't blame them.

  • LongHairGal
    LongHairGal

    Yes, I did back in the day. Very often they are brought in because there is some problem or somebody had to step down, etc. You hoped for the best that things would change for the better. In the beginning, they always seemed nice. But, once the major gossips and the heavies in the hall got hold of them and told them all the local gossip (which they DO listen to no matter how much they deny it) and made sure they BIASED these men in favor of the popular prevailing attitudes, they started to lose their luster, as far as I saw it.

    Very often what seemed like a 'nice' guy ended up being another S.O.B.

  • minimus
    minimus

    A few on the BOE were SOBs.

  • undercover
    undercover
    Very often what seemed like a 'nice' guy ended up being another S.O.B.
    A few on the BOE were SOBs.

    The 'nice guy' elders were few and far between. And because they were outnumbered 7 or 8 to 1, they were basically useless in causing change for the better or good.

    As for the SOB elders, they maybe outnumbered the 'nice guys' but they weren't a mass army...maybe 1 or 2 out of 7/8. But when they were SOBish, they went all the way and then some. And because they were such SOBs, most people either hated them or feared them. So they became useless due to alienating most everyone in the hall.

    That leaves the other 5 or 6 who weren't 'nice guys' or SOBs. They were company men. They obeyed the rules to the T, they couldn't think for themselves, they were afraid to step out of the role of rule obeyer to try to do the right thing. If it came down to doing the right thing or obeying the Society, they obeyed the Society...thus making them useless as well.

    And 'new boy' elders were mostly useless. They either came in afriad to buck the system or they thought their shit didn't stink thus pissing off the more established elders. Either way, they were to naive and inexperienced to be able to do anything 'good'.

  • JWoods
    JWoods

    Anyway, what would a newly appointed elder really be able to change?

    Reduce the load of 5 meetings a week + 2 or 3 days in field service for the non-pioneers? NOPE

    Change any of the failed doctrines like false prophecy, killer blood rules, stupid sex proclamations? NOPE

    Change the course of some disciplanary committee against a majority of established elders? NOT VERY LIKELY

    So, what change was really going to take place? Maybe a little different style on the platform, NOT MUCH ELSE.

  • minimus
    minimus

    The worst hardliners are the biggest hypocrites.

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