How I obtained my personal files from Bethel (page 6)

Ultimate Reality

Paul, thank you for your effort. You have given a rare glimpse behind the curtain.

You can be sure that you have saved more lives with your website and your postings than any years spent on the WT. I am amazed and impressed by your courage and pursuing the access to your records. I think we ALL should do the same.

So I am down if this is possible in the US or Mexico.

Snoozy

I too will read futher in this post later..I have tried in the past to get my info and they told me it is their property now. I requested a copy of my DA letter . I was under the impression then that you had no legal rights to it in the USA..that our laws were different.

Snoozy who's letter had incriminating statements in it and figures they would burn it before giving me a copy of it..

undercover

Thanks for the info Paul... I also have used your site quite a bit and am thankful for your hard work.

blondie

Info on privacy acts (?) in US

http://iassistdata.org/publications/iq/iq22/iqvol223stratford.pdf

doublelife

Marking so I can read this when I get home.

leavingwt

bttt -- One of the best posts of 2010.

donny

I thought the comment that disbelief in God is not a judicial matter, but believing a different doctrine about God is was very humorous.. Talks about BS!

yesidid

What I think is so sad, is that your CO dad and your mum can't appreciate what an incredible son they have produced.

y

jwfacts

It is morning in Australia now and wow what a lot of comments overnight. Thank you for all the encouraging messages. There is too many to thank you all personally, but I have tried to answer the questions people have asked.

Wobble- This may be a silly question, after disclosing what they hold on you , are they allowed to keep copies ?

Yes they can still keep the copies. However, if I was to find anything incorrect I can request is destroyed or fixed. That is the purpose of the Privacy Act.

Michelle365 - From what I heard through the grape vine I had apparently disassociated myself by my actions

This is a very unfair aspect of the whole process that being used more these days. Disassociation does not give you the opportunity to appeal and so can be even more unjust than d/f. When the WTS had issues with the Bulgarian government in order to obtain legal recognition they had to say having a blood transfusion is not a disfellowshipping offence. What they then did is made it a disassociating offence. That way the Bulgarian government thought they had done Witnesses a favour when in fact the situation became worse. It appears elders are using the same principle for apostates as well at times.

jookbeard - can I request this from the UK Bethel by means of a phone call or do I have to write to them?

You should write a formal letter and keep a copy as it is then on file and they are forced to respond. If nothing happens you can then show the letter to the Privacy Commission (or equivalent) in the UK for them to chase up.

inkling - How did they find your name connected to the website? Were you open about it, or did they have to dig around somewhere?

My site was originally annonymous so they had to go to great lengths to associate it with me. The elders documented what they did in the document attached to my d/f form at http://jwfacts.com/images/6-2006-full-disfellowship-documentation.pdf It included looking up the site register for my postal address, monitoring comments I made on jehovahs-witness.com (easy as I use jwfacts as my avatar), looking at my profile page on wikipedia etc for personal comments.

Babayaya - I don't guess this would work for anyone who is not in Australia?

The UK has very similar laws so it could work there. I am not so sure about other countries. I will try and find out more about the situation in the US.

Moshe - It was interesting to read the detective work the elders did to connect you to a PO Box used to register JWfacts. It's too bad they haven't done the same thorough detective on the WatchTower Society.

I thought the same. They spend so much time investigating outside sources when trying to discipline someone, yet shy away from ever investigating the Watchtower Society.

Donny - I thought the comment that disbelief in God is not a judicial matter, but believing a different doctrine about God is was very humorous..

I think that was one of the most important things I read in all of it. They didn't really care about my faith in God, as long as I did not express a lack of faith in the organization. The priorities are completely back to front. God should be the most important belief and each level below that of lesser importance. The thing is that they never really found out if I believed in God or the Bible, as they almost solely concentrated on whether I trusted the Slave was directed by God. If I said I did not believe in God that should automatically indicate that I am "no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses". It proves that being a Jehovah's Witness means being a follower of the Watchtower Society rather than a follower of Jehovah. I have seen that in most conversations I have with JWs.

Yesidid - What I think is so sad, is that your CO dad and your mum can't appreciate what an incredible son they have produced.

Thank you. The thing is they do see it, yet cannot integrate it into their reality that the Watchtower is truth. I feel very sorry for the difficult situation they are in as it has caused them great heartache. I just hope in time their concept of the Watchtower Society will become realistic enough to understand they can worship God but still be proud of me as their son.

How I obtained my personal files from Bethel