Just a question really and whilst I would not put it past them I sort of feel it is too 'conspiracy theory' for me. Are elders and Bethelites officially sanctioned to lurk (or engage) in this or other sites to try to weedle out apostates? Does anyone have any direct experience of it happening?
Do Elders and Bethelites really follow this site?
by jamesmahon 35 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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JWoods
It has been claimed several times, I believe without any real proof. I too think it is just a little on the wacky-conspiracy side to be believed.
Probably there are some amateur lurkers here from Bethel a lot of the time, though -
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jamesmahon
Yeah it just seemed to me to be little paranoid. Also I would have thought that there would be a fear that anyone they wanted to do the task would end up poacher turned gamekeeper (or other way around perhaps)
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Marvin Shilmer
About ten years ago I was at Brooklyn Bethel in the office of a long time Witness and friend of mine who worked there. I asked what he was working on and he said he had been tasked to find himself.
He explained that Watchtower mucky-mucks wanted to know who was behind a certain persona posting information online, and then he told me the subject's moniker. I recognized the pen-name right away; it belonged to my friend. It was an amusing moment. He declared to me that he had already found himself but was not particularly compelled to report the finding.
Marvin Shilmer
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sir82
It has been claimed several times, I believe without any real proof.
Does first-hand testimony count?
The poster known as "Amazing" recounted several years ago how, during a deposition involving WT attorneys, he was confronted with printouts of what he had written on this very website. Someone with lots of patience and an adeptness with the site's "Search" feature ought to be able to find those threads.
In my opinion, they probably don't monitor the site regularly, perhaps not even frequently. But if there is some "big news", or something potentially embarrassing or damaging to them that is likely to become widely known, I'm virtually certain this site is one of the first places they would look to see what the "apostate community's reaction" would be.
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jamesmahon
Wow - looks like they do then. Marvin, that is really funny. "he had found himself". I suppose in a way this also shows that someone must have been looking at sites to want him to go and find himself, if that makes any sense. How very sad. Amazing that for all the bible's prophecy it never once mentions the internet (or maybe there is some obscure reference by some wacko prophet along the lines of "and the trustworthy snail was gobbled up by the many headed hedgehog. And lo! the hedgehog began to feast upon the vomit of the unbelievers". I am sure it will be in there somehwere)
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undercover
Someone already "out" like Barabara Anderson or Randy Watters, there's not much they can do.
But if someone anonymous is posting information that is sensitive or clearly not released for public consumption, it gets their attention. Anyone who can hurt them, they'll keep an eye on. The vast majority of us though are no real threat so we're not on the radar. Which is short sighted.
What they don't seem to care about is that while most of us don't have the connections or channel to info that can embarrass them or whatever, our combined strength continues to grow and grow. More and more people awaken to the lies of the cult and join boards such as this one. As more and more active ones start to question, the odds are that there's one of us nearby to assist in their search.
Not that there's much they can do anyway. That's why they demonize the Internet and scoff at news reports that criticize them. They try to rule by fear and that control is starting to unravel.
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JWoods
Well, I had not heard that story by Marvin Shilmer...I can see them doing it in isolated cases like that.
However, like Undercover says - probably the more they publicize the internet by poring over it for hidden apostates, the more they just publicize it an hurt themselves.
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Essan
Well if they do set people they task of monitoring this site, the must choose the most dishonest, truth-hating, men-worshipping Watchtower idolators they can find to do the job, because anyone with an ounce of integrity and love of truth wouldn't last long in the Org. after about a days reading here.
The only people immune to the truth are those who have no regard for it.
Either that or, like the example given above, almost everyone in Bethel is now a double agent, working to bring the Org down from the inside.
Oh, I hope so :)
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blondie
There were 2 posters, husband and wife, that posted with their real pictures on JWD and also were in pictures posted at the event before 25 Columbia Hts re child molesting that were approached by the elders with his information. But you have to provide the fodder.