by smiddy 6 Replies latest watchtower bible
My querry is : if you disassociate yourself from a congregation,do they send you a letter confirming this action ? And if not, and it`s read out at a meeting that you took this action are you able to get confirmation that you actually did this ?
I know this may sound silly, but I dont recall doing this many years ago,as has been recently claimed by someone I contacted.
smiddy
smiddy,
i da'd myself within the past year. I handed my letter to a long time elder friend. He tried to give me the speech "whenever you are ready to come back" and I simply told him I was never coming back. That was the only confirmation I received. I have a mother who is still in and all they did was innocently tell the congregation that i was "no longer a witness"
pbrow
From my own experience . . . and from other comments posted here . . .
It would appear experiences vary and nothing is hard and fast. The various BOE's from different congregations often handle things quite differently. With some it doesn't require a letter . . . your actions or comments can demonstrate you no longer want to be a Jehovah's Witness, and this can be announced from the platform . . . without your knowledge.
I myself have never been DF'd or DA'd yet I am viewed that way be every Witness I ever knew. Perhaps they read my FB page?
pbrow/sizemik
Thanks for your response,I do recall being visited by an elder and another I cant remember in 1994 ? And I did tell them then verbally I didnt want anything to do with the religion of jw`s anymore.
So maybe that was all it took
smiddy
Thanks for your response,I do recall being visited by an elder and another I cant remember in 1994 ? And I did tell them then verbally I didnt want anything to do with the religion of jw`s anymore.
So maybe that was all it took......
Smiddy, stating that to 2 witnesses would easily be enough for them to announce "Smiddy is no longer one of JWs."
DOC
I disassociated with a letter that asked that I be informed when and if an announcement is made about me. I was never informed or contacted. I later sent a certified letter to the congregation asking about my status. I didn't receive a reply. I then sent a letter to the headquarters. They replied. They told me to contact the local congregation.
My letter made some legal threats so I think its possible that they never made an announcement about me. However, I did send other letters to friends and relatives, so I'm still shunned.
The one upside is that if I run across a JW who doesn't know about my situation, I don't feel any obligation to tell them that an announcement has been made, because I honestly don't know if there has been one.
In theory, in the USA, they can't decide to make an announcement later if they decide not to make an announcement when the resignation happens. They can inform the congregation when someone leaves, but making an anouncement a long time after the fact could be viewed as punishing a nonmember and might not be tolerated. The Mormons have gotten into legal trouble for doing things like that. It makes me wonder if an appropriately worded DA letter with legal threats could could prevent an immediate announcement from being made and legally prevent them from taking any future action.
The one upside is that if I run across a JW who doesn't know about my situation, I don't feel any obligation to tell them that an announcement has been made, because I honestly don't know if there has been one.
Unless I was planning on going back, I would never feel such an obligation to tell them my status in the Cong. That is going by THEIR rules. Once I made the decision to leave for good, I'd be playing by MY RULES.
DOC
