Marginal Notes in the 'Shepherd the Flock of God'

Londo111

Elders of the Jeroboam/Conscious Class,

It is my understanding, correct me if I am wrong, that during the KM school, the instructors have elders write notes in the margins of the Shepherd book, notes that legal does not want in print, and perhaps by extension, extra tidbits they don't want leaked to the public and/or average Witness.

Can you share some of these from the latest KM school?

average joe

I would love to read them myself.

TheClarinetist

Bookmarked.

00DAD

Well it's been two years since I was an elder, so things could have changed. But for the 20 years prior we were instructed to make notes in the margins of our books on "updates and/or policy changes."

You may have heard of this from on KM school:

Six Expressions That Should Not Be Used on S77 and S79 Forms

Anything alluding to or naming one of the Society's attorneys
Any mention of the Legal Department
Any comments referring to direction from the Society
Any comments mentioning anyone other than the committee itself as a possible influence in the decision reached
Any comments that might suggest to someone with a critical eye that the committee did not reach its decision on its own but, instead, somehow yielded to the influence of an outside party
Any comments indicating that the elders mishandled the case or committed any error in the investigation or the judicial committee process.

nugget

I have a PDF of the old book with all the marginal notes from the elders school (s).

I have not seen the notes for the new book.

cantleave

Above comment was by me - note to nugget - log out if you use my computer -Grrrrrr

sabastious

Any comments mentioning anyone other than the committee itself as a possible influence in the decision reached

00DAD, does that mean that the Watchtower doesn't want the elders saying they use Brooklyn in any way for their decision making? If so, how could that possibly hold up in court?

-Sab

00DAD

Sab, draw your own conclusions. I certainly have. I can only guess that the WTBTS added these instructions to provide yet another layer of insulation between themselves and the local BOE.

It is ironic, considering that they have LOTS of instructions to the elders to contact the Branch regarding legal issues. For example, the "Shepherd the Flock of God" book, page 86, regarding Judicial Hearings states:

If the Accused Threatens Legal Action - If the accused threatens legal action against the elders, the elders should suspend proceedings and promptly telephone the branch. - 6:17-19

So it's, "Call us if you have any of the following situations so we can tell you what to do, but then don't ever put in writing that we told you to do it. It's YOUR decision Brother Elder, not ours."

Take one for the team!

lilbluekitty

I'd be very interested, if anyone has it and wants to PM me. Thanks.

Londo111

So basically elders are asked to fall on their sword--what sort of cases would the Society want to disavow involvement?

I know nothing about the law, but could prosecutors, knowing the above, make a case that the Society was involved in certain cases? Or…what might happen if a former elder or an elder of conscience testified to the Society's involvement? Could they do so after a verdict was reached?

Marginal Notes in the 'Shepherd the Flock of God'

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