Were You Ever Interrogated By The Elders?

by minimus 44 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  HarryMac

  Several times. One of the more ridiculous goes as follows.

  15 yrs old in front of everybody in main auditorium in circuit assembly hall when people could see me from the food line up.

  I was asked to speak to a couple of brothers (one was my home study conductor and another MS) - I know I don't get it.

  I'm still angry that I consented to it. Anybody would have guessed this must be quite serious and needed to be dealt with immediately.

  It was because my mother and stepfather didn't like the 'Mack Bolan' books I was reading! The odd thing about that is I don't like those kind of books particularly and was only interested in them then for like 3 months (remember, I was 15).

  After they spoke to me I went into the line up for food. My friend from another hall said 'I won't ask'.

  Completely embarrassed I didn't even tell him what it was about.

  If I knew then what I know now I would have called social services and the police to have a little chat with my parents a few times while I was in high school.
• 

  shadow

  ssn587,

  Fantastic! cracked me up
• 

  Dagney

  I was approached after a Sunday meeting by a newbie elder that they wanted to meet with me and my roommate after the next meeting. I wasn't thinking and said "okay". I then told my roommate who was very outspoken, and she marched right over to the elder and asked if it was a committee meeting. He said "no". She asked who was going to be there, and he named 2 elders. She asked him why were 3 elders going to there if it wasn't an elders's meeting. He hemmed and hawed. She told him we'd get back to him.

  Her father was an elder so we asked him what to do. He said to name our time not their time, and request only 2 elders. So she called the elder back and told him we would not meet after the meeting because we were uncomfortable doing that, and we agreed on another time.

  Turns out, the newbie elder had a study who saw us out at a club the previous Saturday. They guy had too much to drink and tried to get fresh with me. I didn't think about it at all, but I think he thought we would tell on him and he wanted to put us in a bad light first, and accused us of drinking too much. So I set the newbie elder straight. Then he started asking a bunch of questions about our personal activities. One was "I hear you guys go to Happy Hour a lot." I said, "define a lot." He said once or twice a week. I said "nope." He made a few more unsuccessful attempts to trick or catch us, for who knows why. My gf and I are managers and dealing with him was a piece of cake. We deal with cagier individuals every single day.

  What an idiot. Of course, I heard he was removed as an elder years later and the PO had to apologize to the congregation for something he did.

  The whole thing was not serious, but I learned an invaluable lesson. I would never be intimidated or bullied by elders, or forced to do something I was uncomfortable with, and I would be in control if there was ever a meeting.
• 

  XBEHERE

  Yes, the first time I was deleted as an elder. If I had TTATT I would not have accepted re-appointment a year later. Basically I was told that I wasnt visible enough in the ministry and I was missing meetings. They couldn't crack open the bible and explain with any logic how or why that would disqualify me but I understood the underlying agenda. I had an argument the previous CO who was good friends with the then Presiding Overseer and a couple of other elders. It was an argument that I won because I called the branch and he was wrong. Long story short, he took revenge on me and got it. Shit happens, I moved on.

  Elders suck!
• 

  ssn587

  I remember one other incident by the cobpo or whatever the hell you call them nowadays, he said that a couple in the congregation had been stumbled by something I had told them. I was flabbergasted as I never hardly even speak to them, He said that I had been saying something that could have been taken as apostate. The I remembered my conversation with them, it was over 2 Tim. 3:16 about paul saying that all scripture was inspired. I had asked them what did Paul consider scripture? They of course said the bible, I told them they were wrong and as usual with a lot of dubs didn't know what the hell they were talking about. They of course were in his book study group and went and whined to him.

  Reazlizing what had happened I told him what the conversation was about and didn't realize that the bilbe was apostate material, which set him back some, then i told him that they were wrong about Paul talking about the Bible in that particular scripture. He said no I was wrong, well I am a person that after realizing how skewed their beliefs were did some research in the WT's and found one I believe it was in from a 1982 WT. I told him no brother Paul wasn't referring to the Bible because the Bible as we know it today wasn't even around during those times, that Paul was referring to the Septuagint (spelling) and the LXX not the Bible, we then went into the Library and I found the article and showed him the footnote where it said that the early Christians used that. He had a surprised look on his face, the I told him if that Pussy (and that's the word I used) and his wife were at best ignorant and anyone that had been a jehovah witness should have known that, so if he is telling their studies something different he is giving them false information, and you brother should be counseling him and his wife and not taking up my time with nonsense, I then turned and left. Didn't hear anymore about it from the PO. I did confront the whinerand his wife and told them you need to know what you are talking about before you shoot off your mouth.

  One thing that did surprise me was that it was obvious the PO didn't have a clue either, often when I would bring up historical info, I would have either him or one of the other elders want to know where I got that information, I told them from the Library in the hall, In fact, I had to take the Library overseer an elder into the Library he was suppose to be responsible for and show him the reprints they had in their, the finished mystery etc. The man didn't have a clue, which is surprising since he had spent most of his life in that congregation.