It was six hours long. At the beginning of the week I had four accusers and by the time I went (half way throught the week) I was up to twelve. I was charged with apostasy, malicous slander, lying, revileing. It was a kangaroo court. First accuser(ms) said I discouraged him from pioneering and gave two incidences. It got thrown out for those incidences were with my hubby. Second accuser said three times she couldn't remember and looked at the elder asking him the question what do you want me to say to her. Third accuser said I never said any names but he "felt" I was talking about a person because we drove past the persons parents house. Fourth accuser was an elder who said I had gossiped to him and his wife about something I said to an elder. Then he said I didn't gossip to him after all and that he was listening to a conversation I was having with an elder about that elder to his face. That got thrown out. Last accuser said she didn't know the context of the story but only remembered that she gave a comment that she was a pioneer. No story just that answer. WTH?
Elders said that their first prioriy worldwide is apostasy. They said that since the computer has come out, satan's tool, apostasie is running rampid for the last couple of years. Umm, hasn't the computer been around since the 70's?I wanted to say don't you mean since the new light? There were other families that got shepherding calls in the congregation for the same thing-asking questions! But their meetings weren't jc hearings like mine.
They said that the other seven couldn't come but the accusations were so wild. By the way, there was not one witness to these accusations. I called the co and gave him a transcript of the jc hearing. He read it and called the next day to say they had twenty-five accusers. I said how do you go from the beginning of the week with only four, half way through the week up to twelve and then when I wanted to appeal it, it was finally up to twenty-five accusers and where were the other thirteen accusers that were not mentioned during my hearing.
The dfing offences all got thrown out for there were no witnesses nor no accusers. Revileing was suppose to be that I jokingly nudged someone in the arm which was a lie. I don't do that to sisters. So it got thrown out. Oh, one other thing guys and gals, every last accusation that the elders had were dated back from three to five years ago. The accusers couldn't remember jack yet I had to give an answer in my defence to blah blah blah!
I asked the co why I couldn't appeal it and he said I have to be df'd first in order to appeal it. So I asked him to df me but he had to follow what the body of elders had decided. He couldn't help me but when I told him I had taped the whole meeting, he asked me if he could have the tape. I said I would have to ask my lawyer because here it's against the law to tape if you don't warn first. The elders said IF I have a recording device on me and I said yeah yeah they then said the meeting has to be kept confidential. Again, I said yeah yeah. So there you go, I said yeah yeah four times. I didn't lie. The co said he would like to listen to it and if he thought there was something wrong that he would right my wrong. Wait a minute, he had just finished telling me he couldn't help for the whole body was in agreement. That if one elder felt it wasn't fair and spoke up that the co would intervene. Whatever. I thought that you could appeal a public reproof since the repentent wrongdoer was repentent over a disfellowshipping act. The co told me you can't appeal over reproofs. When I called an elder yesterday and told him I wanted to appeal it and could I he said I could but then I could end up df'd. That they gave me the easy way out with a public reproofing.
The elders said be careful of the internet and that the apostates have old magazines of half truths on there. I had to try not to laugh at that one since I had two percocets and a thermos of half blueberry vodka at my side. I was helping the holy spirit
So in the end I got publically reproved over discourageing ones to pioneer over three years ago and it was only the two that got discouraged out of ten of them. These were the two that as soon as their hubbies were made ms's the pioneer wives got pregnant. The only advice I got from the co was just hang in there. I told him to tell our elders to leave us alone now. He said he will tell them.
On the way home that evening hubby said he blows off his jc and gets df'd and I go in sipping booze and getting stoned and gets a public reproof. WOW! The last three weeks of the elders hunting us down, sitting outside our property all morning, the phone calls ect... has tired me out. We had three funerals to go to this month and there was no compassion from these guys. So glad we're out.