Do Wills Ever Affect Shunning?

by Cold Steel 19 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Oubliette

  The question could also be: Does shunning ever affect wills?
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  respectful_observer

  I know of a situation where some J-dub parents whose oldest adult child is disfellowshipped with a young son (their only grandchild). They have recently re-written their will to leave the disfellowshipped son money...in a trust that will only pay out if he gets reinstated. If he remains disfellowshipped, he doesn't see a dime and the money will go to the grandson upon his 18th birthday...provided he is baptised. If he isn't, he doesn't get a dime either.
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  Cold Steel

  St. George: I remember a case of a man who left money to the WTS and was subsequently disfellowshipped. The WTS still accepted the money and fought (and won) a contested will against the man's autistic son.

  The man must have forgotten to re-do his will after being disfellowshiped. If one doesn’t follow through and rewrite the will, the present will pretty much always prevails unless one can show outright manipulation of the deceased before his death. I’d love to know the details of the case, though.

  For those of you out there who have not re-written their wills, for whatever reason, you’re probably locked in until you do.

  I’m amazed at how much influence the Society has on things like education. Would I keep my kid in a local school so they could be under scrutiny of the Society? Ha!

  From a theological standpoint, there are no eternal ramifications to sending yourself or your children to a university for higher education. If you’re an anointed Christian, you can’t be bumped down to the lower class; and if you’re not of the anointed class, you won’t be destroyed at Armageddon because you or your children sought a higher education. It just astounds me that the Society seeks as much control as it does in things that, in other churches, are a person’s personal business. What if someone just hid those details from the Society? (Like their wills, where their children go after they get out of high school, or what they do with their money, where and how long they go on vacation?)

  If a person becomes a Jehovah’s Witness, how long is it before the elders and other leaders begin sticking their noses into his or her personal business? And don’t new members offer any resistance?

  Skeeter1: Theocratic lying would probably trump shunning. They want your money. Honorable JWs would use it for Kingdom interests, like buying a brand new 4 door car. But, there are plenty of greedy JWs.

  Do most Jehovah’s Witnesses leave the Society in their wills? Are they encouraged to? And are they encouraged to share personal info with WTS leaders? For example, if I were baptized two months ago and now my wife and I are thinking about taking our kids to Disneyland for a 10-day vacation while we visit family, a) am I already cued in enough to the WTS to know that I’m on a leash? And b) am I likely to be approached and counseled by WTS leadership? The same question would apply to education. By the time I’m baptized, am I cued in to the current position on that?

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  Apognophos

  If a person becomes a Jehovah’s Witness, how long is it before the elders and other leaders begin sticking their noses into his or her personal business?

  Well, I'm a born-in, but I never felt that anyone was intruding into my business. I seemed like a good kid, so the elders didn't have any basis for showing an interest in me. When I went to a local college, no one cared. However, being born-in and growing up in that congregation meant that I was also somewhat under their radar; you could say that I blended in with the Kingdom Hall wallpaper.

  But also, don't underestimate how much variation there is among elders and elder bodies. Some are more police-like and some are lackadaisical or even a bit apathetic, only responding to issues that are reported to them and therefore have to be looked into.

  And don’t new members offer any resistance?

  For the most part, probably not. It's kind of scary, but Bible studies are already very well indoctrinated by the time they ever get baptized and become a "new member". They've spent hours with their teacher and at the meetings and have happily absorbed the culture, including the teachings about subservience.

  For example, if I were baptized two months ago and now my wife and I are thinking about taking our kids to Disneyland for a 10-day vacation while we visit family, a) am I already cued in enough to the WTS to know that I’m on a leash? And b) am I likely to be approached and counseled by WTS leadership?

  Not sure what you mean here. JWs can go to Disneyland....
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  kaik

  Greed is a part of human nature and I had encountered in KH even among my relatives. When my father passed away, my evil JW paternal aunt asked me on the funeral what was my father's life policy worth. Her and her elder sons did not even ask me if we need help with anything. They had a gut to claim that my father was witholding items that belong to their childhood. Btw, my father wedding ring was stollen on the day of the funeral.
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  Etude

  I think wills can affect shunning. But so do a lot of other reasons. My mother and my aunt could care less what I’d done and they would never, ever stop speaking to me or showing me affections. My siblings, on the other hand, have not only avoided me but have taught their children (my nephews and nieces) to do that same. I recently re-wrote my trust to not leave them a dime when I kick the bucket. I really feel it’s not me doing it but that this the way they chose for me to do it. What I really should do is leave them the money on the condition that they leave the Organization with an official written statement. Otherwise, zip, nada, niente, zilch.
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  Cold Steel

  Etude: My siblings, on the other hand, have not only avoided me but have taught their children (my nephews and nieces) to do that same. I recently re-wrote my trust to not leave them a dime when I kick the bucket. I really feel it’s not me doing it but that this the way they chose for me to do it. What I really should do is leave them the money on the condition that they leave the Organization with an official written statement. Otherwise, zip, nada, niente, zilch.

  If you put that condition in your will, it may fortify their convictions to the Society by creating within them the feeling of sacrifice for the organization. It may also cause ill will with those in the Society who have stood with you, or at least harbored favorable feelings towards you. If the little snits have avoided you, they cannot reasonably be expected to be angered or upset if you leave them nothing. A better way to handle it, in my view, is to leave them your parting advice. Tell them you wished your relationship with them had been better and tell them how devisive the Society is in peoples' lives. Then you can leave each of them a copy of Ray Franz's book and a DVD of the movie Gran Torino.

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  Qcmbr

  My siblings and I hope that dad dies first as he has explicitly stated that all his money is going to the billionaire lds church but mum says she'd share it equally. I hate religion.
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  Pubsinger

  I have long said that if I ever won the lottery I will be sending the JW members of my family who ignore me, a cheque for a tempting amount of money with a note that says:
  
  "I won this money in the lottery, which is gambling. I know you don't gamble and wouldn't want any money gained in a way God disaproves of, but I wondered if you are as hypocritical and inconsistent on this principle as you are on everything else"
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  Etude

  Good advice Cold Steel. I've thought about leaving a letter of explanation as a will to be read to them in the event I go and they're still waiting for Armageddon. Thanks.