Where were you? / How old were you?... during the Ray Franz witch trial? (page 2)

gma-tired2

I was 32 at the time. It wasn't discussed much in conversation but I do remember my sister whispering it to me during the Watchower study. I don't remember anyone else mentioning it.

It was BIG news in my apartment. My JW aunt came over and told us. We already knew but we pretended it was news. She was actually crying for how hurt Freddie Franz was. The Freddie Franz connection made a big deal. I did not know Ray existed. It is interesting how it was no news in JW land. My mom and I were fighting over the single copy. We stayed up through the night to finish the book. It rang utterly true.

suavojr

I was 1 year old and my parents had been baptized in 1974. I recall that during 1985 there was still a lot talk about what happened with the inside apostates and how many other JW's in spanish congregations were df'd for apostasy as well. Many rumors of how they wanted to bring the org down and lead us to satan.

breakfast of champions

I think I was 10 or 11. . . . I remember a bethelite talking with glee, practically giddy with the idea that "apostates" were "rooted out" from among jehovas people like "rats from a sewer." . . .. . .

Even then I thought to myself, This guy is friggin insane!

kaik

I was in my teens, I heard of him in Czechoslovakia in the late 1980's, so he must be already known in the Western JW world for several years. He was invited into Prague several times; I read from the newspaper that he was there around 2006/2007 for some speech at Charles University. He also was in Poland around the same time.

Make Lemonade

I was in my late 20s. Friends who had friends in Bethel told me things like this: "Spanish brothers were secretly partakeing of the emblems". "Some brothers were seeking to start their own religion". "Apostates were teaching that the house to house work was not neccessary". "One of the apostates gave a talk saying that everyone should partake". Without first hand knowledge, I accepted the rumors and trusted that the matter was resolved justly.

On my list of things to do is to read Crisis of Conscience.

designs

30

gingerbread

I was attending university.

We heard about Fred Franz's nephew getting kicked out of Bethel before the official KM 'announcement' was available.

Any time a group of people were gathered outside of an Alabama convention site, everyone would say they were part of the 'Franz apostate group'. Peter Gregerson's name would often come up when the 'adults' were discussing things later.

Some of these elders thought worse of Gregerson than Ray Franz. Perhaps because Peter had a lot of influence and 'power' (in their minds) in our area.

ginger

LoisLane looking for Superman

I was a mother with small children.

Do I end it there or write more?

More.

When I found out that Fred Franz's brother's son was one of the Governing Body, I thought it was nepotism.

I was not impressed.

I had never heard of Ray Franz. He had never come out to the Los Angeles area. Knorr and F. Franz were like visiting Uncles, they so regularly flew into LA.

In 1980, when I heard of Ray's downfall, I didn't give it much thought.

My thoughts were, maybe he had had a huge ego and was trying to be "Head Pope" but it did not work out, so they kicked him out.

Easy in (from his Uncle Freddy's plotting... I thought) to, we decided your "New light" ideas, have to go. Bye. Don't let the door hit you on your way out.

Next I heard he had started up an apostate "ministry" (?) in the South Bay area. Redondo Beach or Manhattan Beach.

I thought he was just a disgruntled, trouble maker, that made it to the "high" WT position, because of his Uncle Fred, not because he was any kind of a spiritual nice guy Elder type.

Two years ago, last month, I was told, "You have got to read this book".

I did not want to but I sincerely trusted the kind soul, that guided my eyes to "Crisis of Conscience".

I devoured that book as though my life and future depended on it.

I finished reading at 5 AM and I was out of WT forever.

Thank you Ray Franz. You were a man among little bratty, mean spirited boys.

You were the opposite of what I thought. You were a kind, good man.

Humble and honest.

The truth of the matter, was, you were too good for Watch Tower.

Watch Tower covers up pedophiles. You never would have agreed to that.

You would have blown the whistle on that along with the GB's colossal money grabbing schemes.

YOU were too Christian, for them.

LoisLane

KateWild

I was 6/7 that year and being raised Jewish. I hadn't even heard about WT or JWs. It is a real shame that Ray Franz could not have been in the public eye a lot more. It would have been better for a whole lot of converts if we grew up knowing what Ray Franz exposed.

It just goes to show how little WT means to the rest of the world.

Kate xx

Where were you? / How old were you?... during the Ray Franz witch trial?