>Hey there LONE WOLF.. thanks for posting. Enjoyed reading your >experiences.
Wal, I'm going to accept that on it's face as a sincere thanks, and you're welcome.
>>You will note that I sign my real name to the bottom of this. That
>>is meant as an open challenge to any and/or all to do something
>>about it. Fear of either man or this organization I do not have.
>You're a very brave old dude. That's cool. I for one will not use my >real name, as I have no desire to be personally acquainted with most >of the people here..
No, that's not brave, in my book. I've met far worse than these boys on their own ground and beat them at their own game many times. As far as I'm concerned, it's all in a days work.
>>Their enthusiasm was so great that they tried to ram the Truth down
>>other's throats and drove them away rather than pulled them toward
>>the Organization.
>I'm not that enthusiastic anymore.. I was a few months right after >baptism though. Thought I could change the world with my knowledge. >Well, I soon realized people mostly don't care about the Bible.. so >I've stabilized a bit since then.
I'm glad. Continue working in that direction. You will find that most people that have a crisis of faith have sound reason for it. If you would ever hope to be an elder, don't be like one of those who disfellowshipped me. After a committee meeting with someone else having problems, he commented to another, "I feel like I've been eating dirt." As I wrote in a letter to the Society, "How would you feel if you were sick and needing an operation, and all the surgeon could worry about is whether or not he got his fingers in the ka-ka?"
Don't forget who it was that Jesus was condemned for associating with, and his answer as to why he was doing so. Matt. 5:30-32
>>To be honest with you, I don't know why I'm disfellowshipped. The
>>official reason is that I was guilty of reviling, but even the
>>elders on the committee admitted privately that that wasn't the >>real reason. They never said what the real reason was.
>Obviously it was something, gramps. Maybe you should try remember >harder, or something.. I would be quite interested to know what you >did. You must have been acting differently soon before being df'ed >than say.. 5 years before the event.
I should have said that I don't know the official reason. Sure I know the real reason. It was because I refused to subscribe to the "go along to get along" philosophy. There were things happening here in this congregation that had no business existing anywhere near an organization that calls itself christian. I said so, loudly and repeatedly. They told me to shut up and swept it under the rug. I told them to get lost and they didn't like it. They couldn't pin anything else on me so they concocted that nonsense. They dumped me and they are the ones who've paid ever since. And you know something? My heart bleeds purple coolade for them.
>>You think you have enthusiasm? All right, then pack your family up
>>in the dead of winter and move out of Los Angeles County to the
>>isolated Eskimo village of Bethel on the western coast of Alaska >>and stay there for 3 and 1/2 years doing all you could to bring in >>some fruitage.
>Yea, well I gotta make a family first, so I can pack it. A wife is >on the way.. maybe kids later. I was thinking about serving in >Bethel though, as the atmosphere there was wonderful. But I've got >work to do, money to raise and a family to build first. But ya never >know..
Well, I wish you the best here. My life has been like a story book thanks to my little freckle-faced girl and our little ones. But there is a paramount rule here and never forget it, for if you do, you will pay, big time. Whether dealing with your wife, your kids, the little ones in the congregation, or those who have troubles on the outside, ALWAYS give them the benefit of the doubt BEFORE you open your mouth.
>>We've had six kids, 5 girls and 1 boy, and they all are kids to be
>>proud of. The last four I delivered at home, at my wife's request.
>>All are still in the Truth and doing well.
>That's great, pops. Very proud of ya.
And be careful of the "pops" business, shorty. I my be 60 years old, but I just quit a job where I was driving 30 wheel B-trains weighing more than 105,000 pounds, loaded with caustic resin, over mountain passes every day. It was not uncommon to have to chain up as many as 60 times each winter. I don't reckon it would be that much of a job to sit on you.
>>Never in all of my 40 years of marriage have I touched another >>woman in a sexual manner, and that includes the 10 years and >>1,000,000 miles that I spent long haul trucking after I was >>disfellowshipped. I don't gamble, smoke, or drink, other than an >>occasional beer. I have no desire to.
>Assuming you're telling the truth.. you've just earned my respect >for life (for what it's worth). That, dude, is like VERY COOL. You >rock.
Rest assurred that it is. As I said above, my life has been much like a story book. The funny thing is, it may soon be. I just sent in the first 9 chapters of a book I'm writing, EASIN' ON --- Confessions of an American Outlaw.
>>And you know something? I'm glad I was disfellowshipped, for I >>never truely grew spiritually until that time.
>Umm.. errrr... uhhhmm.. now it's starting to get a little weird. >Glad you were disfellowshipped? Wonder if Timothy would have been >glad if he had been booted out for some reason?
Don't know about Timothy, but I do know about the apostles. Acts 5:41
>-StiLLinTruth
>Happy is the people whose God is Jehovah! -Psalm 144:15
Very true. Just keep in mind a couple of things:
a. Being appointed by holy spirit doesn't mean they're trustworthy. Look at King Saul.
b. Most of the apostles and prophets were ostracized and many murdered by the very religious leaders that they should have been able to trust. How many innocent ones are you doing the same thing to in your youthful rush to judgement?
c. That the things that happened in those days were "signs and portents" for us today.
d. To use a direct quote from the end of the assembly drama in the District Assembly in 1989 (As I recollect) concerning elders, "This man was appointed by holy spirit. Why would you even question such a man?" The implication of that question is that the holy spirit is directing the elders decisions, and that very thing is what has been enforced over the past few decades. Now, what is the difference between what they claim and that of being inspired?
e. How can you reconcile ANY of 'd.' to 1 John 4:1, where even if they ARE inspired, we are told to check them out anyway?
No, I'm not encouraging you to leave the organization, any more than I am encouraging my own children to. I am saying to slow down a bit and think. Your rush to judgement is a direct violation of Romans 14:4. And yes, there are many good and sincere elders in the organization. The problem is that the rotten ones are ruining it for all of us, and the ones in higher positions are like Eli, sitting on his duff and allowing his sons to run amuck, with the same result. 1 Samuel 2:12-36.
You will note that I again sign my name.
LoneWolf
Alias: Tom Howell
