If you want to avoid being disfellowshipped and you are askd the question " Do you still consider yourself one of Jehovah's Witnesses ? " Simply answer " yes ". If they pursue the issue and bring up meetings and field service simply tell them you consider yourself one of Jehovah's Witnesses who does not attend meetings and does not go out in field service. As that conversation develops it will become clear that, with you, answers to questions like that are not so simple. They will have to stick their necks out to disfellowship you. It is not dishonorable to handle them this way. They are laying "traps" and you are playing the role that has been thrust upon you.... that of the fox. Taking a stand against them can be noble but that depends on the circumstances . For some it is more noble to play the fox for the sake of those they love.
I agree 110%- it all depends on what you want to do, personally i have never been impressed by someone saying "I'm taking a stand and will show them something"
other than the personal feel good it does for the person, it doesn't mean a RAT'S A$$ TO THIS GUYS
and here is why, any have way decent elder who is going on a sheparding visit with another elder - they have already sat in the car and discussed their plan of attack - i know i used to be and elder and this is what we always did, it was almost like GOOD COP /BAD COP
each one of us knew what issues we would bring up, what questions we would ask, who would ask it and what bible text, publication, etc that would be used, they will reveiw material on spiritual weak jw which means ANYTHING YOU \SAY means aboslutely nothing to them
they have a game plan and just like you and i learned in field service ask the householder a question and wait till they anwser and them proceed with the presentation you had for the morning
you and i both know we didn't give a SH!T how the householder would answer "What do you think is the solution to man's problem" it was n't like we were going to say:
"you know i never thought about that , you could be right" we were merely killing time and letting the householder think that we REALLY CARED WHAT THEY THOUGHT - WE DIDN'T AND YOU AND I KNOW THAT
well my dear friend it is now your turn - the elders don't care what you say, they merely want you to think they really care about the reason you have not been coming to work (attending meetings) and not selling books ( out in service) so they will sit there all innocent looking and ask
IS THERE ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO HELP get you back into a good thoecratic routine
as if they really want to know what you think, they already know what you need to do and they are there to tell you-
so my friend you must decide what you want, SINCE they have "Dicked" with your life and family all these years you DON'T OWE THEM AN ONCE OF HONESTY-
iF YOU ran into me on the street and i asked you for your SSN and your mamma maiden name would you give it to me, HELL NO for you don't owe me such information
the wt has mastered the art of Thoecratic warefare WHERE they have no problem at all looking gov officals strainght in the face and lying to them-
so what requires you to be honest with them Screw them-
I would look them straight in the face with the biggest grin you can muster up and say YES I CONSIDER MYSELF ONE OF JW- TRUST ME it will screw them up for they expect you to have your heads down and mumble some stuff that no one can hear,
my first advice would be to avoid a meeting all together, i'm sick , bad time, working late ,will call you
trust me most elders have been told not to waste too much time,but if they do i would not give them the pleasure of walking out my house saying I knew he was wicked
play with them and have a ball-
but on the other hand if you want to cut all ties and drop the issue right there on the spot, then let them know that when they call you,
I don';t want to be bothered and i don't consider myself a jw and hang the phone up and that will be that
my only point is i would not waste my time to tell them to come over to the house only to tell them i don't consider myself a jw, why not tell them over the phone and go out bowling that night instead
you time will better be used and sitting around the living room arguring with THE CHEESE CRACKER MEN
SO bottom line is this
if you don't want to get DFEd or DAed then play along till you are able to set the terms and manner of leaving wt on your terms and not theirs
if you don't mind getting dfed or daed then when they call to set up a meeting tell them then and call it a day
how you go about handling this all depends on what you are prepared to deal with and handle, be it the elders the congo, or your family and wife and kids
those are the things to consider
here is a link were we discussed this very issue
james
############### REPOST#############
One of the most painful things I continue to see here on this forum as well as all the others is that many who want to leave wt simply don't know how to leave and remain "Intact" as it were.
I recall talking with jw who "Formally Disassociated themselves back in the 70s and it was not till the 90s and the net did they finally feel free
or many who jump UP and write a letter off to Mo Larry and Curly (CONGREGATION SERVICE COMMITTEE)
While I feel there is absolutely nothing wrong with writing a letter for many it is a matter of
1. Poor timing and
2. not being prepared for what will follow
When I read of folks who wrote letters feeling bad or feeling that must meet with the elders to me that means they were not ready AT THAT TIME.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.aspx?id=5574&site=3
The net is really the answer for all lurkers and those who are thinking about leaving why not Learn how to leave WT at least somewhat Intact
Before writing a letter be sure to get the Pros and Cons of writing a letter- for me personally I wouldnt waste the paper or stamp- but I fully understand for those who do there is no right or wrong should I send one or not
But more of a
1. When should I do this and
2. How-
I highly recommend throwing it out here in the forum for suggestions- the reason why is simple
The avg. jw has so little understanding of the WT Corporate Procedures when it comes to how they deal with folks
Being Former Society Man the rules and policies swallow up the avg. person
I recall seeing persons who are leaving spend weeks Xeroxing 40=50 pages of copies of wt history to Let the bro. know why
They dont give a RATS A$$ and once a person comes to understand that then they know how to proceed
Much like explaining Gravity to a 6 month old baby it means absolutely nothing-
Also understanding that the avg. Joe blow elder is as much a victim as we were
What I have seen here on the net is how some of the most condemning folks ( she got low hours cant be too spiritual)
( she can pioneer her hubby make s enough money) etc myself INCLUDED once we learn the truth about the truth
we feel so bad about how we treated others when we were in the Org-
I look back at some of the judicial cases that we handled and being a Society Man I went by the BOOK
VERY LITTLE feeling for the Individual person GOT TO KEEP THE ORG CLEAN-
SO FOR me know I only hope that all the folks I dealt with in an unloving way can forgive me for it was done out of ignorance and being blinded.
So for any who want to get out--------- please and I beg of you feel free to ask here on the forum what things you need to consider so when you decided to make your move you can LEAVE INTACT
JAMES
