I can certainly empathize with you on the wedding "invitation." When my youngest son got married, my one daughter (out of three and two sons) and I were df'd. We were also told that we could come to the wedding but not the reception. One of my daughters sat where the mother pf the groom was supposed to sit and my df'd daughter and I sat with the rest of the audience. My unbelieving alcoholic ex-husband and father of all of my children was in the wedding pictures and we weren't. When I was raising these five children, my husband was out drinking and sleeping around while I dragged the kids to all the meetings and even took my three daughters, who at the time were 2,4 and 5 from CA to NY in a car pulling a trailer, to the 1958 assembly and it was a disaster. While I was there my husband was out drinking every night and didn't even come home all night much of the time. My dad was living with us at the time and he was the one who told me that when I returned. This man was in the wedding pictures and I wasn't. To this day, they go to his house and invite him and his new wife to all their activities. I just can't see where that is a just and fair thing. I am judged by the latter things that I did in my life rather than the 22 years of faithful service. Oh well, too little to late.
2 Elders steal 6 million dollars
by outoftheorg 27 Replies latest social current
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peacelily
What a brave and courageous woman you are: think about it ,traveling cross country with your young children and believing it is for their spiritual growth and highest good. I believe that the motive behind our actions speaks much louder than any law of man can. I also have to hold onto the hope that the Universe is aware of our intention and LOVE will prevail in the midst of pain and injustice . The first shall be last and the last shall be first. IT IS A UNIVERSAL SPIRITUAL LAW in all spiritual traditions, I truly believe that!
Peace and Blessings,
PEACELILY -
drhz
I stumbled across this site using the magic of Google, and couldn't help but notice that I know this woman "Peacelily." I'm from her hometown. Although I don't share her history with the Jehovah's Witnesses, and don't personally know the men about whom she speaks (Willis and Erickson), I can shed some light on her. I worked around her for quite some time, and also knew her daughters (my children went to school with them) and ex-husband (a teacher at a local high school). Her daughters did not leave her, she chose to leave them. This was a selfish act, done to pursue selfish interests, including the use of illegal drugs. I believe the ex-husband adopted "Peacelily's" two oldest daughters from a previous marriage, and supported them until grown, married, etc. It's my understanding that ALL the girls (there are four of them) remain close to their dad (whom I don't believe is active as a Jehovah's Witness), but none are close to "Peacelily." She is not the innocent loving victim she portrays herself to be. Don't believe everything you read.
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blondie
So why should we believe you?
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Scully
How convenient that you should "stumble across this site using the magic of Google" and found a post about the very person you want to expose, who has not posted here in almost four years.
If you have a beef with her, then I suggest you take it up with her personally rather than slander her here, because she doesn't come here anymore, and we prefer to keep personal differences off the site.
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avidbiblereader
Former Jehovah's Witnesses church elders Dale A. Erickson, 53, of Missoula, and Darryl K. Willis, 63, of Helena, pleaded no contest
I wonder where they learned that from? LIE<DENY<CRY> Sad so much reproach on God and His name.
abr
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Gill
I'd just like to add that if Peacelily had wanted to lie, she could have elaborated on the two elders in question, and she could have made up stories about them. Instead, she cut to the chase and explained that she didn't know their position in the congregation when and after the offenses took place. I would be inclined to believe what she said as we hear of, and have experienced WTBTS cruelty all of the time.
Some people cannot live the WTBTS lie any more and have no choice but to walk away from it all.
I know of several people who have had to do that in the past and it has been an ongoing nightmare experience for them. It is not a decision that they take lightly.
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willyloman
Back on topic:
Geeze, I didn't realize dub elders were getting smarter. Most of the elders I knew couldn't even count to six million, much less steal it.
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Country Girl
LOL! Willy-Lo!
They obviously can't -- most of them are reporting 20 hours when they only worked 4 in the service!
CG
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zero-zero-one
I hate to bump up such an old thread, but I was just thinking about this and found this thread through Google when looking up the story...
I grew up in Una Anderson's congregation in Deer Lodge, Montana and knew her personally. Obviously this story was a big deal for the Witnesses all across western Montana. I thought I could just drop in a few other details that weren't mentioned above.
1. were Willis and Erickson elders when they perpetrated this scam on Una in 1995?
2. Was Una a member in good standing of the congregation - an active witness - or was she someone's bible study in 1995?
3. were Willis and Erickson forced to step down as a result of their crime? If so, when did they step down? Before conviction? After conviction? If they were not forced out of being elders, do you know why they gave up their positions? Have they been disfellowshipped?Both Willis and Erickson were elders the entire time they were defrauding Una. I think at least one of them was the PO, but I may be wrong about that. Una had been a Witness for as long as anyone can remember. I know she was very much active even when my parents were young, back in the early 70's.
She died a few years after all this happened at age 103. I don't think she stayed with the Witnesses after this all went down, since our family left shortly after; she did not have a memorial at the Kingdom Hall when she died. Naturally, her family did not have any trust in the JW's after this (actually from before, as I'll mention below).
Both elders were DF'ed after conviction. I remember the front page of a local paper had a huge picture of the two of them crying like babies as their verdict was announced. Their wives were beside them the whole time. Both were sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Here are some quotes from an article published in the Butte, Montana paper that are a bit more telling as to what happened, in relation to the Witnesses in general...
...Although neither of the white-collar criminals belonged to the local congregation, they were introduced to Anderson — who was a church member for more than 50 years — by a mutual friend from the Deer Lodge group. That introduction led to an elaborate befriend-and-betray scheme spanning several years, court records show.
Aside from a $400,000 brokerage fee for illegally and secretly selling Una Anderson's $5.3 million Powell County ranch for $4 million, and more than $2 million used to finance a failed effort to establish Montana's first foreign capital depository off-shore banking set up, numerous loans, large and small, were made to church members and relatives of Erickson and Willis, records show. Only a few were repaid. Those records say Willis and Erickson convinced Anderson that entrusting to them the fortune she amassed during years of hard ranch work and frugal living would be "more in line with her spiritual beliefs."
As time went by, Anderson was influenced by other church members who became progressively more involved and controlling in her care and daily life, records show. During a sentencing hearing earlier this month, Janel Pliley, an Adult Protective Services social worker, told the court that Anderson's finances, activities and associations were closely monitored by several church memberswho caused a division between Anderson and her family members.
"She was under watch 24 hours a day," Pliley told the court. "She was basically held prisoner in her own house. " ...... .....Sarah Kelson, Anderson's niece who lives with and cares for her, sees things differently. She says church people literally ran family members offat Anderson's modest one-story home on the outskirts of town when they tried to visit.
"There certainly was a lack of trust," Kelson said Wednesday. "But there was no lack of communication. (Murphy [an elder in the Deer Lodge congregation]) himself ordered me out of this house. He told me I should leave and the church would take care of everything." ..... ....Murphy said members are also distraught over the loss of Anderson's companionship.
"She has very close friends in the Deer Lodge congregation who still consider her close friends," Murphy said. "Now they are not able to associate with her because of what these two men did."
Again, Kelson offers a different perspective.
"I'm sure they are distraught," Kelson said Wednesday. "They were all sucking money off of her. The piggy bank closed."Anyway, she was always nice to us kids, and didn't deserve to have this happen to her. A sad, sad story.