Prince: frustration and relief

AFreeBeliever

I haven't posted in a long time, but all this news re: Prince has brought up alot of "stuff" for me. Having been a born-in 3rd generation until being disfellowshipped, losing all of my family and friends I had since birth in one big go, I find myself going between frustration, and honestly some feelings of resentment, and ...relief...regarding Prince (who, by the way, I am not disparaging personally, just, as most of us know, he would have been held up as the perfect example of what not to be by the Watchtower organization and the double-standard/hypocrisy is rather stunning). Resentment/frustration, due to my personal experiences and those of many I knew.

I had left the organization when I was 17, a few years after being pressured into being baptized, and moved away to a new town where not one person associated me with Jehovah's Witnesses and was living there for over 10 years, but because I wasn't disfellowshipped I still regularly saw my family.

Meanwhile, a friend of mine was relocating from across the states and needed a place to stay for a month or so while she got situated. I lived alone in the country in a 3-bedroom house and said of course she could stay at my place for a few weeks.

One day, two elders I had never met, showed up at my door and said they understood I had a lesbian staying in my house, and as a baptized member of JW's I had a choice: she either had to leave or I was going to be disfellowshipped.

To say I was astounded was an understatement. First they said they were doing it "to protect the reputation of the Witnesses", when I pointed out that no one considered me a Witness and besides, I know male witnesses and female witnesses often shared a house, they tried another tack, "to protect me". Well, you know how it ends. I must add that these two, eventually three, elders, were some of the most arrogant and unloving individuals I have ever had to interact with.

Which brings me to Prince: can you imagine, if any of us had dressed like that, acted like that, wrote songs like that, did artwork like that, and attended our old congregations, how we would have been treated? My father had been a witness for years, then drifted away, and when he died wasn't allowed a funeral in the Kingdom Hall because he smoked cigarettes.

So, I think the reasons for frustration are apparent, but I am also feeling some relief over this. Because the more things like this happen, the double-standard and hyprocrisy with a famous, wealthy person like Prince that the whole world can see, the more chance there is for the sincere folks in the organization to wake up and see something is terribly wrong, Jesus has left the building.

The ARC was very eye-opening for those of us who watched it, but the average JW didn't. But this was un-missable.

So sorry for the long rant, but in the end, I am glad, despite my own pain that I went through and others I have known, that this was on the world stage, and maybe, just maybe, it will wake up some folks who couldn't be reached any other way, At least it plants a seed, something is very, very wrong with the group they belong to. Thanks for listening.

SafeAtHome

Thank you for sharing. Unfortunately sometimes unless a person is directly impacted by something, they will never wake up. But this whole thing with Prince, well it boggles the mind how this can't help but to lead some with a modicum of thinking ability left to question the double standard.

steve2

AFreeBeliever, you are actually a very tactful person - providing an informative description of how the Witnesses show up on your doorstep when they feel the need to snoop but otherwise are unheard of. I'm taking it that as a result of the elders' visits, you were disfellowshipped? Man, what arrogance on their part!

Yes, Prince led a charmed life for a JW. He was seriously addicted to pain medication and his close JW associates - including elder Larry Graham - would have known. Evidently when he attended meetings at the local Kingdom Hall, he kept to himself, talking to only a select few.

Talk about living in a world of his own. Also, on those occasions when interviewed about his JW beliefs, he betrayed an astonishingly simplistic outlook. If that was a calibre of his thought processes, no wonder he had uncritically swallowed the JW message - although he had no trouble "bending" the rules. For example, whilst he claimed he no longer celebrated his own birthday, he willingly performed for other people at their birthdays. He was a master of having it all ways.

His last CD had a photo/painting of him wearing tri-sunglasses with the third lens place a mid-temple - a not subtle reference to the mystical "third" eye.

He got away with a lot and was given a Kingdom Hall memorial service. If this happened in any other religious group, JWs would pounce upon it as the hypocrisy of the churches of Christendom.

millie210

I really relate to your post AFree,

I am beyond shocked at the audacity I have been seeing on the part of the Org.

The welcoming parties and dancing on stage for the international assemblies.

The JW . Org flags flying over a rented building for last years summer conventions.

The ARC fiasco - claiming they are not the "only" ones teaching the truth, (whaaat?)

and on and on it goes.

This ridiculous bending of principles and precepts they sat out at the Annual Meeting (no metro sexual, no tight pants, no colored socks) to accommodate "Prince fans" and by that I am NOT referring to fans of his music, I am talking about his JW groupies that put this Kingdom Hall service together,

I am shocked and disgusted but overall I am relived like you. There must be so much in fighting at the top that the result is no one is flying the plane.

Let it become more and more obvious!

joe134cd

AFreeBeliever I really can relate to you experience because I witnessed something very similar to what you described, twice.

(1) My Grandfathers funeral wasn't allowed in the KH because he had been DFed some years before for smoking. I might also add at the time he converted to the religion smoking wasn't the issue it later became. We almost had to plead with the elder to conduct the service for him.

(2) I know of another example where the funeral was conducted in a funeral chapel because both daughters had been DFed. The deceased had been an uber dub for many years.

You are correct about the level of hypocrisy and double standards for prince, and surly this has to wake some of the R&F up.

JWdaughter

Also, how many congregations have a memorial service without it being requested by the family? They did this strictly for their OWN reasons, none of which had anything to do with memorializing a uber dub or a respected or much loved brother. It had to do with dragging in big name$ to a kingdom hall and trapping them into an hour long recruiting session. I'm sure the donation box was exercised more than usual last sunday.

cha ching

I feel what you are saying, AFB.... You tried to do something nice for someone, and the WT squashes it..... That organization is not one of "love"..... they are the Borg. Really.

It is so hypocritical for them to treat rich people one way, and the 'not famous' another. They hurt people in so many ways, especially because you hear them repeat at assemblies/ conventions, "we show love the world around" , "we are truly loving our neighbors" then act the opposite, in a clandestine way.

You are right... this just might help wake some people up... at least wrestle with their consciences...

You are a good person, the WT is the bad guy...

Hang in there,

cha ching

Vidiot

AFreeBeliever - "Jesus has left the building."

Assuming he was ever in it in the first place.

It's not much a stretch to go from "they had it once, but lost it" to "they probably never had it".

Prince: frustration and relief

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