Do elders still ask inactive members to write a letter to disassociating yourself from the Congregation?

by RULES & REGULATIONS 47 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  dozy

  In theory , the elders don't pursue an individual who has faded. That is the Societies Official Line.

  In practice , many do . especially if there is some uncertainty with the person who stopped attending , such as "bad conduct" or a hint ( or more ) of "apostate views"..

  When I was an elder , against my wishes . the BOE dispatched 2 elders to a former JW who we had heard had moved in with his girlfriend , even though he had left several years earlier. He basically told the elders to "get lost" and we decided not to take any action.

  A couple of years after I stopped attending ( faded ) , an couple of elders made a totally unexpected house call on me and basically told me that the congregation needed to know "where I stood" and essentially told me to dictate an DA letter that they could "tidy up the paperwork" (their exact words )". I just told them that the Society had no such procedure but they said that the CO was wondering what was happening and some in the congregation "had questions about me and what my status was". There had recently been a CO visit and I asked them whether the CO had asked to them to call on me and they kind of mumbled that was the case.

  They then tried to kind of elicit a "confession" from me but I simply refused to answer any of the usual loaded questions "Do you still believe the GB are God's representatives etc". I have my own ( dependent elderly JW family ) reasons for not being DFd and I simply wasn't going to give those jerks any ammunition and told them I wasn't wanting to discuss such matters and that my views and concerns were private.

  Bear in mind that in both cases , we simply had become inactive and had moved on with our lives. The whole tone of both calls wasn't to "gain a brother" in any way. It was simply nosy , confrontational , fact finding missions to try to DF people or get them to write DA letters..
• 

  _Morpheus

  @snakes-

  
  

  As the manual posted earlier stated, if a JC was in process, that would end but would be put in the local file along with the notification to the Branch about the DA. If the person came back, then the original JC matter would be reopened.
  We as a class were told never request a letter. NEVER

  
  

  Cofty thinks you are naive because you can read and he does not agree with you.

  
  

  Slimone-

  
  

  It’s interesting how to read the evidence from the elders manual

  
  

  Cofty thinks you are naive because you can read and he does not agree with you.

  
  

  Snuggle-

  
  

  Are folk who DA themselves to be shunned in the same manner as DF'd persons then?

  
  

  Yes. In the end the two forms of status (df’d and da’d) are the same to them. The announcement is the same. “Publisher X is no longer one of jw’s”. Fading is the only way to have a shot at not being shunned and its certainly not a given.

  Cofty does not agree with what i said but he is wrong about that as well.
• 

  LoveUniHateExams

  I think SBF makes a good point - it depends on the fader.

  If the fader still believes in JWism, then the elders will either leave him alone or see if they can persuade him to come back.

  If the fader is a suspected apostate/troublemaker, then the elders will pressure the fader to DA or just get him to give his opinion on the WTS, and use that as evidence to DA the fader.

  The fact that the elder's manual says that elders aren't to force a DA means nothing.

  The reality is often very different.
• 

  truth_b_known

  I would imagine if two elders asked someone who no longer wants to be a Witness "Do you still believe this is Jehovah's chosen organization?" and the person replied "No." that person would simply be disfellowshipped for apostasy.
• 

  pale.emperor

  "Do you still believe this is Jehovah's chosen organization?"

  Wow, what a bold question. Anyone claiming that their org alone is god's one chosen org better have a lot of evidence to back it up.
  
• 

  blondie

  Two elders called on us years ago and screwed up the question and said alluding to our non comment to the question: They said, "you are saying that you don't believe that it is god's organization" because we did not answer the question. My husband said, "No, you said that not us."
  
• 

  RULES & REGULATIONS

  LoveUniHateExams said: The fact that the elder's manual says that elders aren't to force a DA means nothing.
  The reality is often very different.

  If anyone gets a chance to download “Shepherd the Flock of God” manual for the congregation Elders, nowhere does it instruct Elders to follow members (who they suspect of committing adultery or fornication) in a car and collect evidence for themselves.

  My baptized teenage cousin ( who was an elder's son) and his best friend (also baptized, who was also an elder's son ) were both followed by two Elders (who suspected both were up to no good). The two elders ( who followed my cousin and his friend in a car) always butted heads with their elder fathers.

  The elders would follow them in their cars, hide and wait to see what they were up to. One night my cousin and his friend met their girlfriends at a local hotel and rented a room. The two elders parked the car and waited in the parking lot. My cousin and his friend came out to the parking with their girlfriends and.... lo and behold.... find the two elders waiting for them.

  They both admitted they had girlfriends and were fornicating at the hotel room. Both were disfellowshipped. I was at the Ministry School meeting when they made the announcement.

  What the elder manual teaches and the reality is very different.

  
  
• 

  blondie

  I found that the most prolific rule breakers were elders.
  
• 

  Giordano

  Like it or not this is a high control religion that manages to screw up a simple set of rules that are apparently viewed differently by various Elders at various times and in various places.
  

  Keeping the congregation clean is more about who they don't like, who is gay, life style choices and of course who doesn't submit to the meetings etc.

  It is also interesting that the absolute test for membership is to declare that a corporation guided by over aged, under educated and over weight....... old fart's must be raised up to almost godly proportions.

  Leaving should be as simple as.....leaving. But revenge is too nourishing to pass up.
  

  How do other churches handle a lapsed parishioner? In general they don't. They just leave them alone. And in reality no one is stumbled by them nor does a community blame their church for any of their misdeeds.

  Who associates criminals, drunks, rapists etc with a particular church?

  There are phobic religions but the JW's go beyond the norm.
• 

  JW GoneBad

  A couple of suits ask me this loaded question:

  "Do you still believe this is Jehovah's chosen organization?"

  I reply with this loaded question:

  "Do you?"
  🤣