by Big Jim 19 Replies latest jw friends
jurs: Please elaborate on the people and the impact made by sending in the letter.
From all that I've heard, sending in a letter only serves to waste the time of the writer because the document(s) are skimmed over quickly and only to verify that the writer truly wishes to DA, then they are totally disregarded from then on. The DA'er is then stamped and booted.
Seems like a waste of time to me.
Supposing that you sent a letter to every JW you knew, and it went something like this:
Dear Bert & Ethel,
I haven't atteneded the meetings for a while, so I thought that I would put you in the picture as to the reason.
I can't seem to come to terms with the idea of there being an Earthly organisation that is run by Jehovah through a faithful and discreet slave class, as there is no link in the Bible that makes this connection. This lack of spirit direction is probably why so many of the societies prophesies have not materialised.
I wish you and your family all the best for the future.
A. Postate.
Its short and makes its point, and its just simple points that stick in one's mind. A long letter would be, IMHO, self defeating.
Englishman.
..... fanaticism masquerading beneath a cloak of reasoned logic.
ianao,
i meant that people who didn't just fade away make an impact. i realize for ex. that ray franz didn't send in a DA letter but i do believe he resigned and later DF'd. he didn't just fade away he wrote a book. on web sites there are some and i cannot give names because i no longer remember them but they did openly use their name and they told their story. one inpaticular was an overseer. he also started to see where beliefs were not in harmony with the scriptures and bravely and openly expressed that. he didn't just meekly fade away. i think they DF'd him and his wife as well. in my own congregation a sister sent in a DA letter and later they announced it. yes it did impact me. i thought how could anyone leave Jehovah. later when my own doubts surfaced i thought of her , what does she know?? i wanted to call her but i didn't remember her name. she was an infrequent meeting attender and this was a new hall to me when she DA'd herself. those that have NOT faded away have been of help to me. jurs
IF you write the letter, do it for YOURSELF, not your wife. I personally am against DA letters because it does INDEED mean you are playing by their rules. If you DO send it out to the congregation, make it short and concise with things they can EASILY look up themselves, ya might stir a heart or two. Most likely you'll be written off as an apostate, worse yet, they may form a committee and DF you for apostacy.
For your wife, quote her the bit from the WTBTS web page about not shunning those who no longer are part of the BORG, and tell her that as you don't see them as the "TRUTH" you aren't bound by their rules.
JMHO
Yeru
YERUSALYIM
God is truth, and light his shadow.
Plato
When one of my good friends in the Borg, an elder in my congregation, decided he'd had enough of the bullshit, he wrote a letter like the one you contemplate. And he sent it to each and every person in the congregation, and lots of other J-Dubs as well.
There had been someone in that congregation who had written such a letter while my friend was still an elder, and the other elders misrepresented the contents of his letter, making it seem like he was some kinda unprincipled, anxious to freely sin, jerk. My friend wanted to avoid that, so he sent his letter to one and all. And he never regretted his action. In fact, his letter was so well put together, several other people found themselves in total agreement with him and they left too!! Great legacy.
Your call.
Francois
Where it is a duty to worship the Sun you can be sure that a study of the laws of heat is a crime.
I recommend fading away, because it drives them NUTS!! They want to dispose of you, and writing the letter or being df'd falls into their plan, not yours. I want to be in control of my own life, and I get a kick out of NOT being da'd or df'd. When we went to the last meeting, in January 1997, I said no one will EVER control my life again. And no one does........well maybe my grandkids. They know how to push my buttons.
My daughter celebrates all the holidays very publicly, and they still don't df her or her husband. My youngest son, was baptized in a Christian church, and they leave him alone.......he also wears a cross. They should be df'ing us, but they don't. So, I think it's a blast to watch them squirm, wishing they could. But they just don't have the courage or something, to do so. The rumor mill says that we will sue if they do it to us. We have never said that, but it might be why they leave us alone. Too funny, anyway.
I agree with Mulan - why make life easy for them??
I had openly made my hatred of meetings/ministry/Society known to my book study elder over the course of 3 years, but he seemed to think it was just talk and that i would never do anything about. In fact he always responded in a jovial fashion! WELL HE KNOWS NOW I WASN'T KIDDING!!
I suddenly left the org in Oct 00. I made the decision whilst sitting at a circuit assembly, listening to all the ***** that comes off the platform.
In April 01, a message came to me via my husband that the elders would like to see me because they wanted to know what I believed in.
I decided that if they wanted to see me they would have to ask me directly, and not via a go between.
I also decided that I am happy with my life, and the way I am living it (including celebrating birthdays/Christmas/Easter etc etc), and if the elders have a problem with it, IT IS THEIR PROBLEM!!
I have also found that it embarasses my in-laws beautifully. They don't know how to handle me. I am SO NICE to them when I see them. I ALWAYS enquire after their health (they never ask about mine!!) I try very hard not to give them ANY REASON to not talk to me. I love to see them squirm.
I don't know how long I will be able to keep this up, but it is working well at the moment!!
Enlighted UK
Enjoy your life, it is the only one you'll have.
I myself sent in a D'ad letter. I personally beleive that God placed it in my heart to do so, that way, I was in a now cut-n-dry sitution. My family could no longer persuade me into making a bad decision to go back. Each individual is different.
I sent the letter to my sister's home to give to the elders. I knew that curiosity would get the best of her. She had to call my dad and read it to him.
Unless you are of "rank" in the Org, you should not expect to have the elders read and ponder over the letter too long.
Do what is in YOUR heart. Don't do it because your wife is wanting you to. She might want you to do it because she is afraid that there is a chance, albeit small chance, that you might go back.
It's up to you. Pray about it. God will give you the answer.
Ofcmad
"Noah was a drunk and look what he accomplished." The Metatron/Dogma
Cancel everything that I said, Mulans idea is the right one.
Englishman.
..... fanaticism masquerading beneath a cloak of reasoned logic.
I totally agree with Mulan too. (She trained me that way...haha) We are very open about celebrating the holidays, lots of lights and a big tree at Christmas, etc. They don't do a thing but I know that they are very aware of it. Since we just did the FA, when we run into the witnesses they are confused and really don't know what to do. Kind of fun, love to watch them squirm. Of course they mostly just shun us in their confusion which is fine by me.
Why play by their rules? If we wrote a letter now, they would be so relieved. I just can't make it easy for them. I like it this way.
Princess
"...and they lived happily ever after."
