Was there any turmoil in the congregation you attended?

Our entire body of elders was deleted back in the early 1990's. Not sure why except to say that most of them did not get along with the CO at that time. His name was Mason. They brought in two of Mason's picks from a neigboring congregation to run the show. One seemed bothered by the situation. The other was a clear yes man if you know what I mean.

Jeff S.

Balsam

At the time I was getting ready to leave there had been about 2 women who had left their husbands and were living apart from them. One divorced her husband on no grounds from the JW's. She was later disfellowshipped. The other gal continued coming to meetings some and never divorced her husband. There also was a about 6 young people who were leaving the witnesses.

In the years proceeding say 10 years from 1990 to 2000 we saw several of out long time friend divorce. Which was mostly unheard of prior to that. Just prior to that period I had almost divorce my then husband but was strong told not do that because of his adultery.

I saw many families suffering, and lots of unhappiness. All of us were pretty miserable the last 20 years of my time in the JW's.

I have to say the first 7 years I was in the JW with my now ex-husband were happy years mostly. I thought JW's were a pretty happy people. After that period though I began to see problems with families and even my own life.

Of course I don't any religious organization is going to keep familes and mates happy. Serving God does not fix personality problems usally. Or bad marriages don't become perfect because of devotion to God.

Ruth

Glenmore

I remember two occassions, both with the elders trying to fix problems that weren't there. Both related to kids "acting up" - drinking and smoking bascially. And I believe that out of the 10 kids that went through the kangaroo court ordeal only 1 is still a dub. So evidently keeping the congo clean by making it unbearble for teenagers must be what Jahve the Volcano God likes to see.

Dawn

So evidently keeping the congo clean by making it unbearble for teenagers

In the long run - they're doing them a favor! The harder it is to stay a JW, the more of them that will eventually escape.

candidlynuts

as a kid.. people told us kids that weren't putting as many hours in service in as others to " try to be more like the ****** kids"

i was poor and lived way out in the country, we regularly went out on saturdays. since i didnt get enough time in to suit i was never invited anywhere with the "spiritually minded " kids.

i felt like the adults were idiots cuz these "spiritual" kids would go to other nearby states on weekends to drink and smoke pot , would come to the sunday meetings hung over , were sleeping around with one particular young sister who did all the males ( i knew of 9 she had sex with from the time she was 14 - 17 )so the idiot adults made me feel not good enough for jehovah. it was my first lesson in " ITS NOT HOW YOU LIVE ITS YOUR PR THAT COUNTS" i didnt tell on them cuz ya know what? they were elders kids, i knew better than to tell on them and have the vindictive bunch on my ass. i was an invisible misfit who couldnt do enough to please anyone so i just had the " wait on jehovah attitude that someday it'd be noticed that i was a decent person and they were all hypocrits.. now i'm fading away and they are all still special pioneers , ones a co, 2 are missionaries.. i guess i should have drank, fornicated and smoked in hiding like they did.

the last hall i was in was just tired. everyone seemed tired. thats the only way i can describe them. our PO was too busy taking care of his circuit duties ( appeal commitee ,assembly duties) several other elders too busy taking care of their building committee responsibilities.. didnt seem like any of the elders were minding their own herd of sheep. the last CO visit i went to even his talk seemed tired. and not that many bothered to show up to listen. (O the funniest meeting was "written review only about 25% of people attended most took it as a night off lol) memorial attendance is down, i talked to one df'd fella that usually went to memorial and asked why he didnt last year and he said the last 3 or 4 yrs the memorial talk was like a script ,very precise, legal , brief cold talk and he figured he'd heard it already why waste his time.

turmoil is in every hall. some are better than others if they have warm loving elders. but overall in my judgement the WTBS is taking all the love and warmth the religion used to offer and replacing it with cold robotic useless info .

YOUR NOT GOOD ENOUGH, YOU DONT DO ENOUGH, YOU DONT GIVE ENOUGH, GIVE MORE MORE MORE. if you prayed more , gave more, studied more, placed more you might get more out of the religion! but as it is Jehovah doesnt want you because your below the national average of hours.

no wonder i'm nuts.

Undaunted Danny

The Rockland Massachusetts Kingdom Hall was outrageous dog-eat-dog turmoil.

I needed a scorecard to keep track of all the competitive sleazy backstabbing..

I got eaten alive!

kwintestal

Shortly after I was injustly DF'd being made a scape-goat for all the elders kids who were screwing, drinking, drugging and who knows what else, every elder was removed from their position except for one (that was within a year). My mom said, "That's Jehovah making things right." What a crock. I figgure it was from the elders and their wives getting together and screwing, drinking, druging and who knows what else, and some other poor guy became the scape-goat for that. But who really knows.

Kwin

DaCheech

Candy...

Sorry for the way you were treated.

When I was a kid, and I was not good enough, I was told to be like Jr. Elder xxxx. He is now divorced and out of the truth!

Also we had multiple problems, we had this elder in which everything had to be perfect! His family! His Congo! his everything

Well after an altercation with me, and luckily I heard him say something awful about another elder "xy" he was soon removed!

He took his family to another congo, his son became Mr. perfect elder/building committee/everything else! He soon got a promotion

to MS again. Well you know what happened? His son after failing 3 girlfriends (JW's) and due to his father not thinking any were good

enough for his son........ Found Mrs. right and got married! You know what happened to his father? Due to the fact that he did not want

his son getting marrier to a sister that was not good enough for his son, he was restrained to the exterior of the cerimony and reception hall

during his son's wedding!

More experiences to come, there are too many!

lawrence

One Saturday in Westen Mass. while working on the new Kingdumb Hall, as the "slaves" brought lunch 2 elders began arguing, pushing, shoving, and one took off his glasses and took a swing at the other brother. They had to be restrained and lunch was served by the "slaves" - the next day after the Tower study the 2 made a big show of hugging each other and complimenting each other on whatever. The next issue at hand, keeping it from the CO and hushing it up among the "Brethren."

Another time we paid a shepherding call on a sister, and the 'brother" who took the swing at the other brother got into a loud disagreement with the sister and she asked him to leave the house. Finally with me urging him to leave and her mentioning the police, we left. He stated that it was now his duty to have her "thrown out" of the Congo.