To what extent do the elders keep information on us?

by JH 23 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  XBEHERE

  Blondie is absolutely correct, especially regarding the "informal" phone conversations. They happen frequently especially if there new ones in the cong. are being considered for appointment to privileges which is largely dependent on how much the elders personally like you anyway.

  Stilla is also correct, the Quarterly meeting minutes where especially the brothers are discussed, also contain information but that is generally not filed. Copies are given to the individual elders for future reference.

  Basically as Blondie mentioned, unless you were reproved or DF'ed, the only record they keep is that dreaded Publishers Record Card. What a joke that is too... I still don't know how they can explain that one scripturally.
• 

  Mary

  A publisher's record card is approx. 6.5 by 5.5 inches and is simply a month by month table of hours, return visits, magazines, etc.

  Geeze, mine would be EASY to fill out.........ZERO written right across it!! LMAO!!
• 

  IT Support

  JH,

  the elders told me that they had to send my folder to the other congregation... Does anybody know what else could be written in these folders?

  There are not special folders kept on every publisher, unless your old congregation set up their own system.

  However, there are dozens of Society forms on which your name could appear:

  Regards,

  Ken
• 

  OldSoul

  VM44: When asked directly the Jehovah's Witnesses will answer "No, we do not maintain membership roles"

  Technically, there is a both an organizational and a legal reason we are not members. Members of an organization have "joined" the organization, much as most Christian religious adherents do.

  For purposes of legally being able to disfellowship and encourage shunning in many countries, including this one, no one "joins" Jehovah's Witnesses - they "become" one of Jehovah's Witnesses. Once they declare themselves willingly submissive to the authority of the organization (although whether an underaged person can even legally do so is iffy) binding themselves by verbal contract to that authority, they may be disfellowshipped at will, shunned, and legally subjected to humiliation if they ever wish to return with very little recourse.

  So the reason they can truthfully say they don't keep membership rolls is because there are none to keep.

  Respectfully,
  B_Ing Invisible
• 

  willyloman

  Oh, I would kill to see what my intrroductory letter said when I last changed congregations.

  Actually, most people on this board would be shocked at the content and quality of the vast majority of "letters of introduction." While the role of Secretary is arguably one of the most important in the congo, and clearly should be given to someone with exceptional organizational and communication skills, it is the least-sought job on the body of elders. No one wants it so it's often assigned to the least qualified brother of the bunch, usually the new guy. The people with communication skills all want to be teachers so they want the school or the WT Study. The main reason no one wants to be Secretary is you have to be present and accountable. A secretary collects and answers all the mail, keeps all the records, and generally handles all the congo paperwork, including the filing system. It's a huge job and requires constant attention to detail.

  I probably saw hundreds of such letters in my day, and the vast majority were poorly written, full of misspelled words, poor grammar, lousy syntax and often incomprehensible (and badly formatted, too). It was fairly common for elders to look at each other after such a letter was read aloud at an elder's meeting and say, "What's that mean?" It often wasn't clear what was being said.

  My favorite was the one (and there were way more than one) that, after citing a long list of problems a particular brother, sister, or entire family had, closed with: "We are happy to send you the cards of ...."

  To which someone would always reply, "I bet they are very happy to be sending us their cards." In other words, they were glad to be rid of so-and-so and their many problems although they probably didn't mean for it to sound like that. Or maybe they did.
• 

  roybatty

  They will send a cover letter as to your spiritual "health" in the congregation.

  Last weekend I was finally cleaning out that certain corner of the basement that everyone has (you know the one where are the boxes are piled up). Anyway, I came across a bunch of old, unmarked floppy disks. Since the stuff in this corner had been sitting there unused for several years I was simply going to throw them away. Out of curiousity I popped one disk into the computer and found on it several letters dating back to 1997. These were introduction letters I had written as congregation service overseer. The PO's name along with the secretary's was on there. It was a bit disturbing reading them. Most of them were friendly enough but it was strange reading the names of people I hadn't thought about in a long time. In the letters I would mention any family problems the person might have but their "spiritual health" (i.e. field service hours and meeting attendence) was always the more important issues.

  It again reminded me of the business side of the WT, even on a local level. It's all just a business.
• 

  mkr32208

  Conspiracy is not the identifying mark of the JW organization. It's ignorance

  Bingo!

  This was funny to me the last time I got in any "trouble" I was waiting in the library for the brothers to get it in gear and there was a little plastic file box on the table like for recipit cards. No lock or anything so I just popped it open and it was everyone's publisher record card. I found mine and changed some of it... This was before I completly faded but I had started... I was never going to make it through armegedon anyway...
• 

  BluesBrother

  I used to send the record cards and letters of introduction when somebody moved ( I was congo Secretary) these would try and be positive about that person although it would include the points on which they "Might lovingly assist our brother".

  Since then the UK has introduced the Data Protection Act which has scared the org silly since it gives everyone right of access to recorded info held about ourselves . I have told that nowadays the letters have to be brief and very factual.. But of course the telephone might also be used ............
• 

  FairMind

  I don't what my "letter of introduction" said about me when I changed congregations about four years ago but every privilege I had except for TMS, commenting and field service ceased. It was strange since I was being used in the congregation I left. I chalked it up to vengeance on the part of a few particular elders I had crossed. I asked to see the letter but my request was refused. I don't think my comments about being stabbed in the back went over very well.

  FM
• 

  willyloman

  I asked to see the letter but my request was refused.

  In all my years, I never had one person ask to see their letter. If someone did, I'd have shown it to them. I'd have figured it's about them, so they have a right. The only people who EVER asked to see their letter were other elders. They almost always wanted to see what had been written about them. In one congo I was in, it was the practice to show the letter to the elder BEFORE he moved so he'd know what we were sending to his future home congo.