Current disfellowshipping practices- please help.

amarantha

Hi, my name is Amarantha. I'm new to the board. Can anyone please tell me what the current disfellowshipping standards are? I have been "inactive" for about 6 years. I'm fine with this arrangement as it allows me to maintain contact with my family. I am curious, if my family finds out about my current religious beliefs, will they bother to disfellowship me after all this time? TIA

Elsewhere

If you tell anyone that you have thoughts or opinions that are contrary to what is taught by the WTS, you will be DFed for apostasy.

The WTS prides itself in all of the court cases it has won in relation to Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion... ironically they will have you shunned and rejected by your friends and family for exercising those very same rights.

August 2002 Kingdom Ministry Article about DFed and DAed people. Part 1
August 2002 Kingdom Ministry Article about DFed and DAed people. Part 2

Honesty

I am curious, if my family finds out about my current religious beliefs, will they bother to disfellowship me after all this time?

They will.

unbeliever

It's my understanding that if they find out you are attending church you will be considered DA'd.

TheListener

Welcome Amarantha.

Good question.

A lot of this depends on your local body of elders.

This can be more dificult if you still live in the territory of the congregation you used to be associated with. Basically, if the elder body feels that you consider yourself a witness, or if they feel that the public considers you a witness, or if they feel that they consider you a witness they have (in their opinion) a right to take judicial action against you. You would be considered to have disasociated yourself by your actions and would be announced as no longer a witness. Thus, all family ties would be broken and you'd be shunned.

However, if the elder body doesn't consider you a witness they will in all likelihood leave you alone and you can do what you want and not jeopardize your family at all. Moving is usually the best way to accomplish this since a new elder body wouldn't know you and wouldn't care about you and the old elder body would probably not care about you any longer either (of course, it is possible for a body of elders to get wind of your activities from family and df/da you whether you still live in their territory or not; since they have your publisher record card).

Life is a gamble. Pull up a chair.

rebel8

Although I've heard many people say the elders did not follow the rules (and I believe it), they have followed the rules in my case. See below. (Spelling errors are not mine-it's a cut and paste from the book.)

Baptized persons who have not associated for some time.
If you learn of serious wrongdoing on the part of such a person, the matter should be investigated if it poses a threat to the congregation's cleanness and welfare or causes a public scandal.
Consider the following:
Does he still profess to be a Witness?
Is he generally recognized as such in the congregation and/or t e community?
Does the person have a measure of contact or association with the congregation so that a leavening, or corrupting, influence exists?
How did the matter become known to the elders?
Is the person willing to meet with a committee, thus admitting accountability to the Christian congregation?
Depending upon length of inactivity and other factors suggested above, elders may determine to hold the matter in abeyance.
In such a case, a record of the person's questionable conduct should be made for the congregation file so that everything noted might be clarified when the person shows interest in becoming active again.
If the sinful conduct is known only to believing family members and no congregation action is taken because of the factors outlined above, believing relatives will likely determine to curtail family association severely, viewing the relative as bad association. ( I Cor. 15:33)
If the individual still professes to be a Witness and is willing to meet with the judicial committee, the matter should be handled in the normal way. However, when factors such as possible legal action exist, it is best to consult the Society before proceeding. (w87 9/1 p. 14)--Excerpt from the elders' manual, Pay Attention to the Flock

richard

It will also depend on the relationship between you and your family. If they consider their commitment to the WTS of more importance than the bond with you, you may expect problems.

amarantha

Thank you for all of your responses. I guess I am just in denial (STILL). I moved across the country 4 years ago, but this month am moving back within close proximity of my old congregation. To compound the problem I have extended family through marriage in that congregation. They will most certainly get wind of anything. And as my father is a P.O., he would feel it necessary to cut me off whether or not I was officially Disfellowshipped.

A friend of mind who also left the religion just recently told me he thought they had changed their policies a bit, and didn't bother to disfellowship people, unless they were trying to re-enter the religion. I guess I wanted to believe that was true. As I'll never re-enter, I'd never be disfellowshipped. Sounds great!

The next part of my question is this. Will they just disfellowship me, or will I be declared an apostate?

I am a practicing pagan. At some point I feel my 2 year old is bound to blurt out something to his grandparents. I certainly don't want him to ever feel like it's the big bad secret he can't talk about. So, while I am obviously practicing another religion, one that they would consider tantamount to Satan worship, I don't waste my time picketing assemblies or otherwise trying to debunk JW's. I don't really speak out against them. Isn't that what apostacy in their view is all about? I suppose ultimately it doesn't really make a difference if I am disfellowshipped or also called an apostate. I'd just like to know what to expect, to prepare myself for.

Thanks again, all of you.

LouBelle

again depends on how the elders conduct the judicial committee case. If you approach them & say you no longer believe in the organisation, they will say you are an apostate because you refute your previous beliefs & that my dear is cause for disassociation by beliefs or disfellowshipment. The announcement will not be that *your name...has been disfellowshiped/ disassociated* They will announce that you are no long a Jehovahs' Witness. The punishment is as usal procedure - a cutting off / shunning.

amarantha

LouBelle-

I never plan to approach the elders EVER again. Truthfully they would have to drug me, kidnap me, and strap me down to get me to meet with a group of elders ever again. Anything they decide to do to me they wll have to do on their own without getting my input. So, then, even if they got all the facts from my parents, etc, would they DF me or announce me an apostate? I suppose, technically, just admitting my other religious beliefs in front of my father, an elder, would be grounds to label me an apostate, right? (would he need a witness to the conversation?) This is why I have tried so hard to not share any religious beliefs with my family. I just do the silent treatment when the subject of religion comes up. I have been trying so hard to maintain some kind of relationship for them. I guess this may have been ultimately futile.

I have thought about writing a letter to the society asking to be removed as a member. Would I be considered an apostate if I did that?

I guess I resigned myself a long time ago to be DF'd eventually... I just haven't resigned myself to having the A word whispered behind my back by family members. Ugh.

Current disfellowshipping practices- please help.

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