We were shocked when the Society wrote back that all 7 DFings stood. I think that was the beginning of the end for me. I realized then and there that this had nothing to do with Holy Spirit or anything like it. These folks were seen as troublemakers and this was a chance to get rid of them that the Society was not going to pass up - Bible principles and the Society's own directions be damned.
Wouldn't you think that a group who obstensibly makes such a fuss about finding people to bring to salvation, expending themselves in door to door work, trying to "change thinking", etc. would want to keep its members instead of throwing them out on such flimsy reasoning?
Wouldn't a real shepherd be interested in showing love to a sheep, helping, listening, etc?
Well, the answer is obvious. The people who occupy the seats in the hall meeting after meeting have no idea that these things go on. I know that I was clueless. I would have argued with anyone who claimed that the Society was wrong. I would have said, "Well, I wasn't in the back room and know that the elders must have done all they could......"
If not for the fact that I saw and heard these type of things with my own ears I still would not believe it. My sixteen year old daughter , all one hundred pounds, was in front of five men that accused her of fornication, lesbianism, gang membership, drug use, etc. Why was she accused of this? Well, the dominant elder, the main spiritual bully, stated that "Little girl's sleepovers are lesbian training grounds." So there you have that one. They lied to her, stating that her friends had said that the stupid teen things they did do were all her idea. They even told another family that she had committed fornication, slandering our family.
We were the model family. Since my daughter had never even been allowed out of the house with anyone without her dad or I or another grown person present up until a few weeks before, the gang thing was an unbelievable stretch. Also, since she was an honor student, had never, ever been in trouble at school or anywhere else in her life, had never taken drugs, etc. we were of course outraged.
The fornication? The men admitted that there was no accusation of such, witnesses, or admission, but went at her for two and one half hours accusing her of being like Annanias and Saphira withholding truth and fell down dead, Achan, who was swallowed up by the ground, and every other case in the Bible of wrongdoers. When she would say that she didn't do anything, they would sneer and shake their heads and moan, and almost yell, "NO, NO." When she still would not admit to fornication, crying and saying she did nothing, they called her a liar. Then they made her read a scripture that she was filth in God's eyes, and would burn in the fire with the devil and his angels.
Of course, they disfellowshipped her, without explaining why. In fact, when the B$%## told her, he said, "And if you're still disfellowshipped when Armageddon comes, you can take some comfort in knowing that God can read hearts."
Do you imagine this was the end? Oh, yes, we appealed. The appeal committee met with us once, but when I started telling them the way they treated my child, they stopped the meeting and said that we'd have to meet again. To show us who was boss the original committee would not meet again for MONTHS!!!! All this time they treated our child as though she was df'd and would not speak to us, either, except to shake our hand or loudly say hi to us if anyone was looking.
We wrote letters to the WTS. We spoke to the D.O. and the C.O. After months of waiting, the WTS upheld the df. They wrote us that "Surely these men have learned a lesson." The appeal committee chairman said we should "Accept it because God allowed it."
It has been over two years now. We have not been to the KHall in about two years. My blood boils when I think of her treatment. She was a child. They made her feel as if she had no right to live and was worthless. How dare they. How dare they....
If any person on this forum is still "in" and thinks that these things just do not happen, that the elders don't just set out to "get you" they may be in for a rude awakening.
