Posts by Shepherd Book

2

Christmas greetings from the ex-presidents of the Watchtower Society!

by there are four lights in

jw
friends

click here to view.

this is slow on the first view, but on the second play it is much better as it wont stop to load.

To those who've been DFed...

by IsaacJS2 in

jw
friends

i was just wondering if anyone ever tried to find a mature way to defy their supposed authority to judge you this way and what sort of reactions you got.

i haven't been dfed, but it could certainly happen some day.. i'm not planning to meekly put up with the preaching next time witnesses try it on me, which has made me wonder about this.

it seems a bit immature to go right up to them and say "hiya!

You ask if anyone has found a mature way to defy elders 'authority' over them in regards disfellowshipping. I guess it's up to you as to whether I handled things in a mature manner or not, but I suggest this:

If the elders call or stop by and wish to meet with you, especially if it's concerning certain 'accusations', don't give them a straight yes or no answer. Tell them you want to think/pray about the matter and promise to get back to them. Then send them this letter: http://www.watchtowerletters.com/our_letter_elders.html.

When the elders called me, this is exactly what I did and I have not heard from them since then (it's been >3 months since the phone calls). I have not been disfellowshipped.

Here's my home page: http://www.watchtowerletters.com, and from there you can listen to my phone conversations with the elder and read more about my situation, if that helps. There's a link to my email address there, too, if you have any more concerns.

Hope it helps.

11

I Come Bearing Gifts! Part 3 of 3

by Shepherd Book in

after my phone conversations with the elder, it seemed only right to attempt to contact our accusers.

since the elder violated the biblical directive and refused to put me in contact with my accusers, i was unable to contact them directly.

i did not know their phone numbers, email addresses, or home addresses.

Shepherd Book

Dogon--

Maybe it's a needless defense, I don't know. But here are 4 reasons why I wanted to make the post:

1. I spent years ensuring that I left the organization for only one reason - because it's not the Truth. I had no desire to leave the Org just to celebrate a birthday. So, I resolved that if anyone accuses me of leaving for any reason (and they have), I will defend myself and explain that there is only one reason why I left: becuase it's not true.

2. As I was not DF'd or Disassociated, my accusers may have wondered what happened to me. As I said in the blog, all I know for sure is that they visit my website. So, this was my way of telling them what happened when the elders contacted me, and how I dealt with the situation.

3. Many of my friends, relatives and co-workers have never been JWs, and so directing them to this blog is a good way for them to see the absurdity of the WTower's birthday policy.

4. Maybe I was just so incredibly indoctrinated, but I like to "keep checking" that what I currently believe is closer to the truth than any belief I've discarded. So, when the elder called and told me I had sinned by celebrating a birthday, I was compelled to re-research the topic (in the WTower's literature) and remind myself once again why I believe it is not a sin. The blog entry, therefore, is the result of that mini-research project.

11

I Come Bearing Gifts! Part 3 of 3

by Shepherd Book in

after my phone conversations with the elder, it seemed only right to attempt to contact our accusers.

since the elder violated the biblical directive and refused to put me in contact with my accusers, i was unable to contact them directly.

i did not know their phone numbers, email addresses, or home addresses.

Shepherd Book

Thanks, guys. Yeah a few JWs I'm still in contact with seem to think BDays are on par with murder and theft in the sin department. Maybe it's even worse than showing up at the meeting without a tie.

11

I Come Bearing Gifts! Part 3 of 3

by Shepherd Book in

after my phone conversations with the elder, it seemed only right to attempt to contact our accusers.

since the elder violated the biblical directive and refused to put me in contact with my accusers, i was unable to contact them directly.

i did not know their phone numbers, email addresses, or home addresses.

Shepherd Book

After my phone conversations with the elder, it seemed only right to attempt to contact our accusers. Since the elder violated the biblical directive and refused to put me in contact with my accusers, I was unable to contact them directly. I did not know their phone numbers, email addresses, or home addresses. The only thing I knew for certain is that they had visited our website. Since they had visited our website, it stands to reason that they’ve seen my blog.
So I contacted them via my blog.
You can read what I wrote here: here is the spot to click .
Feel free to comment on my blog!
p.s. I am no longer a "newbie".

11

I Come Bearing Gifts! Part 2 of 3

by Shepherd Book in

after finding out the truth about noahs flood (and many other things), there seemed little point in actively pursuing the witness lifestyle.

one thing we were finally able to do was openly celebrate our sons birthday.

we had celebrated his first birthday, but we did so secretly.

Shepherd Book

FFM-- Good point. I never told them my web address, so they must have been scouring the web for incriminating evidence.
Quandry-- Judging from what I 'witnessed' while at bethel, many of the bethel boys enjoy many stiff things ...
Big Mouth-- Thank you for the high praise. When my uncle told me I should write to the Society again about my questions, I did so. Then I told my uncle they told me to stop asking questions. He never wrote me back.

11

I Come Bearing Gifts! Part 2 of 3

by Shepherd Book in

after finding out the truth about noahs flood (and many other things), there seemed little point in actively pursuing the witness lifestyle.

one thing we were finally able to do was openly celebrate our sons birthday.

we had celebrated his first birthday, but we did so secretly.

Shepherd Book

Thanks everyone! B_Deserter: Thanks for putting it so succinctly. Yes, the only attachments they included with their letters were WTower and Awake articles. tula: As to my judicial hearing, I have not heard back since sending the letter. My guess is that they have just dropped the matter. If the did DF me or my wife, no one in the congregation seems to care, as I have bumped into several of them in the neighborhood and at local stores and they are very friendly to me (e.g., ask me about my son, say they miss me, stuff like that). I would like to have the information published, although I have absolutely no idea how to go about doing that. The one publishing company I was familiar with is not likely to publish my stuff (ha!). I am currently trying to get my entire life as a JW and the research I did down on paper. So far the book is 400 pages long.

11

I Come Bearing Gifts! Part 2 of 3

by Shepherd Book in

after finding out the truth about noahs flood (and many other things), there seemed little point in actively pursuing the witness lifestyle.

one thing we were finally able to do was openly celebrate our sons birthday.

we had celebrated his first birthday, but we did so secretly.

Shepherd Book

After finding out the truth about Noah’s Flood (and many other things), there seemed little point in actively pursuing the Witness lifestyle. One thing we were finally able to do was openly celebrate our son’s birthday. We had celebrated his first birthday, but we did so secretly. His second birthday was a different story, however. We invited our non-Witness relatives and bought our son a cake and presents. We had a great time.

We also posted the photos from that day on the worldwide web. It was only a matter of time, then, until a Witness found the objectionable photos and alerted the elders as to our ‘sin’. In August 2007, an elder from the local congregation called me (I am unsure how he had my number, as I had changed my number after leaving the congregation).

The bible tells of many instances of religious leaders condemning the common people for breaking silly rules. Since the bible writers felt compelled to record the details of these conversations, I figured it behooved me to record our conversations as well.

You can listen to the conversations here:click me

Don’t forget to rate the videos!

16

I Come Bearing Gifts! Part 1 of 3

by Shepherd Book in

i realize this is not my first post, but id like to introduce myself.

my name is shepherd book.

so i wrote to the watchtower society.. .

Shepherd Book

Thanks everyone, I am glad that so many find it helpful / interesting. It was very cathartic for me. My wife (aka There ARe Four Lights) appreciates the compliments on the website design, as she is the supreme webmaster around the house here. Seven006-- You ask a good question. I would like to say: "I'm willing to take it as far as it will take me"! But, of course, I may reneg on that. But when it comes to the Watchtower Society, I am convinced that they are not God's channel here on Earth and, further, that they not only have made mistakes but have deliberately mislead. On the subject of God, I'm pretty sure that if he's out there, he's irrerelevant in my life (too many Richard Dawkins/Christopher Hitchens books, I guess). Satanus-- Yeah, I thought about that for a few weeks before replying. In order for me to reply to them, I first had to tackle their accusation that I was getting too nit-picky. I finally decided the best way to do that was to point out that they reign supreme in the nit-pick kingdom.

16

I Come Bearing Gifts! Part 1 of 3

by Shepherd Book in

i realize this is not my first post, but id like to introduce myself.

my name is shepherd book.

so i wrote to the watchtower society.. .

Shepherd Book

Thanks everyone! Hope you liked the new website. Yeah, when that new OKM came out, I immiediately thought back to how that directly contradicted what the Circuit Overseer said.