i stopped attending meetings all together in january 2015. before that my attendance was irregular at best.
my husband followed suit a few months ago after months of research, agony, and indecision on his part.
from the very beginning i laid low and did not share with anyone what i found out about the witnesses because i did not want to be df'd.
Keep your heads down, the pair of you.
Try to let the emotions subside a little. Be careful your own mother doesn't try and "set you up" with a second witness.
TAKE YOUR TIME
In a month's time you might realise your mother has Df'd you personally anyway. But the silly woman might have panicked and run to the elders like the trained puppy we all were.
She just might think. You told her some good stuff!
Did I say "TAKE YOUR TIME?"
awhile back someone posted a pic of the rank/ order of command within the org.
it started with a picture of earth and god sitting on his throne, then the gb body members sitting at there table, then the elders underneath them and then the r&f and so forth.. no mention of jesus in that photo.
could someone familiar with the article that it came out of provide me with the reference please?.
Yup. Remember that. Underneath the "chariot" is the GB sat in a meeting. And the tables and chairs of the GB are the biggest, plushest and most corporate. Under them? The branch committees whose conference furniture is "medium quality" and then after the "traveling overseer" comes by to meet with the elders who sit on very basic furniture.
And of course the "traveling overseer" minces along with his airport luggage to enforce the rules and regulations.
And the congregation lap it up at their congregation meeting.
Jeez! I mean Jesus. Nowhere to be seen! Probably fell off the chariot when it shot off in another direction.
as we all know, armageddon was just around the corner in 1974. at the district conventions that year, it was announced that there would be two special meetings during the month of september; one would be for interested people (e.g., bible studies, family members, inactive, etc.
), and the other would be for baptized publishers.
these were to be held in place of the service meetings for the two weeks, iirc.
Nice catch, Neon!
And perhaps surprisingly you can find these letters on the WT CD-ROM. Certainly for 2014 anyway. They are there in all their glory in the August 1974 KM. Including:-
(italics theirs)
"... we do know that God's judgment is to be executed within the lifetime of the generation that saw the beginning of the "last days." Jesus Christ said: "This generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur." (Matt. 24:34) Accordingly, the generation of people that witnessed the events of 1914 C.E. is the one that will also see the "great tribulation." Already nearly sixty years have passed. Those persons who were at an age of understanding in 1914 are diminishing in numbers. ..."
Note the "age of understanding" which of course made all of us back then believe that the very last of the generation would have to have been born well before 1914.
If we take age 10 as a minimum "age of understanding" then of the generation that would by "no means pass away" there are only forty verified people alive in the world born on or before Jan 1st 1904* as of February 13th 2016.
If we take age 13 as a minimum then there are only four born on or before Jan 1st 1901*.
*According to wiki's List of verified oldest living people.
church elder who sexually abused vulnerable children was invited to speak at first victim’s wedding.
a church elder who sexually abused vulnerable children was invited to speak at his first victim’s wedding, a court heard.. a court was told harry holt, 71, now of rutland street, nelson, went on to attack seven more girls as young as nine after the jehovah’s witnesses failed to report him to police.when the matter was raised, a local beat officer advised parents to ‘just keep your children away from him’, the court heard.. holt is facing a lengthy prison sentence after being convicted of attacks against eight girls in scotland dating back over 40 years.. .
full article at link..
i've been thinking this for a while.
even before the arc scandal.
it seems no matter what, the org.
@Fisherman
So am I to infer from your post that the "one true religion (jw's)" is excused by what the Catholic church does?
To paraphrase O/C "you are deflecting ... address why JW's leadership (and you) regard "child abuse" as a "sin" instead of both a sin and a crime"
@tor1500
No worries - tired eyes is all!
i've been thinking this for a while.
even before the arc scandal.
it seems no matter what, the org.
@tor 1500
I'm sure your last post was very interesting but unfortunately without paragraph breaks it's hard to read.
i could really do with some advice on what's acceptable when you leave.
we have left of our own accord about 6 months ago.
we didn't celebrate xmas this year but have just celebrated my daughters birthday.. a friend of mine who is still a witness told me that an elder had approached her and asked if we had celebrated xmas and that if we did it was a df offence as is classed as apostasy!
@theliberator
Nice catch about Geoffrey Jackson at the ARC. - Welcome by the way.
Problem is knowing how the org works this is how I think it would play out.
Local elders: "... celebrating Xmas Freddo ... D/f'd"
Freddo: "Look what GJ said - here's the transcript!"
L/E: (taking transcript) "Hmmm, let's think about this."
They scurry off to phone "mother" at the branch.
After a few days of to'ing and fro'ing branch will come back and say to L/E
"Well GJ was talking generally. He was being as cautious as a serpent but as innocent as a dove. Each case is different. Is Freddo causing "divisions"? Is leaving him be going to "protect the flock" or will it "embolden others as to badness"? Is there anything else he has said or done that might be very understandably be misconstrued as apostasy? Hmmmm? Think carefully? But it is your decision. (And the CO is making assignments for the upcoming assembly and you wouldn't want to sully your opportunity for that privilege would you? Hmmmm? OK I added that bit!) Will your decision "root out evil"?
You have a good day my brothers! Jehovah's blessing on your deliberations."
evening all, a few of you may remember my turmoil in leaving the wt well i'm happy to say i've finally moved on.
we celebrated our daughters birthday for the first time ever with a few close friends and it was magical.
our daughter loved it!
i've been thinking this for a while.
even before the arc scandal.
it seems no matter what, the org.
i could really do with some advice on what's acceptable when you leave.
we have left of our own accord about 6 months ago.
we didn't celebrate xmas this year but have just celebrated my daughters birthday.. a friend of mine who is still a witness told me that an elder had approached her and asked if we had celebrated xmas and that if we did it was a df offence as is classed as apostasy!
OK, ex-elder here.
Yes Xmas - not cuz it's Jesus birthday two and a half months late but because it's happy Saturnalia, pagan see? - will get you DF'd.
Timescale? As Talesin said.
The guideline "we" as in whenever the elders had a school or the CO would "clarify" the elder guidelines was 2 to 3 years of inactivity before you might get a "leave it in Jehovah's hands" if you aren't causing a stir in the congregation.
So my advice would be - don't put up lights, flashing Santa or a fir tree in your living room if you are living in an area where you were known as an active jw. Ever. Because someone will be "stumbled" of course.
