Posts by Juan Viejo2

43

Menlo Park Kingdom Hall 3

by Juan Viejo2 in

for those of you that have been following the ongoing story of the forced take over of the menlo park, california kingdom hall, please go to:.

http://ex-jw.com/fear-and-loathing-in-menlo-park.

i'm sorry, the article is still a little rough and still needs a lot of editing, but i wanted to get it up by today at the latest.

Juan Viejo2

Devil_Fish,

Thanks for jumping in and adding some background info. I really hope the court lets the story be told and helps sort everything out. The truth, no matter whose side it supports, needs to be told.

JV

12

Only For Los Angeles Residents

by Iamallcool in

jw
friends

http://www.metro.net/interactives/special_offer/.

Juan Viejo2

Go to www.exjwslosangeles.org. Good group based out of Downey. Serves LA and Orange County.

JV

43

Menlo Park Kingdom Hall 3

by Juan Viejo2 in

for those of you that have been following the ongoing story of the forced take over of the menlo park, california kingdom hall, please go to:.

http://ex-jw.com/fear-and-loathing-in-menlo-park.

i'm sorry, the article is still a little rough and still needs a lot of editing, but i wanted to get it up by today at the latest.

Juan Viejo2

It's been a real struggle, but the latest news on the Menlo Park Kingdom Hall case is now on line. You can read it here:

http://ex-jw.com/takeover-at-menlo-park

I am supposed to get a new desktop computer tomorrow - my old one is almost completely dead. So I will add some additional highlights to to the attached documents to point toward especially interesting items, but I just can't get anything more out of my old computer.

Depending on your browser, some will be able to open the court documents up in another screen. Some will have to download them and open them up off-line. Both are clean and should pass any virus check. In spite of having a lot of pages, each file is about 2.5Mb, so they should not choke when you download them. Both files are in standard PDF format.

MadSweeney has also been nice enough to allow me to embed his May 28 podcast where he and I discuss the Menlo Park case in detail. Please pay special attention to his prologue, a very well researched discussion of how the Watchtower Society manages properties. He also explains how the Watchtower tries to walk a fine line between being ecclesiatical or congregational, trying to protect itself from anything negative happening within local Kingdom Halls, while actually maintaining an iron-fisted control over everything.

Enjoy. I look forward to your comment both here and on the article page.

JV

11

Serving where the need is great, in Utah.

by jam in

jw
friends

a nice visit with my daughter and her family yesterday, (jw,s).. she told me next month they will be serving in utah for four.

days because the need is great.

have anyone here had experiences.

Juan Viejo2

In the 1960s (1962, I believe), my new bride and I joined a group of young JWs who went to Utah during the early summer to Witness for a week in remote areas.

It was kind of cool, but uncomfortable as hell. The first couple of nights we camped out in one of the national parks (I think it was Zion). Some slept in the cars we came in, a couple had tents. My wife and I shared a big sleeping bag. We later had to move it to the top of a picnic table because there were rattlesnakes and other creepy crawlies that we had to beware of. We'd shower in the park's restrooms and then drive out of the park to some long forgotten small town with about 35 - 40 people. Witnessing was a waste of time, but we got a good education out of our trip.

In those days, many of the Mormon families lived in houses that were about 80% underground. It was weird walking up to a home that looked like it had just collapsed and walk "down the porch." I'm not sure about now, but in those days, underground houses were still quite common in the remote areas. (UC Davis financed and built several "green homes" in the same category in the Sacramento, California area in the 1970s and 80s.)

The Mormons were all very nice, but dealing with them was a lot like trying to preach to JWs. Their religion was also their culture and cult. Everyone up, down, and sideways in their family trees were Mormons. To even suggest that they consider another religion was out of the question. So they would end up preaching to us instead of us preaching to them.

Basically our 4-5 days in service were just part of an educational experience for all of us. It was exhausting in every sense of the word and totally fruitless. It was like going to Afghanistan and trying to preach to the Taliban. Most of us came home tired and sick. My kidneys were a mess because the water was so alkaline and there was no place to pee. I had strep throat and a 104 fever when we got back to Southern California. My wife had been on her period the whole time, so she was a mess and miserable.

Not fun. Not productive. Even now, I think most of the JWs are just in the larger cities like Salt Lake, Provo and Ogden where there are a lot of non-Mormon residents. But out in the country - not many. Living out there and being anything but a Mormon would make you outcasts.

JV

43

Menlo Park Kingdom Hall 3

by Juan Viejo2 in

for those of you that have been following the ongoing story of the forced take over of the menlo park, california kingdom hall, please go to:.

http://ex-jw.com/fear-and-loathing-in-menlo-park.

i'm sorry, the article is still a little rough and still needs a lot of editing, but i wanted to get it up by today at the latest.

Juan Viejo2

The article I've promised to publish should go up around 8PM PDT tonight. I've got most of the text and layout completed, but there are still some minor glitches with the uploaded documents. And it's the documents that are the important part of the story.

As with all of my articles, the lead to this one will appear on the home page and will remain on that page for at least a couple of weeks. After that it will be accessible via the sidebar menu and/or the search bar.

The title of the article is "Takeover: What really happened at Menlo Park?"

Feel free to comment after you've read the attachments. Combined, they are over 125 pages. They are written by someone close to the case and almost all of the pertinent documentation is included.

The website is, of course, http://ex-jw.com .

JV

20

Needed Organizational Changes for WT

by Kosonen in

i am concerned about the spiritual welfare of the jehovah's witnesses.

surely we all have noticed an unhealthy development in their leaders attitude, the "governing body".

they have more and more begun to emphasize their importance and their power, in the literature and talks and thereby drawing unnecessary much attention to themselves.

Juan Viejo2

Kosonen,

You have a PM

12

Does Anyone know what congregation RBC is?

by binadub in

jw
friends

there seems to be some kind of a trend, i think of jw congregations separating from the authority of the watchtower if the elders vote for it.. i'm trying to get more information about what this is and whether or not the wt hq sanctions is, ever.. thanks for any info,.

~binadub.

Juan Viejo2

Binadub,

You may be inquiring in response to a question about the Sacramento area Kingdom Halls that I submitted to an online Ex-JW group. The main story that has come to the front has been Menlo Park. Blondie's quotes describe the basics very well, but they obviously do not discuss the backroom politicking and manipulations that go on. They also do not describe the fact that in certain areas the local JWs do not want to give up their Kingdom Halls, they do not want to merge with another Hall several miles away, they do not want their elders removed, replaced, or reassigned. But the Watchtower, through the RBCs, just bulldozes over any local preferences. Many local brothers and sisters suffer in many ways (loss of elder privileges, inconvenience, travel expenses, etc.).

JV

59

WATCHTOWER WRONGFULL DEATH LAWSUIT - UPDATE

by Lawrence Hughes in

jw
friends

dear friends,.

i would like to thank those who have helped me.

as a result, important legal precedents have been made and a lot of media coverage has been made which has exposed the watchtower society.

Juan Viejo2

Lawrence Hughes - you have a PM.

JV

43

Menlo Park Kingdom Hall 3

by Juan Viejo2 in

for those of you that have been following the ongoing story of the forced take over of the menlo park, california kingdom hall, please go to:.

http://ex-jw.com/fear-and-loathing-in-menlo-park.

i'm sorry, the article is still a little rough and still needs a lot of editing, but i wanted to get it up by today at the latest.

Juan Viejo2

I am in the process of loading two large documents that have been submitted to the federal court. Unfortunately, my computer is really on its last legs and a new one that was suppose to arrive by Friday didn't make it. (I believe it was delayed due to the horrific tornadoes that rolled through the midwest USA early last week).

Check Ex-JW.com later Sunday night or early Monday for the new article. If it doesn't show, that means my computer expired. I'll try to keep everyone informed by updating JWN through my Droid.

If I can get these documents up this weekend, I guarantee that many of you who've been following this case will be quite suprised at how complete they are. They really fill in the details of the Menlo Park story better than I could in a lifetime.

Sweeney, you have a PM - or will have as soon as I can get it up.

JV

13

NEW Young People Ask book - Mad Sweeney's Version

by Mad Sweeney in

young people ask - mad sweeney's answers.

dealing with family.

1. how can i talk to my parents?.

Juan Viejo2

That was a classic, Sweeney! I'd start reading JW books again if you were in charge of the Writing Department.

JV