Posts by JeffT

24

The elephant in the room post

by joey jojo in

jw
friends

is it ok to talk about the ongoing post about 'he who must not ne named"?.

my perspective: im a neutral observer.

i dont know lloyd evans, im not an active member of any ex-jw group (except this one i guess).

JeffT

I have read other comments like this and I find them a bit strange. Thailand is a popular destination for us Aussies and most people I know have been there- Ive been there twice.
A trip to Thailand does not automatically equate to days of sex filled debauchery. Most people go with their families and stay at resorts, eat thai food and have a normal holiday like they would anywhere else.
Yes , I know Thailand has a reputation for sex but tragically there are stories of trafficked prostitutes in every country- its a worldwide problem.
You are accusing someone of an alleged crime simply because they happen to be in a certain country.
Loveuni- have you been to Thailand?

There is nothing alleged about it. This all started with his public confession that he had visited Thailand for the purpose of finding sex workers that could meet some need he has. If he kept his personal life personal I wouldn't care what he does. But given his history he has no business claiming he's fighting for victims of sexual abuse.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

JeffT

Well, I got the answer to one of my questions. AAWA did receive IRS certification as a non-profit. It is a common misconception that checking the "non-profit" box is all you need to do. There are, in fact, a lot of hoops to jump through.

I'm still trying to run down some tax questions I have regarding patreon payments.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

JeffT

SBF, that's one of the documents I've been looking for. Does your contact have the document that records his removal as a corporate officer? That might be very revealing.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

JeffT

I'm doing some surfing around in the Arizona corporation records, regarding AAWA. I can't get to the original incorporating documents, it looks like the state has archived the records. I was surprised to see that the corporation is still operating. I was under the impression they'd gone dark.

There is little if any current activity on AAWA.co.

I can't find any reference to Lloyd Evans on either the state's documents or the website. Not saying it isn't there, just saying that if it is there, its buried deep enough that I didn't see it in half an hour of poking around.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

JeffT

I would like to help, I have to think about my schedule. I have a lot on my plate just now, but this appeals to my inner researcher.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

JeffT

My wife and I stopped attending meetings in 1988 and DA'd in 1989. We were doing our research in the interval between those dates. There was no internet, no Lloyd Evans. I spent hours in the library, my wife was going through bookstores. We joined a support group. We spent a lot of time with Crisis of Conscience but there was a lot of other information out there as well.

Looking back, I can see that the Watchtower's own words; the falsehoods, the hypocrisy, false prophecy etc condemned them. Our research was a matter of confirming what we knew to be true. It is true: by the time you're looking at apostate Youtubes you're standing in front of the exit door.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

JeffT

I just fell down a rabbit hole looking at old threads regarding AAWA.

It is interesting looking back from a distance and seeing the birth of all the problems we now see. The legal matters are probably minor, the manipulation of membership numbers seem to have damaged a lot of people. That is tragic.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

JeffT

AAWA = (in its first iteration) Association of Anti-Watchtower Activists. That sounded too extreme so they quickly changed the actual name but kept the AAWA initials. I can't remember what it stood for in that second go around.

When they wrote up and filed the corporation paper work Evans signed it with his "John Cedars" screen name. He also stated that he was a resident of the state in which they incorporated, I think it was either Arizona or New Mexico.

Those two things are problematic. There was no such person as "John Cedars" it was a made up name. Signing a legal document with a fictitious name is the same thing as signing somebody else's name. Certifying that he was a resident of the state of incorporation was also a false statement, and would have invalidated the incorporation.

I assume that when discovered they went to the state and pleaded ignorance or some such and dodged a bullet with the legal system. At best, the whole thing showed poor judgement.

Edited to add, I looked at an old thread. The second entity was Advocates for Awareness of Watchtower Abuses.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

JeffT

I would love to take a look at the AAWA legal paperwork. I could apply my accounting background to an analysis of what happened there. I was initially interest in that project but quickly lost my enthusiasm for AAWA when I found out he was forging the signature of a non-existent person to the state filing. I'm surprised somebody didn't end up in major legal trouble. That incident, and his doxing of a lot of people who weren't ready to deal with having their names in public spoke volumes about how he operated.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

JeffT

JW's are conditioned to believe they need somebody (the GB) to explain stuff to them. Lloyd tapped into this when started up his youtubes. Now they've been conditioned to believe they need Lloyd Evans to explain stuff to them.

I think this is a real disservice to those leaving the Watchtower. Learning to sort out what you believe for yourself is a huge step, one that people won't take unless they have a teacher who is more interested in helping them strike out on their own, than gathering followers for himself. Or better yet, no teacher at all.