Posts by Franklin Massey

18

Lack of Elders in your hall?

by stuckinamovement in

jw
friends

there is an upcoming study article trying to encourage men to reach out.

in my cong there are more former elders and servants than current ones.

i was looking around the other day during a meeting and could only spot one young guy who is reaching out to be an ms. the 5 elders are now running mics.

Our hall, actually, our entire circuit is hurting. For the last couple of years, we've been hearing at Circuit Assemblies, during Circuit Overseer's visits, and in local needs parts that we need more brothers. At a recent special assembly day, the District Overseer said "we are losing so many young ones" when referring to the need for young men to "reach out for greater service."

In our hall, we have more Ministerial Servants than elders. None of the MSs will be moving to an elder role anytime soon, if ever. Our elders are few and aging. Those who aren't yet advanced in age, have been dealing with health, family and employment issues. These factors made it hard for me step down earlier this year. I like these guys and hated to leave them with such a heavy load of work.

156

Who would you have Lunch With? From JWN?

by AvocadoJake in

jw
friends

the last few years "warren buffet.

" has donated his time to the highest bidder for charity.

the ebay auction usually goes for $100,000 to spend lunch-time and pick his brain on his view.

Franklin Massey

Thanks DPL. Likewise.

I would have lunch with anyone here, even the trolls. I bet they are much nicer in real life.

3

Being apart has kept our family together.

by Aussie Oz in

jw
friends

sounds like an oxymoron i know!.

having just watched the danish video on youtube, i realized that because our family is not hugely close and spread out all over australia, we never went thru the shunning shit much at all.. we were never a particularly close family to my memory, mum and dad had split over the religion when i was about ten, and the relationship with the step father was tough...hard to get a step father at 14, esp a tough discaplinarian.

i left home at about 16 and a half, older brother left later i recall.

Franklin Massey

Nice post.

As a twist on the expression, "Familiarity breeds contempt," my wife and I often say, "Proximity breeds contempt."

We love our JW family. But our experience has been that the further away from them we are, the less tension there is when it comes to JW issues. My wife and I no longer believe JW doctrine. We would be willing to discuss this with our families but they are deeply entrenched and therefore, absolutely lose their heads when we show even the slightest lack of faith in the WT Society.

We structure our time together around non-JW activities and try to keep the conversation from taking a course that would lead to Watchtower-based discussions.

83

What was your most DISTURBING event as an elder ? (Per T.O.S. no full names please).

by Balaamsass in

i'll start the ball rolling.

dealing with kids in any type of judicial manner.

i would do everything i could to get parents to "deal with it-kindly" at home.

Franklin Massey

Two things come to my mind immediately. One issue was an ex-con, former pedophile who was studied with in prison and when released, began attending our congregation. There was a lot of controversy about how to handle the situation because the man was fresh out of prison and was still working on making behavioral adjustments in his life. Also, we had a lot of young children in our hall. A couple of the elder's wives got word of the man's past and that really heated things up. Watching the elders try to obey the Society's strict guidelines in the face of genuine concern from other elders, their own families, and the friends was a shocking taste of reality for me. Overall, it was a bad situation for everyone involved, including the man, who I believe wanted to do right but was deeply troubled and unstable.

The other issue was when a young brother got into trouble for a single incident of over-drinking. He was dealt with in private but because the incident happened at a brother and sisters home with a couple of congregation members present, a marking talk was arranged. The talk was supposed to be general, to let those who knew of the situation that the matter had been handled while still preserving the dignity of the repentant young brother. A loose cannon elder who was chosen to give the talk didn't like the young brother and used the marking talk to detail all of the events of the evening, only leaving out the names of those involved. He made the young brother sound like a real creep, which he was not. Then he and another elder made calls to other halls, warning elders and families that this young brother has been engaged in wrongdoing and that he is bad association. It was a real mess. The congregation was upset, this young brother lost a bunch of friends and went into depression, and his family developed a hatred for the offending elders. Eventually the CO got involved and disciplined the elders and then worked personally with the young man to restore his faith in the Organization.

42

LeavingWT's DA letter

by irondork in

the blood issue has been an ongoing arguement between the roomie and me.

not heated, by any means, but she keeps qouting back established wts reasoning on the subject.

"it's feeding, jason.

Franklin Massey

When I read Leaving's DA letter, I took my Medical Directive card out of my wallet and threw it in the trash. Then, I went home and shredded my DPA form. It was a long time coming and that letter gave me the nudge I needed to do it.

141

"Theocratic Warfare" and the Annual Report

by Billy the Ex-Bethelite in

one of the things i certainly noticed as a jw, and even during the time i was in bethel, was the complexities of reporting "truth.".

beginning with an observation on a personal level, i consider myself an honest person.

but something happened along the way, beginning when i pioneered.

Franklin Massey

I was one of those attendants. I did it at conventions, assemblies and meetings. I wanted so badly for the numbers to be "encouraging" so I would always round up at big events. At meetings I would count a couple of extra people on the phone tie-in. My friends did the same.

24

For those still "in" the W.T , a Moral Question.

by wobble in

jw
friends

for those who are still in the jw/wt religion for whatever reason , and to whatever extent, i ask :.

how high would you rate your moral standards ?.

where do you stand on telling lies, upholding truth, deceiving others etc ?.

Franklin Massey

I know that I am wasting my time. But it's not my time that I am concerned with at this point. It's my family's time. I have opened up a little bit to a few close family members and friends. In most cases, they open up too and I learn that many JWs have at least one major issue with the Org that they battle with. But so far, none see enough evidence to leave the religion. They are convinced that even if it's imperfect, even if mistakes are made, God is behind it all and everything will eventually be taken care of. Also, the emotional connection to religious belief leaves them with a "Where else would I go?" attitude.

I don't see any chance of "getting them out." My only reasonable hope is that things will get so weird in the JW religion that open minded people may sympathize with those who decide to leave. Even that is a big stretch but it's the only scenario that makes sense to me right now.

I know that if I was to profess my true beliefs and leave, it would crush them. They would be in despair. I can't put them through that. So I hang on. I can be a low activity/low commitment player for a while. I can keep my mouth shut and play dumb. It's not a noble, courageous course, but it is what I have chosen for the time being so that I can still have contact with my family and friends.

21

Have you read Crisis of Conscience and still remained a JW in good conscience?

by mankkeli in

jw
friends

i am just curious if anyone read crisis of conscience and still remained a jw with a good conscience?..

Franklin Massey

Good point, Ding. Another scripture comes to mind: 1 Corinthians 10:13. They reason that God would never allow something to come before them that could totally break their faith.

24

For those still "in" the W.T , a Moral Question.

by wobble in

jw
friends

for those who are still in the jw/wt religion for whatever reason , and to whatever extent, i ask :.

how high would you rate your moral standards ?.

where do you stand on telling lies, upholding truth, deceiving others etc ?.

Franklin Massey

How high would you rate your moral standards? On what scale? I would like to think that my morals are high but I'm just an imperfect animal still trying to figure it all out. My morals are dictated by each individual situation I encounter and what the effects the results of my decisions would have on me and those around me. My morals are subject to change and I don't really wish to push them on anyone else. My moral standards have increased since I mentally left the JWs.

Where do you stand on telling lies, upholding truth, deceiving others etc? At this point in my life, it has never hurt me more to lie than it does now. I feel so incredibly accountable for each thing I say and do. That's why I stepped down from being an elder. I couldn't handle the double life anymore. I am searching for truth and trying to avoid deception. This is very difficult since I am still "in" the JW religion.

Does the end justify the means? Too broad. Every situation is different. Not sure how answer this.

Where do you stand on associating with people who do not act in a way you approve? As I said in my response about morals, I try not to push my beliefs and opinions on others. If an associate was doing something that is very dangerous or destructive to themselves, or to me, I would avoid them. I'm very liberal though, so it would take a lot for me to write someone off.

How do you feel about how the world of normal people views you? As an adult, I have always been the type who gets this response from non-JWs when they find out about my religion, "You're so normal for a JW." I used to take pride in that because I didn't want my religion to be viewed as weird. But it is weird. I don't want anyone to think that the JW religion is in any way "normal." There are normal people within the JWs, but the religion itself, the doctrines and rules, are not normal. Most "normal" JWs are breaking some of the rules. Hardcore JWs are rarely viewed as normal by non-JWs. Currently, if asked about religion, I do not identify myself as a JW. I'm only a JW on paper, according to the congregation publisher card.

How do you draw the line on what you will not do at the bidding of the WT? I push "conscience matters" to the limit. I decline offers to "reach out." I keep a low activity level in the Org. Fortunately, I have not been put in a position where a really serious matter requires that I take a stand against the WT. Yet. I would accept blood. I wouldn't shun a close friend or family member. I wouldn't profess allegiance to the WT in the face of persecution.

What is personal integrity? I wish I could speak on this point but in relation to the WT Society, I don't feel I've done enough yet to talk with any authority on the subject. I would like to say that personal integrity is standing up for what you know is right, despite the pressure to do otherwise. That definition doesn't fit me right now. I'm still in. I'm doing this weird balancing act so that I don't lose family and friends. Each meeting I attend, each morning in service I show up for, each prayer that I say "amen" to, takes a little piece of my integrity away.

21

Have you read Crisis of Conscience and still remained a JW in good conscience?

by mankkeli in

jw
friends

i am just curious if anyone read crisis of conscience and still remained a jw with a good conscience?..

Franklin Massey

CoC broke my heart. When I finally had the courage to read it, I devoured it quickly. With each turn of the page, my suspicions about the Org were proved correct. In the rare event that I begin to question my current stance on the JW religion, I just think back to the incredible amount of facts and documentation provided in the book and just like *that,* I snap back to reality.

But the serious brainwashing - and inevitable cognitive dissonance - that comes with being a Witness makes it possible to read the book (or at least parts of it) and dismiss it as a really, really clever trick of that wicked master deceiver, Satan. He makes lies look like truth. He makes darkness look like light. For many JWs, 2 Corinthians 11:14 is all they need to ignore the cold, hard facts that prove that all is not well in Watchtowerland.