Hollywood actor Luke Evans new memoir (relevant summary): I was bullied for being gay and a Jehovah’s Witness

by jwleaks in

jw
friends

in this exclusive extract from his new memoir, the star recalls his childhood as a ‘tormented tug of war’ between his faith and his sexuality….

[extract].

like me, mam was smartly dressed.

jwleaks

In this exclusive extract from his new memoir, the star recalls his childhood as a ‘tormented tug of war’ between his faith and his sexuality…

[EXTRACT]

Like me, Mam was smartly dressed. As a Jehovah’s Witness you always had to look respectable, because you were representing the religion. We always smelled nice; we smiled a lot and had neat hair. There was a lot of deprivation in the valleys and when people saw us at their front door, looking so clean and fresh and happy, it must have been a powerful draw. Join us, and you could be like this, too!

Mam was armed with a leather briefcase, inside of which were copies of the Jehovah’s Witness magazines, a Bible and a stack of report sheets, which would be filled out with notes such as: Number 48: do not call again or Number 16: come back same time next week. She was a pioneer, which is what the religion calls those who knock doors regularly. Mam used to spend upwards of 60 hours a month doing the rounds of the villages of south Wales in a bid to save souls.

… To this day I’m still not sure when my parents’ birthdays are. One’s in August and the other November, I think. When I left home and celebrated my first birthday – my 18th – I tried to enjoy it, but I felt guilty, and that guilt stayed with me for a long time. The only events we were allowed to celebrate were wedding anniversaries and the memorial of Jesus’ death. This was the most sacred occasion of our year and was marked with an evening service at the Kingdom Hall on the night of the Last Supper.

During the memorial, unleavened bread and wine were passed around the congregation, but the only people allowed to taste them were the anointed. These were Witnesses who believed they are among the anointed, the 144,000 people mentioned in the Bible who have been chosen to go to heaven to rule alongside Jesus when they die. We knew a few of these and they were hugely respected and somewhat revered within the community. I have no idea how they knew they were anointed, but you couldn’t question it: if they told the elders they were one of the anointed, everyone had to believe them.

FULL ARTICLE:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/oct/26/hollywood-actor-luke-evans-i-was-bullied-for-being-gay-before-i-even-understood-what-it-meant

10

Watch Tower PA sues Russia in DC district over confiscation of Bethel

by Corney in

the watch tower society of pennsylvania filed a lawsuit on september 3, 2024, naming as defendants the russian federation, the russian ministry of health, and the almazov national medical research center.

unfortunately, i can't access the case documents, including the complaint.

i would appreciate if someone with an active pacer account could make them available.. anyway, it is enough to know the almazov center is one of the entities sued by the wts to say what this case is about.

jwleaks

Methinks Watch Tower is seeking a default judgment (maybe a ‘no show’ in a USA court by the Russia Federation) so they can pursue a claim against the seized assets of the Russian Federation.

Russia should offer to give the real estate back and have the documents prepared as such. When Watch Tower representatives are a ‘no show’ in a Russian Federation court then the subject could be moot.

On the other hand, this could be an insurance claim.

Either way this could be very dangerous for JW’s in Russia and result in an increase in persecution.

10

Watch Tower PA sues Russia in DC district over confiscation of Bethel

by Corney in

the watch tower society of pennsylvania filed a lawsuit on september 3, 2024, naming as defendants the russian federation, the russian ministry of health, and the almazov national medical research center.

unfortunately, i can't access the case documents, including the complaint.

i would appreciate if someone with an active pacer account could make them available.. anyway, it is enough to know the almazov center is one of the entities sued by the wts to say what this case is about.

jwleaks

30

Experiences After Leaving

by Freeatlast2024 in

i am writing to ask if anyone cares to share their experience and/or offer advice for people leaving.

i was raised in the religion, and both my parents died when i was very young.

i recently stopped associating because my conscience no longer allows me to preach or support the organization.

jwleaks

Try here: https://saysorry.org/support/

It was developed based on the personal experiences of many who left.

Support for those seeking to leave the Jehovah’s Witnesses

100

The August 2024 Watchtower controversy and potential further changes

by ukpimo in

as an educated guess, the august 2024 watchtower may be delayed because 2 complicated subjects need to be discussed in this issue which haven't yet been approved to be included in the revised shepherding textbook.

perhaps the revised shepherding textbook must be finalised before this watchtower is released publicly.. the 2 subjects may be as follows:.

how to shepherd and appoint brothers based on the removal of the hour requirements, getting to know the brothers instead (does this mean prioritising appointing men who have auxiliary pioneered during the co visit and campaigns or men who are regular pioneers?).

jwleaks

My 'source' states that significant changes were made to a reference and historical statement relating to the role that International Bible Students Association played that needed to be amended for legal reasons. Think historical negationism. Something to do with IBSA owning kingdom halls, assembly halls, and branch building assets, and having ownership under various trust names such as The Kingdom Hall Trust.

Evidently the need arose to financially separate IBSA from the current governing body and JW/WT structure.

Time will tell.

4

Wikipedia article on Milton Henschel has just been edited and now contains an introduction that could be misleading

by jwleaks in

the edit:.

henschel did not step down "from his leadership position in 2000".

he was a governing body member up until his death in 2003. a slight error but one that implies much more given the subject matter.. henschel resigned his position as the president of watch tower pennsylvania not as a leader of the jehovah's witnesses - his so-called "leadership position".. having accurate grass roots entry level information on members of the governing body is important in litigation for law firms, and for government departments undertaking a desktop study of such a person.. any wikipedians out there capable of correcting this statement.. .

jwleaks

LINKS:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_George_Henschel

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Milton_George_Henschel&action=history

4

Wikipedia article on Milton Henschel has just been edited and now contains an introduction that could be misleading

by jwleaks in

the edit:.

henschel did not step down "from his leadership position in 2000".

he was a governing body member up until his death in 2003. a slight error but one that implies much more given the subject matter.. henschel resigned his position as the president of watch tower pennsylvania not as a leader of the jehovah's witnesses - his so-called "leadership position".. having accurate grass roots entry level information on members of the governing body is important in litigation for law firms, and for government departments undertaking a desktop study of such a person.. any wikipedians out there capable of correcting this statement.. .

jwleaks

The edit:

Henschel did not step down "from his leadership position in 2000". He was a governing body member up until his death in 2003. A slight error but one that implies much more given the subject matter.

Henschel resigned his position as the president of Watch Tower Pennsylvania NOT as a leader of the Jehovah's Witnesses - his so-called "leadership position".

Having accurate grass roots entry level information on members of the governing body is important in litigation for law firms, and for government departments undertaking a desktop study of such a person.

Any Wikipedians out there capable of correcting this statement.

28

A special video has been released to assist people who have experienced child sexual abuse within the Jehovah's Witnesses in Australia

by jwleaks in

jw
friends

article.

https://saysorry.org/2024/02/19/jehovahs-witnesses-and-the-australian-national-redress-scheme/.

video.

jwleaks

ThomasMore

Has WTC paid into the scheme for victims? Or are they still obfuscating?

The JWs are billed / charged as each case is agreed and settled WITHOUT the JWs control.

Currently there are up to 756 potential Redress Scheme claimants according to the video, although the real number is believed to be much higher.

[2:16 mark]

The average current Redress Scheme payout, across all institutions, is approximately $90,000. This makes the JWs potential exposure at around $68 million.

6

Attorney Irwin Zalkin explains the article, Pa. courts weigh whether JW's elders must report confessed child abuse

by AndersonsInfo in

the pennsylvania supreme court memorandum opinion that i posted on this discussion board yesterday was confusing enough for me to ask attorney irwin zalkin to explain the issues.

he promptly replied and gave me permission to post here the following important information that he provided.. "the pennsylvania supreme court memorandum opinion raises the question of whether jehovah’s witnesses (“jw’s”) elders, who are volunteer clergy, fall under an exception to the mandatory reporting law of the state of pennsylvania.

jw’s members of the ivy hill congregation of jw’s sued the pa department of human services (dhs) and asked the court to issue a judgment that as a matter of law makes jw’s elders exempt from pa’s mandatory reporting of known or suspected child abuse, including child sexual abuse.

jwleaks

Thanks Barbara and Irwin. A very concise explanation.

It is worth keeping in mind that when two elders, or a body of elders, report child sexual abuse to the Service Department they are communicating with an anonymous person. Further, that person is also under a Vow of Obedience to record and also report the information received to other elders.

And if the Service Department views the abuser / confessor as a threat to children in the congregation then the elders will be instructed to inform parents of the identity of the abuser / confessor.

28

A special video has been released to assist people who have experienced child sexual abuse within the Jehovah's Witnesses in Australia

by jwleaks in

jw
friends

article.

https://saysorry.org/2024/02/19/jehovahs-witnesses-and-the-australian-national-redress-scheme/.

video.

jwleaks

I understand. It comes down to interpreting the laws in Australia, including working with children laws and the context of what is an institution.

For example, I appeared before parliament in Australia last year as a witness and gave evidence in relation to the National Redress Scheme application form questions.

To illustrate (the following paragraphs not being legal advice): a 19 year old male (or older) is allowed to ask a 16 or 17 year old female out on a date. Or vice versa. In most circumstances this is allowed. In fact repeated requests are allowed.

However, consider the following: if the male was a ministerial servant and he had a working with children card (as mandated by law) then it would restrict his ability to ask such a female (in the congregation) out on a date as he has legislated and congregational authority over her. If they did ‘date’ and ‘sexual sins’ followed, then the JW religion could be liable and subject to a Redress Scheme claim up to $150,000. There could be more to the events but that is not considered in this summation.

The governing body were offered help to navigate all of these potential problems but chose to ignore the help, and now the corporation will most likely financially suffer from their stubborness.

jwleaks

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Support for those seeking to leave the Jehovah’s Witnesses