leaders of the jehovah’s witnesses ordered to destroy confidential records.
a letter obtained by inq has shed light on the secretive methods the jehovah's witnesses are undertaking to erase the impact of child sexual abuse within the sect.. by georgia wilkins sept 10, 2019. a body representing the jehovah’s witnesses in australia has written to all elders of the group ordering them to destroy confidential records, including notes taken by elders investigating child sexual abuse, in an instruction that has enraged survivors of abuse inside the secretive christian sect.. in a letter obtained by inq, dated august 28, a body called the christian congregation of jehovah’s witnesses (australasia) instructs elders to destroy so-called judicial hearing records and certain congregation notes.. “we ask that each elder check his personal computer, or hard copy files, and even his meeting bag, to ensure that no confidential correspondence is retained outside the congregation’s confidential file,” the letter states.
it also directs elders to destroy information aired against so-called “wrongdoers”: “if this ‘wild talk’ is recorded in detail, it may not be accurately assessed when reviewed out of context,” it says.
It would appear that the private notes contain the most accurate and unrevised information that reflects what actually transpired as recalled by the victims.
This was proven at the ARC, the private notes supported the victims recollection.
It would make sense to have only a brief summary as your main document and to discard the detail if the intention is to hide what you knew.
“get out of here—this is my father’s funeral; you don’t belong here; you are a liar!”.
the woman’s face reflected terrible pain—the worst pain possible, to the point of breakdown.
a thousand unanswered questions washed from her eyes by the flow of many tears.
Oh yes indeed Terry those images were very powerful and devastating.
There is a conflict in my mind between the importance of historically capturing such tragedy and the repulsion I feel knowing someone filmed the individual's private suffering.
The questions posed by some reporters can be quite idiotic and thoughtless. Some can be eloquent and be of historical value.
All who saw this will forever feel the echoes.
Globally we all lost something that day.
Our thoughts will be with the families who lost loved ones and we stand united with our allies and friends over in the United States.
hi from new south wales australia.
fyi , it's tuesday 10th september 2:36am here.. i am categorically not going to blame the cult for every poor choice.
i am conscious of the fact that i was at a genetically determined disadvantage academically; i was never going to be outstanding in my achievements, no matter how hard i tried.
Hi again Fink,
Thank you for your warm welcome.
I find open, non hostile debate and discussion to be a most valuable asset to a forum such as this.
There will be folk just like me who were or are lurking, watching the dialogue play out and seeing we aren't all that different from them, we are kindly, we have empathy but we won't just tickle their ears either. We will call them out for nonsense or ask for clarification.
That is healthy, meaningful and productive. We all win.
hi from new south wales australia.
fyi , it's tuesday 10th september 2:36am here.. i am categorically not going to blame the cult for every poor choice.
i am conscious of the fact that i was at a genetically determined disadvantage academically; i was never going to be outstanding in my achievements, no matter how hard i tried.
Hi Simon,
It is a shocking and an extreme act of violence to endanger people's lives by attacking a place of worship.
Rightly to be considered unacceptable behaviour and condemned in the strongest possible terms by the exjw community.
It's great to have dialogue like this because even if we have mostly recovered we can learn new techniques and other perspectives; all character building and developing a better community.
Just like you said, the fact that I had inherent family issues, I was not born with the potential to be highly intelligent, came from a low income family and was an introvert, are all factors that would still be present, with or without watchtower.
I feel it's an important undertaking to dissect and scrutinize our experience with WTS.
To peel it back to its core and discover in what ways watchtower genuinely impacted us positively or negatively.
Only then will we have a clearer view of what to keep, what to discard, how to identify undue influence, learn to own our inherent faults and make positive change where we can.
hi from new south wales australia.
fyi , it's tuesday 10th september 2:36am here.. i am categorically not going to blame the cult for every poor choice.
i am conscious of the fact that i was at a genetically determined disadvantage academically; i was never going to be outstanding in my achievements, no matter how hard i tried.
Peacefulpete,
I am so sorry you lost friends to suicide most likely because of the isolation that is the product of shunning ?
We certainly are affected differently according to our individual circumstance.
I would have thought the examination and identifying exactly what makes a person do this or that would be the key to unlocking the driving force or mechanism that will empower us to know our own mind.
If you have time I'd like to explore your position on this because I've read some of your posts while lurking and found the content educational.
I'm happy to be schooled on any subject if anyone is willing to walk me through it and allow me to object or ask questions.
Thanks for your input peacefulpete.
hi from new south wales australia.
fyi , it's tuesday 10th september 2:36am here.. i am categorically not going to blame the cult for every poor choice.
i am conscious of the fact that i was at a genetically determined disadvantage academically; i was never going to be outstanding in my achievements, no matter how hard i tried.
Thanks again all for your valuable comments and being part of the discussion, after all it's a discussion forum...how neat.
I've got to be off to work for now so I'll continue to reply when I'm back home.
Love to all.
hi from new south wales australia.
fyi , it's tuesday 10th september 2:36am here.. i am categorically not going to blame the cult for every poor choice.
i am conscious of the fact that i was at a genetically determined disadvantage academically; i was never going to be outstanding in my achievements, no matter how hard i tried.
Iwantoutnow,
Sorry to see you feel depressed about the poor choice you made, taking you down the jw cult road. You weren't to know.
None of us were.
What positives can you derive from the experience?
It might take a while to dig real deep and examine the content. Only you can know what your personal experience was.
Healing thoughts....
With care and regards,
RayoFlight2014.
hi from new south wales australia.
fyi , it's tuesday 10th september 2:36am here.. i am categorically not going to blame the cult for every poor choice.
i am conscious of the fact that i was at a genetically determined disadvantage academically; i was never going to be outstanding in my achievements, no matter how hard i tried.
Exactly Fink, I see you have given your previous post a more balanced examination.
Cheers.
hi from new south wales australia.
fyi , it's tuesday 10th september 2:36am here.. i am categorically not going to blame the cult for every poor choice.
i am conscious of the fact that i was at a genetically determined disadvantage academically; i was never going to be outstanding in my achievements, no matter how hard i tried.
Fink,
None of us can know what the psychologically of that PO's son was or is.
Unless we have the opportunity to scientifically analyze him, we just don't know whether he was a sociopath or what his mental state was, why he did what he did.
One could surmise that watchtower had a part in tempering his behaviour and stopping him from being a serial killer, but that is also drawing a long bow.
What I take from your example is this guy had some really disturbing mental issues that would have been present regardless of his jw cult exposure and that speculating watchtower somehow influenced him to act that way is just that...speculation.
Do you think my criticism of your testimony is too harsh?
I don't intend to come across that way but I think we all need to look a bit harder and get an understanding of what we can know and leave speculation aside.
I think that way we can heal a little sooner because we get an understanding of what is inherent in ourselves regardless of outside influence.
Hope that helps.
With care and regards,
RayoFlight2014.
hi from new south wales australia.
fyi , it's tuesday 10th september 2:36am here.. i am categorically not going to blame the cult for every poor choice.
i am conscious of the fact that i was at a genetically determined disadvantage academically; i was never going to be outstanding in my achievements, no matter how hard i tried.
Hi Blacksheep and thanks.
It truly is one of the many decisions I am proud of my young self for making.
Sad that I didn't value my education but that has over-all had little impact to the end result other than some shoulda coulda woulda hypothetical scenario.
