Elders and other
hardcore JW are TODAY screwing with people's lives. ..my oldest is
18, my second oldest is 13, the latter is definitely being impacted
by strict JW rules and threats of disfellowshipping
and fear getting
kicked out of the house if they don't toe the line, the older one was
taken from me 18 years
Anomy Mous, what I’m
saying is the Organization is making sweeping changes to the way
things are handled.
I’m not saying that ALL Congregations are
applying the changes.
The problem is that some elders, and CO have
their own PERSONAL view on the way things should be run in “Their”
congregation. A good example of this is what DF posted;
DisgruntledFool
Many of the old timers here remember when brothers were counseled if
they didn't wear a white shirt, wore multi colored socks and didn't
wear a suit (matching pants and coat) and when sisters were hounded
to keep their dresses and skirts at exactly the middle of their
knees!
I asked my dad about this and he said the WT Society Never had a
policy that said You Must Wear White Shirts when giving a talk. But
some Elders took it upon themselves to enforce that rule.
Also there was a letter to elders posted on reddit that
discouraged removing individuals without some extra steps being
taken. I don’t remember the exact steps but they were suppose to
have several discussions to help the person change course over a
period of time. The goal had changed from "Removing the Unclean, to Helping one to change course. And if after all that the person refused to make
changes, he was “Removed” But the person still had the
opportunity to appeal the decision.
Now if the Body of elders strays from the instructions, that’s
on that particular Body of elders.
I know on reddit, there are experiences where the elders hound
some of the publishers, and several experiences where the elders
don’t bug anyone about anything anymore.
Your 13 year old son is probably unfortunate to have a strict
parent or parents and a strict elder or body of elders in his Kingdom
Hall. I’ve read experiences like that too, and it’s terrible
because it destroys the child’s confidence and freedom.
But the changes that the Organization is making is because they
are trying to be more mainstream. They know the ship is sinking, and
they are loosing the grip little by little. That’s why the no beard
rule was removed, and the pants for women was allowed. And the
Disfellowship changed to removed. And they have new instructions
to help disfellowshipped ones come back and not to be to dogmatic in
removing individuals.
The changes are not because they care, it’s because they are
being forced to change by several governments.
My dad said in his hall, some of the old Elders refused to grow a
beard when they announce it was ok. There was tension among the body.
The old elders wanted to make it a rule that if a brother gave a
talk, he had to shave. This went on for a while until the GB started
giving talks with beards. Then the Old Elders had to give in, but
they didn’t do it willingly.
It’s gonna take a while for the changes to be accepted by
everyone. Probably the boomers and maybe the GenX will have to pass.
Maybe by the time the GenY and Gen Z step in to run the KH, other
things will change, like remove completely the shunning, blood
doctrine a conscience matter, and the Last Days ideology.
They have to change if they want to survive.
And as one reddit poster said; “If you’re in a Congregation
with A-Hole Elders, Move to a Congregation with reasonable elders”
If you have parents who are tyrants, make plans to move as soon as
you turn 18.
Sorry for your kids, I know it's very difficult when you want to do good for those you love, but you don't have the power to do it. It's very frustrating. HANG IN THERE!
