Posts by TMS

This was one of the examples used in the Watchtower in 1971 when there appeared a brief respite in some of the harder line aspects of the treatment of disfellowshipped persons.

This was an exciting time when field service reporting, sacred service and disfellowshipping all seemed to be somewhat under review.

It all came crashing down a few years later when all the moderations were rescinded.

TMS

18

Memories of Duncan - Part 2 - The Tables Turn

by hillary_step in

jw
friends

not long after a fifteen year old duncan had outraged his teachers and surprised his peers by leaving behind a promising academic career to regular pioneer and wash windows, a telegraph pole wearing green pants knocked at my door.

as i was expecting a visit from the local constabulary, for reasons noted below; the pole was a pleasant surprise.

the pole was a actually a jw, the plainest and longest man i had ever seen, with a mighty grin capable of felling empires and, i was to discover, also the possessor of a formidable intellect.

TMS

Hillary.

this caught my eye:

I grew to love the ‘pole’, whose literary eloquence convinced me in later years that he too, had subjected the most important thing in a persons life; his creative soul

Thank you,

TMS

32

My Committment to JWD

by Amazing in

jw
friends

i debated the wisdom of making this post.

i have made every effort to make it as neutral as possible to avoid personally offending anyone.

i may be losing my marbles here, but i feel that this needs to be said.

TMS

egocentric, adjective. 1. dwelling upon one's self or upon one's own personal interests almost to the exclusion of everything else; viewing everything in relation to oneself; self-centered.

15

struggling & need feedback

by wildeflower in

jw
friends

i am 32 years old, have been disfellowshipped since age 17. was born & raised in the "truth.

" my father was and still is an elder.. without going into the gory, painful details: i have kept in somewhat contact with my parents in the last 15 years (i can't believe it's been that long!

) by calling them and popping over to their house, etc.

TMS

Anewperson,

You have just presented the short and long versions of a disastrous approach.

TMS

I Know This Feeling

by TMS in

jw
friends

oh my love.

john lennon & yoko ono.

my eyes are wide open.

TMS

Oh My Love

John Lennon & Yoko Ono

Oh my love for the first time in my life
My eyes are wide open
Oh my lover for the first time in my life
My eyes can see

I see the wind, oh I see the trees
Everything is clear in my heart
I see the clouds, oh I see the sky
Everything is clear in our world

Oh my love for the first time in my life
My mind is wide open
Oh my lover for the first time in my life
My mind can feel

I feel the sorrow, oh I feel the dreams
Everything is clear in my heart
I feel life, oh I feel love
Everything is clear in our world

14

Memories of Duncan - Part 1

by hillary_step in

jw
friends

it was a surprise and delight for me to find duncan posting to this board.. our relationship goes back further than either of us would care to admit, right back to the days that were.. we both attended one of the most respected schools in our english town.

a school which produced reams of achievers like a combine-harvester of the soul.

it sowed the embryonic seeds of a major uk politician, world class musicians, in the classics and out, and a particularly amusing mimic who went on to write comedy scripts for some of the uks most popular shows.. i was not a jw at the time.

TMS

Hillary,

I'm intrigued.

TMS

ps I dated this initial installment c.1967 because of the LSD reference, although I realize UK dentists were spreading this stuff somewhat earlier.(Let's see Duncan was fifteen, several years Hillary's junior. . . . 15+3+35 intervening years=53) j/k

Please continue, Sir.

10

Pedophiles

by TMS in

jw
friends

not having access to a scanner, i will describe the black and white photograph of two ragamuffins, my sister and i. she appears about three, which would have made me about five.

she is wearing a short dress with faded prints, while i have on a corduroy jumpsuit.

her little face is squinting up at the camera, while i glance down and to the side.

TMS

Ginny,

Well, thank you. I wish you could see the little girl in the framed picture next to my monitor. She's the one who bore the brunt of this. I started to write about the psychological impact I felt, but how idiotic would that be?

The strength that my sister showed, first of all, in forgiving my dad and visiting him daily in his closing days. . . . . She has always carried the full weight of her family: financially, emotionally, spiritually.

Six,

Yes, dumb. Not even enuf intellectual grasp to distinguish between pedophilia and bitter divorce wrangling. I can recall many times in elder meetings, etc. when someone would make an absolutely absurd statement, looking around to see if ANYONE found the observation ludicrous or the least bit off-the-wall and generally noticing no reaction.

TMS

10

Pedophiles

by TMS in

jw
friends

not having access to a scanner, i will describe the black and white photograph of two ragamuffins, my sister and i. she appears about three, which would have made me about five.

she is wearing a short dress with faded prints, while i have on a corduroy jumpsuit.

her little face is squinting up at the camera, while i glance down and to the side.

TMS

Not having access to a scanner, I will describe the black and white photograph of two ragamuffins, my sister and I. She appears about three, which would have made me about five. She is wearing a short dress with faded prints, while I have on a corduroy jumpsuit. Her little face is squinting up at the camera, while I glance down and to the side. My sister shared this photo with my wife and I on a visit to our home last year. She said she had carried it with her for many years as she viewed me as her “protector“, although, when it counted I was no help at all. A bit more on the reason for my sister’s visit later.

Our dad was a Congregation Servant in the early 50‘s and a pedophile. When the horrid matter finally came to light in 1956, he lost his servant privileges and was placed on a year’s “probation”. Part of his demonstration of repentance was a required confession to me. My mom stayed in the hall as my dad entered my room. He blurted out: “I pulled her panties down and everything!” Then he burst into tears and exited. I was left to sort out what “and everything” meant, although I sort of knew. My sister later told me that she was approached by one of the judicial committee and told that they did not hold her accountable and no action would be taken against her, quite a magnanimous gesture since she was eight at the time. My sister and I were sworn to secrecy, admonished that the slightest verbal slip could send our dad to prison.

When my folks separated briefly, I was told that I was now “the man of the house,” a role I was innocently willing to assume. The quick return of my tyrannical father was a disappointment to me, a feeling instantly picked up on by my dad. The first of a second tier of siblings was born in 1958. The baby was placed in my sister’s room until my dad used the pretence of checking on the baby to force himself on my sister again. My mom’s reaction? Move the baby.

With this quick peak at my unsightly childhood, please fast forward with me to 1969. I have just received a letter from the Watchtower appointing me Congregation Servant in a small congregation in the Ozark Mountains, a thousand miles away. The former overseer has just been disfellowshipped. I will soon learn that he is a pedophile/sexual predator. The irony is not lost on me: son of a pedophile Congregation Servant replacing a pedophile Congregation Servant.

The modus operandi of this evil man was to see to it that a thirteen year old girl he fancied is appointed as “Accounts Servant.” Correspondence in the congregation files indicates the Society is reluctant to do this. After two letters from Mr. Evil, describing his limited options, this girl’s math skills, blah, blah, blah, the Society relents, reluctantly. This frees Mr. Evil to frequently “go over the accounts” with his victim, sometimes on the Kingdom Hall carpet. The whole town knew about this liaison before Jehovah’s angels saw fit to expose it, with Mr. Evil picking the “servant” up from school most days.

Meanwhile, back in the paradise that is the Rio Grande Valley, my relatives spoke in glowing terms about an extremely rich brother, who had moved down. This multi-millionaire, Roy Robinson, owned a tractor company in Canada, maintained residences in Mexico and the Bahamas, but kept an “Airstream” behind the Brownsville, Texas Kingdom Hall to use as a changing room. Soon, Brother Robinson began to lavish gifts on many in the congregation. Many in the congregation received new cars, usually Mercurys or Oldsmobiles. My folks were given a Mercury Marquis as was my sister-in-law. My sixteen year old nephew was offered a Corvette, but his dad said “no”, accepting a modest Ford Tempo instead. The publishers were allowed to make the last payment or two on most of these vehicles and were responsible for their own insurance. It was stunning to go to a Kingdom Hall meeting in one of the most impoverished areas in the United States and see a parking lot full of brand new cars.

By far the majority of Brother Robinson’s attention was reserved for a young girl I will call Maria, an exquisitely beautiful Mexican-Cajun, barely in her teens. Maria went through three luxury cars before she was old enough to drive them, a BMW, a Mercedes and a Jaguar. Her mom drove a Lincoln Continental and had a condominium on the island. Rumors abounded. While visiting in 1984, I saw a black Jaguar pull up to the Airstream travel trailer behind the Kingdom Hall. Brother Robinson immediately got out of the trailer and into the Jaguar. They were gone for over an hour. Something didn’t look right at all. I had no facts, just rumors, but I arranged to meet the presiding overseer, Brother H., at a restaurant. Brother H. listened to what I had observed and heard while visiting, implied he had his own concern but nothing to act on. I asked him when the circuit overseer’s visit was. His exact words were: “When Jehovah wants him to visit.” A useless conversation , really.

In 1995 Maria filed a lawsuit involving the WTBS, the elders and the Robinson estate. Many JW’s were interviewed in the case, including many who are my relatives. One even has transcripts. The Society’s lawyers basically stonewalled until Maria played her trump card- videotapes. She had confiscated VHS tapes so repulsive lawyers on both sides were sickened.

Maria was not asking for money damages, only an apology from the Society to her and to others who had been called liars and apostates. She got her wish.

I also understand that a seven figure donation made to WTBS by Rose Robinson, the widow, was returned.

Now, back to the purpose of my sister and brother-in-laws visit. They were seeking my help in dealing with their local elders concerning being used in Kingdom Hall builds. My brother-in-law was being denied the “privilege” because of a letter from his ex-wife who mentioned “child abuse”. The context of the “child abuse” reference was that my brother-in-law had not been a good provider, that , on occasion, the children had only hot dogs to eat, therefore suffering from economic child abuse. The elders stated that there was new policy and their hands were tied. My sister said she now felt like she had been victimized twice. The elders indicated that she was perfectly free to go on Kingdom Hall builds without her husband. My heart goes out to her.

TMS

17

Silentlambs potential for Hollywood film

by Derrick in

jw
friends

hello bill, i have been thinking about one great method to make public awareness of child molestation and rape in the organization to explode like an 80 megaton hydrogen bomb!.

hollywood studios have an obsession with crime movies that chronicle the lives of the abused, and those like you, bill, who make a major difference in protecting them.. there are two kinds of movie themes, the documentary and "docu-drama.

" it's the second that is ordinarily used because it's based on real life.

TMS

Mulan:

But Tommy Lee has the same look as Bill......very close actually. But, the similarity

Actually, I was thinking partly of looks when suggesting Tommy Lee. But, also a certain earnestness and drive.

TMS