this is my first post.
i never dreamed i'd be on a site like this.
i was baptized 43 years ago and pretty much have done and seen it all.
Nice to hear that another elder has 'bit the dust'... WT must be getting worried about having 'shepherds' to control the flock... Nice to have you hear, it truly is encouraging to hear that others are 'Awake'-ening!
Have you heard others making remarks about the changes? Positive? Negative? and what about 'meeting attendance' where you are? Up? Down? What about contributions, before you faded what trend did you notice?
May we ask... what part of the world are you from?
Welcome! Cha Ching!
https://www.revealnews.org/blog/jehovahs-fight-law-requiring-child-sex-abuse-be-reported-to-police/.
jehovah’s witnesses fight law on reporting child sex abuse to police.
trey bundy, february 1, 2016 .
Right on, Data Dog.... You hit the nail on the head!
Each point is so right on. I guess you could send the info to the District Attorney?
Smiddy.... Yes, do "we" really have 'clergy / laity'?
What a wicked web they wove, when into the mire they dove!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsbfnzrbiqq
hey ya'll!
i have been lurking for years on this site and others but never had the courage to post anything.
actually i was afraid of posting on an apostate site in the event i was wrong.
Good morning, StepfordWife! Welcome...
I was the wife of an elder..... I have seen many situations with "committees" and "elder's visits"..... When you first hear of them, they sound so 'innocent'... so 'loving'.... so "we want to help you-ish."
Remember, the organization comes FIRST.
It really doesn't matter if you have done ANYTHING wrong, if the elders in your hall 1. like your husband and want to help him 2. don't like you 3. want to show their power 4. want to get rid of your husband 5. want to impress the CO 6. are just nimwits..... they can & will either "mark you" or DF you.... They can do it w/o a meeting. I have seen it.
People who just testify at trials, and tell the truth, and piss off the Society get DF'd... The WT just sends it's minions to your hall, appoint them as 'new elders to help out' and THEY simply go "talk to" the right hearted truth teller, then come up with some self righteous reason to DF them. No meeting, no notice, no nothing.
My family made it out together... it took some time... All the males were DF'd, the women were not (not that I couldn't be).... BUT, even tho I am not DF'd, my mom won't "talk" with me (as a normal human being... just righteously business like) because "you don't go to the meetings anymore".
I went to some "helpful elders meetings" and had nightmares for a year. I would never, ever, ever submit myself to that. Don't think you are smarter, don't think you are tougher... they CAN and WILL use even your attitude or ANYthing they want to find a reason to simply 'cast bad light on you'? They don't need to DF you.... Nowadays, many JWs will treat you very differently just for not going to meetings. It all depends on the people..... you never know....
Court? Libel? That is something everyone wishes they could do, but you have to prove they have effected you monetarily to have that work. The Society has lawyers that are quite adept at bending the law, filing rebuttals at the last moment, and all that takes time and money....
If your husband really, really wants to be an elder, and if that is his number one priority, I agree with others here, tell him "Keep this quiet about how I feel, and you'll have a better chance of remaining an elder. If you make it an issue, you will have a good chance of being removed."
I have seen soooooo many elders remain elders even when their kids left, people drank themselves silly, etc, etc, because "they tried their best.".... But, on the other hand, when they are not popular or well liked, if there is a will, there is a way, and they will be removed.
ARC.... This may be a good choice to bring up to hubby. I am wondering if these elders, that did not report the crimes of the pedophiles in Australia, will get jail time? maybe they will have to pay $$$???? In any case, ask your husband how he would feel if he had not stuck up for these children, and helped them escape? Is he prepared to go to jail? Would his conscience bother him?
As a poster pointed out, perhaps you can say, "I don't feel it is safe for my daughter in this org, so many pedophiles being protected by the 'two witness rule. Jesus said, "whoever stumbles one of these little ones gets the millstone, and gets tossed into the deep blue sea"... I can't support this type of activity, my conscience would bother me deeply"
Really.... really, really, really, do NOT meet with them... they will screw your brain, whether you give them the info or not.
Get a job, work at night, take classes that are on meeting nights... ??? or just, as one person said, just say "no thanks" and move along. ;-) From one ex-elder's wife to another...
Cha Ching
is it just me or does it seem like a large portion of first born children leave the "truth" or find ttatt?
its weird for me, but of all the other people out i know (only about 20 ish) they are all first borns, and usually the wife is as well.
just looking at this from a different lens and curious if others see the same.
as we all know, the clam reeks of propaganda and lunacy (sniff...sniff...mmmmm...smells like the gb's meeting room.
what did dubs glean from the clam that washed ashore this week?
according to the book of ezra, jeehoober is so fearful of competition, that he banishes wives and even small children.
this forum offers the stories of folks with as many variations as there are folks and a “great crowd” of lurkers whose stories may never be offered.
i am an outsider with a broken heart for some insiders that i love more than they know.
after reading nearly every “apostate” book ever written, lurking, being worn out searching the wt cd, i have come to an idea that i present for your appraisal..
god forbid you would talk about the dead person at his funeral.
so what do most people get after living 70-80 years?.
a 5-10 minutes eulogy.
It is rather embarrassing to have all these "outside friends" that someone worked with, they knew them, loved them, come to the K Hall, and all they hear is recruitment. The looks on their faces.... "Didn't anyone care about ___?"
Can you imagine? A "worldly" person caring more?
on the subject of truth.
..... i was always under the impression that one of the reasons jws couldn't do jury duty or go to court etc was that we were not allowed to swear on the bible.
..as in i swear to tell the truth the whole truth etc etc .
Thank you Blondie, the quotes you find are gold!
"If a Christian feels that he can".... "a Christian may choose to comply" ..... He may feel that he can take such an oath" "There is no Scriptural objection to taking an oath. However"....... When asked to raise a hand or place it on the Bible, " a Christian may choose to comply" "Worshipers of the true God also allowed others to put them under oath"
and the best one: "if a Christian feels that he can and should answer a question put to him in such circumstances"
Notice all the caveats the WT has ready for themselves and others to employ?
http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/industries/health-care/2016/01/19/bill-removes-protections-parents-choosing-prayer-over-medicine/79001194/?from=global&sessionkey=&autologin=.
holly fletcher, [email protected] 5:26 p.m. cst january 19, 2016 .
a bill filed tuesday would remove a legal shield in tennessee for parents who reject medical treatment for children in favor of treatment by prayer.. it is a crime in tennessee to fail to provide medical care to children, with an exception, known as the spiritual treatment exemption act, for parents who want to rely on "spiritual means through prayer alone," according to state code.
One "state" at a time ;-)
