So I was visited by a. C.O. and elder...
I shared my doubts re 3 big issues for me, everyone else will die, family shunning and child abuse...I was very much 'I'm confused, need assistance...' In my attitude, which actually is true.
i was pleasantly surprised by their reaction, but reading on here it doesn't ring true with what is happening elsewhere in jw land.
They said re 'everyone else will die' that 'Jehovah is the judge and if anyone says anything other than that then they are putting themselves in the position as judge which is wrong'. So I pointed out that the recent wts are emphasizing that you must be associated with ' Christs brothers' in the time of the end, be in the congregations to receive instruction etc, and how unrealistic that is in countries where there are 1 to 300,000 or more etc, also pointed out the stats on population growth compared to Jw growth....no real answers, just 'trust in jehovah, he is the judge etc' and a lot of emphasis on how Jehovah can draw people using the Internet, relatives living in other lands etc, that the angels are involved..... I said I thought there were lots of sincere people outside JWs and I hope that if this is the truth then Jehovah will make the choice a lot, lot clearer before the end. That I just can't believe a loving God would kill 999 out of 1000. Does someone deserve to die because they were too busy to talk to us on a Saturday morning? It peed me off because the elder said that people in often worked territory have already had a good chance, I said 'they have absolutely no idea what they're saying no too'.
re family shunning I pointed out that some young people need assistance and support because they are vulnerable and without it could (and has) lead to depression even suicide. The co said it is a personal choice by families how much association they have. I said 'I'd love to see that in the WT' and pointed out the recent wt on not even emailing your df'd kids, again he said it is a personal choice, Is it really? Aren't there sanctions if you choose to associate with a disfellowshipped family member?
re child abuse they put it down to mistakes made on a local level. They did try the 'don't believe everything you read in the news' tack and I got really peed off at that point, I told them, I've read the actual court documents in the Lopez case and how 9 kids were sodomised over 18 years whilst that brother was appointed as an m.s. Then an elder, even though the elders knew what he had been accused of. How can that happen in Jehovah's organization? I also said, are you questioning the truth of the case just heard by the high court in the UK? If you saw that story in the news about the Catholic Church would you question it? The elder seemed a bit shocked by the reports I was repeating, which he'd clearly never heard about, the c.o. wasn't phased, he was skeptical but again repeated that there are mistakes made on local levels, the brothers are not infallible, the GB is not infallible etc...oh, and that everything gets sorted out by Jehovah in time, sometimes it takes years for things to come out but then the congregation is cleaned up (I'm thinking too bad for the Lopez victims that Jehovah didn't hurry up and sort it out sooner).
finally I asked about doubts, how it's not fair that some have been df'd just for having differing opinions on doctrines which may even have changed in the past and might well be changed in the future. He said categorically 'we cannot disfellowship anyone for having different private opinions on matters, only if they spread it around and try to encourage others to go against the society's teachings'. Is this true? I thought plenty have been df'd because of different opinions, take Ray Franz and co. Have they softened this stance?
Generally they were pretty understanding, not police-like at all. I didn't go into too much doctrine, because I thought that would go too far. But I was pleasantly surprised and plan to continue 'not inactive, but not very active' for my families sake whilst I figure things out.
would welcome your comments