They Tell The Elders One Thing And The Others Something Else!

by minimus 34 Replies latest jw friends

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  opr83

  There is newer information from the WT on voting. While a conscience matter, it is still one that evokes much emotion, both positive and negative. The latest "public" information (given the recent thread of ones that believe the Elders receive different direction than the congregation), below is an excerpt of a question from readers:

  "There may be people who are stumbled when they observe that during an election in their country, some Witnesses of Jehovah go to the polling booth and others do not. They may say, ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses are not consistent.’ People should recognize, though, that in matters of individual conscience such as this, each Christian has to make his own decision before Jehovah God.—Romans 14:12.

  Whatever personal decisions Jehovah’s Witnesses make in the face of different situations, they take care to preserve their Christian neutrality and freeness of speech. In all things, they rely on Jehovah God to strengthen them, give them wisdom, and help them avoid compromising their faith in any way. Thus they show confidence in the words of the psalmist: "You are my crag and my stronghold; and for the sake of your name you will lead me and conduct me."—Psalm 31:3." WT 11/1/99 page 29. Watch Tower Society.

  The article made a distinction of those "mandatory" versus non-mandatory voting. For those that have access to this information, it would be good to review it. I would be interested to know of anyone of the publishers that has been DF'ed generated by a voting incident in the US.

  Christian neutrality is the key. Would voting make you lose your "Christian voice"? Would others in the congregation be stumbled if they "found out" that you voted? All questions that one needs to ask internally regarding what the scriptures indicate, not what someone in some office in NY tells you. If the consciense moves one to take a certain action, I make the assumption that one is prepared to accept any consequences associated with that action, be it from an organization, God, or the governments.
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  minimus

  Elders were told by circuit overseers that if the JW voted in a political election he disassociated himself by his action.
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  opr83

  Minimus:

  I stepped down in June of 2002, so I don't have current information. I do know that what you state is true some years ago, but I do not believe that is current thinking. Do you know of anyone that has actually been subjected to a JC based upon voting, or has been DA'ed due to voting in the U.S. ? It is clearly a conscience matter, even by the society's own public documents. The act of DA by an individual would be hard to support on this issue.
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  minimus

  The circuit overseers in various circuits told the elders (and I remember this) that in the US, we should ignore the Watchtower's statement. "It doesn't apply here". Persons who voted in political elections here were to be viewed as disassociating themselves.
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  Berean

  One of the things that bothered me the most as an elder, was reading one thing in the Watchtower and then being instructed to do something else during meetings with the CO and DO, and letters from the Society. One time, I simply restated what came down from the Society in a letter to the BOE, word for word, and the congregation thought I was being harsh and going against the GB instructions a previous Watchtower article. The letter was a “clarification to elders” concerning the very same article!
  
  The GB would come across as being “SO LOVING” in the publications, and then the verbal instructions (or through letters to the BOE) would come through saying “COME DOWN HARD ON THE R&F”. The elders looked like the bad guys while the GB looked like the nice “Christian Men”!
  
  I noticed that some posted about the elders saying do “more” and not doing “more” themselves. My question is, do you realize just how much time an elder spends, if he is doing what he is supposed to, in uncountable time as an elder? Unless you are given money to live on, so that you can spend the majority of your time on “Christian” activities, you do not have much time to make a living, AND pioneer, AND be an elder.
  
  A few did it, I do not know how.
  
  I also keep seeing posts here about elders with a lot of material possessions; I didn’t notice that being the rule. Most elders were of modest means – just like the majority of the publishers (that includes the pioneers that are just publishers with a title).