Has Anyone, or, How Many Have Written to WTS...what was the response?

by Pioneer Spit...oh, i mean Spirit 25 Replies latest jw friends

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  Pioneer Spit...oh, i mean Spirit

  I wrote for the first time 5 months ago. One of my sisters, a Hoho, was married 27 years to an MS who has abused her mentally, emotionally, physically, and this was well-known to most everyone who knew them including family. When she filed for divorce, I heard that our parents, other family and ex-friends yelled at and criticized her, and then the elders called her into a meeting and condemned her, I was furious. And here was my sister, suicidal and with no where to go!

  I wrote a simple question: Dear sirs: Which does Jeh--ah hate more: a divorcing or spousal abuse? They responded with 'both acts are a wrongdoing and can result in disfellowshipping and any marriage can be saved using the bible'. I wrote back asking how they could judge that both acts are a wrongdoing without knowing any of the facts of a case, and also asked that they please answer the initial question. They didn't respond again, but they did contact the local congregation (our old cong) and one of the elders emailed me since I signed both letters with my initials. He asked if I was being abused and could they do anything to help. Can they behave with any less class, or more ignorance? I did not respond to the local elder.
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  HadEnuf

  Following the "bogus" marking of our son back in 1999...we went back and forth with NY for over a year concerning the wrongdoing of THE ELDERS in this matter. (Not to mention a series of phone calls to the service dept., etc.) The responses were slow in coming and usually some type of form letter/fill in the blanks with our names. They never put into writing anything that could come back and bite them.

  We found that any type of correspondence with NY was futile and a waste of our precious time and energy.

  They have no use for the sheep or caring for the flock.
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  wonderwoman

  **We found that any type of correspondence with NY was futile and a waste of our precious time and energy**
  I wrote a couple letters to the bosses a few years ago. My responses were pretty much the same. I was lying and rebellious. I had no proof. I had no rights. Don't ask questions. They suggested I find myself an older sister to study with me (never mind I was raised nazi style in this crap). I was also told to pray and go in field service more, as this would help my spirituality.
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  Pioneer Spit...oh, i mean Spirit

  wonderwoman, certainly you were able to deflect these assaults with your magic bracelets?
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  looking_glass

  PS - My GF wrote the society after her husband verbally abused her, admitted to her (but not to the elders) that he cheated, left her in financial ruin and then filed for divorce only to abandon that pursuit so she had to finish it (and pay the cost for it all). She advised the society that when she and her husband met w/ the elders for a marriage counseling session that the elders told her to be a better wife and then maybe her husband would be nicer to her and then they asked him about the alleged mistress and he said "I don't want to talk about it" and they said "OK" and that was it.

  When she had to move back in with her parents to try and get her finances under control. She asked the elders to address the issue as to whether she was free because he left her. They said "what is your hurry". When she took on another job (2 jobs) to pay off all the marital debt (because JW ex-hubby started working for JW family and getting paid in cash) the creditors came after her because according to their paper work he was dirt poor and had nothing. We found out that he went back home and told people that she left him and she had an affair. He read the WT on Sunday. He held mikes, he did magz. So she wrote the Society. She never heard anything. She did hear from her elders who were peeved that she "went over their heads and wrote the society as if the elders were not handling the matter properly" so she got counseled for that as well as missing too many meetings. Eventually she faded.

  Around 2/3 years later her JW parents called to say that the elders received a letter from the Society which was in response to her letter and they wanted her address so they could forward the letter. She told her parents to pick up the letter for her and not to give out her current address. By then she did not care. But guess what now they did. When the society and elders found out that she was engaged to a "worldly guy" now all of a sudden they wanted to address everything. In the end the society said "sorry your marriage ended, jah hates a divorcing" and "rely on jah more". It took them 2/3 years to come up with that response.

  My guess is that they have to devote all their time and energy to writing embellished stories of miracle JW experiences and new tracts that will offend everyone, that is why they took so long to respond.
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  misspeaches

  LOL - I did. I was probably about 12 or 13 at the time.

  I was desperately lonely.

  We had an unbelieving father and were subsequently left out of every social activity people in the congregation organised. None of the other youths in the congregation were interested in being friends with myself, sister and brother. Then of course you weren't to have 'wordly' frineds.

  And so I wrote them. I wrote asking if they might put me in contact with someone. Like a pen pal sort of thing. I popped my letter into the post box and sent all the way to Brooklyn from Australia.

  A few months later I got approached by an elder. I was scolded for writing to Bethel about such a trivial matter and reprimanded for my selfish attitude of not wanting to reach out and befriend people locally.

  Hows that? Surely it wouldn't take a rocket scientest to see how we were being excluded! I still think they were callous.
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  looking_glass

  OMG Miz P, I did exactly the same thing. But I wrote because we had just gotten back from our yearly mecca from NY. I think I was ten or eleven and asked if they wanted a pen pal. My mom recently reminded me of my writing experience as well. I guess I got back a letter saying they had more important things to do then write to a ten year old. She told me (which I did not know until recently) that an elder approached her and told her she needed to keep a tighter reign on me because of this harmful letter that I sent them. According to her, she told him to go find someone else to counsel about something other then a kid writing the WTBTS because it was harmless and they should strain the gnat w/ someone else. God I miss the feisty buck the JW BS lady she use to be.
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  JimWood

  We wrote to the service desk about the UN thing. The response was sent to the elders who hauled us in on the carpet to read their letter to us. We were not even allowed to hold it, they actually held it up so I could see it. What a joke. In the end we apparently have been deceiving ourselves, I guess by actually reading and verifying facts. Anyhow, poised to send out part II, hope to get the axe dropped by Xmas.
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  No Apologies

  Isn't there an account in the Bible where some children tried to approach Jesus and the apostles tried to shoosh them away? And then Jesus, I forget now, how does that story go?

  Yet another unbelievable example of how the Watchtower is in no way or form a "Christian" organization...

  No Apologies
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  misspeaches

  LOL Looking Glass. Well I guess I wasn't the only one. I wish I had a mum like yours though. Willing to stand up to the BS.