There has been a few posts regarding happy marriages and the 2 witness rule which reminded me of an experience you might find funny. I'd like to know if anyone else has done anything like this...
There was a married couple with 3 kids in our cong. He was an MS but a nasty piece of work. Verbally abused her and the kids, heavily into hardcore porn and towards the end physically abused her (and had the worst breath). She was the nicest person and the kids were awesome. However the elders always stuck up for him and never believed her. She spent years with this until she finally got the courage to leave.
Anyway, he moved interstate (Queensland) and "supposedly" moved in with another woman although never admitted it when asked. The 2 witness rule applied and the elders still would stand up for him. This went on for years. He would not allow her a scriptural divorce and wanted control over her life. The children had to spend some holidays with him but the elders would not accept what the kids said as they were too young and he denied it.
My father and another ex-elder decided to do something. (Our families were pretty close) I had a trip to Queensland so they organised me to go earlier, got me a video camera, hired a blue van with curtains and I got the address and a mudmap off the kids of where he was living with this "other woman". Plan was simple - video them going into the apartment, stay the night in the van and film them in the morning.
He knew me (I had even worked on the mag counter with him) so I had to be careful. You can imagine me in suburbia, sitting in the back of a van, video camera through the curtains, freaking out thinking one of the neighbours was going to knock on the van. I first filmed him leaving to get groceries. He drove past the van and looked at it. I then filmed them come back and go in together. I put a hat on, sunglasses and quickly walked through the complex trying to film (with commentary) where they had gone in, tried to film the number plate, still freaking out he was going to see me.
In the morning she came out early and took off in her car before I go the camera started - I missed it on film but saw it. He left later.
The funny bit - I went to Mcdonalds for breakfast as I was damn tired spending the night in a van. As I was eating you wouldn't believe who walked in - He did! He saw me, got his breakfast and ate with me. I had to make up an excuse that I just drove up to visit my mother while the big blue van was in the carpark that was sitting out the front of his place for the past 18 hours.
The not so funny bit - My video work was crap. I hardly got any evidence to prove he was living their with her and the elders still would not give her grounds for a scriptual divorce even with my "signed" testimony. On top of this I had breakfast with the enemy.
The moral - don't ever hire me as a PI - I suck. There is a happy ending though - she left the org including the kids, she is happily married and we still piss ourselves laughing about my pathetic attempt to free her from slavery...
-sparrow