A few questions for lurking active elders, former elders & MS

by onemore 11 Replies latest jw friends

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  onemore

  Here they go...

  1) Let say that you were a sincere believer of the Watchtower, and fallowed the GB’s direction because you truly believed that they were guided by the Holy Spirit. What information or action would have made you doubt the validity & authority of the Governing Body?

  2) What type of information would have made you reconsider your position as an executioner of the GB rules & regulations?

  3) As an active elder, was there anything that would have made you believed that the GB has been corrupted and perhaps infiltrated by Satan?

  4) Let say you had some serious doubts, and were experiencing a “crisis of conscience”, if you knew that there would be no retaliation such as getting dissfellowshipped; would you have mastered the courage to speak up and search for "truth"?

  5) If the knew or were aware of the implications of being an "independent agent" would you have resigned or stopped fallowing all of the GB’s orders?

  I’m looking forward to your responses. I’ll greatly appreciate your answers to these questions.

  Thanks

  Onemore
• 

  onemore

  reposted....fonts too small

  1) Let say that you were a sincere believer of the Watchtower, and fallowed the GB’s direction because you truly believed that they were guided by the Holy Spirit. What information would have made you doubt the validity & authority of the Governing Body?

  2) What type of information would have made you reconsider your position as an executioner of the GB rules & regulations?

  3) As an active elder, was there anything that would have made you believed that the GB has been corrupted and perhaps infiltrated by Satan?

  4) Let say you had some serious doubts and experiencing a “crisis of conscience”, if you knew that there would be no retaliation such as getting dissfellowshipped; would you have mastered the courage to speak up and search for the truth?

  5) If you knew the implications of being an “independent agent”, would you have resigned or stopped fallowing all of the GB’s orders?

  I’m looking forward to your responses. I’ll greatly appreciate your answers to these questions.

  Thanks

  Onemore
• 

  im stuck in

  1) Let say that you were a sincere believer of the Watchtower, and fallowed the GB’s direction because you truly believed that they were guided by the Holy Spirit. What information would have made you doubt the validity & authority of the Governing Body?

  Really nothing for many years I carried out their deeds when I finally woke up a few years ago I was shocked at what I had done.

  2) What type of information would have made you reconsider your position as an executioner of the GB rules & regulations?

  What made me reconsider is some things happening in the org.

  I then began to look around first at 607 and then more. At 607 I was convinced.

  3) As an active elder, was there anything that would have made you believed that the GB has been corrupted and perhaps infiltrated by Satan?

  Over the years I saw and heard things from cos dos and other prominent elders that made me think, but it took the research and the strength to do it to get me thinking then reading CofC.

  4) Let say you had some serious doubts and experiencing a “crisis of conscience”, if you knew that there would be no retaliation such as getting dissfellowshipped; would you have mastered the courage to speak up and search for the truth? I was always one to speak up but was afraid of doing too much.

  5) If you knew the implications of being an “independent agent”, would you have resigned or stopped fallowing all of the GB’s orders?

  I did!!!!
• 

  stuckinamovement

  I couldn't sell something I wouldn't buy. So I quit also.

  There were a lot of reasons, Child molestation coverups, the changing teachings, 1914/607, the enforced idolization of the collective GB, the secrecy of the new elder book, the harsh stance on education etc.

  I feel that I have to be able to live with myself and I determined that I was not going to be an organizational puppet.

  BTW stuck in are we related? Lol

  SIAM
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  Mad Sweeney

  I was never an elder but in reference to question four, I don't think it would take much courage to speak up if there wasn't threat of disfellowshipping. If there was no disfellowshipping, I'd be in there right now overturning their false doctrines on a daily basis.
• 

  onemore

  Thank you all for your comments.

  Please keep them coming. I’m trying to help a JW friend give up his eldership position, he is under a lot of stress and just don’t know how to let it go. He is open to borderline “heretic” conversations. So, I’m trying to put a profile together of what would make a moderate JW resign from being an Elder.

  Thanks.
• 

  TheLoveDoctor

  it only took some reading of books like biology of belief, virus of the mind, spontanious evolution, excuses be gone and many more selfhelp books that that made sense and included scriptures with application that made sense. then i thought wow someone else can apply this scripture a diffrent way thats helpful if applied and can even apply to other statements in the bible. It only took other br. at the hall elders and ms when i judged them as well not doing what i thought the could or should, always late. not seeing those takeing the lead take the lead in cleaning, late for service, using before or after meetings for shepparding instead of associating with the friends, makeing sure assighnments are covered and starting on time. Just a whole bunch of little things that ment a lot to me as an elder. So i guess i got cridicle thinking, began researching and learned of inconsistancey in thier writings, and well dishonesty. I believe that even though the org was run by imperfect men if it is guided by Jehovah, Jesus christ and the holy spirit well the must be pretty imperfect also. the anouances at the hall i'v allways delt with but you put that together with whats in print with eyes openes and yes unfortonatly it to a websight to point out those inconsistancy and that was it. Nov i went to hawiie international conv. I had already began looking things up by Jan i told the coordinating elder i wanted to step down, gave some wife excuses and the fact that i cant shut of my brain cause of allways being bussy wich was true. However, there was alot more to it than that. by end of feb it was afficial stepped down of course i stopped my labors when i spoke up. and haven commented sinse feb of last year and purposely let my hours dwindle. this is the first month sinse 1994 that i was innactive. Now i have to deal with my jw wife pray for me
• 

  LittleMac

  Hi there- good questions;

  As a former MS- (eleven years ago) I know that up until Dec. 2009, if the GB had printed anything, I would believe it to be infallible. I was that indoctrinated. I "lived the truth".

  I never allowed myself to think at all that what I was being taught wasn't anything but true of the highest sort. I remember having to frequently apply the mental brakes on many things throughout the day or week of my life: ie. thought-provoking movies, music lyrics, book titles, conversations with people. you name it. I attributed everything to "Satan".

  Love Doctor- I hear you man- I am inactive for the first time in my life- it took about a year from getting the news from my brother over a pint that it really wasn't the truth and how C.T Russell was a Mason, etc. I think I even knew about the pyramid on his grave but for some reason never thought twice about it. I remember wondering at times if THE true religion in our time would come from the industrial town of Pittsburgh, PA in the late 1800's. Now, just saying it that way makes me shake my head that I really believed it for so long and no wonder people gave me those kinds of responses they did at the doors for all those years. (7-37 years old of knocking on doors in icy wind, rain, snow, hot sun, you name it, rural, inner city)

  Over the years, besides I'm not interested and I'm busy- there were three general responses in my memory...

  1. You have your own bible

  2. You don't believe Jesus is God

  3. You should research your own history
• 

  flipper

  ONEMORE- I was a former MS and regular pioneer in organization. I'll try to answer your questions as briefly and srtaight as I can.

  1. What made me doubt the validity and authority of the governing body was the allowing of child molesters to carry on and move from congregation to congregation for years without apprehension. Then allowing them to be re-appointed as elders or MS's. Also- The false promises about the alleged " last days ". I was told as a teenager in the 1970's that I'd never get married or have to raise children in this " system of things." Here in 2011 I now have 3 adult children in their mid 20's.

  2. What information made me reconsider my position was the political games being played to get brothers appointed as elders or ministerial servants . It wasn't how much love you showed, or ONLY field service time put in, but did you kiss up to the more powerful controlling elders in each congregation that determined if you got appointed or not. THAT really turned me off- as I don't play games and kiss up to anybody. I saw many men appointed who had no right to be elders or ms's. Holy spirit had NOTHING to do with appointments.

  3. As an active Ministerial servant - I really didn't buy into the whole " satan " who corrupts people thinking - I figured if bad men were in the GB or upper reaches of the WT society- it was their OWN fault for letting them get those positions.

  4. Back in the late 1980's I DID have some doubts about 1914 and the last days, but out of fear of my then fanatic JW wife ( who would have ratted me out to elders ) I kept silent about my doubts. When I finally left in 2003, I have been VERY vocal to many JW family members about my doubts. I explain my doubts in a careful manner so as not to arouse suscpicion. But yes, if I knew there would have been NO repercussions in the late 1980's, YES indeed, I would have been more vocal about my doubts.

  5. If I knew the implications of stopping following the GB's orders , well I DID know the implications of stopping following the orders back in 1989, but I wasn't at the point in my life where I had the COURAGE to leave at that point. It takes time to allow many different injustices happen to us and then many people like myself get an awakening, like BAM ! just one day it all comes into focus, you realize you have been duped by the WT society , a mind control magazine printing company. Crazy. That's how it happened for me. After leaving cold turkey in 2003, I NEVER went back, nor will I EVER go back. So, that's my 2 cents. There ya have it, Peace out, Mr. Flipper
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  ziddina

  Hi, LittleMac! Welcome to the board!!!

  I loved your #3 most common response:

  "You should research your own history ..."

  I suspect that the Watchtower Society would see even greater numbers leave the organization if active Jehovah's Witnesses were allowed to research the old literature...

  Just looking at the "Pyramid chart" in the book, "Divine Plan of the Ages" alone, would have given me pause, had I known about it... BTW, I was bullied into the religion by my parents; I didn't join willingly...

  But seeing the plan of the "Great Pyramid" used to 'prove' their particular "Armageddon" timetable - THAT would have given me pause. Nothing like seeing a thoroughly heathen symbol used to calculate a date that NO ONE - not even Jesus Christ himself - is supposed to know...

  Zid - the board's resident She-Devil... [I'm a NeoPolyTheist atheist, btw...]