I was an elder for 11 years. I was the "popular" elder because I was young, a good speaker and actually completely bought in to loving people
I can tell you that BY FAR the majority of my time was spent doing two things: dealing with miserable step-parent families and.....wait for it......wait for it........MY FELLOW ELDER'S KIDS!!!!!
I kept several of the ELDERS KIDS from suicide, gave them money to eat when ignored by their owner 'elder' father, several told me they knew nothing about the Bible that 'my father has never studied with me and now I'm 20'..........the PO punched his kid in the face, the Secretary kept getting his daughter off after several boys had been in her pants, one elder's son was a notorious drunk, the same PO had a daughter that had a threesome with another sister and some guy they met at a club, .....on and on and on it goes.....I could spend a month typing this post.
From time to time I read yet another poor soul on here asking what to do.....that "the elders want to visit me." I can only say this: WHY ARE YOU EVEN ANSWERING THEIR CALLS?????? These guys are some of the biggest creeps you will ever meet. In the majority of cases, they have massive marriage problems (oh yeah, I got to be the 'catch all' for their wives too), are addicted to porn, have never read the Bible, etc.
The elder arrangement should be one of the biggest 'proofs' that this organization is a total train wreck. If I see an elder at now I just look them dead in the eye and they turn and run away......they won't get close...but it might be the look on my face that I'll rip their heads off.
If publishers went to just ONE elders meeting and heard how they speak about you behind closed doors, you would NEVER even give them the time of day. I can't emphasize enough how DAMAGING it is to speak to these men..........they can destroy your belief in God, your self esteem and even your future..........and I emphasize this for young people.
DO NOT SPEAK TO JW ELDERS!!!