Tamerian, Mary,
Were You Ever Interrogated By The Elders?
by minimus 44 Replies latest jw friends
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oppostate
Far too many times to count in the last 30 years!
One thing is for certain, I don't go sheepishly into that back school.
I go in ready to pump up their blood preasure and make it as unpleasant as I can for them.
I also record the whole thing for future use if needed.
Of course, knowing that I'm also being recorded helps me keep my cool.
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biometrics
Yes. Once for being seen with a "worldly" girl. We were just friends. We went to the beach together. An elder and his family were sitting right behind us. I was asked a lot of personal questions about exactlly what happened (at a public beach!).
Another time because I went to karate clases. They tried to say karate has some type of demon worship aspect to it? They asked if I prayed to any false gods there (I know WTF)?
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Terry
I was called in to the Kingdom Hall after I returned from a road trip in which I sought to find and meet my father for the first time.
This was 1972. I had no idea why the two elders wanted to talk to me other than--silly me---ask how it went.
The two brothers were the assistant congregation overseer and the visiting circuit servant.
Their names were Coulter and Mackie.
After we prayed they began:
Coulter: Do you have anything you want to tell us, brother Walstrom?
Me: About what?
Mackie: About anything you think you need to tell us.
Me: (I launch into the complete story of my road trip in great details including my visit with my father and my return trip home. This takes about 30 minutes because I ACTUALLY THOUGHT THEY WANTED TO HEAR IT!)
Coulter: That's all well and good.
Mackie: Do you have anything else you want to tell us, brother Walstrom?
Me: Else?
Coulter: Something you think we need to know?
Me: Oh...well, I had a double blowout on the freeway and had to spend most of what money I had on replacement tires. Then, I couldn't afford to stay in a motel. So, I used K.O.A. (A campground) and slept in a tent. I had to get a temporary job as a telephone solicitor to earn enough money to pay for the rest of my trip. It took 2 weeks before I could get paid.
Mackie: Brother Walstrom, we are not interested in all that.
Me: (Peeved) Why don't we quit beating around the bush, then, wasting each others' time? If you've got something on your mind just spit it out!
Coulter: You want to tell us why you abandoned your wife and children to go on this road trip?
Me: Say what?!
Mackie: You were gone 3 weeks were you not?
Me: (Dumbfounded) Wait....a minute....what are you saying?
Coulter: What did your wife tell you when you told her you were going to search for your father?
Me: Excuse me, brother Coulter--is there some kind of problem attached to all this or has somebody filed a complaint against me?
Mackie: That's not for us to say.
Coulter: You seem defensive....
Me: Oh--you figure? An accusation has been leveled that I "abandoned" my family. Is that not correct?
Mackie: (Defensively) Nobody has accused you of anything. It is you who are saying that!
Me: (Switching gears) Oooooh, I seeeee. How silly of me. This is what they call a "fishing expedition!" Nobody has accused me of anything but, in my absence I'll bet quite a number of busybody sisters in this congregation have flapped their gums to the extent one of them finally came out with "Somebody ought to talk to him about that". Am I right or am I right?
Coulter: There has---there were some people who may have been stumbled.
Me: Well--I hope you are going to say 'stumbled over listening to gossip' and not stumbled over a brother who spent the last two years of his life in Federal Prison serving Jehovah who has sought out the father he's never met for a reconciliation!
Mackie: But--brother Walstrom, you did abandon you----
Me: (Pointing to the assistand overseer) Wally here goes off on hunting and fishing trips a couple of times a year. Wouldn't you feel pretty silly interpreting that as ABANDONING his family?
Coulter: Brother Walstrom has a point!
Mackie: Well, I---
Me: Last time I checked before I left there was plenty of food in the house and money in our checking account which I did NOT use when I had an emergency. Upon my return my family had not been kicked out on the street nor had our furniture been repossessed. So--exactly what in this world except for women gossiping--has any of this got to do with official Kingdom Hall business? Doesn't "abandon" mean to leave with no intention of coming back? Strange thing--I seem to have RETURNED on my own without the police or F.B.I. involvement.
Coulter: I'm glad we had a chance to sit down and explore this matter. I'll handle it from here.
Mackie: Well--wait, I think.....
Coulter: (menacingly) I SAID I would handle it......let's close with prayer.
And that was my very strange encounter with a blindside committee meeting. Later, I found out who had said what to whom and it was
sisters gossiping and escalating and exaggerating and busybodying a molehill into a mountain! Brother Coulters wife had notified him and
he called the meeting. Ironically and unbeknownst to me---the congregation overseer was off on a hunting and fishing trip at that time!
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moshe
You have outlived your accusers and that is a victory for you, Terry.
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minimus
Terry, that was a great story. These guys should have imply minded their own biz.
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Brother of the Hawk
I've made a career of it, in fact just last night, 2 showed up to investigate my apostasy (unannounced), must say, if you watched the video above, last night went much like that. these two elders were very quiet and let us hang ourselves. Along with a lot of bible bending especially when one said where will you go? I did not hesitate to correct him, I said NO, Peter said Whom shell we go to. When I showed the Greek Diaglott and how the NWT is a mistranslated Bible one elder ( who actually looked at the Greek spelling) looked very ill. At least one of them made a effort to look at it and read what we had, and why not it, it was all WT info. I feel we have crucified ourselves with WT Literature!!! Affectionately: Brother of the Hawk (I will surrender my mind no more, forever)
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minimus
Good video
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blondie
Never backroomed, be alone with 2 men!
After years of interrogation by an abusive father, I used the skills I learned then and turned the interrogations around quickly. Knew the bible, the WTS policies, and how to turn the conversation into a confrontation between 2 elders with a history of not liking each other; or BOEs with a long history of controversy. These men knew I did not fear them, that there was nothing they could take away from me that mattered. It was hard to find one let alone 2 elders willing to "control" me unless they were new to the congregation (the circuit even). Once one realized the control was not there, I was left alone.
Today though, I never answer the phone if it is a jw, let alone an elder. Drop bys never get past the threshold and get only, "goodbye, be polite and call first next time."
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OneDayillBeFree
I was just interrogated at my last meeting and it wasnt even in the back room.
Once I remember being interrogated for taking a sister home from the KH who had been waiting for 3 hours for a ride home. So I decided to take her. She was very cute. She moved away and faded now so I don't know anything about her but at the time the elders were asking me the stupidest questions like, "where was she sitting? In the passenger seat? How close did you get to her? Was their ant physical contact of any kind? "Umm yeah, I shook her hand, but that was it." "Oh did this bring out innapropriate desires in your heart? Did you fantasize about her? How long were you two in the car alone? Are you sure there wasnt any groping or kissing involved? What did you talk about? Remember that Jehovah sees all things brother so you better tell us exactly what happened because sooner or later the truth will come out! "For the last time, I just took her to her house. I didn't do anything at all. She was in no mood to talk. And also, if you'd really like to know the truth, just pray to jehovah about it. He's my witness. I'm sure he'll tell you the exact same thing. Stupif F%ckers!