New development in my life

by EdenOne 99 Replies latest jw friends

  • galaxie
    galaxie

    Hi eden one. by all means keep a low profile, but how low? Crawl on your belly... or...stand up proud and tall? your choice. Which decision will earn you the most respect fromyour wife/family not to mention your own dignity . Remember you have yourself to live with for the rest of your life,how important is that to you? All the best to you for the future.

  • EdenOne
    EdenOne

    Just low enough to keep family and friends connected.

    As some elders have put it, Satan has used my "intelectuallity" (LOL, really??) to ensnare me, and they will pray for me to come back to my senses.

    I suppose Jesus said "woe to you, intellectuals, for you don't discern my organization and stop others from discerning it".... I can't find that elusive Bible text, but I'm sure it must exist somewhere in a dark corner of one of the gospels.

    Eden

  • galaxie
    galaxie

    Supposition may have a lot to answer for?!!!

  • nancy drew
    nancy drew

    i had one of those friends in the org who rushed to the elders with "concern" because I had expressed some disturbing thoughts about the governing body. Me and my husband were called in for a meeting to see if that was true and were told that it was okay to discuss whatever between us but don't spread it around. We we're already feeling that "we need to get out of here because there's nothing true about this deceptive organization" so we went to one more meeting and then we cut the cord. We didn't answer the phone or answer the door. People left heartfelt messages but to no avail. We left and never looked back and we're happy and much better off. There were many people in the congregation that i liked and i enjoyed their friendship but we had to walk away because you can't be their friends unless you accept the lies.

  • nonjwspouse
    nonjwspouse

    As some elders have put it, Satan has used my "intelectuallity" (LOL, really??) to ensnare me, and they will pray for me to come back to my senses.

    I just read about this in Orwells "1984" after Winston was captured and his "intelectuallity" was blamed for making him "insane" = not thinking lock -step with Big Brother. The conversation in the torture scenes are errily similer in regards to "belief in Big Brother , to what I read about here about the GB.

  • jgnat
    jgnat

    Intelligence and independence. A double-whammy of "evil" influences.

    As compared to passivity and gullibility.

  • RayPublisher
    RayPublisher

    Thanks for the update Eden- you are on track and God has big plans for you bro. You are one step closer to being out. It was a huge relief when I stepped down and got them off my back, it made my fade a lot easier.

    Of course in the end my best friend ratted me out anyway at the urging of my uber-elder father in law.

  • EdenOne
    EdenOne

    Ok time for another update.

    The storm seems to be over (for now at least). To summarize what happened:

    1. Someone close to me ratted to a couple of friends, elders, that I had penned a letter where I presented doctrinal points that were wayy different than those promoted by the FDS.

    2. As a result I was summoned by two elders, and a 4-hour debate followed, where they tried to:

    • Doctrinally bend me into line up with the official teaching of the WTS; when they failed, they
    • Switched over to the question of loyalty towards "God's Organization"

    When it came to that point, I knew I was stepping on very thin ice, for that was the crux of the whole matter, if I still considered the Jehovah's Witnesses as the only true religion and the FDS as Jehovah's channel. They even questioned (in a very daaarrrk way) if I was familiar with Raymond Franz's writings. I said I was, at least with the first book. I said also that my doctrinal position had nothing to do with Ray Franz's one, and if they knew RF's work they wouldn't even be making that question, so they were speaking about things they had no idea. In any case, I made an effort to say that I can concede that the WTS might be right and I might be wrong, but I needed much stronger evidence from the Bible and the WTS to change my doctrinal views. In that regards, i also said, if the leadership (GB) is right and I am wrong, then I'm sure time will tell, and I will keep praying to God for His Holy Spirit to let me know the answers.

    Then the COBE raised the point if I felt I was still qualified to serve as a MS. I replied to it by saying that if he felt he had to ask the question, then clearly I didn't feel I had the trust from the BOE to keep my position, so I resigned to it there and then, and would put it in writing the next day. With some stern admonishing about the dangers of reading apostate material, the meeting ended well into the night.

    Some 10 days passed on by, and the BOE had two (!) meetings to discuss my case. In the meantime those two elders went after my wife, and then my child, to fish out more information about me, if I was conducting the Family Worship, If I talked about my doctrinal views at home, etc.

    Then some more days passed by and I started pressing the COBE to have a decision on the matter of what would they do with me. I asked him directly: Are you going to form a JC? Because if you do I need to prepare myself and prepare my family. The next day I got word from him that it was decided that it wasn't a case for a JC, and the BOE would decide what "privileges" would be taken away from me. Finally I got called, and I was informed that I would still have the "privileges" that any qualified publisher would have except having any parts on the platform with the exception of reading the Bible. (n.1). I would still get to comment on the meetings and go out in the field service (oh joy! :/ ) I was informed that a part in the Service Meeting would be held in the "local needs" section to address the dangers of apostates within the congregation.

    The next meeting, my resignation was announced. A couple of weeks later, the pittiful part on "beware of apostate talk" was given in the form of a conversation between two elders.

    And that's it. All things considered, despite a couple of weeks of anguish until I knew that I wouldn't be subjected to a JC, I can say that I had it light.

    Eden

  • jgnat
    jgnat

    I see you were true to yourself and what you believe throughout. Good job.

    This is what I find most shocking:

    "In the meantime those two elders went after my wife, and then my child, to fish out more information about me, if I was conducting the Family Worship, If I talked about my doctrinal views at home, etc."

    How in the HECK are they going to police who can and cannot conduct Family Worship in the privacy of their own home? What sort of cojones do they have that they waltz right in to divide families?

    I see they took away anything they thought would matter to you. Maybe you could have fun with bible readings by targetted emPHASis.

  • ABibleStudent
    ABibleStudent

    Hi EdenOne, I'm glad that you emerged relatively unscathed.

    I hope that you continue with the family worship night by reading the Bible with your family to help them detect the BITE control techniques that the Pharisees and Sadducees used to victimize Jews and how Jesus Christ felt about it. Let you family critically think for themselves to connect the dots.

    It is sad that elders are more enthusiastic about feretting out critically thinking JWs, instead of paedophiles who molest children.

    Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

    Robert

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