Active JW's and JW Lurkers- Especially JW Defenders and Believers: A Few Questions For You (page 6)

millie210

If the majority of elders were like you, chairman, it would be a different Organization.

Very true Vidiot.

Always Busy, thank you for your honesty. It sounds like you have had a hard time. Please let me say that while I do truly understand why you may feel you need to listen to the meetings that you can freely skip it if you like.

Don't sweat about the labels that JW's try to put on you. I am not an apostate either. I grew spiritually beyond the beliefs of JW's. I never abandoned them.

Regardless of our differing paths, I have made great friends of other former JW's. It matters much less to them that some are very Christian, some are very atheist, and some are at other paths. I hope you find friends.

Rufus T. Firefly

'committeechairman,' I appreciate your participation in this forum, and I hope you will continue to post comments. Please do not feel I am beating up on you by my following observations.

A certain sentence of yours exemplfies the problem most JW elders have. You wrote: "I know that you believe I'm f-ing up peoples lives by serving as an elder, but I continue to hold on to this because I can help people behind the scenes by having this authority."

I think I know what you meant by "having this authority," and I'm guessing you would like to be able to rephrase that comment, but I believe it is very revealing. It exemplifies the problem I had with JW elders throughout my 40+ years as an active JW. Most, if not all, of the elders I knew mistook responsibility for authority. Persons who view themselves as having a responsibility usually consider that they are also accountable. Persons who view themselves as having authority often do not, except to those having greater authority. I believe bullies are persons who fail to recognize their accountability for their actions toward "lesser ones."

The Watchtower Society holds all clergymen responsible--and accountable--for the errors of their respective religious organizations. This may explain some of the less than friendly responses to the participation in this forum of a current JW elder. I don't know you or your circumstances, but I wonder if you've considered the loss of authority as the reason you find it so hard to resign your eldership.

I restate my appreciation for your participation here, and I believe you are not the only current elder who participates in this forum.

Simon

J-DUBBED: please take note of the forum guidelines if you want to continue posting here. We do not have to tolerate your abusive language?

J-DUBBED

J-DUBBED: please take note of the forum guidelines if you want to continue posting here. We do not have to tolerate your abusive language?

You could have sent me a private message but that's fine.

Before I did any posting on this Forum I did some scrolling through previous posts just to see how "Language Sensitive" this Forum is. I've observed a lot of the older/regular posters on here pretty much use similar language. I maybe don't come across and relate exactly like most of you that "Were J-Dubs" because I never was one and never will be. We were just an everyday normal family that got totally screwed out of what was "Normal". It seems like the more digging into this "Mind Control Cult" just makes a person more aggrevated and out of control.

The J-Dubs have "Won" again. I'm at a huge loss, and no longer know where to continue.

However this is "Your House" so if you want to pick out certain people then do what you have to do.

runForever

j-dubbed: You are dealing with the best of the best cults. I've known people that lived and died swearing this is the truth. It is you and your family

vs a whole organization who regularly meets together. Maybe reading "combatting cult mind control" would help. If you want to go the bible

don't argue the trinity argue Jesus being the mediator to God and man and luke 21:8 false prophets/teachers. You have to not seem like you are just

trying to win the argument. Appeal to the heart etc. etc..

Caedes

Commiteechairman,

in my opinion you have to decide for yourself what is best in your circumstances and that it is very easy for people on a forum to just tell you to leave. It sounds like you are doing the best thing you can and some of us respect that. I hope you keep on posting and ignore some of the more unhelpful comments.

OnTheWayOut

Flipper said to committeechairman: I'm glad to see that you are working on the inside to effect a positive change in people's lives within the JW organization.

It can work once-in-while in individual lives. I thought for a hot second that I might do good from the inside until another elder went around me to "the service desk" on a judicial matter. Don't get me wrong. I had personal issues pressing me to resign and get outta there, but I also did not want to be part of the problem. On that one judicial matter, the member on trial placed much of the blame on me without knowing the details (which I was obligated not to share with them).

And the organization will not stand behind its elders if they are sued over their following of policies. If I were to remain an elder today, I would have to say "Disfellowship absolutely nobody, yet always alert authorities and parents alike when someone presents a danger, no matter the consequences."

Vidiot, good points on the financial support from the rank and file. I still tend to lean the way Flipper suggested- that they have things to hide and don't want to be put on the stand in a judicial case where they might have to reveal things. But it goes hand-in-hand with their answers causing the rank-and-file to be "stumbled." Another way I look at it is that it really isn't "their" 13 Million dollars to lose, so as long as this particular group can keep their comfy chairs in the ivory tower, they won't sweat these losses.

...leaving them with a much smaller, but leaner, meaner, hard-core loyalist membership that'll still be able to support it's deliberately-downsized-in-anticipation-of-decline operation.

Very much so- I agree. Comfy chairs on tax-free land in rural NY state will be much easier to protect with a smaller more-loyal following than they would in valuable Brooklyn properties. When public opinion turns against WTS, they don't want to be there.

committee- I look forward to your comments in the near future. thanks for sharing.

Sparrowdown, virtually all superheros carry their cape in hiding.

Listener, he would win in that case no matter what. He would reveal the huge problem both with the child protection and with the secrecy.

Rufus T.- great points. I knew I could not remain an elder when I felt "responsible" for the outcome in an event.

Thank you, Simon, for your reminders.

J-D, you are not asked to leave or even curtail your thoughts. Simon lets a few words slip, but asks us not to be "brazen." Just use *** or substitute words and stick around.

runForever, we are dealing with the cult that concerns us. I really don't believe it's the best of the best. Heck, Mormons are more effective worldwide. But yeah, I see what you mean. Very touching points you made there. Thanks.

Caedes, thank you. We will continue to boldly tell others what they should do. I hope I taper it with "I would do this if I were there, because ......" or similar thoughts that reveal that I understand why different people choose different paths.

Simon

You could have sent me a private message but that's fine.

Before I did any posting on this Forum I did some scrolling through previous posts just to see how "Language Sensitive" this Forum is. I've observed a lot of the older/regular posters on here pretty much use similar language.

However this is "Your House" so if you want to pick out certain people then do what you have to do.

Well that's the point in *not* sending a PM - so people are clear what the expectations are and can see that things are being addressed. Just because some posts were not addressed in the past means that has to forever be the rule and if they were dealt with by PM then it causes confusion. We try and allow some leeway for sensitive topics but most of the time bad language is simply uncalled for.

J-DUBBED

I've known people that lived and died swearing this is the truth.

Yes and I know of one local woman in particular that lived right here in the city. She wanted out of the "Cult" so bad, she stood on train tracks with her back to the train and ended her life. Not only did she end her life but she really screwed up the train engineers that were piloting that train that day.

What worries us a lot is that one day our son may want out a similar way.

Active JW's and JW Lurkers- Especially JW Defenders and Believers: A Few Questions For You

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