Look out for a new congregation position for elders wives: Helper to the Elders

by Splash 18 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

• 

  Splash

  Geoffrey Jackson spent 20 minutes accepting the position that it is not scripturally prohibited for women to be used in the investigation process, although probably not the JC itself (he said he'd check the scriptures on that bit, but we can guess the outcome).

  Look out for the wives of elders jostling for and gaining these positions. There will be no better opportunity for gossip mongers to raise their status in the congregation than being officially involved in the intimate private business of others in the congregation.

  Think of the power they will have in advising the elders on a JC if she thinks the victim is credible, with her opinion, bias and embellishments on the details. I wouldn't fancy the chances of a victim who has previously fallen out with one of these 'helpers'.

  Whatever next, sisters handling microphones??!!
• 

  jwfacts

  I was impressed with this recommendation so it is interesting to see this alternative point of view.

  At the end of the day, virtually no JW is trained for such situations and it is imperative that an accusations are referred to trained authorities to establish the facts.
• 

  stillin

  Wow, he said that?! A lot of the updated that get posted here are videos. Due to my situation , I cannot watch these with my wife across the room. I appreciate the transcripts and short bites of testimony!
• 

  tiki

  He had to check the scriptures!? Thats a classic!!! What happened to the part about not fretting about what to say...it'll be given to you in that hour..guess his hotline to heaven got a tad disrupted....
• 

  steve2

  It has taken a secular commission of inquiry to make the light grow brighter in Jah's organization.

  This is unprecedented in the JW organization's nearly 140 year history.

  My, the true God, Jehovah, works in mysterious ways!
• 

  oppostate

  Oh, Judas Priest!

  I can just about imagine the sisters who get to "assist" with a case, forever after acting high and mighty because they had a "privilege" not usually granted to sisters in the congregation. I'm sure that gossip would spread among the new class of helpers, their being able to talk "confidentially" to others who are now in this "assistant to the judicial committee investigation" class.

  Quite certainly, the publications will spin this as a "loving arrangement", to have sisters help out, there being no Biblical restrictions on such a thing as women assisting a judicial committee. But just like with the compilation of the elders manual, I'm sure there will be all sorts of legalistic minutia and prohibitions that will rein in the new "mature JW female" assistants.
• 

  ToesUp

  The funny thing about it is we would never go to one of these "spiritual leaders", no matter who they are (man or woman) . Never have, never will. We don't trust any of them.
• 

  username

  We all know who will literally fight for these roles. The sociopath narcissist elderet!
• 

  konceptual99

  Don't get your hopes up that this signals some kind of sea change in the role of females in the organisation. I suspect that any modifications to the process will be only in cases of sexual assault and not some generic improvements that allow sisters to be involved in any case of fact finding.

  I would suggest it would be something like:

  - letter outlining some scriptural basis for a change that the GB have meditated on and decided to follow to keep JW processes regarding abuse way ahead of what everyone else is doing. Some kind of link to Deborah made. But a limitation made on "judging"

  - announcement that anyone who wishes to report an allegation of sexual abuse can choose to talk to a couple of mature sisters

  - either these are identified at a local level and publicly known within the congregation or the victim has to approach an elder and say they need to discuss a matter with the uber sisters and the elder assigns a couple of them to the victim

  - sisters meet with victim and get victim's story

  - report is made to the elders who then decide what to do

  - sisters get reminded not to talk about anything to anybody but can't help wandering around with smug faces and making throwaway comments about "something going on but I couldn't possibly talk about it".
• 

  TheListener

  It would probably be limited to sexual abuse, as others have already said, and the Australian branch office. I don't think we would see this kind of change in the UK or US.