by minimus 34 Replies latest jw friends
The congregation wrote a letter for me asking if it was okay to play sports.
The response was If you do it professionally it is okay, if it is a hobby it is not!!!!!!!!!!
Guess the professionals give them the CASSSSHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
Guess my husband who gave up his full ride athletic schoarlship is to BLAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When I was studying, I wrote a letter to the society regarding the oral sex issue. I told them that my husband was not a believer, and wouldn't take kindly to my refusing him. They wrote me back and told me simply that it was up to each couple to decide what they would do in this matter. This was in 1983, and their response was a direct contradiction to what was in the Watchtower shortly before I wrote them!
Maybe because I was not yet baptised they didn't feel the need to reinforce the party line. I don't know.
Unfortunately, when I became more indoctrinated, I actually believed the practice should be condemned for awhile, and tore the letter up, so as not to be "tempted" to let it sway my reasoning to its more balanced position. Now how indoctrinated is that:)
The congregation wrote a letter for me asking if it was okay to play sports.The response was If you do it professionally it is okay, if it is a hobby it is not!!!!!!!!!!
As in any job, you have to train to become a professional. Training to become a professional athlete usually starts in high school. So technically if you are aiming to become a professional athlete, it isn't a hobby anymore. You are starting your training for your professional career in sports in high school thus staying within the guidelines of what is acceptable in the field of sports to the Society. According to that letter anyway. Present them with that argument and then the guidelines would change.
I have never written a letter to the Society. If I had a question and it wasn't answered in the publications, I made my own decision for good or bad and moved own. If I thought my decision might not fly with others of a, let's say, stricter conscience, then I usually made it a point to not include them in my quest for knowledge or in my decision.
The sister who studied with me wrote to the Society, asking if there was any reason I couldn't be baptized, as I was bulimic. They wrote back to her, and asked her to ask me to write to them about it, as they were in the process of writing an article on eating disorders for the Awake! magazine.
I then came into contact with an "ER" from the Writing Dept. We corresponded about four or five times. Maybe more; I don't remember. The letters were beautiful. Each was loving, in a very formal way, of course. About the fifth time I wrote, this man did send a copy to the elders in our sister congregation; when it finally found its way to my congregation, "my" elders were pretty pissed. They asked why I would write semi-suicidal missives to the WTS when I should be going to them when I felt that way. Yeah, like they were going to help. I had tried to tell my elders I wanted to kill myself; they just blew me off. Repeatedly.
(NOTE: I realize now how futile it is to look to any human to truly understand how I feel, much less be able to help me. A psychiatrist is a much, much better bet, even given their limitations. Unless an elder, sister or anyone else has suffered major depression or bi-polar illness, etc. , or has had years of training in therapy, they simply are not going to be able to truly assist. JMHO. )
I wrote to this "ER" a few more times, and when I was disfellowshipped, I was devastated. I wrote him and, of course, he never wrote back. But he absolutely did put a lot of effort into writing me and trying to "help" me. Absolutely.
As a matter of fact, we had a hip young (relatively) man as our CO for a while, before he was removed. I didn't have to think long and hard to understand why he was removed; he and his wife were just too with it. I could definitely see where they were questioning what they saw in the congregations and at headquarters. He was a former stockbroker, and she was a former executive of some kind. Neither were raised in the "truth". Anyway, they were going up to Bethel and I asked them to bring a spice cake up to "ER". I will never forget: The wife said, "Oh, he's one of the few nice ones up there" Then she made some comments on things not being what "they seemed" up at Bethel. I wish I could remember specifics. I was very curious, but my polite nature and my shock that she would say something like that kept me from asking more about her comments.
Beryl
Only once; to ask them questions about their UN 'affiliation'.
I received the same standard reply that everyone else had around November 2001 which at the time I thought was pretty useless- but later it was great ammunition for me to show others in the cong. so that I felt my reasons for going would be understandable - even if not agreed with
Most people sympathised and understood- even elders to a point- but when it came down to having the courage of their convictions they toed the party line.
I did phone many times though- that was interesting- if you call pretending to be different people in various positions in the congregation you get very different replies .
I was shouted at, uncontrolably, by an Australian t*ss*r in Bethel London, who told me I was the most unforgiving un christian person he'd ever spoken to because I would'nt forgive the society for their 'mistake' regarding the UN- at least he admitted they'd made one .
I don't think i'll bother again, though I may send them a Christmas card.
Beryl, who was the Circuit Overseer?.......You were also helpful for research purposes. Once you were no longer any use to the Watchtower, they dismissed you, like you didn't exist.
just my letter of disassociation in 1976. short & sweet saying i was taking this action against them as a matter of conscience and would they please announce this publicly. i heard that they did. i disappeared.
minimis, you sure do know a lot.
nowisee
I wrote one to them about 30 years ago in regards to the Ezekiel book. There was a discussion at the time of whether Ezekiel actually laid on his left side for 390 days and his right side for 40 days looking at a brick or was this all a vision. What I recall was the WT said that we had to take what was said literally but they didn't completely rule out that it may all have been a vision. Now thinking back, it was all a complete waste of time anyway because who really gives a dam whether some nut case did this anyway. What does this have to do with us today anyway? Although the society like many religions try to read in something that wasn't there in the first place.
Will
minimus queried:
Have You Ever Written A Letter To the Society?
Harold answers affirmatively
