Not sure other than me and my husband. We even kept our doubts from each other.
Looking Back Were There Any “Apostates” In Your Congregation?
by minimus 28 Replies latest jw friends
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minimus
Mick, it’s true we were telling people to wait on Jehovah. To me that tells me many Witnesses didn’t 100% accept things but went along in the meantime. ( prospective apostates)...
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minimus
Funny how married couples were so scared to talk about their doubts that they both had the same thinking only didn’t want to say anything for fear that might get blackballed.
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cha ching
My husband & I were around 20 when 1975 came along, we were married not long before that, and were use to 'discussing things.' We came from a Bay Area (California) congregation, but when married, moved a half hour east to a rural congregation with tighter rules. ("White shirts, not colored shirts like where YOU are from"... That made me mad! My husband was more willing to 'do as the org said'. I bucked the system, then gave in, what could I do?
We use to debate "Is Jesus our mediator, or just the 144,000's" because people out in service (there were many religious people in those days, out there that would talk about everything) would ask you, and I'd have to explain, and I wanted answers. So, we would discuss it for hours out in service, just him & I.
We didn't think it was bad, after all, didn't the scripture say "Make sure of all things?" I didn't believe the GB were infallible, because didn't the scripture say, "all men have sinned"? and you had to die to be perfect, and even Peter blew it, so why did I have to believe the GB was any better? Peter knew Jesus.
Anyway, our 'growing up' congregation had elders that differed on their opinions on different subjects, would sit around and debate, held onto their views, and would wait to see how Jehovah worked it out. My husband was studied with by one of those men, and my mom was studied with by a different elder and his wife.
I actually didn't have all the finite views of the Borg down at 16 1/2 when I got baptized. We use to have 5, 10, 12 people in the 'back room' answering the baptism questions, and I kept hoping "Please don't make me answer that one, I don't know!"
I didn't know lickety split about the "Organization". To me, it wasn't that important. The Bible, jehovah, jesus were. Not some men in NY. Nobody really knows what they are in for when they get baptized, especially at 16 (or any age, really. They just do not tell you!)
But, here I am, totally out... so glad!
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minimus
As an elder, the question nearly all baptismal candidates ( lol that sounds so stupid) flunked was who was the faithful and discreet slave. Of course they changed their answer to that one too.
The kicker is you have to give the answers the organization teaches at the time. Even if they are wrong it doesn’t matter.
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truth_b_known
Two that I know of -
There was an elder a lot looked up to. He was a great person and had a storybook family; loving wife and 2 kids. As the story goes, his wife met an apostate and woke up pretty quick. The story continues that the elder and his wife got divorced because he couldn't take her constant apostate attacks. Within a couple of months following all that he was "free to remarry" and did.
The second is not so cut and dry. My father was disfellowshipped. He had been sharing things he had learned in studying the Bible. Eventually he was called to a judicial meeting and asked if he believed he was part of the Faith & Discreet Slave. He answer in the positive (keep in mind this was about 30 years ago) as he professed to be one of the Annointed. He was never told why he was disfellowshipped, but a friend of mine was at a get together where one or more of the elders on that judicial committee was present. My friend overheard one of the elders state that they just had to disfellowship someone for apostasy. The funny thing was the congregation presiding overseer looked into it about a year later and told those elders they needed to reinstate my father.
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neat blue dog
Amazing that they sought you out when you weren’t associated for years!
Like impeaching a former president 🤣
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contramundum
I remember a brother being removed as an elder in the late '70s. He was my book study overseer and when he announced it to the group after the meeting, he said something to suggest that the reason he was removed from his position was because some people didn't like some of the things he said. I was young and didn't understand what he meant at the time. Looking back I recall people whispering about him believing certain ideas that weren't in line with the GB's teachings
He and his family remained in the congregation until one Sunday morning, a few minutes before the public talk was about to start, he had an altercation with a special pioneer and was forceably bundled out of the hall by a posse of elders.
This was a shocking incident and talked about by many for a good while.
He was never disfellowshipped, but even as a child I knew from the adults that we should have nothing to do with him or his wife and he was referred to as an apostate.
I never saw the family again.
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Overrated
I had questions that Watchtower didn't/ couldn't answer. Was told to wait on Gee-hober. Waited, and waited crickets! Then I found Google.
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SnakesInTheTower
I was on a JC that DF a young man for apostasy. I have told the story on this board in the past. He is a member here but I haven't seen him post in a long time.
He had intelligent, legitimate questions. Part of what got me questioning again as an elder. I eventually walked away, but never DF. They know better.
Snakes