The Idiocy and Craziness of WT Society Appointed Elders

by flipper 68 Replies latest members private

• 

  flipper

  It was one of the main things that caused my awakening, my epiphany to the injustices of the WT Society - and initially caused me to stop attending meetings altogether over 14 years ago . When I saw firsthand how underhanded , unjust and unfair these men acted I reasoned within myself that there was no way in hell any of these men had been appointed by an imaginary " holy spirit " . Not only in the way I was treated - but in how I saw other JW's abused as well.

  Here are some of the things I saw and I'd love to read your experiences as well . I didn't exit the JW's totally until age 44 in 2003, but way back in 1980 I was working for a JW elder who refused to pay any of his employees time and a half for overtime and whenever someone would call for him business wise he'd tell us to tell them " he's not there " . Eventually I confronted this elder about paying me the time and a half for overtime and he lowered my wage 45 cents an hour for the 40 hours per week , then paid me " time and a half " so I made the same as I did with my earlier wage of $ 4.75 an hour for 50 hours a week. He'd say " SEE ? I'm paying you time and a half ! " I quit that job.

  Also in 1983 I knew an elder who was abusive physically and emotionally towards his wife and teenage daughter. My first JW ex-wife and me knew the daughter and her JW fiancé and she opened up to us about the horrors going on in her father's home. It got so bad that this 18 year old JW young lady moved into a trailer provided by some other JW. This elders daughter went to the elders about her father being abusive and they eventually looked into it and removed him as an elder. But he fought tooth and nail about being removed - even wrote a letter to the WT Society contesting his removal ! And he took me aside at the kingdom hall telling me in a hushed tone, " Flipper, I know you and your wife associate with my daughter. I want you to know that she's on slippery ground spiritually and if I were you I'd stop associating with her because she is dangerous spiritually. " I just kind of filed it in my head disbelieving him and told the elders how this man was dissing his own daughter trying to get us to turn against her. So the elders gave a talk telling the congregation NOT to listen to anybody tell them to stop associating- that it was the body of elders decision- not one man's decision. I guess I should have expected it with this elder - this same elder stated over the platform in a talk and told me in person one time that , " it's better for a man to visit a prostitute than to masturbate because masturbation is so selfish . "

  You can't make this stuff up- I swear. I knew of elders who had molested their own children , also abusive to their wives- yet still remained elders because they got 10 hours a month in field service, answered at meetings, and " faithfully " gave their assigned talks at the Ministry School. Yet in their private home lives - they weren't " Christian " at all.

  What finally made me exit the organization is in my 2nd marriage I had a non-JW wife ( only married a year and a half until 2003 ) who unknown to me was a methamphetamine drug abuser. The main Presiding Overseer had known me years before in another town. He and the elders KNEW how hard it was for me to attend meetings once I found out about my wife's drug addiction as she was violent in a mental way and in time got physically abusive to me as well. We tried marriage counseling- but it didn't work . 3 months after my 2nd wife left in 2003 - I was having a coffee at a Starbucks with a lady who worked for me in my business. We were in between jobs. So when I went to the next meeting on Tuesday night the elders ( led by this P.O. who knew me ) hauled me into the back room . Initially I thought , " how loving , perhaps these elders are concerned about how I'm doing after my wife left " . That wasn't on their agenda at all .

  The P.O. started telling me that I was only separated and not scripturally free to " date " someone. He said some JW's saw me in the Starbucks coffee shop with another woman and even though I'm separated from my wife I should not be alone with a woman- dating. I told these elders " she's just a worker and we got coffee in between jobs ! " . Then they asked if I touched her inappropriately , did I " fondle her breasts " or touch her " private areas " ? They asked me "did she touch your penis " ? Shocked I said, " This is INSULTING ! She's just a worker, we were doing business ! " ( I should have just told them - Yeah, we went into the restroom and gave into our carnal pleasures ! But I digress. )

  So the P. O. says , " You should get back with your drug addicted wife. Even though she refuses to let your daughters visit you and wants you to visit your daughters at a neutral location in a park. " I asked, " What kind of advice is THAT ? Treat my daughters like 2nd class citizens ? I totally disagree. " Then a younger elder shot his mouth off at me, " Flipper you stated that you and your wife got marriage counseling. It makes us wonder how serious you took the marriage counseling if you then are out at a Starbucks on a date with someone new so soon ! " ( By this time I was SO pissed off at these guys I wanted to crawl across the table and strangle the neck of this cocky younger elder. ) So I pointed my finger at him and stated, " I took my marriage seriously . You ask any of my JW family, parents, teenage children - I am horrified and offended at you elders imputing wrong motives to me. The reason my marriage broke up was my wife's drug addiction - NOT the fact I had coffee with someone at Starbucks 3 months after she left ! At that- I stormed out of the back room before the meeting, picked up my books off my seat and never went to another JW meeting again. Ever.

  It was obvious these elders ( especially the P.O. who knew me ) had already made up their minds that my " sin " of having coffee at Starbucks with a female was what I should be "disciplined " for - not the fact that my wife LEFT ME due to her drug abuse. So- that's my story. I've been free of this cult for 14 years now ! Never been happier, been married to Mrs. Flipper going on 11 years and we're doing well. So what experiences and stories do YOU have or know of where elders have attempted to sabotage your life or lives of people that you knew ? Any idiotic or crazy experiences that prove to you that indeed- the elders never had what they call appointment by " holy spirit " ? Feel free to share any and all experiences regarding this. It just may be the kind of awakening some JW needs that's sitting on the fence right now in order to jump off the fence to the side of freedom and escape the Jehovah's Witness cult. Thanks for reading & listening, peace & love to you all, Mr. Flipper
  
• 

  snowbird

  Dear Flipper.

  I'm so glad you're now doing ok.

  I've mentioned to you already about the control freak of an elder whose wife had to ask him which size eggs to buy.

  Also, how he got so upset in field service due to the fact that she was talking animatedly with a good-looking male householder.

  I remember thinking, this man is nuts!

  The fruits that Holy Spirit produces are totally absent in this person, so how COULD it be maintained that his appointment is by HS?

  If any Spirit at all, it is the spirit of the Evil One.

  Good interacting with you; give Mrs Flipper my regards, please.

  Love.

  Sylvia
• 

  Landy

  On the other hand the elders in the congregation I used to go to were very nice.

  People are people it appears.

  Being a JW doesn't make you an arsehole, someone can be perfectly capable of being an arsehole whether they're an elder or not; whether they're a JW or not.
  
• 

  freemindfade

  Glad you made it through all that uncle Flipper with your sanity intact.

  I remember several occasions the elders overreached. Often they were acting as the enforcement arm of those in the congregation with paper thin skin. And then it would follow you forever. Have a bunch of people over, everyone has a riot, nothing bad happens, but someone you decided to have over feels that there was a lot of drink, and maybe someone had too much to drink (75% they didn't have anything to drink they were just having fun). Then inevitably the elders would come around to interrogate everyone. Frustrating, embarrassing, and just so unnecessary.

  The other thing would be something happened with someone else, and I had no clue, but because we had somehow crossed paths at some point, I knew about some "sinning" going on. Maybe someone was at my house, or vice versa, they later went their way and who knows what they did with who, but now the elders are basically dragging clueless me into, and making me aware they were up to something I had no idea about! Also irritating and careless with those individuals privacy.

  One of the last, was with music, I was in a band, and several other young ones had bands too. Our music was rock/alternative, but IMO relatively mild. Some of the other bands were heavy metal, like super heavy. I didn't care we all played together, shared some band mates in different bands. Well as soon as we put our bands on MySpace (dating myself), the shit hit the fan. and elder and his MS son-in-law had it out for us. They complained, elders dragged us all in the back. 1. for the demonic music, and 2. for Myspace, yes there was a time JWS stayed the hell off social media. Well I was pissed, I was older than most the others and I stood up to the elders. I actually went off on them, I rarely get upset but I was mad. Of all the shit young people could be involved in, they are railing on this kids for playing music. Once I got pissed man the elders tune changed, they turned into bitches real quick when I got in their face and called Bull shit on the whole thing, I said I knew whey and mentioned the Elder MS that started the whole thing. Nothing came of it, nothing ever came of any of it, except making me not trust my "brothers" and "sisters".

  Every situation usually boiled down to someone being jealous, jealous they weren't involved more often, or just out of pure petty nonsense. The brain dead elders couldn't do anything but play along with it.
• 

  konceptual99

  On the other hand the elders in the congregation I used to go to were very nice.
  People are people it appears.
  Being a JW doesn't make you an arsehole, someone can be perfectly capable of being an arsehole whether they're an elder or not; whether they're a JW or not.

  This of course is true however people do some things only because they are wearing a JW hat. It seems that sometimes the hat turns you into an arsehole for a while.
• 

  Wasanelder Once

  I was installing a sound system in the home of my boss. She bought a new TV and wanted surround sound, you remember those days? I was there for dinner and worked on it enjoying the company till 9 at night. The phone call came the next day for a summons to the little room of the Kingdom Hall on the following Sunday. After asking why, I was told I had spent the evening alone with a single lady. I ascertained that the elder calling me had sat in a car outside the house to confirm the suspicion. Someone had called him. (It turned out to be an obsessed sister whom I had rejected.) It took a great deal of effort to get him to tell me who it was. I told him I wouldn't meet with the elders unless he named my accuser.

  The fact was that my boss's 80 year old father was with us the whole time, for dinner and good company.

  This elder was supposedly my friend. I pointed out that he had to drive 5 miles to stakeout my boss's house till dark but couldn't drive a mile to visit me in three years. That sort of paranoia was among the final indignities I endured. I made their lives hell after that by making them suspicious of everything I did. A very public fade began then.
  
• 

  snowbird

  So true, Kon.

  Another example:

  A young brother started up a lawn care business.

  An elder who had a similar business became jealous because Young Brother was able to to get the big jobs - large houses along the river bank.

  This jealous man tried to sabotage Young Brother, but was not successful.

  He did, however, hasten Young Brother's departure from JW's.

  No Holy Spirit at work there!

  Sylvia.
• 

  Tallon

  To be honest; in all the years I was associated with the JW's, (beginning 1981) I had no issues with any of the elders I came into contact with, however, things changed in 2007. My wife had a breakdown and was hospitalised. I was at my wits end trying to cope and hold everything together. I turned to our bookstudy conductor for support and encouragement. I received none from him. In fact, he turned against me. That was the end for me. From then on, it was a gradual downward spiral leading to me eventually becoming inactive around 2014.
• 

  snowbird

  They have no use for those who can't produce 100%, Tallon.

  Reminds me so much of the Old South plantation/sharecropping system.

  And, even in that system you would sometime find a caring owner who made sure his tenants were treated kindly and equitably.

  Even more should "Jehovah's spirit-directed organization" do so.

  Sylvia
• 

  LongHairGal

  HI FLIPPER:

  Your post is great and it makes me bristle to think these men have the audacity to give unsolicited marital advice when you already told them the gravity of the situation, but to also ask nervy and intimate questions like this. I'm glad you got up and walked out.

  It is especially shocking to read about the JW who did not want to pay employees fairly...This is probably very common and perhaps ONE reason the religion knocks college:..they want desperate JWs to work for these corrupt "brothers"!!

  I did not know what I was getting into when I walked into a Kingdom Hall. I am now convinced that the JWs feel their religion gives them license to overstep boundaries, violate people's right of privacy and just disrespect them - not to mention trying to exploit and control them. After being out about sixteen years I can evaluate it all with a clear head.

  Even though several things led up to my finally walking out of the Witness religion, it was this meddling and disrespect that topped the list of unacceptable things I would not tolerate!