The Journal of a U.S Bethelite – Part 2

This article is Part 2 of a series of articles published once every two weeks.

This series is based on the a series of Reddit posts originally posted on the subreddit r/exjw.

Introduction and Comments by Lester Somrah. Published on August 17, 2023

Introduction

If you are reading this article for the first time and/or not familiar with Jehovah’s Witnesses, you are invited to read the Introduction of Part 1.

The Life of a Bethelite - Part 2

Welcome to Part 2.

First of all, I want to share my opinion on the subject that many have touched on regarding our dear friend TOMO3. This matter is very closed off. I believe that the only ones who know the details are the members of the Governing Body.

But let's pay attention to the announcement. Normally, in Bethel, when a brother who has served for many years leaves due to a non-serious issue, the announcement goes as follows: "Brother XX concludes his assignment in Bethel today. We are very grateful for the years he has served in Bethel. We wish Jehovah's continued blessings on Brother XX and his wife." But in TOMO3's case, it was different. We only had the information that he is no longer a member of the Governing Body.

This leads us to understand that it was not something good that led to his departure. That is 100% clear. The way the announcement was made is very similar to a disassociation or reproof announcement, where the announcement would simply state: "XX is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses/XX has been disassociated/XX has been dismissed from Bethel/XX has been reproved."

The difference in TOMO3's announcement is that at least we had the word "Brother" in his announcement. Another important detail is that even if someone is sick or has a non-"spiritual" problem, they do not cease to be members of the Governing Body.

Some asked in the comments of the previous post why the sheep are not being informed of what really happened with him. It's very simple, a company always has to maintain its public image. The WT is no different, here we should only talk about something positive.

Can you imagine what would happen to over 8 million people if they were informed that TOMO3 was expelled or reproved for something he did...? Or if more details about the reasons for his departure were given, considering that the over 8 million people are taught that the members of the Governing Body are guided by the Holy Spirit? Undoubtedly, it would be a problem that would awaken many.

Another detail that leads us to see that it wasn't something good that caused his removal is because almost all the videos of the morning worship were removed from the website. The Broadcasting videos that are still there were used in various publications as activity guides (including the book used for conducting Bible studies). Another reason is that the Broadcasting is complex by nature. But I believe it won't take long for them to be removed. However, there were two planned videos, one of which was leaked and then deleted. They were all from the morning worship.

I will address another topic in this post, which is the concern of the Governing Body about what is posted on the website. Recently, we had two videos about disassociation removed. These videos were deleted due to the pressure that the legal department is facing regarding cases related to disassociation. Especially with the recent case in Norway, where the organization stated that they do not discourage association with disfellowshipped members, it would not make sense to publicly show a video with a tutorial on how to treat a disassociated individual, contradicting what they claimed not to do. This has been recurring lately. They go after what they have produced to review or even delete it.

But all of this happens because this community exists. You are causing sleepless nights for those 9 men. Keep doing it.

Recently, we had a morning worship where Jeffrey Winder appears talking to Bethelites about dressing properly. This video will not be released to the public. It will only be used in Bethel. In the video, he tells the members to dress properly so as not to be a stumbling block for others who strive to see the sisters in a chaste way. I pray for the video to leak soon.

That's all for today. See you next time.

Brief Comments

Most of the original post of Part 2 provided some details surrounding the removal of Anthony Morris III from the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses in February 2023. Shortly thereafter all the religious videos of Jehovah’s Witnesses that he made an appearance, was deleted from their official website.

For the congregation annoucement regarding a Jehovah’s Witness who has been disfellowshiped or disassociated themselves (resignation or termination), please see Shepherd the Flock of God for further details.

Regarding Norway, in 2022 Jehovah's Witnesses lost both access to State funding and their registration as a religion. This is as a resulting of their religious practice of shunning a member after they have been disfellowshiped or disassociated. The Government of Norway found that this harmful practice is an infringement on the rights of the child and an infringement on the freedom of religion of individual Jehovah's Witnesses. You can find more on Norway by using the search bar on top of this page.

Whilst all this was happening in Norway, Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses of Jehovah's was at the same time producing two (2) tutorial videos that promotes shunning for their upcoming 2023 annual conventions. These two videos was removed from the 2023 convention tutorial videos in May 2023. Furthermore, convention committees were given explicit directives not to show the videos (See Annoucements dated May 18 2023). Please see Jehovah’s Witnesses Mysteriously Delete Shunning Videos for further details.

Lester Somrah

Lester Somrah writes about the beliefs and practices of Jehovah’s Witnesses on his social media platforms and was baptized as a member in 1998.