****Mormon/JW Similarities

Posted by Fred Goff [FredGoff] on November 10, 1999 at 05:52:05 {AAJB0ph6mYHjeBrKyFOkEK8l6G4Za6}:

In Reply to: ***Mormon/JW Similarities posted by staceyb on November 09, 1999 at 11:43:06:

Some of them. Some points to consider:

These folks are now generally hostile to the church, so take their stories with a grain of salt.

There are some ex-mormon sites that practice deliberate falsehood. Take any material you find there as suspect at best.

It may be true that individual members have avoided them. The question would be why. If a former member of my faith were constantly attacking me for still believing in it, I would probably avoid
him or her, too.

While some individuals may practice "shunning" it is not an official policy or doctrine in the Church. The church discourages the practice in strong terms and bishops would likely counsel with members who were seen to be practicing it.

Church disciplinary actions are kept confidential. Only those directly involved in the action know about it, and even then, they only know as much as they need to. Also, if those who know about such action are found gossiping about it, they themselves will face church discipline. Bishops have been excommunicated for irresponsible handling of sensitive information about member standings within a ward.

I can only speak to my personal experience.
- In our ward we have a number of disfellowshipped and excommunicated members. One was recently re-baptized into the church and the bishop is now working with him to get his temple ordinances, priesthood, etc. restored. While he works toward that goal, he serves in various capacities within the ward.
- Another man, who is still excommunicated, was a key person in helping the ward to re-roof the home of a single mom whose husband left her a number of months ago. He is a contractor and helped those of us up on the rooftop with hammers and nails get the shingles down right. I don't even think most people know he is excommunicated. I didn't until he told me, and I still don't know for what, nor is it any of my business.
- Still another member wound up in prison. He was visited weekly by the bishop and several members of the ward took up a collection for him so that he could purchase items in the prison. Some members gave up a part of their home to store his stuff while he was in jail.