it

Soturdoy, April 23, I9BB

ffilllq Methodist bishops chonge thinking on AIDS: B-7

RHLIG[#N U.S. teen sces Bible quiz: B-7 Howoiion minisier beors messoge of the ukulele: B-8
B/6

By Michelle Beorden
hen former Jehovah'e
Witness Linda Welton
hnally got up the cour-
age F cgltact her par-
ents last year, she blocked out'her
fcars of rtjection and dialed the
number of thcir Paradise Valley
home.
A stranger answered. The for-
mcr occul)ants, Welton was told,
had moved back to the Midwest.
IIc wasn't sure rvherr.
"Tlral's when I knew the ties
had really been cut," recalls Wcl-
ton, a 3O-yearold mother of two
and a sales represcntatiye for a
camera compsny. "lIere my par-
ents had moved and didn't even
leave me a forwarding address. If
that's not insult to iniurv. .. ',
Iler voice trails'off and her
bright eyes darken. After a mG
pelt, she regains her composure.
It has been nearly three vearc
since slre has talkcd to hei par-
e.nts, and the pain, though duiled,
Iingers.
The cause of Welton'e.estrange'
men{,.tls one only understood 6v
Jehovah's Witnesies; follower.s of i
3.4 million-member denomination
with worldwide headquarters in
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Irt' the eyes of this apocalyptic
secf;, Welton had committed'iwo
grave sins: She altowed a Chrish
mas tree in the home she shared
wilh.her husband, wlro was raised
a Calholic, and she maintained a
relationship with her vounser
blother, a fornrer Jehova-h's Wil-
ncss'who had been expelled for
wayrtrard bchavior, such' as drink-
ing urrtl snroking.
l,'or her actions, considcredr un-
denlably destructive by the or-
gani/ation, she was "disiellowshipr.
pcq"" in absentia by a :
thrbe-member court of elders'from
hcr'local church. The sentence
carries a heavy penalty: complete
osl,racism by family membera and
fricnds who remain devout WiL
nesses.
ACcording to a spokesman for
the Watchtower Bible and Tract
Q*ig.ty, the group's formal name,
thci'e's sound reason to banish
Jehovoh's Wilne:ses shun oll members who leove rhu ioia; o proctici thot splits up mqny fomilies.
membere who have either resigned
or been expclled from the church.
"lt's nol something we pulled
out of the air. It's .a scriptural
rtt;uilenrcnt righ! out of the lli-
ble," Fred Rusk says in a tele-
phone intcrryiew from the church'g
.. .:,
adquartere in Brooklyn
ft'"Yes,
it can be traumatic. But
sometimes a traumalic situation
can help a person underaland the
truth and lead him back to the
right pa[1r."
Rusk says the number.of mem-
' reiterates the Biblical mandat'e of different light Against her par-
shunning former membero, r& ents' wisheg eho stBrted working
. minding followere that such disci-
' pline is a "te6t of loyalty to God'
i Lo Vems Horrir, Phocnix Gozelle
: trerg who leave annually, either
through voluntary disaEsociation
or expulsion by a committee from
their local church, is confidential.
In the April 15 issue of Watch-
tower magazine, published semi-
monthly by the society, an article
hou$e
dtui ded
full-time at Smitty's and attending
claeses at Phoenix C,ollege.
and "can yield peaceable fruit." Not only did her commitments
Rusk says: "We're not anxious cut into her church-going t!me, it
to kick people out of the organiza- also opened up a new circle of
tion. We glve fallen membere friende and experiences. Welton
every opportunity to repent. But if started questioning the religion's
they continue to ignore the truth, rigid regulations and eventually,
then we have no choice but to take
after her marriage to a Catlrolic,
this action." she drifted away from the organi-
That explanation doers not ease zation.
the burden for WelLon, who, since It wasn't until she was officially
her expulsion, has given birth to
expelled by the church elders that
her second child and has been Welton felt the ultimate blow of
severely injured in a car accidenL her actions.
Neither event was enough to
"lf you've never been a Witness,
resiore the support of her parents you're a potential \Yitness. There's
and older sister. still hope for you," she explains,
"You can understand why I bitterness edging into her voiee.
consider the Witnesses a culL "But a Witness who knows the
What kind of religion pits family 'truth' and gives it up? You're no
members against each other?" she better than the spit on the ground.
88y8. And that's just how you're
It angers Welton that she must treaced."
pay such a dear price for leaving Jack Schulze, a substitute
an organization that wasn't even teacher who serves as the overseer
her choice in the first place. Raised for Tempe-area Jehovah's Wit
in the Baptist faith, her parents declined io be interviewed
nesses,
became Jehovah's Witnesses when about shunning, saying "it's better
she was 10. Living under her off to be misundersbood than to
parent's roof, she had no choice have something in print that can't,
but to conform to the Witness be understood."
lifestyle. "What you have (with shunning)
That meant not attending high ia good people doing hard things
school and earning a correspond- for the sake of righteousness," he
ence degree ins[ead, so she could. says. "Read the Bible
and it will
"pioneer" door-todoor for the - make sense."
church to recruit new memberg. David Brown, a volunteer who
The church bases its beliefs on the
Bible's teaching that "bad associa-
counsels former Witnesses through
tions apoil useful habits," and the nondenominational
OmegaMinist,ries in
Alpha and
Phoenix,
frowns upon schooling past the thinks otherwise. A Protcslant
etaie's mandatory requ i remen t.
who convertcd to thc Jelrovah's
It meant not, celebrating birth- Witnesses against his palents'
days or holidays, because the wishes when he was 15, Brown
organization believes these are
spent 11 years in the organization,
heathenish activities. There was
no need to register to vote, because
including three years working at
the headquarterg in the publishing
that also is forbidden.
department.
It meant mainly aseociating "I bought the whole story. I
with other Jehovah'e Witnesses, believed ii all, even enough to
attending the required five meet'
ings a week, and essgntially mak- work in New York in exchange for
ing the church the cenler of her my ?oom and board and $'30 a
life. month," says Brown, now a book-
When Welton moved into her binder. "I was dedicated to God's
own apartment at age 19, she service and I thought,I was making
began to see the world in a See I Shunned, B-7

Fomily, friends shun former Jehovoh's Witness -mig!"Uoo.

Becrden m
By Michelleif.d*- w eu per - iocluding his ucle, After Ftau ia a Nry ir its fourth printing, it ba sld
Pheni'Ge.E ick llana the orgrniztionb pgidoi Ftaurot with lhe diwiatcd mem- l8,000opieedhs'bffinalheb@kof
Ray Fn-u -vc fu frcm a ruual gia6 19?Z w in ofiw tbit r;skd ber, the tel leden had the amuition reirra fdr fallen Witnseq ;[. ;;;
obsenerofhisfaith.
_
_-spulsion. -
.IlEi peDalty me sith u toousttrlae tims lind it dilliolt to re'rlairc tUeir
_ A thild€enentior Jehovah's Witnesq wia stiffer *nteie: He faed shwirg So ia the a4 it ru aot Fns's felingstothewlarworld" . .:. ,
Fnnzdevoted nerly 40;ren ofhis life to by his Jehovah's Witns fuily ad dci'rinal dimioir that sled hjs fate lhJfaithful, ho*e"e., have been forbid-
.

brb +ot_.!t, +rgDC _T nesly every friends.

@pacity. He @lminated his stellar erer . Although his detrac'toE we re wble to 'tl"y r"t" the diwiplinary policia banned by the wiety u heretiel.
with.a nin+year. stint at the top^* a g€i ttt" -t**tlia" @jority ,rcte_ to od thiy-harc tli; p"d;;''d-;b;il ttt"oic-l^tion'sentiallyondemns
memDer ol lE ellE and lowefiul l$man q@muhi@te him, Ftu wa forced to thrcushi Fru svi of the remine iuderndent thinkine. This is a sond-
gowmhg body' mign frcm the govmirg board iu 1980 board. "It c@t6 a ilmst siegi nentai: hand faith, where yo-u do as you're !old,"
_
But then Franz did the uthinkable He in a pwe thal-included about a d%! ity. I wrcte *oi l"tt"n ufuryi.d oking he uys. "If the soiiety tells iou to jumir,
began to doubt_the t€achings *t forth by officiais. - foi u iui thei wouldn't erei your'only
his peeE. at the Watchtower Bible ad At 58. he found hirelf with oo lbb disifv thth with an aclinowledgement of Ligh?'
"pp""t, ,' - mpore- shouli be, "How
TEctsciety, the grcup's fomal nme. pmpests, lto,ooo in sveme pay ina r#ipl t Ua b*.u. non-peno*n." -noUe.t Johmn, a spoksman who
"Whenthercrlddidn'tendin1975," $600 in pemnal svings. A W-itrs tn'1984,Fn@brchehGm@deof works8ttfieBruklynheadquarten,uys
Fmu sys in a phone itrteiliew frcn his frieud, Peter Gregemn of Gadsden, Ala., ailoe about bis strugle io a elf-oub there is no official iommad uol to re;d
home neu Atlanta, "I had to eriouly @e [o his 8id, I@ins Fw md his lishedbok'Ctisisof 6reiene.'It'w* tJleb@k.Ateynte.hedoubtsWitns
qustion all the_ other pledictions that fell wife a hou* lrailer ad finding bin work his my of iepoading to the thowds of would have ay interst in il
by the walside, too. The more-- I e c a hudyman. fomei or oitused -Witnffi who had nVe,re had other people lmve and
srched, lhe more I ws disturbed."
-
h 1981, Gregemon's om seriou doubts written FnDz, shaing their m storie miie b@ks. We,re ully nirt iniercted in
Toquestiotrthedogmastforthbyhis aboui the Wiines dogna led to his orprirbinghiDwithqu6tioN. SreIFrnr,B-7
 E Frsnz From 8-6

following up the accounts of the those assertions fell flat" too.

disgruntl€d oneq," Johnson sayo.
"Our position is that Bome PeoPIe
have honorable motives, and oth-
ers have less than that."
Although the book grves an
insider's account of the generally
closed society, it can't be labeled
an exposd, chock-full of shocking
revelations. In straight talk, the
author detaile decisions made bY
the governing board based on
"God's law," the affect those dic'
tums have had, and how thoee
decisions could be reversed bas€d
on human whims.
. "It's an amazing Power, even
grealer than the Frope's control of
the Roman Catholic Church. Just
one board, controlling thousands of
publicatione, every regulation and
every concept. I could no longer
partake in that power with a clear
conscience," he Bays. "It's their
way of telling the followers they
don't trust them to use their own
minds."
The society, which had modest
beginnings in the earlY 1870s as a
Bible study group in Pennsylvania,
now claims 3.4 million members.
That ligure shows a resurgence
from an exodus in 1975, Franz
slq when disillusioned Witnesses
lefl en masse after the societY's
prediction of the world's end thai
year didn't materialize.
According to society lit,erature,
the world also was supposed to end
in 1914, 1918 and 1925 but
- I
Although the sect shies awaY from
dates these days, it now maintains
Armageddon will take place "bs
fore the generation that saw'the
events of 1914 passes awaY."
If that's the case, the end is
near. And preparing for the end is
a full-time pursuit for Witnesses,
who believe they will be sPared
God'g wrath and will live forever
in a "paradise on Earth" after the
rest of the population ie annihi'
lated by Jehovah and sent to the
eternal grave. A select grouP of
144,000 followers of which
Franz had been' -considered a
member will be born again and
-
go to heaven.
"lt'B an elitist way of thinking
that has no room for anY other
theology," Ftanz Bayo.
Like any other exPelled mem-
ber, Franz has no contact with his
family and former friends. Never'
theless, he saye life ig "far more
meaningful, far more rewarding"
since hia departure.
It's also free of organized reli'
gion and the rules that accomPany
ir
"l can look at other PeoPle's
faith now without judging. I can
in other beliefs,
recognize the good
and I know how to have an oPen
mind," he Bays. '"That is the
example set by Jesus Christ. Un- Ynoenx Gozette
uozetre
fortunately, it is contrary to the
' Engebrotson, Phoenix
NoncY Engebrolson,
Noncy
system set for the Jehovah'e Wit" Volunleer Dovid Brown counsets former or confused Jehovoh's
nesse8.tt Witnesses tfrrough Alpho ond Omego Ministries.
I

i : i.
: From 8-6
s Shunned last name revealed, epent 21 years in the
the ultimate commitmenl con[act is forbidden. '

Members who defy the society's dictums - 'organization until she,

Like most rffitnesses, Brown was prepared
for the world to end in 19?5, a date predicted by
the society's high-powered goverltlg bof4
baecd on Biblical interpretations. When 1975
pa.ssed without Armageddon' the disillusion'
ment and doubt began to set in.
Brown's questioning of the society's interpr*
tation of the Bible and his own research led to'
his resignalion in March 1980. Although tlg **
her husband and their
decided to leave in 1979.
such as reading forbidden anti'Witness materi' l2lyearold daughter
als or associating with former lVitnesees - risk Lilie many
former Witnesses, ehe had been
ranks would lead to
being expelled themselves. For that reason, a warned that departing the
in alcohol, drugs and
Valley elder who joined Brown in an intcrview a demonic existence mired
insisted on anonymity for fear of losing his other immoral activities.
standing with the organization. I Instead, Jan say they have found the "kind of
"I've seen the practice in action. I've sat on things they don't tell you about -
freedom,
happi ness and conientment."
the judicial commitLee that makes those independence,

braced
-to
aeal with the shunning, it still wag
painful to be cut off from his former peer8.
"I had good friends and good times as a
Witness," he aays. "My biggest problem is with
the leadere, who claim so much authority.
Their track record of failed prophecies and
strained theology wa.s unacceptable to me."
Not being a Witness required adjus[ment'at
home because his wife did not follow his path.
The aociety "highly regards", the marriage
Bacrament irnd only considers aduitery a sound
reason for dissolving a union. It does not
require couples to divorce when one leaves the
organization, Brown sa)r, but any spiritual
decisions," the elder says. "It can cause such "The disfellowshipping is just their way of
pain and bitterness. I'm not comfortable with punishing Xou, emotionally and - mentally.
iL" ': Feople tt'ith-*eak minds can't stand.up q iL"
Ba!B; "lf that'a not I brainwashing
In the elder's opinion, the practice of Jan- techniqrie,I don't know what is-"
disfellowshipping and shunning "keeps qgoRle
in ignoranie" and puts more emp}esia on But like all former members, the threesome
orgaiizational requirements than Biblical bs has had to live with the pain of being shunned
liefs. by family and.friende.
"It was, like gtarting all over,' she' says.
'There is so much good in the eociety"' he
says softly. "But if I could change one thing, it "Still, we don't trave a single regret over
would be allowing more coneideration for one's leaving. If anything, we're angry at ourselves
own @nscience, iather than laying down rules for being so durnb and staying in so long. Never
and making all meinbers march fo their tune'o again witt I accept things blindly without'
' Jan, a Scottsdale'woman who didn'! want her questionng or researching."
't.' ,,,.. i..,-...