Parents Force An Ultimatum: "Its Either Us or Jehovah!"

[PottersClay]

Okay so my title is an embellishment but I urge you to read the article, very interesting.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/chilliwack-family-blames-rcmp-for-failing-to-return-their-daughter-1.2501557

Now here's the basic story from each perspective.

PARENTS VERSION:

Daughter becomes a witness.

Parents do not.

Daughters degree of involvement with Jehovah's Witnesses is detrimental.

Daughter doesn't do school work but instead goes preaching.

Parents attempted to ground daughter (coincidentally on a meeting night).

Daughter runs away.

Daughter makes false claims that parents forced her to choose between loving with them or serving Jehovah

Parents blame police for not bringing daughter home.

DAUGHTERS VERSION:

Daughter becomes a witness.

Parents do not.

Daughter preaches her newfound faith to those she meets (i imagine as a witness she would be doing her school work also, the article doesn't say but we can safely assume)

Parents attempted to ground daughter (apparently in order to prevent her from attending meetings, a tactic used by opposing husbands/parents)

Parents force child to choose between living under their roof and serving Jehovah with an ultimatum

Daughter chooses Jehovah and leaves home, seeking support of the local congregation and other family.

I've been on this earth long enough to know that teenagers do stupid things and tell lies to get what they want, but trust me when I say there is no worldly teenager on this planet who would associate themselves with Jehovah's Witnesses and preach from door to door as part of some plot to get at their parents, there are easier and more effective ways.

The parents story just doesn't add up. They are basically claiming their daughter is a rebellious teen, which is believable until you realise that their daughters from of "rebelling" is joining a religion with high morals and then preaching about it publicly.

The daughters story, that she has genuine faith to which her parents are opposed to the point where they tried to prevent her from going to the meetings and eventually kicked her out, well that story makes more sense to me because I've read similar accounts many times in the publications.

Now this is just speculation but I imagine the police maybe have realised this also and therefore didn't get involved.

What do you think?

Edited January 18, 2014 by PioZak

[bohemian]

My experience entirely in 1968.

[PottersClay]

My experience entirely in 1968.

I take it you, like me, then are inclined toward the daughters story over the parents version?

[bohemian]

Having had the same experience myself, yes I do. I note the parents do not want to just have their daughter back but to "have counselling". She has been baptized for 2 years, so she knows about respect for parents and obedience. There is more to this than thee parents are saying. They seem to me to be oversimplifying the situation.

I was a little older, 17, and not yet baptized, but had to make the same choice.

[GrumpysWife]

The comments are interesting from other readers. Shows how some feel about us.

[cricket246]

The article says we are not supposed to associate with non witnesses....Wow..are they off! If that's the case, why do we do so much witnessing?!

[Bev]

This story is being repeated every hour on the hour on our national news.

[Bro.David Drake DeLaurento]

In every story there are different perspective of the truth.

I was a cop for many many years.

This is what I learned. There is her truth, the parent's truth and in the middle the whole truth.

[palmhat]

I imagine the police maybe have realised this also and therefore didn't get involved.

What do you think?

I know a child that ran away from home and the police refused to return her to her home because it was pointless. The child would simply run away again. There they are playing wet nurse when there more productive things for them to do. "No one is being harmed so let them handle it through the courts". They will enforce court orders.

Out of curiosity, is there a law that actually says a minor must live at home until the age of accountability? If there is, whst is the penalty?

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[palmhat]

Now that I think about it, a minor can request the status of "emancipated minor" which allows them to choose where to live along with the other adult privileges and responsibilities. Therefore there must be a law requiring children to live where the custodial parent dictates.

-just tinkin-

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Edited January 19, 2014 by palmhat

[Allabord4Jah]

You know if I had parents like her's I'd leave the house too!  Sorry, but no Jehovah's Witness would make or tell a child to leave and or disobey their parents, unless they tried to stop the child or teenager from attending meetings.   There is a young approved publisher in my hall.  She is 19 years old with a child.  She got the truth when she was living with her boyfriend.  She had left her home because her parents did not approve of her choices to live with someone.  Two witnesses came to her apartment with her boyfriend, and she accepted a Bible Study.  She realized after studying that her living in and having a baby out of wedlock was wrong in Jehovah's eyes.  So she told her boyfriend that she wanted to get married and show responsibility for their baby.  The boyfriend put her out of the apartment, so she went back to her parents.  When her parents found out that she was studying with JW's, they put her out.  So now, she is an approved unbaptized publisher, and is temporarily living with a witness couple and is trying to find a job and a place of her own.  The parents said she was brainwashed, and they told her it was better that she was living with the boyfriend.  So in this case, am siding with the daughter who has been baptized for 2 years, and now her parents are fed up because they probably want her to stop going to the hall, going out in service, not celebrating their holidays, not being a part of their sort of life.    So many dear friends out there who are now orphans in the truth, and some in here have experience of being put out (like the unbaptized sister) in this statement) disowned and put out of the home.  

[sunshine]

In my experience there is ALWAYS more to the story than meets the eye.

Jehovah's Witnesses youths are well known for doing their schoolwork and are often the top students so I doubt if a JW youth would neglect her schoolwork and deliberately bring reproach on Jehovah by being disrespectful and lazy.

[MizPeg]

JW children are never orphans in a congregation,are they.

[SunnyG]

The article says we are not supposed to associate with non witnesses....Wow..are they off! If that's the case, why do we do so much witnessing?!

 

As JW's, we are not supposed to associate with non-witnesses. Witnessing is not the same as associating, as a recent WT instructed us.

 

*** w13 2/15 p. 24 Beware of the Intentions of the Heart ***

Our choice of associates.

Of course, some contact with unbelievers—such as at school, at work, and when sharing in the ministry—is unavoidable. It is quite another matter, though, to socialize with them, even cultivating close friendships with them. Do we justify such association by saying that they have many good qualities? “Do not be misled,” warns the Bible. “Bad associations spoil useful habits.”

[RaymondG]

The story highlights the parents' line, "Cassidy's involvement with them has been detrimental to her."

 

There is no explanation. In what way has it been detrimental? Clearly an attack on Jehovah's organisation.

 

By the way, I don't accept that there is always a 'truth in the middle'... one story can be wholly wrong and the other completely true. The truth, in that case, doesn't lie in the middle.

[pinkypie]

When I first read the story I knew something was not right. The article had to leave something out. 17 is a minor and she should be at home. Why didn't the police tell her to return home instead of letting her be? There is a reason why the rcmp did nothing, we just don't know why.

 

I do applaud her for taking a stand for Jehovah. It couldn't have been easy. I don't understand why the parents let her become a Jehovah's Witness and then oppose it later on.

 

Gina

[Kingdomproclaimer1914ce]

I decided not to read the article by examining your comments. Remember, the news media rarely portrays us how we really are.

We are a loving brotherhood. Let's keep positive- do not give the Devil an opportunity!

[cricket246]

What if the person lives with the unbelieving family? What if it's their sibling, parent or child? Wouldn't it be reasonable that they're going to have more association with someone thy live with than with a schoolmate, workmate or householder? Some of this years watchtower articles even encourage us to always keep relatives feelings.

[palmhat]

When I first read the story I knew something was not right. The article had to leave something out. 17 is a minor and she should be at home. Why didn't the police tell her to return home instead of letting her be? There is a reason why the rcmp did nothing, we just don't know why.

I do applaud her for taking a stand for Jehovah. It couldn't have been easy. I don't understand why the parents let her become a Jehovah's Witness and then oppose it later on.

Gina

Gina, one reason ma be because the police tend to feel that they have more important things to do than to tell runways to go home. They can not play judge in these matters. What if the family is sexually abusive and the child would be going into harms way? In child custody cases the police will not force a child who is old enough to decide for themselves to stay in a certain place unless there is a court order stating so.

I do agree that the story is incomplete. News media is notorious for putting their own spin on stories. That is why it can be said that the truth is somewhere in the middle.

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