Sonja Ericsson has been removed... From JW . org website. Shunning video deleted!
In a move we could all see coming, Jehovah's Witnesses have removed their most infamous shunning instructional video from their website.
Originally from the 2016 "Remain Loyal to Jehovah!" convention, the video was later released under the title "Loyally Uphold Jehovah’s Judgments—Shun Unrepentant Wrongdoers". It has been reviewed at midweek meetings and featured heavily in critical media and documentaries and even served as official evidence of JWs harmful shunning practices in courts around the world. Most notably in the January 2024 trial in Norway.
Here is the page for the video captured on October 8th 2024. The video can be played and downloaded from that page.
The link on JW's website is now dead and has been removed from articles referencing it as shown in the current web page for the September 2017 Meeting Workbook.
In the WOL version, the link now redirects to the homepage.
This follows the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses announcement in March 2024 of changes to dealing with "Unrepentant Wrongdoers" including dropping the terms "disfellowshipping" in favor of "removed", and "judicial committee" to "committee of elders". Also announced were changes to how minors are now less likely to face a committee and simple greetings could be said to "removed" JWs at meetings or to invite them to a meeting.
Previously, in May 2023 2 new shunning instructional videos for that summers convention were removed after the first weekend of conventions. An emergency memo was sent to remove the videos from the program going forward.
Those videos along with PID media statements shown in a UK documentary the week of those first conventions can bee seen in this video:
Lets not forget Anthony Morris's last appearance in a GB update video. Down the memory hole it all goes.
Shunning isn't going away anytime soon, as this talk was just released on JW org where Ralph Walls says the suggestion of staying in touch with a disfellowshipped relative is an example of “independent thinking”