by metatron 18 Replies latest jw friends
i got so sick of sitting by myslef in the kingdom hall, trying my best not to hear what the elders were SCREAMING about... i was fourteen years old, with school the next day and i had to sit in that hall by myself till way past midnight so many times... it sucked hard!
the infamous one
vm44
I wish id seen that book a few years back. There was a brother in my hall who was a complete brown nose and was desperate to be an elder, they passed him over a few times cos they knew how a lot of us felt about him, then he was eventually appointed, it was inbelieveable !
I would have given him that book anonymously just to see if it had worked.
Ive been told lately how hes now running the show, yuck
Although I loved and respected my father very much, it was clear to me that during the 1980's when he was in his mid-70s, that his mental faculties were failing. Now in his 90s, he suffers from Alzheimers and will spend his remaining days in a care facility.
The problem was that he was still an active JW and on the rotating commitee of elders in his Kingdom Hall. My father was never very bright, and tended to see everything in black and white. He was one of those Witnesses that was convinced (after sending me books and Watchtower magazines that clearly stated the prophecy) that he and all the other JWs had only assumed that 1975 was going to be the start of Armageddon. When I quoted right from the publications he sent me in 1974 and 1975 that said that everyone should expect Armageddon to arrive in the Fall of 1975, he still refused to reason with me. He kept saying that the local JWs were so hopeful that they "went ahead of Jehovah" - but not the Watchtower Society and the old geezers sitting on the Governing Body.
I commented to my sister on a couple of occasions that I could not believe that Dad could sit on the KH elders commitee and make reasoned decisions about the fates of other members. He could barely remember his own name or what had happened to him the day before. And the fact that the KH would even let him serve in that capacity was ludicrous. My sister would just comment that Jehovah was helping him and that Jehovah would really be making the decisions for him.
Kind of like having Ronald Reagan run for a third term...
I wonder how many younger brothers were attending that would have loved to have held that position - that really could have been effective - but couldn't until my father resigned from the commitee or simply could not show up any longer.
I wonder how many of the Governing Body during the 1980s and 90s were suffering from various stages of Alzheimers or geriatric dementia, and yet were still making decisions for the entire organization. Kind of a scary thought, huh?
Juan Viejo
In the world of the Theocratic man there is complete service to God and token service. Complete service means never saying "NO" to any assignment.
An elder I knew was on the fast track up the elder ladder. He was a good speaker, had a charming personality, people liked him and he knew what things to worry about and what not to worry about. The body assigned him as a book study conductor along with his other duties, but having two kids, one with a learning disability and a wife with health problems, he declined to take the position. He knew that he was at his limit of what he could do. He told me that he knew he was giving his best and that if he tried to do more, it would just cause the rest of service and his family obligations to suffer. The other elders reprimanded him for not trusting in Jehovah. They told him that when an opportunity for serving came, you always took it and Jehovah would provide a way to handle it. He wasn't quite that stupid, he knew it was too much and stuck to his guns. The other elders then kept an eye on him, not trusting him completely.
I agree with Juan Viejo about some elders being scary in the mental aptitude department. My poor Uncle by marriage was very friendly and likeable. He was from the deep south, had little education and did odd jobs. But, he and my aunt were avid meeting and field service attenders, and most importantly, they gave parties! He was so anxious to make elder and finally did. He was old fashioned and narrow minded in his views of women's roles and had no children. Those poor people who had to abide by his decisions- he had no idea what he was talking about! My exjw friend at work and I shake our heads about our elder co-worker. He needs lots of new light (dim bulb, lol)! I said, "Ohmigod, C., and he's sitting on a comittee meeting tonight!" It's really not funny...
Juan Viego -- A BIG WELCOME to the JWD, and for your first post. Interesting Bio, too! Thanks for showing up and sharing.
Thank you very much for the kind words and welcome to the bbs. I have so many bad memories of my relationships with the various servants at my local KH - and this was in the 50s-60s when the more restrictive rules on DF and DA were not in place.
JV
Metatron, I love the way you have stripped this subject down to bare bones, open and honest. I also love the feedback from everyone else. Having been there and done that, I can only agree and wish that I had wised up a long time ago.
I tried and tried to do my best, shielding the poor innocents from what I thought were over eager elders, only to have it blow up in your face.
I refused an assignment, they said in this open forum we can be honest and nominate for the position, I nominated, but then an "old boy" said he wanted an older elder on the job, so that was me out. They then had a more menial job that needed to be done, perhaps I could do that? I said NO I AM NOT INTERESTED IN DOING THAT....
You know what happened after that? We had at that meeting the "Circuit Assembly" overseer, he decides who gives talks at conventions......
Just one experience stating the same. Not to mention late nights, consumning petty problems [that Satan....he's saying dont blame me, I had nothing to do with it!!] Politics, Team playing, and on and on.
Hey, what if i want to counsel Ms.NIcemelons?
isnt that the real reason elders get into the "business"? They get the cream of the crop as far as the sisters go, not the pioneers, i'm talking about the Hot ones.
