SINCE THE END IS NEAR WE CANNOT MISS THE MEETINGS

by What-A-Coincidence 12 Replies latest jw friends

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  What-A-Coincidence

  Well, seems like I can't get away - the Elders my Parents. Dangit!

  My parents and I were watching the news and low and behold ... my mom blurts out, "We are in the end huh?" No! Supposedly we have been in the end since 120 years ago. If you were told that back then would you say the end was close. She would not buy it. So she says, "since the end is near we cannot miss the meetings."

  What in the world do meetings and the end being here have in common?

  What happend to have faith in Jehovah and Jesus? Meetings are not going to save you. Jehovah and Jesus are. I think. I hope. I pray.

  PRAISE ALLAH!
• 

  lovelylil

  Coincidance,

  you make a good point. The Witnesses are too hung up on their meeting schedule routine and listening to every word from the WT as if it is from Jehovah and Jesus themselves. I wonder if any would have enough faith in God to survive an "amegeddon" like they describe IF their precious WT society is destroyed? If no one is there to tell them exactly what to do, what will happen to them? I pray that God opens their eyes soon and releases them from the bondage of false religion a.k.a. Babylon the Great.
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  juni

  I think they should add one more 2-hr. meeting during the week. Now that would separate people!
• 

  jgnat

  Do JW's still circulate the urban legend that KH's are somehow immune from disaster?

  How about a bit of reverse psychology? Get your mom to comment on this article:

  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4787706.stm

  Then ask, "Are Kingdom Halls going to be somehow immune from disaster? Will missing one meeting erase your standing in Jehovah's books? What of invalided JW's in nursing homes and hospitals, will Jehovah spare them because He knows of their heart condition? What about your heart condition? Doesn't that count for something?"
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  blondie

  I think they should add one more 2-hr. meeting during the week. Now that would separate people! The elders and their wives would be the first to revolt. I was reading that in poorer countries that they have all the meetings on Sunday...the only day people are off work. Book study, school, SM, PT, WT study, 5 hours in a row, like a mini special day every week. I remember when the TMS and SM were both 1 hour long, add into that the prayers and songs, add on 20 more minutes. The PT and WT study were each 60 minutes long, and the meeting ran 2 hours and 15 minutes. Boy, I'm old. My grandparents used to go out door to door on Sunday all day, then have the PT and WT study from 6 to 8 pm. That was a long day. The CO used to have another part on Saturday night, so that they met Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. The CA used to be 3 days long having the school and service meeting on Friday evening. Then DCs used to be 8 days long........... Blondie (how did we sit that long?)
• 

  jgnat

  The evangelicals yearn for "revival", the tent meetings of years gone by. I've heard of revivals that lasted a week or more and they would extend late in to the evening. The congregation members strived for the presence of the Holy Spirit, hanging out in an estacy of prayer and song.

  The old style "revival" doesn't fit well these days. I see as our churches matured, the service length has trimmed to something reasonable. When our tired butts say "it's time to go", the pastor swiftly wraps things up.

  I'm not so sure we're losing anything by letting go of the old style revival. I see the difference as between a bonfire and blazing coals. A mature Christian can heal with a touch, a kind word. It doesn't take days or weeks of prayer.

  Sorry about that. My mind went off on a personal tangent. I don't imagine many of you have a similar point of reference or history. I guess where it ties in with the JW's is that THEY HAVE THIS IN COMMON WITH THE EVANGELICALS. A yearning for both the end and for past glories. I don't like it. It keeps them from living with their whole heart IN THE MOMENT. There's a rich field of broken hearts TODAY, waiting to be touched.
• 

  TheListener

  Anyone remember having an intermission between the Public Talk and WT Study?

  or

  Having your written review scores posted on the information board or worse read aloud ?

  How about when Bookstudy Conductors decided on how much material to cover in a night and didn't have such rigid schedules?

  There was a time when the dubs really stood for something. Back in the day we were tough. We took opposition and ate it up and crapped out defiance. There was a time when sitting through an 8 day District Convention was a badge of honor; sunburned and sweaty, waiting in line for an hour to get a lunch or dinner meal and then standing up at the tall tables to eat them. We'd go in service, door to door, not this wimpy laundromat crap, all day. Our feet would ache, our backs would ache, our heads may even ache - all of it was a badge of courage. If you had kids you didn't use that as a reason to stay home you viewed as a reason to go out even more. The congregations were tight. Everyone took care of everyone else. If someone was sick or missing, it was viewed as a duty to find out if they were ok and make sure they got what they needed.

  The heart and soul of the organization is gone. The power behind the preaching work is gone. What's left? Vacant eyes and dull minds.
• 

  Nathan Natas

  I love Blondie's suggestion -- the logic is sublime -- SINCE THE END IS NEAR, WE NEED TO HAVE MORE MEETINGS!

  yay!
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  doinmypart

  When I talk to my wife & other JWs, they complain about being tired, having too much to do, and not enough time. I mention how it would be a good thing if there were fewer and/or shorter meetings. The typical response is, "We should meet together all the moreso as we get closer to the end."

  Rather than meet less, these dubs think they should meet more...the deeper they get in this system of things with all of it's problems the more they need the meetings. I always end up frustrated, picking my jaw up from the floor.

  I know deep down a lot of JWs probably dislike going to so many meetings, and when opportunities come up to miss a meeting they don't shed a tear. In a way I wish the WTS would shorten/eliminate a meeting or two, but that might encourage more JWs to stay. Perhaps if WTS continues to do nothing, more people will leave.
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  jgnat

  Frequent meetings are important to keep the indoctrination cycle going. Even a four day break from the WT mantra, and the genuine personality starts to come to the fore.

  Now, we can't have THAT, can we?