guidlines for dress and grooming as laid out by CO

by bluebeads 25 Replies latest jw friends

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  bluebeads

  So the CO visited my cong and at the MS and elders meeting the brothers were told that those wiht parts on the platforms must not have sideburns, mustaches, beards or shaved heads because it is worldly. As well bright colorful dress shirts are not permitted eother because it distracts from the "important message" of the talk. There was also heavy counsel on tattoos.

  On a totally different topic, I was talking to my mom the other day and she was going on about how free she would be in paradise. I reminded her she would still be with my dad (both are JW's). Some how she has this belief that in paradise Jehovah will abolish their marriage and she won't be a married woman anymore. For the record, they do not get along at all and my mom has endured a great amount of emotional trauma from being married to my dad..i won't get into details. SO she believes that jehovah will answer her prayers and let her be single again in paradise. We got into a huge argument on this and at the end i just bursted out laughing..she's trapped isn't she?
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  AudeSapere

  The grooming code you described seems the same as I remember hearing back in the 70's.

  SO she believes that jehovah will answer her prayers and let her be single again in paradise.

  Surely a just and loving god will destroy her mean-spirited husband at armageddon. (This may be what she's thinking but doesn't want to say so.)
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  SirNose586

  Hooray for man-made traditions!!!

  I guess this CO would have an issue with me out in Liberal Dub-land. Our PO has a moustache, everybody wears colored shirts no matter what, up until Sunday there was a brother with a completely shaved head, and I sport nearly earlobe-length sideburns. I understand what he says about tatoos...no way could I look at a speaker with neck or facial tatoos and not glare at them.

  Otherwise he is just making people jump through unnecessary hoops. But guess what? You can't murmur about it! Because you'll die if you do!
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  choosing life

  In my congregation they counseled a MS for shaving his head. He was white. He asked why brothers that were black could shave their heads and not be counceled. They told him it was more culturally acceptrd in one race than the other. He refused to stop and moved to another state. Does this make any sense? I thought there was not supposed to be any predjudice in the organization.
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  sspo

  your CO is an idiot, it's nothing but his own openion.

  Congregation i attend most of the black brother have shaved heads and they are all MS.

  You should ask him if it is his opinion or from the GB. A lot of CO want to play GODS, i'm glad i'm not in your cong., the way i feel now i don't know if i could take all of that crap of man made rules.

  I remember one DO that was in his late 50's and his hair was pitch black and he would always tell people that he did not dye them and we all knew he was a big liar.

  Everytime he got on stage he distracted the audience because of his hair. i forgot his name probably some you might know him
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  earthtone

  oops life, I couldn't get any braids in my hair, because it was too ethnic and showed pride in one's race. Whatever.
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  calico

  So, it's ok for a black man to be ethnic and have a shaved head--but a black woman cannot have braids because it is too ethnic!

  I think braids are beautiful and I have known sisters who have had it done--I don't think they were picked on for it--probably depends on the congregation you attend.
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  blondie

  mustaches, beards or shaved heads because it is worldly. As well bright colorful dress shirts are not permitted eother because it distracts from the "important message" of the talk.

  Some things never die; it makes one believe that the resurrection is happening now.

  All you have to do is look at some of the pictures in the WT publications and you will find brothers with mustaches and colored shirts. Look at the Gilead graduation picture. I always count how many men have on colored shirts.

  Blondie
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  blondie

  I do know that rarely are colored shirts seen on the brothers with talks at the district convention. But otherwise no problemo.

  ***

  w89 11/1 p. 30 Do You See Only the Outward Appearance? ***

  We can illustrate this in the matter of dress. The Bible requirement—God’s requirement—is that a Christian’s clothing must be neat and clean, well-arranged and not betraying a lack of "modesty and soundness of mind." (1 Timothy 2:9; 3:2) Obviously, then, the elders in one congregation went "beyond the things that are written" a few years ago by requiring every public speaker in their congregation to wear a white shirt, even though pastel colors were generally acceptable in that country. Guest speakers who showed up with a colored shirt were asked to change into one of several white shirts kept in the Kingdom Hall for just such emergencies. How careful we have to be in order not to impose our personal taste on others! And how appropriate Paul’s counsel: "Let your reasonableness become known to all men"!—Philippians 4:5.

  Are mustaches not "widely viewed as dignified" in your area?

  *** Ministry School book (2002) study 15 p. 133 par. 1 Good Personal Appearance ***

  In areas where mustaches are widely viewed as dignified, any who wear these should keep them neatly trimmed.
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  valkyrie

  Earthtone wrote:

  life, I couldn't get any braids in my hair, because it was too ethnic and showed pride in one's race. Whatever.

  By that reasoning, if one (hypothetically) wears one's naturally curly hair in a chemically straightened style, does one show shame in one's race - a god-given attribute? Were such styles disallowed in your cong.? -V