What I Learned at the at the 2 Day Assembly...

by becca1 91 Replies latest jw friends

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  plmkrzy

  Mouthy I remember those 8 day assemblies as a child. The food was awful but we loved it. lol! ironic.
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  zagor

  Oh boy, don't even get me started there, I remember this poor lady taking a course in hairdressing and being counseled on it and 'urged' to think about her priorities. One of the comments was that in "the new system" J is probably going to stop hair from growing any further like with animals so there will be no need for hairdressers. Of course, when she worked 12 hours shifts in factory no body gave a shit what she was going through. I remember afterward talking to her and thank heavens she went and did the course.

  But who do you think lined up first for free haircuts?? Not hard to guess is it? LMAO
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  mouthy

  Where was our brains ?plmkrzy!!!!! I know! I know!!! In our butts...
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  Green Chille

  Us apostates should get the word out to the witless that the WTS has more money than God and does NOT need their hard earned cash.
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  NYCkid

  As one who was raised a JW, this is nothing new (like Juni pointed out). Being raised a JW is also the reason why I'm now finally attending college at age 35 while most normal people are at the peak of their careers. Anyway, my comments are below:

  1- "Jehovah does not want us to be rich". Other religions teach that God helps us to become prosperous. Jehovah does not do that. The CO - Blah Blah Blah - Here, I wish that JWs who aspire to be "Jewish" or God's chosen people, would be more Jewish in the sense that Jews believe that wealth is a sign of God's blessing. (Remember early in JW history, JW officials attempted to court Jews to merge the two religions??) Anyway, the Society's constant harping on being poor is why many JWs are trapped in the lower income brackets and why many in my parents generation do not have sufficient retirement plans/savings and will live out their remaining days without financial security. It's ironic that the Society wants more money from it's members but then wishes them to be poor, it's very "Wal-Mart" of them...I love it, the "Wal-Martizition of Religion" ha ha ha.

  2- 0% of our young ones who go to college remain witnesses. The DO said he was told this by fellow DO's at a DO meeting. - This is why you'll never find (or is very rare) a JW who is a medical doctor, professor, scientist, CEO, teacher, computer developer, politician, novelist, journalist, nobel peace/pulitzer prize winner, human right activist, etc. etc. etc. Some smart JWs own businesses such as car detailing, construction or service-type businesses, the rest are laborers, clerks and administrative personnel and the like (most of the JWs I know rarely keep a job more than a few years due to lay-offs or personality and schedule conflicts).

  3- We do not contribute enough to the World Wide Work. Example: If you are going to put something in the contribution box and you look in your wallet and have a five dollar bill and a twenty dollar bill, what will you do? You may think the twenty is a fortune and put in the five. Then you go to Wallmart and see a new DVD for 18.95 and you pull out that twenty and purchase the DVD. "But we are not milking you for money". The DO - Typical guilt marketing but it's tragic that they are bleeding their members for every penny while requesting them to be poor (see #1 about the Wal-Martizing religion). As a side point, it's quite sad that the WWW does not include hospitals and schools for the poor, food and financial assistance for the homeless and poor, etc. It's really about amassing REAL ESTATE.

  4- We take too many nice vacations. Years ago a couple would take a nice trip or cruise to celebrate their 25th anniversarry and it would be a big treat. Today it's no big deal because we are "always" going on nice trips. The DO said this after talking about contributions. - Just another example of how the Society intrudes on the personal lives of its members and requires them to avoid enjoying life as little as possible. Show me any passage in the Bible where "nice vacations" are prohibited.

  5- If you do not dress modestly you will not survive Armaggedon. The CO. - This is their old stand-by. Can't have our members looking like the rest of the people, now can we? And Jehovah-forbid that anyone likes to be fashionable. No Prada for you...after all, since most make $5.15 (USD) per hour as a stock boy at Wal-Mart or a bank teller, who can afford nice clothes anyway? I remember shopping at 2nd hand stores to get those used Armani suits, usually with a cigarette burn in the crotch or a stain somewhere.

  I'm so glad to be free from that control crap, I just mourn for my family still enslaved....if only....

  Best,

  NYCkid
• 

  jayhawk1

  Mouthy said,

  And you all wonder why I feel rotton!!!! How would you have liked me for a pushy Mother....( DONT ANSWER THAT!!!!!!

  We've all done regretful things in the name of this religion. Enough said.
• 

  Euphemism

  Hecklerboy wrote:
  I always wondered why the assemblies always ran with a deficit.

  JT (who used to do accounting at assemblies) explained this a while back. They set a predefined budget based on the amount of donations they expect to get. They know that the budget won't be met midway through the convention, and so they can announce a 'deficit' and motivate people to donate.

  Also, according to my dad (who did accounting at a couple of conventions), the largest amount of donations always came at the end, after people had paid all their travel and dining expenses for the weekend. So they naturally expected a 'deficit' until then.

  Of course, there's nothing wrong with saying "this is our fund-raising goal, and this is how much we still need." All non-profits do that. But it's dishonest of the WTS to frame it as a 'deficit'.
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  Robert222

  I never did know what the society expected of us. If we're rich, do we sell our home and give the money to the society? Do they want all of us poor and living on the street?? I've been going to assemblies for yrs since i was a kid, and have never known what they wanted. It's always to beat us down or something. If you are successful, you should feel guilty, if you're poor, god will provide eventually. but you'd better not get an education!! Bizarre. My brain just imploded and I had to call it quits or I'd go insane(!)
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  BabaYaga

  Hello and WELCOME, Robert222!!!
  
  Cheers,
  Baba
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  Robert222

  thanks for the welcome messages. You don't know how good it feels to see a lot of other people have the same thoughts re the "truth". I enjoy reading the comments and appreciate being able to vent!! I think the assemblies were the first to go for me. Couldn't take it anymore.