When you were in field service....

by lavendar 35 Replies latest jw experiences

• 

  blondie

  I had a bible student ask about Jesus being Michael the Archangel...I realized that there was nothing to support it in the Bible.

  Then there was the prophecy about the 2300 days and I found that the WTS had several interpretations and that the elders had no clue what it meant and just threw a photocopy of an article and could not explain it.

  On my own I found that the WTS said they had consistently taught that Christ's presence began in 1914 when they had really taught it it was 1874 until 1943.

  What other lies did they teach?
• 

  Numinous

  If there was really a world-wide flood, why did the fresh water fish AND the salt water fish both survive?
• 

  SacrificialLoon

  I remember one time as a kid youth we had went to a door, and they gave us a pamphlet! All I know was that it questioned the doctrines of the WBTS, but it was quickly disposed of once we got back to the car. I asked something to the effect of if we have the truth can't we just refute the pamphlet and prove the housholder wrong? I never got a clear answer that day other than something about apostate material, and that never sat well with me.
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  joenobody

  I remember calling on a family that invited us in when I was 17. They were smiling and very friendly, but brought out some photocopies of WT mags from the 1890s to the 1930s with a number of things highlighted. I remember reading them and seeing the dates 1874 and various other things. They asked me to explain some of it; I asked to read it and take it with me. The other guy I was with was nervous and didn't want anything to with the call. I spoke to an elder who was out with us later on and he told me they were apostates and that we didn't have any need to read old literature. That sparked quite a thought in my mind as I wondered why the heck what I had read seemed so very different to me. Start of the slippery slope...
• 

  YoursChelbie

  Yes, there are two instances that made me stop and think:

  One person who always opened the door would talk for a while but refused the magazines. He'd say "I won't read that pro-pa-ganda!" He said it so convincingly that I really started thinking: Maybe he's right. What if this stuff really is propaganda?

  Another lady -- when she heard (during Christmas) that "we" didn't celebrate holidays said in with a distraught look in her face almost in tears:

  "Children have to have Christmas! They just have to!"

  That got me thinking about the big deal of objecting to Holidays. It's funny now that I think about it.

  YC
• 

  Threestars

  I always hated going in field service SO much, and then had terrible guilt and fear over that hatred and embarrassment. According to all the Dubs the householder's antagonism, which is the usual response, just proved we had the "truth". Such faulty logic.

  Once I was out with a young pioneer sister and as we were crossing the street a woman approached us with this bizarre look on her face. We began to greet her and she asked us, "Are you Jehovah's Witnesses?". "Yes," we replied and she instantly began flapping her arms and screeching and moving towards us shouting, "I REBUKE THEE IN THE NAME OF JESUS" over and over. She literally chased us back across the street. Whoa! Scared the hell (no pun intended) out of me.

  That was one of the last times I ever went out in service but that wasn't the only reason I stopped. I think it did make me realize, if even on a subconscious level at that time, that religion and its associated frenzy and hoopla is nothing more than emotional hogwash. (No offense to believers here--this is just how I truly feel.)
• 

  lavendar

  Thanks for all the responses! I really like reading all your stories and experiences. I don't know.....I guess in some way it helps me, since our son is getting sucked into this cult. I just want to gather all the information I can. I already know quite a bit about the WTS, and it's so interesting hearing experiences from people who have actually LIVED it.

  Warm regards,

  Lavendar
• 

  mann377

  The householder opened the door an yelled " a religion that has all the answers does not allow any questions!!" then slamed the door.
• 

  mouthy

  The householder opened the door an yelled " a religion that has all the answers does not allow any questions!!" then slamed the door. Now THAT was a smart cookie in my opinion
• 

  dedpoet

  It was a householders comment that started my research into watchtower doctrine
  that eventually resulted in me leaving the org.

  I was working with an elder, and this guy accused the wts of constantly changing
  doctrine, citing the 1995 generation change as a prime example. The elder claimed
  that this particular doctrine hadn't changes at all, just our understanding of it,and the wts
  teaching on the generation had, in fact, never changed.

  I didn't say anything, but I knew he was wrong, having been taught the "old light" about
  the 1914 generation still being around at the end when I was studying in 1991, and the
  "new light" on it in 1995 (this incident was in February 1999). I trhought about it for a few
  days, then decided to research the history of the org as far back as I could. It didn't
  take me too long to realise that the wts had been mistaken many times, like 1914, 1915,
  1918, 1925, the resurrection of the ancient worthies, and had then changed their ideas
  rather than admit they had been wrong, and it was obvious to me that, rather than being
  in the true religion, I was following the teachings of unscrupulous men who would do just
  about anything to hold on to their status. Once I knew that, it wasn't long (Nov 1999) before
  I stopped attendings meetings, and I have never entered a kingdom hall since then.
  
  My only regret is that I never did go back and thank the guy who made the accusation that
  day. It was what he said, and the elders' response to it, that helped me get free of the org.

  dedpoet