Was there ever a thread on the circuit assembly in 07 about the Do's talk?

by IreallydidwalkoutofaKH 15 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  james_woods

  This is coming as a kind of slow realization to me (like a lot of other stuff) - that I would not even know the JW organization of today from what I remember in the 1970s.

  In those days, not one witness would ever take seriously the idea that a 9-year old could or should be baptized. 16 was considered very young...not until 21 or more was it considered that a young person was holding back.

  The idea was that you took the commitment of baptism seriously on your own...and remember, they did not have to "join" anything, or sign a contract either. You were specifically told you were not joining any church back in those days.

  But, prior to 1975, they were not all that desperate for numbers and growth - as they now appear to be.
• 

  observador

  Mama2Six makes a very good point. This is something I can easily relate to. I didn't receive any gifts or anything extraordinary given the poor environment in which I grew up, but received so many compliments and "encouragement" that I thought it a little strange, after a life of none of those things.
  
  It felt to me as I did something very very important. It was as if I had only understood what I had done after the fact.
  
  So, yes, this is a big deal for a child of 13, and it has the effect that the Society wants on those young minds. And yet the Society still has the nerve to attack Babylon, the Great, for baptizing children. Hummm...
  
  Observador.
• 

  FlyingHighNow

  But, prior to 1975, they were not all that desperate for numbers and growth - as they now appear to be.

  And you would think it would become very clear to them that the more "uniform" and miserable they make people, the more mundane and colorless their lives become, the less appealing the JW life is to insiders and outsiders alike.

  The church I attend practices no control and is not evangelical. For this reason, you mostly see very few Episcopalians. We are discouraged to do anything, but are encouraged show love to each other and everyone and to enjoy life. We are told that our earth and nature and people are good and to enjoy them. We don't look at the world as a bad place.

  It wouldn't surprise me if someday some crazed gunman goes into an Episcopal Church and shoots people for being to liberal and kind in their teachings and practices.
• 

  IreallydidwalkoutofaKH

  mamaof6 I was just on some other topics, when I came across your thread that posted your pictures. Well at least you used some of your experiences to better and enrich your childrens lives! Isn't funny how it will be our children who dress up as the ones in "Black"! I guess you really can let kids express themselves in their own way and still have dicsiplined children. Props to coming out of a disfunctional religion and ending up with a beautiful family!
• 

  amama2six

  Yes, I received some gifts...not a lot, obviously, but more than I got for years before or after that date.
  
  Thanks for the picture compliments, IRDWOOAKH, it was particularly nice to let my daughter dress as she wanted to for the Halloween dance...short black dress and wings, handcuff necklace and earrings, high heeled boots, fishnet stockings, black hair spray, and make-up! She didn't act demonic or depressed...she was HAPPY and had a great time. That, to me, is what childhood is SUPPOSED to be about. The dance, the holiday, the whole outfit, the "worldly friends"...all would have been denied without question when I was growing up. Actually, asking for any of those would have gotten me a trip to the "back room" for some serious talking to, possible reproval, or even DFing if I wasn't sorry!
• 

  IreallydidwalkoutofaKH

  Were you parents strict or was it just your hall that was strict m0f6 ?