Ever get the surprise Saturday morning sheparding call?

undercover

A few weeks ago a couple of brothers stopped by my house on a Saturday morning. These were guys that I've been friends with for years and years. There is no animosity towards them. We've always been friends and they still treat me as nice as their cult-controlled minds will let them.

I don't see them often anymore but when I do see them, we have a pretty good time.

However, on this instance, they showed up about 9:45 on a Saturday morning, unannounced. I was barely awake, having been out late the night before and nursing a bit of a headache. (the last two sheparding calls I've gotten have come after late nights...go figure)

The visit went okay...they hung around for about 30 minutes talking mostly about non-JW things. It was more like catching up on old times, though before leaving they did make it a point to invite me to the Sunday meeting.

Even still, I was a bit annoyed, though they never were confrontational or nosy and well-behaved. But I finally got to wondering...

How would they feel if I showed up at their house on a Tuesday night right around supper time? Now that they don't have the book study then, they should be home, right? That'd be the perfect time to just show up and hang out for a while. I wouldn't discuss anything controversial about the "truth". I just wanna be friends...I mean that's how they do it, right?

I'd like to see their reaction to me showing up unannounced when they're probably busy doing something else or trying to unwind from the day's activities. I wonder if they would actually be able to see the coorelation between my showing up and interupting their routine to their showing up at my house on a Saturday morning unannounced?

Would they invite me in, offer me a cup of coffee and cake? Or would they be uncomfortable? Would they say that now wasn't the best time to visit? Oh...like Saturday morning is? So you can count your time while you're shooting the shit with me in my den while I'm suffering from a hangover?

I know that in their minds they mean well...too bad they never realize just how rude and inconsiderate they come off when they pull that shit...

blondie

I have made it clear that unannounced visits will be viewed by me as discourteous and lacking any real caring about me. Call first. Since I don't return calls from jws, the loop is complete. While some are not trying to catch you doing something "wrong", some are.

Blondie

RULES & REGULATIONS

Undercover

My sheparding call is coming in a couple of weeks. The 2 day assembly is coming up and usually an Elder and the Circuit Overseer will pay me a visit. Depending on the mood I'm in,either I will not answer the door,have my wife answer and tell them I'm not home,or let them come in and get their visit over with.

Last time they showed up when my family and I were eating breakfast. I told them that this wasn't a good time to talk and if they could do me a favor and call next time. Since I have caller I.D.,I screen my calls and do not answer when they call. They got around this now by calling my mom and asking her if she can call me to see if I'm home and when is the best time to come over.

I finally figured it out that all I am is a return visit and time on their service time slips.

leavingwt

I've pondered over what would happen if I knocked on an elder's door to share some truth with him.

Elder: "What are you doing, here?"

Me: "I'm visiting my neighbors with a wonderful message of freedom. May I share a passage with you from Steve Hassan's book?"

Elder: "Please leave, you're not welcome here."

Me: "So, let me get this right. You don't like people of another faith visiting your home without an invitation to promote a message you don't agree with?"

Elder: "That's right."

Me: "Oh, that's rich."

-LWT

Descender

A little over three years ago I started getting called on by a couple of JW guys from the town I live in. I didn't ever know them from my witness years because I lived in another town back then. Anyways I told them that I was currently faded and was not interested in going back and being a witness, but I was nice enough about it that they kept on coming back every Saturday. At that time I had a fiance who was at my house quite a bit and I had a room-mate who had been a JW as well. He was down on his luck and his mom (the most devout JW in the world) would show up at my house pretty regularly to tell him he needed to return to meetings because that was the only happiness he could find in this system, etc.

So his mom knew about my worldly fiance and my fading situation. My buddy that lived with me usually stayed out all night at bars where he met and brought girls home. One Saturday, a couple of girls, one of which just happened to be an ex-JW, had come over to hang out with my roommate. They brought lots of alcohol, which I happily imbibed. Anyway, it was a Saturday afternoon, I was drunk and sitting on the front porch with this ex-JW girl who happened to be disfellowshipped from the congregation in the town I lived in. My roommate was in the house with the other girl. About that time the JW's drove up in my driveway. The ex-JW girl ran inside and left me to fend for my drunken self. It just so happened that word had gotten out that I was the return visit that day, and instead of two JW guys, it was the one JW guy that always came and a JW girl I used to date back when I was a good JW.

I was fairly sauced, not so much that I was stumbling around or slurring my words, but enough that I wasn't thinking straight about what I was saying. Anyway, they were talking about how things had changed since I'd been out and it was a more loving organization, blah blah blah. About that time, the door cracked open and the ex-JW girl said that I was needed inside. I told her that I'd be a minute. The JW girl on my doorstep that I used to date asked who that was and I said, oh that's such and such, do you know her, she's disfellowshipped from your congregation. The conversation went on for a little bit and they left.

Within the week my buddies mom told him that she had heard that I was now an alcoholic that was no longer with his worldy fiance, but instead I was dating an ex-JW. She thought there may be judicial committee forming to deal with this issue and she also thought he should move out because I was obviously bad association. None of it was true, I was not an alcoholic, I was not dating the ex-JW girl, I was still with and got married to my worldly fiance later that year, and as far as I know, nothing judicial was ever done about my situation.

parakeet

Elder: "That's right."

Me: "Oh, that's rich."

-LWT

Funny, and oh so true.

That reminds me of a YouTube thread that someone posted a while back. Two atheists donned Mormon-style clothing (black slacks, white shirts, name tags, the works. I don't think they went as far as the magic underwear). They went door-to-door "preaching" about atheism in Salt Lake City. They were physically threatened once and told to get the hell out of Dodge by the rest. Funny.

undercover

R&R, yea, we're just an RV to some of the ones that come by. I looked out at the car in the driveway when my old buddies were leaving and sure enough, there were a couple of people in the back seat. So not only did these guys get an RV and to count the time, the two dubs in the car got in 30 easy minutes, just sitting in my driveway.

LWT, yea...I like your idea. But you're right, you'd be treated much less hospitably than most JWs are when they come by our homes...

Descender, that's typical dub reaction to anything they don't understand. Don't find the facts or truth...jump to the worst possible conclusion. And then go around spreading that assumption as gospel to every other dub that'll listen. Before you know it, you're the most talked about thing in two circuits and the tales of your exploits so mighty, it'd be an honor to claim them as true...

Parakeet, JWs and other minority religions can claim persecution and discrimination all they want, but they don't have anything on a true, willing to admit it athiest. Going by the WT standard of "we're persecuted because we're the truth" logic, atheists are more right than anyone...

garybuss

I had two of the idiots sit in parked cars and watch my parked car while I slept when I lived in Vermillion SD. One was Merlin Marvin and the other douche bag was Lance Roberts. Those two couldn't come up with a half ounce of brains between them.

At first I was aggravated that they were watching my car, then I realized they were actually doing unpaid security for me and I'd sneak out the back door and walk to work at 1 am, knowing they'd sit and watch my car all night. I laughed all the way to work.

These guys were the original dumb and dumber.

Gregor

Gary reminded me about an unfortunate sister about 50 who lived alone and had a pretty serious drinking problem. She never missed the meetings and was pretty regular in field service but she was very shy and the JW was the only life she had. Only after the fact did I find out someone had told an elder that she occasionaly had a particular man who appeared to stay overnight in her tiny rented house. Two elders staked out the house and sure enough, they saw the man leaving her house in early morning. They insisted she be confronted by the committee, you know, "appearance of evil" and all that. The poor woman was so devasted she just gave up and never came back. Another example of true Christian love and compassion.

Undercover, too bad while they were there you didn't say, "excuse me", then go down the hall to your bedroom and say just loud enough for them to hear, "you gals, get dressed and get outta here as soon as these guys leave".

garybuss

After a while I got tired of Roberts' and Marvin's game and I went down to Yankton and confronted Roberts. He admitted they'd been stalking me and told me they'd quit it and he begged for my forgiveness. What a spineless bastard.

I wish I'da knocked the little bastard on his ass.

Ever get the surprise Saturday morning sheparding call?

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