Since these people feel they are 'matchmakers', why don't they appoint a panel of elders/eldresses in each congregation to decide who should marry whom?
And it doesn't matter how old the couple is. They could be 18 or 65. It doesn't matter. They have to pass inspection by the panel and only then can they be married. If they rate higher than a certain grade then they can be married in the kingdom hall. Otherwise, they have to get married in a justice of the peace. The prospective marriage mates should submit his/her theocratic resume to this panel and wait to be interviewed. And then they will be told if they pass or fail. If they fail, they cannot marry. If they disobey, they are subject to lifetime shunning.
Seriously, however, the religion instills more barriers and walls inside of their so-called brotherhood. It is so much so that the average person in any given hall must be paranoid about who their 'real' brothers are.
If it wasn't so sad I would actually laugh.
I wouldnt be surprised if you see this happen someday. I could have sworn either in the Young People Ask book, or another older WT magazine, there was an article that spoke positively of arranged marriages. We know how much our Clergy class , err the GB loves the Mosaic Law and especially the punishments for erring against it. I can see them sitting in a room debating how biblical it would be to institute marriage by committee. I'd love to see SD-7 do an article on this.
Billy-I wonder if this "one woman" has any idea how difficult it is becoming for single dubs to find ANYBODY in the bOrg that draws a spark.
Last night after the meeting, I noticed we have several single sisters. These are adult women who if not JWs would probably be dating or married by now. Half of them are Pioneers. I would never ask, but knowing their personalities I can see them using the convenient excuse of not having time for dating as they're putting spirtual persuits first by pioneering. Its a good coverup, but the reality is most of em are craving a husband. The part thats ironic to me is, there is a woman in our congregation who is seriously dating, but she and the guy she's dating both have one foot in and the other foot out. I see them both fading in due time. I wouldnt be surprised if one or both of them are posting on here. But its gotta be rough on those who want to get married or date really bad but due to this toxic culture within this organization cant. I say to myself if normal people who are not JW have troubles with dating and marriage, you would have to expect it would be ten times worse for active JWs.