by gubberningbody 11 Replies latest jw friends
I was the school overseer, and the only way I could pay attention was by ripping every part to shreds. Everything was so elementary and boring. Why anyone would have needed to take notes was beyond me. Doodling, perhaps.
I remember HOPING that there might be SOMETHING of interest, but it never happened.
Oh, and just try to talk to someone about a thought or two you might have on an interesting scripture with no commentary from the WTBS - forget it!
never took down notes, infact most of it went in 1 ear & out the other LOL
I used to buy the most beautiful notebooks and journals and pens. I'd be determined to take meaningful notes. Fresh start etc. Nothing new under the sun though. Occasionally something that I thought of as a gem would float out---but then back to usual. Instead I'd daydream about a project I was working on, or work out a mental problem for work, or think up lists, etc. But having the book and pen looked good - - - -
finally....well I took it seriously until it became clear that they weren't
If every meeting is a one-room-schoolhouse you really need to have something for everyone. That would mean that there would be some things which would be for the novice and some which would involve advanced topics. There should be more bible-geek conventions where you can pick and choose what subjects you'd find entertaining. I'd pick biblical archaeology, or perhaps seminars on the actual daily life of a jew in the first century. Then there could be character analyses of various biblical persons.
No more "look at the pretty panda" mindless crap.
newchapter - yeah, I remember all the notebooks and the like. You know, though the things I did do was watch the reactions of everyone who was supposedly "engrossed". ZERO. It was more like....
"I'm a pretty teenie, and I'm going to announce the fact by getting up and marching about every 15 minutes"
and
"Baby, baby,baby...I have to monitor and fiddle with baby, baby crap"
and
"I know I'm grossly obese, but I really, really have to shove more food in my pie-hole because this yummy spiritual food coming into my bone-head is making me hongry"
and
"I'm an important serious brother who is going to count everyone, or stand in the back or do ANYTHING but listen to this garbage because I really LOVE JEHOVAH"
and
"I'm a rebellious teen who's going to predictably wear something to make a statement. Oh, yeah. That statement's been made a BILLION times before, but I'm going to make it anyway."
and
"Looky! I have a beard!...I can grow a BEARD! Yayeee!!"
It was all so damned predictable after a time...
Oh, and what kind of thinking were these marketing gurus enaging in by getting really unfortunately ugly obese brothers and sisters up on the stage as examples of those putting kingdom interests first by pioneering????
I can see the reaction of any "young people" as they "ask"...
"Do I want to be like THAT? NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"
Funnily enough when I was De-bOrganizing and recycling my old notes and stuff I had a butchers at my old notes.
How did I manage to stay awake. The talks were assinine with no depth. More like: Do this, do that, do the other or God will kill you SOON*
How can I briefly sum up the essential message from my notes in distilled form?
THUS:
Experiences: Sister Twee came back from the grave specifically to pious-sneer and do more. She enjoys the simple life in her coffin.
Announcements: Give us money.
Monolog demo in a talk: Brother Kiddy-Fiddler gave up coffee, masturbation and apostasy to do more.
Announcements: Give us money.
DO MORE DO MORE DO MORE!! Obey the Governing Body or Jehovah will lovingly murder us SOON*
*(Terms and conditions apply and are subject to 'overlapping' or ‘New Light’™or which ever makes the GB appear much higher than God!)
Same here... dad and I just stopped going and started studying the bible for ourselves. My dad was the ministry school overseer and he knew all the elementary milk for the babes. He said it was boring going to meetings and listening to it all again. He wanted something he could realy get his teeth into. So he decided to use the meeting times to study the bible thoroughly using greek and hebrew lexicons and lots of bible commentaries.
So much more interesting than the boring meetings. There is no progression there in terms of knoewledge. When we left, the majority of talks were about the ministry or how to conduct ourselves when we are at the conventions. Very little bible discussion.
Timmy xxx
It would be interesting to know what percentage of those who take down notes during meetings/assemblies ACTUALLY READ them later. If you were ever able to do a survey on it, I bet the results would be pretty hilarious. Towards the end of my time as an active dub I resolutely refused to take any notes, because I knew full well I wouldn't read them, and it stopped me from really concentrating on the talks and thinking objectively about them. Maybe THAT'S why the Society encourages people to take notes at assemblies, to prevent them from thinking objectively? There's a thought.
nb - This post brought back memories of a harrowing ordeal I once endured when I was in my late teens. I was doing my stint on overnight circuit assembly hall security duty in a purpose-built sentry hut in the grounds of an assembly hall. I had to spend all night, into the wee-small hours, in the company of an old brother from another cong who had decided to bring along his typewriter-written talk notes from the seventies. This man had decided that the best way to spend an all-nighter was to regail himself with his OWN talk notes from yesteryear, and mention points of interest to his young accomplice (I was a truly captive audience). I don't think I've ever come closer to considering suicide...
Remember when they'd do the item on the 'circus meeting' in summary of the nonventions?
It was embarassing. No one seemed to want to answer. No one seemed to really recall anything.
I was lucky I never got those parts. The Bro that did would panic and go asking for anyones notes before the item.
Well, how can you sum up 3 days of propaganda that makes no sense?
Most of the notes in the margin of my Watchtower were mesages my wife and I would exchange, commenting on the hypocrisy of idiots making comments in the meeting.
I would take a big notebook with me and create word puzzles for my daughter, or draw elaborate mazes. Having an eight-year-old gave me the excuse to completely tune out of the shite coming from the stage and audience comments, all of which I hated. I'd walk out of the hall as quick as I could afterwards and go and wait in the car with my kids; my wife, sadly, was doing her best to chat with them back in the hall in the vain hope she'd be accepted by them. No such luck. No one actually cared.
All those wasted hours.
