by minimus 67 Replies latest jw friends
Time and again, some of you say that it taught you how to speak in public.
I just don't understand how.
I never learned how to speak in public and even got a C in my college public speaking course.
Now, I could put together a proper speech, but not then.
Sisters don't get any training opportunities but once every four months.
5 min./4 mos. is not training.
Now, for what I think was the BEST thing about being a JW?
All of the closing prayers' amens and every goody night.
That's it.
Leaving that religion
The belief that I might live forever, the automatic friendships and leaving.
Some interesting comments...
Being an elder was no picnic, but one good thing I took away was an appreciation for strict confidentiality (though confidentiality was often disregarded by other elders, and I was dismayed to learn how often things ended up becoming publicly known). The upside of this is that now I have several friends who know they can trust me, and as a result, will talk to me about some matters close to their hearts.
Now don't get me wrong - anyone can learn to keep things confidential. Being a jw elder does not necessarily mean that I wouldn't have been a good confidante anyway. But after hearing some pretty crazy stuff and keeping it to myself to this day, it reinforced the inclination I already had to keep things private on behalf of others.
Well, I can't take the 'low road' here, heh... I have to be honest. There -was- a lot of good experience that came from being a JW.
For one, we took a long trip when I was a kid (1983, I think) from SoCal to the midwest. My mother wrote JWHQ and asked for a list of congregations on our path, then wrote the congregations to find volunteers for us to stay with or ask for help if needed along the way. We traveled in an old Ford van which DID have trouble a few times, including blowing a head gasket in Amarillo, Texas. We stayed with a really sweet family for 2 days while they fixed it for us. Every place we stayed, we knew we were safe with decent, good people.
Besides that, I liked the assemblies. Growing up in Southern California, circuit assemblies were always held in Woodland Hills - man, that was such a neat building, and its a crying shame its been torn down now. Often, instead of Dodger Stadium, we'd visit family & friends in the San Francisco area for the district conventions, which doubled as a summer vacation for us kids. (Granted, long talks were boring, but the dramas were pretty neat to watch, especially before they streamlined everything to make it all so universal...)
Sadly, when I get invited to a party at someone's house now, I cringe at the thought - growing up, you always knew a 'get together' would be a friendly place without people getting drunk and acting ridiculous, or a fight breaking out, etc. There's something to be said for that level of morality, really.
And to this day, I'll still have a random Kingdom Melody or song pop into my head. Also, being able to speak in public without any fear, and being able to organize material into a presentation - both good skills for management positions later in life, heh.
Don't get me wrong, none of it is worth going back... but the question was 'What was the best thing...' so there you go. :)
good points
I spent 30 years as a JW from 1971-2001.
The best part was having and belonging to a community of like minded people. Which you can find other places if you just look. I enjoyed the association I had most of the time with the JW's and the fact we weren't strangers no matter where we went.
Of course I believed in the teachings but later came to realize it was bogus like the great OZ behind the curtain. I was devastated to learn it was all smoke and mirrors and I'd dedicated my life to a false world view.
Well, I just now found out the worst thing..
That I wasn't in slipnslidemaster's congregation!
