Did You Ever Make the Pilgrimage? (page 4)

Honesty

After drinking 5 gallons of the koolaid in October 1993, it was a priviledge for me to make the trip via private vehicle to the sacred halls of Brooklyn Bethel whereupon I fell down and worshipped at the feet of the glorious Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnessses.

I was awestruck in wonder as I gazed intently at the Multilanguage Electronic Phototypesetting System (MEPS) which was developed by Jehovah's Witnesses and unsuccessfully sought after by Fortune 500 companies such as IBM & WANG.

I reveled in meeting and dining with the top brass of the Watchtower Society.

10 years later I woke up and puked all over myself each time I thought about wasting my time and energy to view the earth's center of false worship and false prophesies.

OnTheWayOut

As a young adult coming out of the military, I studied with an upwardly mobile couple (elder/pioneer and pioneer wife) that really wanted me to consider Bethel service as a feather in THEIR caps.

That wasn't the path I wanted. I tried pioneering for awhile, but had to work full time (janitorial/window washing) and was just too tired to make the hours, plus I wanted to live a normal life and get married.

Sometime after getting married, we took the pilgrimage. Must have been 1992-ish. We saw Brooklyn Bethel and the incomplete Patterson. I was totally taken back by how similar it was run to the military and was so glad I didn't even think to try to get to live there. Underpaid people having to "dress" for lunch and do things in crazy ways loaded with formality. At least in the military, we could say how much things we had to do sucked.

Broken Promises

I've been to the Australian branch (including Strathfield) and the Greek branch. I think on my first tour I was impressed with it, but as time went on I realised it was just another building with a printing press in it.

I think being raised as a JW also added to the apathy - you start to take for granted what they say about it being "God's organisation" even though you still believe it.

As a JW, I visited the Vatican twice, and I think it is one of the most awe-inspiring buildings you can experience. The artwork, the scultures (I LOVED the Peita), the history, the building itself... it is worth a visit, regardless of your beliefs or lack of. Some JWs I was with on the tour refused to go into the building becos it was "Babylon the Great" - their loss. If you love art and/or history, you have to see it at least once in your life.

jworld

This post by Theocratic Joker over at "Letters From the Governing Body" made me laugh when I first read it.

"You see, most religionists are impressed and moved by what is appealing the eyes; whether it be large ornate temples, huge cathedrals, or the visual presence of the Vatican. Jehovah's Witnesses are no different. They are impressed and wooed by large printing operations and shipping depots. They are moved by large sprawling branch complexes which house the people who operate the printing equipment."

LOL how true

designs

My brother was in Bethel, late 60s to early 70s, so I went with my parents on a Bethel tour to Brooklyn and the Farm. That convinced me not to go to Bethel.

wasblind

The Hall I attended would make that pilgrimage one a year at least

also followed by the pilgrimage to the magic kingdom ( disney )

the kids got a kick out of seein' the fairy tail characters who as you know

all of thier story contain some sort of magic or witchcraft takin' place

when I was studying, was told to get rid of all my daugters fairy tale books

cause they had magic in them, this same sister also enjoy taking her

nieces and nephews to Disney also know as the magic kingdom

yes there are other places to go at disney, but the JW's at the hall I attended

got their moneys worth

Hypocrits with a capital "H"

Quendi

Many thanks to all of you for your comments and recommendations. I see nothing wrong with visiting sacred places as repositories of art, examples of architecture, and sites of religious history. The book which Meeting Junkie No More likes seems to be a good one. Let me recommend a similar book. It is called Sacred Places of a Lifetime: 500 of the World's Most Peaceful and Powerful Destinations and is published by the National Geographic Society. I recommend it for anyone with an interest in places of this nature.

I suppose that what I have found interesting about this topic is the usual contradictory and hypocritical stance the WTS takes on it. Back in the 1970s, Awake! carried a story about touring the Vatican. While conceding the existence of magnificent works of art, rare books and manuscripts, and incredible architecture, the anonymous writer then condemned the Roman Catholic Church for maintaining its headquarters in this fashion by saying the emphasis was on material things and not spiritual matters. It also took a swipe at the Sistine Chapel for all the nude figures Michelangelo painted on its ceiling saying these appealed to prurient interests. Years later, the painting of Jehu riding to the slaughter of Baal worshipers that is in the Jersey City Assembly Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses got no such censure for its graphic nature. Ah, well!

I think that what I have found most annoying about the whole thing is the Society's insistence that visitors come dressed in their "Sunday's best." I completely agree with aig 1052 that this is a turnoff. Why should anyone dress up to tour a factory complex? I was also amused by those like designs who said that their Bethel tour convinced them that they did not want to work, live, and serve there. The dress requirement proves that regardless of what it says, the Society does view its branch offices as "sacred ground" and demands that visitors pay visible homage to this. And LongHairGal is right to say that the distinction between the WTS and the religions of Christendom has become blurred.

Quendi

blondie

I wouldn't call it a pilgrimage. I went to visit friends who were at Bethel. I hoped that there would be a stronger evidence of spirituality than the congregation I attended. I found that they were as bad if not worse in showing Christian kindness. I never saw any deeper Bible understanding or even a desire to find any. Summation: I no longer believed that holy spirit ran the place.

wasblind

Yes we all have heard that this is Jehovah's "organization"

in their own words in the Bible teach book you are not dedicated

to this "Organization " That's a free pass right there to get the hell

out of this cult. don't believe it read it in their own words

In the Bible teach book, I don't have my books with me right now

but if you look in chapter 18 page 183 paragraph 24 it states:

" Remember to, that you have made a dedication to Jehovah God himself, not to a work, cause, others humans, or an "Organization"

Now let me break it on down diggy down . how many times have you been brow beat for not bein'

active enough in the preachin' work ??? How many times have it been forced upon you to push for

a cause regulated by other humans the "GB" as Steve Jobs put it " lives governed by the dogma of others" not

exact words but you get my point

they have admitted out of their own mouths that you do not need an "Organization" to love and serve God

Get out of her you people, stop touchin' that nasty thang that have cause so much misery

XJW4EVR

Never did. My parents did. In fact, it was on a bus trip to Brooklyn "Bethel" when my mother died of a massive brain aneurysm.

Did You Ever Make the Pilgrimage?

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