Timothy T: The Anointed and Me

by compound complex 10 Replies latest jw friends

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  compound complex

  I have NEVER had any personal help from a member of the FDS apart from what i read in the literature... which was very little because id rather read the bible. Even as a JW, if i had any encouragement it came from the elders or the bible. They were the ones that did the hard work and cared. They were more faithful and discreet slaves than these self professed men sitting in Brooklyn!

  Timothy T

  You have made a correct observation, particularly as it comes from a member of a younger generation of Jehovah's Witnesses.

  Two older men [one still an elder] - sincere but somewhat to extremely disaffected JWs - say that what is coming down the pike from the Society is not "what they signed up for." Granted, apart from the "thrilling truths" served up to us by the FDS, they who assure us that we have nowhere else to go, there is a sickly pall hanging over the organization today. I'm sure you've heard from older ones the excitement they once felt in studying "new truths" and zealously sharing them out in the ministry. Despite what you and I now know to be grave errors in theology and general practice and behaviors of the Society and its adherents, things really were different way back when.

  A difference in one area that is close to my heart concerns what I gleaned from earlier publications and what I experienced in association with the so-called anointed remnant 40 to 50 years ago. This little story is based on my feelings and understanding of the Bible; it is neither a logical foray into correct theology nor is it any manner of pragmatic study. Not my forte.

  The Society wrote years ago about the different classes of the anointed, i.e., the Ruth and Naomi class, among others. Since so many of the remnant [the real old-timers, baptized during Rutherford's rule] were still alive when I became a JW, they played a large part in instructing me personally, insofar as the Christian walk and talk were concerned. They were referred to in the literature as "ambassadors substituting for Christ," and we of the other sheep were their helpers: "envoys." We took very seriously our role as helpers to Christ's brothers. True, it was based upon Society-based scriptural interpretation, but the emphasis then was the importance of doing good to Christ's brothers, the necessity of "taking hold of the skirt of a Jew." There were no Governing Body then, no innumerable committees, no lawyers running the show.

  The anointed remnant were genuine, God-fearing brothers and sisters who loved the ministry and truly appeared to be substituting for Jesus. For me, it was not "Armageddon around the corner" but the joy of receiving spiritual enlightenment from these dear people. Not everyone has had this experience, as other threads will testify regarding the mental instability and obnoxiousness of some self-proclaimed anointed.

  I promised this would not be a scientific study, but it was my experience.

  All the best, dear Timmy, on your journey.

  CoCo (of the anointed class for one week)
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  NewChapter

  LOL---And this was Third Timothy Chapter one verses 1-27.

  Nice post CoCo---I just couldn't pass up the similarities.
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  compound complex

  Ha!, NewChapter!

  3 Timothy!

  Thanks much,

  CoCo
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  TimothyT

  I noticed this before i left. I noticed elders becoming very tired and very ill with their responsibilities. I personally felt that the religion is not what it once was. I recall not so long ago when i enjoyed it. There was a real sense of community and love within the congregation. However things became stressfull and i could feel it falling apart from every level.

  I have to say that i know very little about the annointed class teaching, but I do understand one simple scripture from John 3:16. It says there that ANYONE exercising faith in Jesus may recieve eternal life. I dont recall reading anywhere in the New Testament where Jesus made two distinct groups. In Acts everyone was given Holy Spirit to preach and they were all encouraged to do so.

  Its nice however that you recieved spiritual encouragement from such ones. Those who profess to be in charge should most definitely be leading from the front. That is the sign of a good leader. Perhaps my perception is wrong, but it appears that the GB members have very cushy lives in Brooklyn, living off the backs of clever businessmen and the donations of the R&F. In return they arrange for information to be printed for us. On the other hand, you have someone like my dad. 5 years ago, he was supporting a family of 5, a house, a job, a car, he was taking the Theocratic Ministry School, doing many shepherding visits, taking ministry arrangements, whilst severely stressing himself out and deteorating his own health to the benefit of EVERYONE ELSE! What credit do the elders who do this recieve? He got none. Rather he was told by the CO he wasnt doing enough. Some cheek!

  My dad was a real hero, a true faithful and discreet slave. :)

  Timmy :) xxx
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  compound complex

  Thanks, Timmy, for your first-hand experience concerning what constitutes the real faithful and discreet slave: your terrific dad, among others.

  I agree that all having faith should be in line to receive the Holy Spirit and that there is no definitive basis for the two-class system; however, I'm no scholar. The teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses have always been off-center. What I explained to you regarding my "theocratic" upbringing was simply an earlier version of the WT's fabulous theology, one to which I faithfully adhered. Today's 'truths" do not appeal in any manner whatsoever.

  Have I believed in a myth my entire life?

  Peace and love to you and yours,

  CoCo
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  NewChapter

  I often wondered if the religion changed so much since 91 when I was baptized. I felt like at the time I was living by principal and as the years went on I felt suffocated by rules. The spirit seemed to change, and things felt nitpicky. But I wasn't sure if that was my own growing awareness or a change in the organization. I now think it was a bit of both.

  I told my daughter about the mentally diseased article. She was kind of surprised. She never took to the religion, but she told me that she remembers very clearly that I taught her to respect the beliefs of others. She said I told her we didn't believe like them, but that they had that right. That made me feel good, because that is how I remembered it.

  They are definitely becoming more contentious. Individuals have less and less worth in this organization. The importance of the R&F has diminished, or it seems that way to me. They don't even get to know the rules anymore! No wonder the elders are tired. Their wards have to constantly check to make sure they haven't broken any of the endless rules. 20 years ago, some things anyway were handled between the person and Jehovah. As the years went on, everything became an elder matter, and no one can ever feel secure that they haven't unknowingly messed up royal.

  I don't believe anymore, but I'm still disturbed by what is happening. It makes me angry. But even 20 years ago it was a bad place to be.

  NC
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  compound complex

  I'm grateful, NewChapter, that you've shared your perspective, which includes the regional and anecdotal as well as the broader scope of "Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide Unity" [uniformity] in EVERYTHING. I like how you put it. What your daughter remembered is what matters; you taught her well!

  Yes, the endless rules ...

  What Leolaia has just posted on OODAD's thread about the FDS myth boggles the mind on two counts: 1) how she gathers and coherently lays out Society theology from then till now and 2) how the Society has created such a turgid and uninspired formalistic religion.

  Thanks, NC!

  CoCo
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  Quendi

  My experience parallels CoCo's. I had been associated with Jehovah's Witnesses one way or the other since my first contact in 1968. I remember the teachings CoCo cited. I also remember working with those who professed to be of the anointed back in the 1970s. My experience with them was a heart-warming one. I talked to men who had become Witnesses back in the 1920s and earlier. They were kind, humble, loving, readers of the Bible, and lovers of both God and Christ. They never talked about how special they were to be of the anointed. In fact, they hardly ever mentioned it and I learned of their status from others.

  As the years went by and more and more professed to be anointed, I noticed a distinct change in personality type. These newly minted anointed ones were nothing like those of the "Naomi" and "Ruth" as well as the "Mordecai" and "Esther" classes I had known in my earlier years. Some were braggarts who made certain that you knew you were in the presence of one of the future kings of the earth. They talked about this constantly, and I was more than uncomfortable whenever I was with one of them.

  Now that I have left the organization I have been thinking long and hard about my beliefs and reading the Bible more. I still believe there were two distinct callings for Christians: a heavenly one for those who would serve as kings and priests, and an earthly one for all others as well as people who never embraced Christianity. But I have also taken up many preterist teachings, so that means that I believe all of Christ's bride were called, chosen, and glorified in the first century, and there have been no callings to this life since then. I don't expect others to agree with me. I am merely stating my own thinking on this question.

  Has the organization undergone substantial changes from the time I first associated with it? Absolutely, and those changes have not been improvements. It's not just the list of rules and regulations growing longer that has been the most disturbing. Rather it has been the drive for blanket control over the lives of all of Jehovah's Witnesses that I have found most disgusting. This has been done slowly and subtly with the membership being unaware of its manipulation by power hungry men who have no love for God and man as their motivation.

  The years have gone by and our hopes have not been realized. But instead of courageously and humbly admitting how wrong its understanding of the Bible is now and indeed has always been, the Governing Body is hellbent on maintaining its control no matter what the cost to itself and the religion's membership. I don't know how much longer this situation will continue, but I do believe that an implosion is inevitable. May I live to see it and rescue my loved ones from its rubble!

  Quendi
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  Listener

  I enjoyed what you wrote Compound Complex, it gave me a warm feeling and brought me back to a time when I felt a deep connection to God flowing in the congregation. That was in the 60s and early 70s.

  You've made me think, though, and I hope I don't go too off thread. I wonder if the progressive change has been because of their introduction of the other sheep (in the early 30s), Who are they really and more importantly how strong is their connection to God and Jesus? How does this knowledge that they have been taught make them different to those who believe they are annointed? The annointed know they are part of God's Kingdom and are his sons and daughters and that they have been given a free and merciful gift. This is was part of the good news from Jesus and they have been blessed as being recipients. Their relationship with God is real and communicated to them through the bible but also their faith and their feeling of belonging brings them closer to God. Their works and their whole personality reflect this and they have a new personality, one that is closer to goodness. It is real and a demonstration of God's approval.

  But what of the great crowd? It is true that there is very little written to them and for them in the bible. How are they supposed to draw close to God when they know they are not part of his kingdom and can only look to that in the far future - more than 1,000 years in fact. All that they can do is be obedient. God's kingdom has been taken away from them, they do not belong to the world but cannot for the time being, belong to God. This state must be reflected in their works and their personality. As time has gone on the larger proportion of the congregation is comprised of the other sheep crowd and this also has to reflect itself in the congregations, that is, they are in limbo.

  If the other sheep is nonsense then it would only be logical that God's active force has had less oportunity to make itself visible in the congregations as a whole over the progressing years.
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  TimothyT

  Good point Listener!

  I often thought this... if the bible was written for the annointed or the FDS then why on earth were we encouraged to read it so much. In fact why even bother doing anything?

  I think when you read the book of John specificaly, you will see 23 references of Jesus saying he gives everlasting life to EVERYONE, ANYONE, and WHOEVER exercises faith in him! I feel the whole idea of the FDS class goes against what Jesus taught. I dont recall him ever making a class distinction.