Can you be a JW in good standing and NOT go door to door?

Terry

The 2nd President of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, J.F.Rutherford was criticised by some elders in the (then) independant congregations for urging members to go door to door while neglecting to do so himself. Rutherford responded:

Frequently some elder says: ‘The president of the Society does not go from house to house selling books. Why should I?’ Do I have any objection to selling books? Certainly not. I have done so when I found time and opportunity for so doing and I found much joy in it. The Lord has graciously given me about as much as one man can well do. When I have looked after the management of the work at headquarters with its many departments; when I have given attention to a voluminous mail; when I have managed thirty odd branch offices in different parts of the earth and kept in close touch with them by correspondence and examination of their reports, and given advice and counsel as to what shall be done; when I have given attention to many legal matters that have arisen against members of the Society by reason of the opposition of the enemy; when I have given counsel to the various parts of the radio work; when I have prepared copy for The Watch Tower and other publications; and occasionally written a book or booklet and followed it progress through the manufacturing thereof; and when I have attended to many other details, I have not had very much time to go from door to door. If all of your time is as fully occupied in some part of the Lord’s service, then you have no time either to go from house to house.

November 1, 1928, p. 334 Watchtower

Comments?

sacolton

I always got my two hours in per month. LOL!

Witness 007

And he was having sex with his "Housemaid" Berta which took lots of time.....drinking Brandy......eating sticky date pudding etc etc.

blondie

I don't think you have to go d2d but spend time each month talking about your faith. Public speakers are allowed to count their time on the podium speaking on their time slip. I'm sure Rutherford did the same.

trueblue

Rutherford responded: prepared copy for The Watch Tower and other publications; and occasionally written a book or booklet and followed it progress through the manufacturing thereof

Made sure "his" books being sold, quite the business man...

trueblue

There was this guy kinda old very seldom even went to the meetings but when he did they treated him as something his name always on the board too. Never seen him in FS. Went with a guy to deliver him some mags, he lived in a vacant motel full of antiques.

He donated a very large some of money to the JW's when he died... go figure

I have known JW's all my life, had a very rough child hood and the JW's never tried to reach me until it looked as though I was doing well for myself...

james_woods

I knew an elder who did not go door to door except perhaps for once or twice a year when the CO came around. If that.

He just put down 10 hours every month and claimed it was from incidental witnessing.

He was eventually removed for the official reason of "insincerity". Seriously, that was the reason given by the body of elders.

wobble

Answering the thread question : NO.

You might get away with it by various means, but even somone who genuinely does a lot of informal preaching, but will not go DtoD, is looked on as a maverick and with the utmost suspicion, hardly in "good standing".

If you ain't suffering doing pointless DtoD, (40 yrs @ 10H per month= 1 convert), like the rest of 'em, they hate it.

garyneal

Sounds like a multi-level marketing scheme to me.

But hey, if Rutherford was busy working in one part of the 'body of Christ' then who's to say another witness cannot say the same thing. 'I'm too busy to sell mags doing the Lord's work cleaning KH toilets and mowing their yards.'

Quentin

Only time I was ever consoled about hours was the year I attempted to "Full Time Pioneer". Just couldn't crank out the 100 hrs required.

Conducted some "Watchtower Studies" and weekly "Book Studies", lead the "2nd Ministry School" in the library. Seems I was in good standing somewhere in the pecking order. Only thing I was never assigned was the "Public Talk", you and Johnny were. Even my Dad, [who had to wait 10 yrs after being re-instated before he was allowed to give the number one talk in "Ministry School"], got to give"Public Talks".

Appears to me, a persons good standing was based more on what the powers to be thought of you, than the number of hours spent banging doors. Feel this to be so because I was never consistent with putting in the required 10 hours.

Can you be a JW in good standing and NOT go door to door?

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