Review of Memorial Talk (page 7)

AGuest

something of an anti-climax these days

One thing I noticed, dear BB (peace to you!), now that I attend as an "outsider," is the air... and look... of "fatigue" that permeates each year. Even the children seem "tired." As you state, it used to be something of an exciting night. The air was "electric." When you're on the outside looking in, though, the view is different and what I see a few old people trying to look "excited" ("Ooh, this is a SPECIAL night! Don't you younguns KNOW that?!!")... with a whole lot of young(er) people TRYING to look... well, interested, at least... but not really. More as if they wished it was already over, indeed, didn't even have to come (it's the middle of the week, fer gawd's sake, and I had to WORK, THEN get dinner, get the kids dressed up... make sure the baby didn't vomit on his shirt again... AND it's 9 frickin' o'clock at night!!").

I have marvelled over this change over the years and have learned that there is only one explanation: they ARE tired. Tired of waiting for "Armageddon," the "great tribulation," and all the other things they were promised WOULD occur in their lifetimes. Those things have NOT occurred... and so now they HAVE to go to/finish school... find a job... grow old... die... etc. None of which was supposed to happen. For them, they shouldn't even be ATTENDING another dang Memorial (remember, 2000 was supposed to kind of end all of that, or something like that? Then 2008? Who KNEW we'd make it to... wait for it... 2013?!!)

They're tired... and it's showing. Unfortunately, because they didn't listen to perhaps the ONE thing the WTBTS DID get true... and told them to do: stop serving... with a date in mind.

They hear. They just don't do. Including what they're SUPPOSED to do on that night (well, every night, but particularly that one):

"Take... eat! This means my BODY! Take... drink! This means my BLOOD!"

Peace!

A doulos of Christ,

SA

pixel

One thing that I noticed too is that the night of the Memorial is supposed to be the Most sacred of all nights, right? But you don't hear the JW's talking about it. If they do, the only thing you get is: "it as good". It seems that nobody is interested in spiritualty but in serving the GB/WT/FDS wishes. And just carry on.

tec

I think that is because it is not spiritual at all. I only went to one, but from that experience, it was just an empty ritual that no one actually took part in... rather, they passed on taking part in it.

Peace,

tammy

sir82

To me, it lost its reverence when they stopped talking about the passover as part of the talk.

Remember that? It might be going back 30 years or more.

They used to talk about the passover, & Nisan 14, and Jesus started a new celebration on that date, and later was executed, and so on.

They used to spend most of the time talking about that night 1900+ years ago.

I dunno, it used to fill me with a sense of, what, wonder? Connectedness? I felt like I was part of a a...a....ritual. That's the word i was looking for. Religion really needs ritual - and spending 80-90% of the time talking about how others treated a holy night made it feel special.

Now, the actual events of Nisan 14 get a one or 2 sentence summary at best. Most of the time is spent on (1) why YOU (yes, I'm talking to YOU!) should not under any circumstances, eat or drink, and (2) you can't benefit from this unless you attend meetings and go out to recruit others.

It's like a 45 minute scolding. It is dreary and depressing.

pixel

Tammy,

And I think is not just that night. When you hear the Jw's talk, is like they are not religious. They only speak their lingo ("wt"), calling the so called man-made privileges gifts from God, but nothing of substance.

Others Christians religions, when they speak, at least they repeat more often the "God Bless you" line.

The holy Memorial night turns to a WT ad when they read the famous letters to the people from the GB/FDS/WT inviting them to keep coming to the other meetings.

Amelia Ashton

I have just remembered when I realised how ritualistic and silly it all is.

My last but one Memorial was a foreign language one. I accompanied a brother who was uncomfortable going to the English one. He felt unwelcome and unwanted in our own congregation and I persuaded him he should attend the memorail but the only way he would was if I went with him to the Spanish one.

Even though I had been to plenty before, watching the emblems being passed round by total strangers wearing their best clothes and looking so solemn was weird and so very odd to watch.

It didn't feel right. I only went to one more Memorial after that which I didn't know it at the time ended up being my last meeting ever.

dozy

I always found the memorial a bit of an anti-climax. I gave the talk a couple of times but found it very difficult to put any life into the talk without deviating from the outline too much ( & with the PO in the audience following along with his copy , it wouldn't have been a good idea! ) We had one elder who gave an excellent talk & would really get into the bible account about how much Jesus suffered , very much going beyond the WTBTS outline. I did hear that he got pulled up for it afterward by a couple of the elders.

I remember thinking that if I was an "interested person" coming for their first meeting then I would see little reason to attend more meetings. I recall asking one bible study if he "enjoyed the Memorial" and he said - "no , it was a bit boring really". Not quite the answer I was looking for , but I saw his point.

I posted my 2010 experience here among other similar experiences ( scroll down a few posts on page 4 for mine ). http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/experiences/191074/4/Memorial-2010-Your-Experiences Subsequent Memorials have been very similar.

As a child , the best thing about the whole evening was that we stopped off for fish & chips on the way home as something of a family Memorial tradition. That was after we had dropped off a few older ones & bible studies as some kind of "care in the community" taxi service.

AGuest

Imagine what would happen if everyone who partook... at home, elsewhere... showed up and partook. What would that do their numbers? What if everyone who SHOULD partake (which is everyone)... showed up and partook.

Sadly, it's the ONE thing they don't have to talk folks out of doing. Most talk themselves out of it.

Sigh.

Peace!

A doulos of Christ,

SA

EntirelyPossible

If everyone did that Shelby, I would actually go back to the hall to see it. That actually would be a funny thing to do, go to a hall and have like, 30 people partaking.

prologos

a long time missionary confided that she would never take a bible study to the memorial as the first meeting.

it is so confusing, boring-because it is disjointed. the bread and wine is about the New Covenant-forgiveness of sins, truth in the hearts, not mental gymnastics.

Emblems were served by Jesus to believers with an EARTHLY hope.

Kingdom covenant came later. OS=gentiles came later .

Nisan 14 came later: Acts 12 shows Peter was not at the Memorial at passover time.

John 6 shows emblems are for everlasting life for all, not for immortality for the few.

You pass the plate, the glass, you pass an opportunity to "exercise faith"

But, like the brotheres facing the guillotine, firing squad in the 40s in central Europe, it can be a death contract.

Review of Memorial Talk

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