Do Witnesses really want to go to the meetings?

by BU2B 34 Replies latest jw friends

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  Gojira_101

  I remember not to long before my awakening, just after we started going to the hall we moved to, they had their CA and I couldn't go because of all the anxiety I have, but some friends on mine, the wife was so happy when the Thursday meeting was canceled and under her breath she made the comment that sometimes it's just too much for her to go. Her hubby is an MS, in charge of the literature counter and one of the MS to handle the donation box, so they are the last people to leave. Anyway something happened, to where they couldn't make it to their CA and so a few weeks later a neighboring circuit had their CA and the two of them were going to catch that one and they missed the Thursday meeting again. Again my friend made a comment about how happy she was she didn't have to get dressed up and go again.

  I think most of the JW's just go because that is what they are supposed to do....Me, when I started having my anxiety problems I listened on the phone, but then later we would get the meetings, but my husband and I would be playing video games. I felt so guilty about that at the time, but now I think it was awesome instead of listening we would be playing video games, but if anyone asked us, "oh yes we get the meetings every time!"

  I hated getting dressed up to go and put on a false smile and making these people think they were my friends when in fact I could see right through their shallowness. When my dad was an MS, he made us go 30 min before the meeting started and made us stay 30 min after....I hated that because all of my "friends" were the worst people to have as friends and as soon as I turned my back, they would stab it. I never wanted to go and I was so thankful when I would get sick and I couldn't go...I would milk it for all it was worth. Or better yet as a woman, every month I would have an excuse not to go! One of the few times in my life I was thankful to have the monthly visitor.

  G
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  steve2

  Disciplined people keep doing their routines even when they either don't feel like it or because theyhonestly don't know anything else they could do. For a hard core of JWs, that applies especially to meetings. Call it a sad lack of having a decent life. Imagine having no place in your brain that has anlternative to meeting attendance.

  On a related note, I read about some "brothers" in Ireland who were becoming disillusioned with the organization in the late 1980s but even months after they sent in their "resignation" letters and stopped going to meetings continued to go out in field service! Now that's either dedication or ... extreme programming. I doubt though they'd still be doing that - what a way to waste one's life after leaving!
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  Magwitch

  40+ years I HATED Tuesdays and Thursdays, even after I stopped going to meetings, there was always that lingering feeling of dread on those days. They were like dirty words that made me cringe when I heard them.
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  jam

  For me it was like being a crack addict. Vicious circle,

  trying to make sense of the crazy life of a JW. You attend

  the meetings and you are pump up, especially the assemblies.

  But it doesn,t last long, depression sets in when you live

  in the real world. So you continue a life of JW,s crack addiction.

  A false sense of security.
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  Sapphy

  Maybe ardent true believers or elderly ones like the meetings.

  Normal witnessess and hostages-to-family strongly dislike them. Just think about the rejoycing heard in the land whenever a sunday speaker didn't turn up & no overzealous elder volunteered to stand in. Or how happy everyone is with their free evening when the school & service meeting is cancelled because it's circuit assembly at the weekend.

  Conversely, theres a noticable lack of enthusiasm for the circuit vist tuesday and thursday meeting.

  TL:DR Very few actually like the meetings, most would be happy if they were "simplified" further.
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  JW GoneBad

  They say numbers don't lie. We had our CO visit last week and one of his concerns was that our attendance averages out to about 70% at both Sunday meeting and at midweek.

  Worst yet, he said it isn't the same 30% that is missing meetings. Everyone seems to alternate. When Bro John is not at meeting Bro Mark is and vice versa, when Sister Mary is not at meeting Sister Jane is and vice versa. So apparently everyone has a problem with meeting attendance.

  With me personally, even when I'm there physically my mind and spirit aren't! Thats' because meetings are a draaaggg!
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  finally awake

  After about the first year, I hated going to meetings.
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  Pickler

  Going to meetings, what a nightmare!

  Racing home from work, barely time to eat, out again, as soon as you sat down you started to fall asleep...... .the same boring stuff over & over again.and those poor little kids, I can't imagine how families with youngs kids did it.

  you lucky, lucky people in cold climates, we never cancelled meetings due to weather and it would be sweltering (over 40celsius ) no air, just weak ceiling fans!
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  DesirousOfChange

  We missed our meeting last night.

  After being ill and missing, and after being out of town and missing, we discussed it. "We do neet to make them occasionally. Not ready to "send up red flags" just yet. Yet, it was just so much easier to say "F**k it". We don't care about many of them there. Evidently none of them really care about us (or they would call). So...........much easier to stay home and do nothing. Did we miss anything. Doubtful.

  Doc
• 

  WTWizard

  At first, being self-righteous and thinking that I was going to survive while others were being destroyed, I didn't want to miss boasting sessions. I wanted to get in as soon as possible so Armageddon could come quickly and I would be saved. After a short time, it felt that to be saved, I had to quit my life and just be a god-machine that does nothing else.

  As for the social aspect, there were several hounders that did their utmost to squash that. Every time I was drawn to anyone, they would put themselves in my way. Ultimately, everyone I was drawn to was removed from my life--and that took less than 3 years. At which point, I would have absolutely no reason to want to even bother. Rather, I would hope for every little disturbance from as far away as New Zealand to turn into a blizzard that would force the boasting session to be called off. Once, I saw the waning gibbous moon and hoped that it would quickly form clouds, then snow, then a meter or 2 of snow, and that the boasting session would be lost. And I would be pxxxed every time a storm missed us, its timing was off, it wimped out, it turned to rain, or the idiot hounders decided that, as they saw cars headed to the mall, we could head to the hall. (And one of the scumbags that drove all the good out of my life lived on a major route from the city to a major mall, seeing cars headed there [to pick up candles, flashlights, and batteries] and prevented the boasting session from being called off).

  I also never wanted to do field circus beyond the first year or so. I was willing to do "reasonable and prudent" amounts--but that was never enough. After the spirit wore off, it was just a drudgery. That "spirit" was nothing more than the illusion that I was headed for salvation. Escalating demands for ever more field circus, plus that it was never any good, made me not want to waste time out there. They would try keeping me out in field circus beyond pre-agreed quitting time, using the "last call" trick and then tacking on other calls and even whole territory workings. They tried having me place rags with disgustingly ugly men (just men), and exclaiming that that's what I am attracted to--just what it takes to turn me off from field circus. I would always hope for no one to show up.