What is your experience when you stop turning in time?

by gingerbread 38 Replies latest jw experiences

• 

  Phizzy

  The Elder in charge of our Book Study/FS group, as it was in those days, was a lovely guy,a dynamo of energy, and very efficient.

  I managed to fob him off for 5 or 6 months with the "Sorry, I am too busy at the moment", in the end he cornered me by saying he could call on me any day or any night at any time in the next week, so he called in to shepherd me.

  I told him that 1914 was simply not to be found in Scripture, and as lover of truth, I could not go out and teach people an untruth.

  He promised to call back on me and rebuild my faith in the 1914 teaching, he never did.

  A few months later, having researched on the Internet and found this place amongst others, I walked away for good.

  It is surprising they did not manage to hang a charge of Apostasy on me, as I was questioned during a two-Elder visit, which took pollace 6 months or so after my final KH Meeting, but I guess I answered "correctly".

  I am I suppose officially just Inactive/non-attending.
• 

  BluesBrother

  When I stopped, some years back, we were in a pretty laid-back congo where we were not liked anyway. I expected to get reminders and "encouragement" - but NOTHING !
• 

  return of parakeet

  gingerbread: " What is your experience when you stop turning in time? "

  When I saw the thread title, I thought it had something to do with Zen meditation.

  As a reluctant braindead dub teenager who never, but never, turned in more than the required 10 hours a month (usually more like 2 or 3), an elder would occasionally hint that more hours would be pleasing to Jehovah. I ignored him and several years later I ignored the WTS. It was a liberating but emotionally draining experience.
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  wha happened?

  Now that I think about it, I heard nothing. Some of this stuff I had forgotten, but in the end I wasn't well liked there. Nothing that I did, but one of the elders that moved in was related to an elder from the hall I went to that were convinced, I was the devil incarnate due to my ex wife. We got the major cold shoulder once they figured out who I was so I certainly wasn't missed.
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  Watkins

  No biggie for me. One elder insisted I'd spent "at least 15 minutes this month talking about Jehovah", and I suppose he wrote that down, but against my wishes if he did.

  I quoted him this, which I felt appropriate: 2 Cor. 3: 3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you? 2 You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3 being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

  I told him that 'turning in time' seems to be nothing but a commendation of ourselves. And that no where in the Bible is this kind of surveilance mentioned. "BUT", he said, "its an encouragement to the brothers and sisters". In what way, I wondered, since I only came away with guilty feelings of 'not doing enough' upon hearing 'reports' of 'high hours' in other congregations. We were constantly told we weren't doing enough, which they softened by saying we were to do whatever our circumstances would allow--- even though that was never enough! Due to that yes/no mentality I think, now, that I was crazy, then.

  watkins
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  Watkins

  Forgot to mention - that was 10 years ago. Don't think I've ever been df'd or whatever. I don't know or care. I guess my answer worked!
• 

  whathappened

  My elders called and asked for time and when I told them I didn't have any time there was dead silence for a few seconds and then they said
  "OK" in a kind of dead sounding voice and that was it.
• 

  ranmac

  When I say I couldn't be better and ask them about themselves, there is always a tiny bit of disappointment that I am not being swallowed whole by Satans system.

  Problemaddict- thats happened to me on many occasions. I usually get stunned looks when I say I'm doing great and focusing on the good things in my life. Its especially amusing when I say this right after they spiel on about how hard and miserable it is trying to get by in this system. Where I live no one should complain. I feel like telling them its most likely their religion making their life shitty.

  As for not turning in time, my ceasing was quite uneventful
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  Watkins

  Ranmac - that's classic! I've surprised a few by saying how blessed I've been and the whole family is well and healthy, despite the economy. (not to mention FREE from wt dogma!) It's no small wonder they're surprised since the wt mantra is how awful things are and how they wish for 'this system' to end - and it's right around the corner - any day now!

  There's a verse they've quoted in the mag. before about how 'expectation put-off makes the heart sick', or something of that nature - how true that is, and how tired and sick the old friends have become... quite sad that they're perpetually so sad.

  watkins
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  ranmac

  Watkins- its very sad, i agree. They blame the world for their crippling depression. The longer they sumberge themselves in the cult the less likely they will discover the true cause of their dismal state.