Going to Kingdom Hall for first time (page 3)

Sammy Jenkis

Love bombardment and hypocrisy laced with many "welcomes" and "happy to have you's."

Cantleave, I just watched those cartoons right after posting the last comment. Very funny, and thank you. I better get some good sleep tonight. OnTheWayOut, I applaud everyone here who has been able to learn TTATT as well as those who have been able to help others to see it. The only thing that I am sure of is my own relationship with God. I firmly believe that it is not me who would reach a JW, but Him through me. If it doesn't happen, so be it. If it does, to Him be the glory. I'll be sure to post up my experience. In the meantime, thank you all for your comments!

Aunt Fancy

I look forward to hearing your take on it after you go to the meeting. I too found the two videos Cantleave posted very funny but so true.

ABibleStudent

Hi InChristAlone, It will vary from congregation to congregation. Some congregations are very small and therefore the love bombing will be less. Other congregations are larger so the love bombing may be greater.

I have been to two congregations on both the East and West coast. Both meetings were boring and played awful music. Red flags were going off in my mind during the meetings and I really did not like that answers were provided for respondents at the bottom of the WTBTS's propaganda. Nothing uplifting will be said as in services of religions that I have attended.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

Calebs Airplane

PLEASE ASK ONE OF THE ELDERS THIS QUESTION:

If I convince my family to join your religion and we all get baptized, will my family not be allowed to interact with me if I decide to formally resign from the JWs afterwards?

Mum

I haven't been to a KH in many years, but here's what I remember.

The music is recorded. There won't be any pipe organ emitting glorious sounds.

At the front of the hall will be a stage with a lectern on it and most likely a mural of a scene from nature, probably trees and/or flowers of some sort, no crucifis or altar.

There won't be pews, but some kind of cheap chairs to sit in.

The guy who gives the public talk may be semi-literate and mispronounce and/or not understand the meaning of some of the words he is reading from the prefab "outline," which is very detailed, and not what any of my English teachers would have considered an outline.

After the public talk is the Watchtower "study." I saw an online article that compared this session as a kind of hypnosis. One guy stands at the lectern and one guy sits in a chair off to the side. The guy at the lectern asks the paragraph-specific questions from the bottom of the page of the magazine, whereupon people in the audience raise their hands to answer. The answers are always read directly from the page unless there's a pseudo-intellectual or rebellious one answering. Then the guy in the chair stands up and reads the paragraph. This process is repeated for each paragraph until paragraphs have all been covered.

People in front of you might be pinching or otherwise abusing their children. Give them dirty looks. Offer to take the child outside or give it some kind of relief from the droning drivel.

Then you will listen to a song sung in a "barking rhythm" (as described by George Orwell in 1984) and realize these put-upon people have no musical education either.

The others have told you about the love-bombing and opportunistic "friendly" gestures. Be nice to these poor, enslaved folks, but don't pander.

Then go home and drink a pint or a fifth or whatever it takes to get over what you've just been through.

I'll be looking forward to your post about the experience.

Iown Mylife

going to the meeting. What awful words. I hate getting dressed up, having to rush around getting ready to leave the house. Get to the hall, try to find a place to park. People who are already there, clogging up the aisle so you have to push around them to find a seat. They won't move until you ask several times, Excuse me! If it's time to get a new KM pamphlet for the month, try to chase the elder down who has them, good luck with that. He's too busy, he ran out, he left them at home.

Okay the music starts, endure one of those "new" songs that probably is just a chopped up version out of the older songbook, changed enough so you feel uncomfortable trying to sing it, just stare at the book until they're done. (groan) listen to the boring as hell opening prayer. Finally, sit down, try to listen to the regular fear mongering first part of the talk, and then the predictable second part where you find the solution to the fear - staying in Jehovah's org, blah blah blah.

Field the rolling eyeballs of your teen or spouse who are both bored out of their skulls, trying to suppress gas, hungry, anxious about a job they need to get to, whatever. Noticing the armpit stink of the awful guy in the row behind you who has his arms stretched out and propped on the chairs on either side of him. OH GOD.

Listen to another song. Wait for the WT study to get over with. More fear, more predictable solution. Listen to ANOTHER song and another horribly boring prayer. Lean over and prop your arms on the chair in front of you when your back starts to hurt. Give up and just sit down, this droning will never end.

Try not to heave a huge audible sigh of relief as you gather up your meeting dreck and shove it into your meeting bag, and head on out, trying to avoid the clumps of people who don't move when you're trying to get by, and shrug off the inquiries of nosy self-righteous hypocrites.

Get home, rip off horrible meeting clothes, get some lunch or get blue jeans on and go out to eat somewhere you won't run into anybody from the congregation. Because you're SICK of seeing their faces, and trying to forget all the mean, inconsiderate things that have happened over 30 years.

bildad

InChristAlone

You will no doubt find some very sincere people. What are your relatives like? That is likely what you will find. I actually believe you will find some people who are trying to live as genuine Christians there. On the other hand you might find some who are struggling like many of us on this site. They might really become friends in time.

Doctrinally, they will no doubt be different from what you believe, but you are no doubt already aware of that. Just be your Christian self and have an open mind towards others.

InChristAlone

Thanks bildad, true words of wisdom. My relatives really do try to live genuine Christian lives and are really wonderful people. They do run from any conversation though that may shed light on the organization. Based on my interactions with the JW's in my area, I expect the same in both areas.

2+2=5

That video Cantleave posted is so close to experiencing a real JW meeting it is incredible.

The part in the first song where it changes and they all speed up was freaking hilarious, you would have to have been a JW and know this song to appreciate this. And then, the chairman with his slightly awkward manner and the constant little gaffs he makes.

And every JW knows that feeling when they introduce the Public speaker from a visiting congregation, and up wanders a 70 something year old brother, who can't even get through his opening sentence without referring to his notes, and you then think to yourself we are in for a long morning.

The WT study was spot on also. Little kid blurts out a two word answer at a thousand decibels, and then others take it turns at covering the paragraph virtually word for word.

Have fun at the meeting, take a flask of Vodka and enjoy the show.

Going to Kingdom Hall for first time

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