JW morale reaching new low (page 5)

FadeToBlack

I agree with you Steve2. Here in Poland they are still very positive but it has to do mainly with growth in foreign language field.

I think foreign language fields have better morale. I've also visited several poorer foreign contries and they have better morale as well. To be honest, they don't really seem to be caught up in the WT corporate nonsense with its endless rules. The elders are not as controlling because they haven't inherited years/generations of "oral tradition" to enforce in addition to the scriptures. They seem to focus more on love and being a good person and are less concerned with obscure non-sensical doctrine. Also older WTs are not in their language, so they cannot go back and research certain flip flops. This is why I believe new growth is almost exclusively in these fields.

Stand for Pure Worship

Haven't browsed through this whole thread, but I sat in a meeting not too long ago where a brother spoke on an observation he held that field service in our congregation isn't as enthusiastic as it should be. He stated that the friends just don't have a positive spirit towards field service. He was complaining that in his group they reach the territory at roughly quarter to ten, and they're ready for a break at eleven. Then after the break they might attempt a call or two, and then they're ready to call it a day. He stated that he didn't understand why, and what we need to do to bring some life back into field service.

I kept my mouth shut, but I was thinking to myself the whole time how we've worked these same territories for years. We've hardley had anyone come out of these territories into our congregation that didn't have some type of "issue." I mean, there's no one on this planet that doesn't have some kind of problem or problems, but for the most part at least in my experiences, normal people don't become Jehovah's Witnesses. I say that with no disrespect to anyone on here that converted and became a JW, but from all the people that I've seen throughout the years that had no JW connection in their life prior to studying with and getting baptized as a JW, only one or two were what I consider to be normal or come from a normal background. Even right now I'm thinking about how proud the congregation was of some that got baptized from our congregation in recent times, and they were all what you would label as, weird. People with obvious mental and social issues.

That said, the normal people that we would come across in field service, either politely accept the literature, politely declined, rudely protested, told us to get off their property in a hostile manner, etc.. With that kind of response, year in and year out, what do you expect? Then you sit in those Service Meetings, with poorly prepared demonstrations, or well prepared demonstrations, both of which end up with successful placements, doorstep Bible studies, room open for return visits, etc., meanwhile the audience knows the results of those demonstrations are NOT what to expect when they actually go out there and attempt what they saw demonstrated from the platform. The illustrations found within the magazines or the brochure being studied at the Congregation Book Study, don't accurately depict the emotions that go on at the meetings. Yet we go over variations of the same "encouraging" material over and over again. After a while, it gets old. Hard to elicit a positive outlook when the well has been drained dry.

BizzyBee

Well said, SFPW, another example of the WTS being out of touch with the reality faced by the R & F.

LongHairGal

Stand for Pure Worship:

Thank you very much for stating what I have known for years. Very true.

Quite simply: TOO MANY people who have joined the JWs in recent years have serious issues. I am sure that some kingdom halls in some areas might be hot-beds of trouble because of all these people plus other needy people with their hands out. Well....you can have it.

Thirty or so years ago, the Witneses were, for the most part, comprised of responsible working people. There may have been a deadbeat or a kook here and there, but basically they were mentally sound. Not so any more.

I believe that because the JWs cannot find responsible people at home (because they are out working), they ended up bringing in anybody who would listen to their presentation. In many instances, these were people who were troubled and were on the fringes. To add insult to injury, somehow these troubled people got a wrong message that the Witnesses are some sort of charitable organization. Perhaps their bible studies gave them this message (oh, we're so loving and look out for each other [NOPE]) that these people joined the religion and then thought they were going to inflict themselves and their problems on other people in the hall, in other words, people who have their act together or who look like responsible working people.

What this ultimately means is: if I were in the religion now, I would be targeted. Well, guess what? Thirty years ago I would have no tolerance for this.

Nope, I'd run from them.

P.S. I know people who have left the Witnesses years ago and are unaware of these bad changes in the demographics of the congregations. I am all too glad to tell them what is there, just in case they were curious about going back.

wasblind

Thank you for that inside observation Stand for pure....

But I must point out, normal people can get entrapped

it depends on whats goin' on in thier lives at that particular time

The WTS teaches how to do this

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" But why do the Witnesses call repeatedly even at homes of people who do not share thier faith ?

People themselves change; serious problems in life may stimulate an awareness of spiritual need." _____Reasoning from the Scriptures book page 206

.

Trust, I realized how normal my life was compared to the concentrated numbers

on anti depressants in that one Kingdom Hall I attended.

.

I jus don't believe that many people in one place can have a chemical imbalance

of the brain that cause mental illness. It's that religion

.

And if your still in Stand for Pure......... What does that say about you

.

Vidiot

SFPW, that post was nothing like your usual Society-stroking.

Have you been drinking?

Watchtower-Free

Very astute observation SFPW .

I was bornin over 50+ yrs ago and coerced into baptism at a young age .

For decades I've noticed that new ones all seemed to be the vulnerable type .

Around here USA all the new baptisms seem to be young bornins .

kneehighmiah

Even right now I'm thinking about how proud the congregation was of some that got baptized from our congregation in recent times, and they were all what you would label as, weird. People with obvious mental and social issues.

We were joking about this amongst a group of born-in JWs. Everyone new seems to have serious mental problems. I compare the new ones to the stories of older converts. It's completely different. Older ones may have been searching for God or just returned from war with many questions. In contrast many new ones are on welfare, fresh out of jail, extremely f'ed up family situation or have severe mental illness. This puts a severe strain on the elders who are not trained to handle these new ones. Ultimately it leaves the elders burned out and contributes to the plunging morale. Also these new ones will never qualify for "special privileges" due to their instability.

XBEHERE

I think that morale is lowering but enough die harders" are still around to keep whipping up the masses into a frothy, whipped confection. In my congregation all except for 4 of the elders out of 11 on our body are pioneering. They breathe, speak, eat, and shit WTism. The Coordinator is such a WT man that he watches and counsels any elder or servant that doesnt follow instructions from mother to the tee! Among the lay people I do agree about morale slipping a bit but the threat of being socially ostrasized keeps most in line. I do agree with the poster that each successive generation of children born to WTites will take it less and less seriously. Unfortunately things will likely change very little in our lifetimes.

JW morale reaching new low

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