by dontplaceliterature 14 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
I don't post here much anymore, but I am working on a project with a few academics from my area who are in the psychology field. We are looking for printed evidence in their literature that Jehovah's Witnesses train their publishers/pioneers to target people who are suceptible to being recruited - i.e. People who have experienced a loss, or who are emotionally vulnerable.
This could be in a letter, KM, Watchtower, Pioneer manual, etc.
Any help is appreciated.
I'm sure someone will know better than me but I thought I remember a wt that talked about contacting recently deceaced family members (cruising the obit's) which I find disgusting. It wasn't worded exactly like that but that was the gist of it. I think it was an older wt, when they still had 2 meetings a week (?) These things stay in the psyche of the r & f so even if it is not still suggested in print it is still there in their collective subconscious, in my opinion.
This will be interesting to see. Of course whatever is found will be sugar coated and appear charitable.
Do you have Watchtower Library CD-ROM? It can be downloaded from internet as ISO file, at Mega.co.nz .
Pioneer manual PDF is at Sendspace.
Here's one sample presentation from KM last year (The one about starting bible studies).
Don't know where to find this information but I do know through the years it was always talk about how we are looking for people who have lost a love one due to death or down in their luck having hardships in their lifes. Still Totally ADD
sorry I'm not going to be much help either, but I'll try...I don't know if this is in print, but there's often encouragement to use the "when someone you love dies" brochure anytime we happen to run into someone who's experienced a recent loss.
Also, one of the reasons we're told to go back to houses where we know the people don't want us to call anymore is because their heart may have changed. The inevitably someone will cite an experience where someone was always rude at the door, then one day they called on them in d2d work and they were receptive after having lost a loved one.
Also, just a cursory examination of most of the WT/Awake magazines will make it obvious that they'll appeal more to people who are overly worried about the condition of the world, which would betray emotional turmoil. In addition, we're often told that we're looking for those who are sighing and groaning over the conditions in the world (I think they may cite Romans 8:22,23 when this is referenced, maybe that's something to search for?)
Not sure if in literature or not, but that is how my wife's family got sucked in many years ago, they left a great life in another country and found themselves deposited in the US with essentially nothing.
Good points so far. I will conduct my own search, but I'm not very organized with this stuff and I hoped someone here could point me in the right direction.
I recall being told to look for those who were "sighing and groaning" repeatedly, and know anecdotally that people would send letters to those who are mentioned as survivors in the obits. However, I'm not aware of any written instruction that specifically trains Witnesses to do this.
The new childrens video where Sophie is taught by her mother to talk to another child at school is an example, I suppose.
It doesn't matter to me if it seems charitable or not, as long as the point is made that they are specifically targeting these people in their recruitment efforts.
Thanks again, and please keep the tips coming.
Would some of this be in either the elders books or the Theocratic Ministry School book?
Not sure where it can be found but look up the campaign to Witness to people who were visiting gravesites. The Cemetary campaign was one of their more insensitive ones.
