Find What Your Social Status Was in the Congregation

by Mary 44 Replies latest jw friends

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  Xanthippe

  I was from a 'divided' family, my dad was never a JW. We were very poor, so no status at all in the congregation. I pioneered because I really believed every one who did not become a JW would die very, very soon.

  I feel the same about the world now. I can't watch kids dying of hunger on TV and do nothing about it. The difference is that now I know it's not just down to a tiny group of people but that many thousands of ordinary people are doing their tiny little bit which amounts to a whole lot together. Also some very rich people are doing much more than I can.

  My husband could only stomach four years as an elder before we both knew what was really going on and we left.

  So my becoming a 'pioneer sister' was born from indoctrination, I thought I had to help save the world. Stupid yes, lacking in education, oh yes, but mean spirited and not willing to work, OMG no!

  If people didn't pioneer and they did't really believe it then why did they stay? That always baffled me.
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  KateWild

  Without a shadow of a doubt I was always an 8. Even during my study before I got baptised, and I never changed. some of the elders appreciated my free thinking and I had a few honest ones as close friends.

  Kate xx
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  Blackfalcon98

  Imma 8, the lowest of the low! Good post! 
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  prologos

  Rejoice all you no.8s, you are Jesus's favourites, --now,

  if only the man, the lord was real, you would have it made.

  sadly, his "True Christians" are not really so, either.  
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  jws

  I started off life as a #2 "Elders and their families". My dad would go to speak at other congregations and almost always the visiting speakers got invited out by somebody. I was a kid, but my dad seemed well liked. He was very sincere and thoughtful in his job. My mom never went out drinking with the other elder wives. She had more rank and file friends and the topics of conversation weren't gossipy. So my family didn't fit the OP's description, IMO. But my father's position gave me a sense of entitlement.

  After two halls merged and had too many elders - AND my dad's willingness to speak out for people (he had an argument about sending flowers to a funeral for a sister's non-believing husband who had died and he occasionally came to meetings - he argued they should be kind and send flowers - the rest of the elder body didn't want to be nice). So my dad was demoted to MS. So at that point, we were #5 rank & file family. Although with my dad's past, he knew people all over and was a pretty good carpenter too so he did a lot of quick builds. So there was still a bit of status and a network even if he wasn't an elder.
  

  Then my brother and I decided to attend college and became #8. Actually, by this time, we didn't really care what any of the JWs thought of us. We had our own worldly friends who we didn't have to tiptoe around and could let loose. Many at the hall didn't like us. One girl's mother downright hated us. They knew we drank, went to concerts, did a lot of wordly things and hated us for not getting in trouble for doing them and not feeling guilty about doing them. The girl's mom was due to a different incident. They hated us. But..., don't care.