by Alligator Wisdom 18 Replies latest jw experiences
When I was in the Borg I saw a lot of "creature worship" -as the watchtower puts it- directed to any one of a higher stature in the Borg. Especially to the co-do or the gov body.
The worst I saw was the willingness to sacrifice ones child to the demands of the gb by refusing a blood transfusion. This was based on the gb twisting of bible statements. This order was enforced by the threat of disfellowshipment.
Outoftheorg
I wonder if any of these "GB Worshipers" were summarily DFed on the spot for idolatry.
Fred Franz gave a few talks in Ottawa when I was there. I did not notice any "worhsiping" of him. Maybe Scully can give her opinion. The only thing was that the talks were given on fairly short notice.
I had heard that a GB member can fly anywhere in the world if they give a talk, and that this was used to visit friends or vacation. That might explain why Fred's talks were all the same: the history of the organization. I wondered why we all had to drop what we were doing to attend these "important" talks. That is the closest to special treatment I have seen him get. Mind you, I was not in any inner circle, so who knows what goes on.
He could barely speak and was very hard to understand. However, I admire the man because he was 94 and blind. If I am in that good of shape at 94, I will be proud of myself. And his ability to remember scriptures is remarkable.
Fred's prominence compare to Ray's is obvious. Fred was the maker of predictions, basically the Society's Oracle and theologian. Many of the Society's beliefs are because of Freddy. I believe the 1975 fiasco was his invention.
Fred made the more wacko sensational stuff that made JWs feel special. Ray's work was more solid, more balanced, and not as sensational. So Ray would not get the same attention as Fred. Plus, Fred was part of the Society for what seemed like forever.
Richard
Swan that's hysterical!!!! What a great idea!!!!! I'll mention that tomorrow at the support group I go to for folks like us who were in high control groups such as the Borg!!!!!!
The more I think about Governing Body Trading Cards the more funny it is!!!!! HEHEEEEEEEEE
Laughter is SOOOOO therapeutic!!!!!!!!!!
Truth2Me
Alligator...Yes I've seen creature worship in the org...and its laughable....but then many of these people are 'rookies' and probably having been weaned on Barry Manilow prior to the lifting of the' old horned ones veil'
Actually,I've just done' the prodigal son' shuffle...And so this entire website is fascinating to me,although at the meeting on Sunday, warnings were issued about the 'danger' of some of you 'guys'
Actually I find it 'funny' So many people with so many 'paddies'on them...chill out guys...
You would get sick if you could see the worshipping of the GB-member by the missionaries during the annual meeting at the branch..
".....Question: Have any of you personally seen or heard of such a display of adoration and glorification toward the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses?...."
Oh god yes........there's a sister in our Hall who has a daughter in Bethel. This family has never really been part of the "in" crowd, but they do just about anything to try and get there: pioneer, holier-than-thou answers at the meeting, inviting elders over for supper on a continual basis.....
Anyway, the mother started telling me one day about how much everyone loves her daughter at Bethel (I find out later that absolutely no one could stand her!). She has sat at the table with prominant ones, and even worked in Service one day with one of the GB (can't remember which one). This mother has made no secret that she wants her daughter to marry a Bethelite, (presumably the GB members are just a tad too old for her daughter). The reason? Not because she wants to see her daughter happy or see her in love, but because "you get treated much better if you've got a family member at Bethel." This is a direct quote from her. In response I said "that's pretty shallow don't you think? That's no better than marrying a man for his money!" We almost started arguing about it right there at the meeting, but I decided it wasn't worth it.
When her daughter got "let go" from Bethel (because she was a lazy and would bother getting any skills that they needed her to have), she came home and constantly bragged about how she knew some of the GB members on a "first name" basis and how much they thought of her, yadda, yadda, yadda.........I said "that's nothin', I know Jesus on a first name basis" LOL! She didn't like that.
I have absolutely no use for people like this who have their heads shoved up the ass of everyone in the chain of command.....and I never miss an opportunity to compare that to idol worship or the Pharisees .
In 1974 I was living in Pullman, a small college town in Eastern Washington. We were set to host the summer DC for the area. The hall just about went wild when they announced that Nathan Knorr was going to be the main speaker. Every time he got up on the stage, the crowd would really hush, like God Himself was about to speak to them.
in answer to your question i remember an elder in my cong, he used to go to bethel and go on and on about the fact that he knew this governing body member and that one, and he pranced around like a peacock, like we should all rush up to him and give him veneration just because he met one, and hed go to bethel and boast about how hed been there for 2 weeks and how they loved having them etc etc, used to make me sick...I think this brother used to live in america too, but hes the type that struts and thinks hes king pin and for the record I cant stand him!!!!!!!
