Conversation with old friend (page 2)

Phizzy

LHG said " I Hate being right all the time ", yea I know, bit of a bugger isn't it ?

I was similar to you in not swallowing the B.S. It was all supposed to be over in 1975, I was 25 at the time. The actual month they pinpointed was Oct. '75.

In August '75 I started my Private Pension, to supplement what I knew would be a paltry Sate Pension when I reached age 65. Of course I got criticism for my lack of faith , but this was AFTER the '75 stuff had failed !!

One guy said to me "But you will pay all that money in, and never collect your Pension, Armageddon must be very near now", so I replied "Well fine, if Armageddon comes, I won't need the money will I ? ".

I wonder if he ever did anything about his old age ? If I hadn't, my wife and I would be in dire straits now. I have been collecting my private Pension for a decade now.

Bloody Idiot JW's !

Magnum

My friend tried to make it sound like the religion is now a great place to be and ‘everybody helps each other’ and ‘brings food and assists others

So, now, basically, it has become just another church... like the ones it used to criticize in the old days. It is now a feel-good social club - nothing like the old doctrinal religion that used to encourage studying "the deeper things."

Hellothere

‘everybody helps each other’ and ‘brings food and assists others…’. Hmmm i only hear about half empty meetings and JWs complaining about how JWs don't meet outside meeting time as they used too. Wonder if he wasn't just exaggerating too make org look good.

LongHairGal

All very good comments!

PHIZZY:

I also had somebody say something along the lines of “you’ll never see that money”. Well, they proved to be very wrong.

People like us in the JWs who disregarded the utter nonsense were probably few and far between. Meanwhile, everybody else there was falling for the fantasy.. What I cannot forgive in my case was that ALL the older people there were collecting their pensions. THEY were obviously in the workforce. But, yet, poverty was pushed on all the young people like myself that were there! Thankfully, I paid no heed. Maybe my non-JW upbringing saved me?.. And, so what if the Witnesses hated me and thought I was ‘unspiritual’?? They aren’t paying MY bills!

There are several Witnesses I would have loved to tell off.. Sorry I never got the chance.

Fast forward to now in 2024: all the young people got OLD. The older hypocrites back then with cushy lives pushing poverty are all gone by now.. They aren’t even around to help anybody they helped to mislead!!!

The unaccountable religion goes on reinventing itself and trashing 100 year old teachings that countless people were harmed by.. These JWs are in the ‘dire straits’ you mention.. We can be grateful we are all out of the religion! ..Meanwhile, those stuck in are gaslighted and preyed upon by legions of needy and/or crazy JWs!

DesirousOfChange

So, now, basically, it has become just another church... like the ones it used to criticize in the old days. ~ Magnum

Interesting comment Magnum. It reminded me of a "worldly" funeral we attended in the past week. The deceased and his family attended the local Baptist Church. Little old church that didn't seat but about 120 people. But it had a "recreation" room that was equal in size to the old original church which you could see had dividers to separate it into 3 smaller areas for Sunday School. The whole room was set with folding tables and chairs and all the local church members served up a feast no different than you'd see an a JW Cong function (ie, the funeral of a prominent JW).

It rained the entire time we stood at the cemetery following the funeral and a younger couple insisted we take their umbrella as they had hoods on their jackets. They had never met us. They had no idea how or why we were attending, but they offered that kindness. When things like that take place, I always whisper to my wife, with a wink, that they must be JWs.

LongHairGal

ATLANTIS:

Thank you for your kind words.

Back in the day I certainly was going against the crowd because I worked and did not pioneer! It felt like actual hatred from some Witnesses there.

They were determined to ‘punish’ me by making sure I wasn’t invited anywhere.. Little did they know I had friends on the outside so these wonderful ‘Christians’ in the hall were not missed!.. [Funny experience: years later but before I Retired I’m in a local deli waiting for my order and I see an older lady staring at me. I didn’t know her but smiled anyway because that’s how I am. Later, I realized it was somebody from that judgmental hall.]

slimboyfat

I think we’re jumping the gun a bit. They’ve stopped reporting hours, but they’ve not stopped door to door ministry. They still meet and go out as they always did. Whether this changes time will tell, but as of yet the only thing that stopped is reporting the hours spent on the ministry. I wonder if pioneers will stop reporting time too. But if they stop reporting time then that’s the end of pioneers as a concept, because what does it mean to be an pioneer other than reporting a certain amount of hours? If pioneers go, then that will be a bigger change in some ways.

LV101

Longy - you're a smart gal and hope you enjoy that retirement for yrs. to come!

My friend returned to the JW fold (oh my) and is being asked some personal, financial, info -- she's being very evasive and cautious. She's educated, very intelligent, divorced, and owns a home - a target for free loaders and I warned her. She is still employed. All elderly adherents in her hall w/only couple younger ones.

LongHairGal

LV101:

My God, how could your friend go back there! Whether it’s loneliness or whatever - I’m sorry to hear it.

And, it doesn’t surprise me that they are asking her personal and financial information. I have no use for them. This says it all.. What more does anybody need to hear? I couldn’t even tolerate being in the same room with them now. I hope your friend doesn’t check her brains at the door! ..She’s a perfect target. 👎

Biahi

Who is asking for financial info? Someone needy or elders trying to sniff out what they can squeeze out of her?

Conversation with old friend

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