I was maybe 12 at the time, I remember going to a door with someone and the householder said "you didn't learn from 1975 did you ?", I never really knew what the person meant, but I look back now, where was the internet back then.
Did anything a householder said ever make an impression on you?
by Alleymom 64 Replies latest jw friends
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AS IF
I remember being out with an "old timer" sister and she got some guy at the door. He asked how long that she had been a witness, which she replied "all my life". (she was in her 60's) He said and how can you be sure that what you are saying is true? She replied "God does not lie!" and he promises eternal life for those that follow him. The guy said "really eh, eternal life"? She said yes. To which he replied
"Well I hope you're right cuz if your not..........well...........you sure wasted this one!! SLAM!! I assumed he was thereafter a DNC.
Food for thought!!
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rocketman
Wow, this quite the thread - lots of excellent and thought-provoking experiences.
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freedom96
I did my share of knocking on doors and talking to people. I must admit, that the last time I went was many years ago, but when I did, I never had a householder say anything that really made an impression.
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Vanant
I'd been in the Spanish-speaking circuit for most of my life. I do know Spanish, but don't speak it very well and prefer English, so when I've gone out on service, I would leave the talking to my partner and space out most of the time. So I can't recall any specific statements householders have said that've made an impression on me, but I do remember actions . . . I remember getting yelled at, having had a gun aimed at us, arguing with die-hard atheists and born-agains, etc., typical experiences that JWs point at and say, "See the hard hearts of the worldly!"
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libra_spirit
I once knocked on a door with my presentation firmly in mind, all about how I was going to lead into a certain scripture using some clever leading questions. It had been a bad day in service and no one had even talked let alone let me finish my presentation. I got a surprise. The man behind the door immediatly invited me in and then actually started answering my leading questions. Tears flowed from his eyes as he began to relate how he had built an alter out in the woods. How Jesus had appeared to him as well as an angel and given him personal guidance. The expierence was so moving for me I was shaken and speechless. He went on about how he had fasted and prayed after a death in the family and the Lord opened the heavens of light and touched his soul. I gave up right then and there. I finally accepted the fact that most of the people I was running into at the doors knew way more then me about the spiritual existence. Most of them were far beyond anything I could offer them, and I felt quite stupid continuing to offer them a purly "mental arguement" as a "path of truth," one of fear and one of blind obedience to the Org. I realized that I was the one filled with "uncertainty" not them. I was the one who was "insecure" in my faith and had no right to be trying to change them. I was the one having no spiritual expierences, they were having plenty!
That man on that day certainly got my attention! It was because I truly felt what he was sharing with me. I didn't know if it was demons, but I did know that it was real. I knew that he could face it but that I was not prepared at all to face it.Some of the light must have touched me as well, because I never ever went back into the pioneering work after that call. I knew that it was wrong. I knew that I had merely been doing what the JW rules and regulations had stated, but that he had found the emotional meaning of God in his life and had expierenced it. For him it was real. He had been touched by the Love and Light of God, that I was proclaiming that we had, and it was an embarasment to realize this. I secretly felt shame the rest of that service day, I could not shrug it off. I was filled with fear and had no inner confidence or inner strength to face a spiritual reality. A real one that could not fit into your head, or into a watchtower article.
When faced with any truly Spiritual event, a JW becomes fearfull and retreats, having no actual training on this level, but only able to state how he thinks things are supposed to work. He will usually run like hell and shout demons get away from me, Jehovah protect me! Not really sure however wether this will in fact protect him cuz maybe he did something questionalbe yesterday. I suppose my mistake with this guy was to stand there and actually listen to his story. He was the only one that day to invite me in, so I did listen. My eyes were opened to a new reality of "expierenced truth." Rather then the usual old "well defined invisible structure" I had programmed into my mind.
It's funny that when you already have all the answers, you do not learn anything. When you finally admit you don't understand something, then the flood gates open up and knowledge flows in, and then your whole reality can change. And it feels right inside!
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embalmed
An elderly lady was raking her front yard when a small mob of us started talking to her. She looked at me and my sister [we were about 9 and 5 respectively] and ignoring the adults, she said to us "do you really like doing this?" Before I was given a chance to answer, one of the JW women said, "Of course they do!" The old woman had a subtle look of disgust on her face and I could tell she knew I really wasn't enjoying myself.
Another time, when I was maybe 11, I was made to knock the door [despite my socialphobia] and offered the lady inside the magazines. She said, "well, I'll read yours if you'll read mine." I thought that was reasonable enough, and as I was about to accept, the old hag I was with said, "No, we already know enough about other religions." The lady looked a little disappointed, and I thought that was rude of the hag to say something like that. Then when we returned to the car, the hag started boasting how she had "saved" me at a troublesome door. Good lord.
Lastly, I was out with another elderly sister and we came to this door of a big trinity believer. The sister must have spent an hour debating with him and meanwhile, I was standing around kicking the dirt and rocks being bored to death. Finally the man noticed the little girl [me] that was with this crazy lady and said to her, "you even make your kids come out and do this? christ, they're only kids, let them have some fun and stop wasting their lives." At this, the debate was over and I FINALLY got to go back to the car.
Nowadays when I'm forced to go door to door, [when I can't manage to get out of it] I hid little slips of paper in the magazines saying things like "Help me! I'm stuck in a cult!" or "don't fall into the trap, you'll never escape!" Things like that.
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Alleymom
Embalmed --
Nowadays when I'm forced to go door to door, [when I can't manage to get out of it] I hid little slips of paper in the magazines saying things like "Help me! I'm stuck in a cult!"
ROFLOL!!!! I take it you still live at home with your parents?
How about little slips of paper with website addresses for freeminds, etc.?
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Deleted
Good question. 1. We were placing the Creation book and I started off on some point about Noah's flood and if it really could have happened. The householder looked at me and said "Really, now what difference does that make?" I told him he was right, I packed up my stuff and left. I remember thinking as I left, What difference does any of this make. 2. A long-time return visit asked me why the Watchtowers had nothing new in them, it's the same message over and over again. I could't answer that one.
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kilroy2
I can remember this one old man would buy the tower and go to the front windo and knock till he got our attention and tear them up. we used to think it was funny as we did not care about any of it we were just going through the motions as it was what mom and dad wanted us to do. after we got a little older I used to have to buy the elders son's penthouse as I was old enough, they would stay over after a sat. service and keep me up all night with a flashlight reading [galking] and those naughty girls