Did any of us ever enjoy meetings? (page 3)

stan livedeath

i liked the camaraderie when i was in my teens--but rarely took any notice of the content of the meetings--no point--heard it all before--over and over.

but--i got married at 20--then started to really think about it all--and quit aged 23.

The one thing that stood out of every meeting was the way 100 words were used when 10 would do. The quality of public speaking is very poor. and as others have already said, "I have heard it all a million times before".

Within this poor presentation is the 'scripture strafers' who quote a scripture every other second and there are in prayer those who 'Jehovah us to death' who use the name every second line in prayers as if to gain favour by so doing.

stuckinarut2

Yes Zeb! The "punctuation Jehovah" prayers!!

snugglebunny

I regard attending meetings like going skiing. Both are uncomfortable but the apres ski makes it more bearable..

freemindfade

Not a one.

Just seeing friends after

tornapart

Could never understand anyone who said they were uplifting, encouraging, enjoyable etc. Deep down I always guessed they were lying, even if only to themselves. I always disliked the meetings and if ever I had a headache or any other excuse to get out of it I would. My mind would be elsewhere or I would read my bible (which I did like). I nearly always fell asleep during the WT. These days if I go I find I'm more alert and interested in what's being said just to laugh inwardly at the total BS being spouted.

Je.suis.oisif

Funny, I'm in the " helped to deal with long periods of boredom" camp. I was asked by a prominent elder in our circuit if I enjoyed the meetings, and I said "No"! He just glared at me and never spoke to me again. It was over 25yrs he kept this up?

I absolutely hated assemblies. I used to wish I could die rather than attend. This introduced me to thinking about the state of death being preferable to everything connected with my life as a jw. You've guessed, I thought about being dead 24/7. But since I've faded I look forward to each new day, and have never wished myself dead in the last 6mnths. <mexican wave>.

StephaneLaliberte

I did enjoy meetings. Without sarcasm, I actually did enjoy having shallow conversations before and after the meetings. Sure, I knew none of them were true friends, but somehow, I still enjoyed seeing them every week or 3 months (at assemblies). This summer, I actually drove to Cornwall (Ontario, Canada) where we had our district conventions and reflected on how I actually miss some of these people.

As for the talks, I’d say that on average, I was in agreement with about 60 to 70 percent of their content and as such, did enjoy these things. Back then, I had fooled myself to believe that I constantly needed to be reminded to be a good person in order to actually be one.

However, towards my last active year, it became difficult and going to these meetings became a chore. I was increasingly sensitive to talks placing the Organization as equal to God. I started counting how many times they would say “Faithful slave” and “governing body”. How these man imposed an unscriptural authority over the conscience of others. How they lied about the world and other religions. How they happily exposed the sins of others, and hid their own. How they almost rejoiced at disasters occurring around and in the world, using such stories to offer a “false security” feeling to their members. How they frequently spoke in half-truths, etc.

As time went one, these things became unacceptable and appalling to me when my kids started to repeat these things, like absolute truths.

Finally, when I realized I was spending my meetings taking notes of everything I wanted to “explain” to my kids later, that is when I realized it was time to stop.

ToesUp

Heck no! Funny thing...I couldn't get to the liquor store or home fast enough to have a drink. Hmmm....don't feel that urge anymore. Wonder why?

jehobi

Yes. I actually did and it gave me a feeling of inner peace. But alas it was all an illusion. Bliss.

Did any of us ever enjoy meetings?