How Far Up The Ladder Did You Go In JW Land?

by minimus 82 Replies latest jw friends

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  StephaneLaliberte

  Never even made it to MS. Reason is simple: When I was about 11 years old, I remember attending a convention where the district overseer, Leonce Crepeau, ridiculed a man who had gone to the media saying he waisted 20 years of his life in the JWs religion. He said: “20 years! 20 YEARS! Clearly, if it took him 20 years to realize he was in the wrong place, he must've been profoundly stupid!” Everyone in the audience were laughing, including me. But at the same time, I promised myself to research all of my doubts and questions before I would ever reach out for privileges such as MS or Elder.

  Forward many years later, I am finally married and my life is settled enough for me to reach out for such privileges. Hence, I started researching all of the doubts that had followed me through the years. In the process, learned TTATT and felt it was impossible to reach out. I would have felt hypocritical to impose or teach things that I didn’t believe myself.

  Still, I stayed for another 10 years. Through all these years, I was trying to reason myself into reaching out... but never could. I knew I was doing logical gymnastic in order to please people around me and it wasn’t right.

  When my kids got old enough to understand what was being said at the hall, that is when I decided it was enough. I couldn’t let my kids be exposed to their teachings. So I left.
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  OrphanCrow

  jesscd: As a female I was only allowed to hold the ladder, oh and maybe clean it...

  
  
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  ToesUp

  We were only lowly publishers. We were good for cleaning, donations and typically filling seats at the KH. My spouse never felt the need for added "privileges." He knew once he became a MS they would dump all over him. So glad to be free!
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  dozy

  MS Elder MTS pioneer. Looking back - nothing to be proud of. Just a dung beetle boasting about how high on the pile of manure he has climbed up.
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  eyeuse2badub

  Great topic since so many of us really believed that we were serving jehober and our fellow dubs as we ascended the wt ladder. It was the only thing that a 'dedicated' (male) witness was encouraged to aspire. we were soooo delusional! Oh My F*cking God were we delusional! It was so important as a young 'brother' to achieve those "stripes and badges" as we climbed that invisible ladder.

  Too bad if you were born a woman! Nothing for you to aspire to in jehober's org except 'pioneer' and, maybe, if you were real lucky, the all important job of supporting your elder husband! IMHO, women would have been sooo much better at many of the organizational/congregation responsibilities and decision making positions.

  I was like a jw "golden boy" so to speak. Vacation pioneered in the summer, baptized at 12 years old, gave my first public talk at 18 years old, married at 19 years old, regular pioneer at 20 years old, elder at 23 years old (when the 'elder arrangement' first began in 1972) and 'served' as an elder for over 3 decades off and on. I was used extensively for circuit parts and was a much requested speaker for public talks in our area of SoCal. I was sooo 'blessed' with sooo many "privileges"!----God I was great!---It was very hard to be humble when so much is heaped upon you so early in life and unfortunately, I ate it up like a buffoon! Other young ones in the 'troof' were out having fun, drinking, smoking, dancing, partying, doing a little weed (and other drugs), getting a little pu**y from some of the hotties in the vast SoCal area.

  Me,----I was home studying for my next part on the meeting or circuit assembly or preparing my 'presentation.

  Now I'm 70 and damn happy to be free of the wt organization even though I still attend occasionally to be with my lovely wife of 50+ years. I've seen a lot of sh*t go down in the wt borg. Not even close to what I knew as that "golden boy" growing up in the 60's and 70's. No "do overs" in life but it hasn't been all that bad either!

  just saying!
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  sparrowdown

  One of the biggest illusions of JWland is that their is a ladder when there is no ladder only the illusion of one, everyone is disposable and dispensable in witnessworld.
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  Ucantnome

  I never had any desire to have any privileges in the congregation.

  I pioneered when I left school because I thought it was the right thing to do. When I was living at home after baptism I have said prayers at the meetings and read the Watchtower and carried the microphone and opened the Service meeting once and led the field service arrangement as a pioneer. When I left home I attended meetings and was regular in field service and avoided any other privileges. I left 10 years later.
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  James Mixon

  Yes what a high "used extensively for Circuit parts", but you come down real fast when the next day after the assembly you are cleaning your employee (house cleaning service) toilet. Baptized 1971, MS 1974, Elder 1975 age 29....Served in a foreign country for a year and 9 years where the need is great....
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  Skepsis

  MS, Regular Pioneer for years, serving in foreign language congregations, public talks in all the area and even 250 kms away from where I live, parts in conventions, participating in Construction of KHs and maintenance and giving technical support remotely to Bethel for other parts of the country.. Man, how much time I lost serving this multi-billion organisation thinking I was doing for God!

  Had I invested all that amount of time, and effort in other things, I would have advanced in a professional career and enjoy experiences normal people do when being young.

  Cost of opportunity is so high!
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  FedUpJW

  Did everything a good little Dubbie was supposed to do. All the free labor...vacation pioneer/temporary pioneer/auxiliary pioneer, all the things that should have been MS/Elder material, but never quite was ever good enough for anything else, just the work with none of the perks. always some half-fast excuse why they thought I didn't make the grade.
  

  So I asked myself, "Ladder? What ladder? I don't need no stinking ladder!"

  JDubs can shove their ladder up their anal orifices.