This elder in my dads congo used to talk very big of his bethelite, special pioneer son. Now...his son is back at home, along with his bethelite wife. I think his room still has transformer posters all over the walls 😂😂😂😂😂
Special Pioneer Couple Living at a Kingdom Hall In Miami FL, get the dreaded Letter
by James Jack 96 Replies latest jw experiences
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Virgochik
I started to snicker, but that is truly sad. At least some of these people have to be disgruntled and running their mouth in the congregation, hehe. -
life is to short
We served where the need was great when we were first married and we never got any hand outs. I worked 30 to 35 hours a week and put in 90 a month to pioneer. If anything we were dumped on to support others. As an elders wife I got hit up a lot by the poor ones in the hall. I do not know why, most of the JW's I knew always talked about how broke they were and I never did and I think because of that everyone just thought we had money. We always had a car stuffed with the other pioneers who did not want to use their cars in service. We got up to 7 people in our 1982 Honda Civic. It was totally crazy but the other pioneers were willing to squeeze in without seat belts as long as they did not have to use their car and spend their gas. We got our gas tank filled up once in all that time. In all fairness my husband did get $50.00 a month from a brother in the hall before we married who had pity on him. This brother was worth over 2 million and he let everyone know it, looking back that is crazy also. But I never got any help and this brother died a couple of months after we were married. No one ever helped me nor did I want it. I always felt it was wrong to not work for what you chose to do in life. But it did tick me off to haul around other pioneers who lived way better than I did for free.
Than we went to Bethel. When we came back we go no help expect from one brother who let us begrudging stay in his travel trailer for about 6 weeks while we found a place to live and got jobs.
It was hard and scary even though we had been on our own for most of our adult lives in those two and half years at Bethel the world had changed, Rent was double what it was before we went and wages were the same.
The biggest shock to me was how disrespectful the ones in the hall seemed toward us especially the other elders and their wives. Here these elders got up on the stage doing the service meeting touting from the KM that we should give whole soled service to Jehovah, yad, yad, yad, yet here they split out 5 to 6 kids had full times jobs and lived a normal life. It was a life that I wanted but these elders kept telling me this was not the real life and that I needed to sacrifice now and I could have the kids and homes, etc that they had now in the new system. I just never questioned why they were not doing it themselves, I only focused on what they were speaking, thinking it was from Jehovah.
I know, I know, I KNOW it is so stupid looking back in hindsight. How stupid was I? I threw away my life. I gave up the best years of my life to do things I totally hated. I hated being squeezed into a tight fitting car for 8 to 10 hours driving around aimlessly. I hated sitting in a car for hours and hours waiting on my husband in his elders meetings. I hated spending all our money on gas driving around aimlessly. I hated stressing out how we would pay our bills because all of our money went to field service, stressing how we would pay for car repairs which happened all the time because of beating the crap out of our car with so many people in it.
I hated having to have everyone over to feed the speaker and being yelled at for not doing more. I hated being put down all the time, being judged about everything I did because I was an elders wife. I hated not being able to follow my dreams but I kept being told by the ones who were not doing it themselves that it was what Jehovah wanted and I just was stupid enough to believe it and I kept my blinders on like I was told to do and not look closely at what others were doing because Jehovah would judge us each individually and then one day I woke up and I was old and realized that I was stupid and most of the JW's did not do what they touted and spouted.
I am sorry but I just really feel sorry for those who bought into it all like I did. I am not going to help them because I can't but it still does make me feel sad for them.
I also know many of them like the pioneers who squeezed into our car and many, many, many at Bethel who got their praise and glory and ton's of hand outs. I know of one couple who were my age who always told everyone they could that they were Bethelites and that they were poor, etc and they got tons of money given to them. This couple also before Bethel worked very, very well paying jobs and flew to Europe, etc on ski trips, etc. It always killed me when I heard of their begging.
So what I guess I am saying is that there are two class of full time JW's. Some do it purely for the glory and I do not feel sorry for them. But for those who really believed it and lived it, my heart goes out to them.
LITS
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Virgochik
Back in the 80's, my relative, R and his close friend T, left Bethel. I don't know if they left voluntarily, but they both left together. Hmmm. Even now, R is working a low wage job as a school bus driver, and he's nearing seventy years of age, just trying to catch up to where he can afford to retire. I can't imagine how difficult it'll be for the ones being booted out now. There's no end in sight for stopping work, once they find a scrappy job. They may never afford to retire. How depressing! -
steve2
This is "merely" a more intense version of what the organization has ALWAYS done to those whose perceived usefulness has past. Spat out.
Yes, it hurts badly - but, hey, unless you've had blinders on your whole life, how have people not seen this done in myriad different ways across several decades?
My maternal grandfather found it hard to be the Presiding Overseer in a small rural congregation in the 1950s and a "new kid on the block" was brought in to rectify the problem. My grandfather had founded that congregation in the 1930s after comnig into "the truth" in the mid 1920s.
He was sidelined without so much as a "Thank you" for all his and his family's hardwork and toil.
Oh, he remained in the organization until his death in the mid-1970s - but you could tell from his weary demeanour he had felt totally used and spat out, from his young adulthood through his older years.
But, hey Grandpa, you are "merely" one of untold numbers of dedicated Witnesses who have given your all and when your usefulness has past, you know where the exit is.
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Diogenesister
I wonder how it would affect their worldview if some "worldly," "apostate," or member of a church of "Christendom" offered them jobs or otherwise showed them kindness.
eI know in the UK the Salvation Army trawl the cold dark streets looking for the homeless, they house them, feed them and help them back on their feet to find jobs- I wonder if the SP's will conclude that Jehovah is with the WRONG organization? -
James Jack
Boy, you struck a cord and a nerve. I have not read your life story yet, but just in your comment you revealed a lot.
My wife and I Regular Pioneered for some total of 40 years. When we hit 50, the Convention in 2010 about the "Over Lapping Flipping Over Lapping plus Over Lapping Generation" change, threw me for a loop. I looked at my wife and said; "The Organization has no clue when the End is Coming"!
We came off the Pioneer List and both got fulltime jobs in our local education system(because they have the best medical insurance and retirement benefits). The work is not that physical and if we make for 15 years(65 years old), we will collect a total of $1200 (combined) from the school system and will have insurance to supplement Medicare, in addition to our SSI check of approx. $1500 for a total of $2700 until we die.
Thank you Watchtower for waking us up while we still have a little "Life" in us!!!!
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DesirousOfChange
James Jack, thank you for sharing your story. It sounds like the same kind of reality faced by many of us who were slow to awaken. I'm so thankful our kids are only in their 20s/30s and realize the BS of it already.
Hopefully they can enjoy life instead of wasting it away building assets for a cult.
Doc
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LongHairGal
LIFE IS TOO SHORT:
I can very much relate to what you said about observing their hypocrisy when they told YOU to "wait until the new system for the real life with the house, etc."... meanwhile these bastards have these things NOW. This is what got me: the poverty they are preaching is not for THEM - hell no - it's for some OTHER poor sucker! It was also my opinion that there was a double standard for single women. I worked full-time to support myself and was criticized!! This is why I don't want to hear ANY of their garbage.
JAMES JACK:
I can also relate to being awakened while I still had a little life left in me too! Thankfully, I held onto my job and am retired now. I am glad you and your wife came to your senses before it was too late and obtained decent employment. Good for you. Those jobs might not even be available now!!
This is probably one of the worst times in the nation's history for people to be seeking employment! Those young and college educated might have a chance. For those older with no education or skills - like these bethelites, I can only hope brothers with businesses come through for them. Good luck to them!
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stuckinarut2
As Jesus said: "they stand on street corners...they are having their reward in full!"
Yes, they had their glory days, now they have to join the real world.
One SP couple near me in Brisbane always had money for a new car, while living in a KH flat! So now they have to learn what it is like to go out and get a real job....