Younger generation lnot reaching out and quitting the truth

by truthseeker 18 Replies latest jw friends

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  truthseeker

  I was recently reading some old posts, when I came acoss one of Maximus' posts about children leaving the truth.

  link is here for anyone who wants to read it..

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/10417/1.ashx

  It has been roughly two years since the last post on this. Any ideas as to the percentage of children/young adults leaving? In my old congregation, roughly 80% of young people have quit. In some circumstances, whole families have become totally inactive.

  Last year at the District Convention, a glossy oversized tract was distributed to the youth, entitled, 'Young People - What Will You Do With Your Life?'. I have not heard any reference to this tract in the meetings, or subsequent assemblies.

  It seems like this tract was only written for JW children/youths. Yet, I haven't even heard anyone discuss this tract at all. Was it just a one off printing? Is it something you can order through the lit. dept?

  It seems the Society is making depsarate attempts to stave off the flow of JW kids from the religion. A video, a glossy tract - will there be a fast track career path to ministerial servant status?

  With Winston's recent post about his CO saying there was a stark contrast with brothers aged 25-35 not reaching out for assignments, as opposed to years ago, it seems the Society is headed for a 'silent' disaster, that it can neither cure nor postpone.

  At this years District Convention, the speaker in one talk specifically targeted those brothers who are not reaching out because of the work involved. Apparently, there are many brothers who put in token service and are just not interested in reaching out.

  As the US economy beomes ever more difficult, and brothers have to take on full time jobs (most of them do) perhaps an extra p/t job, how on earth are they supposed to devote even more hours to the Society?

  According to one poster on this board, whose name fails me, it was said that there are more elders than ministerial servants. As the number of elders who retire/pass away and quit increase, who will be left to carry the load?

  One thing is clear - though this subject is rarely discussed on the congregation level, expect to hear it more at assemblies and conventions.
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  bikerchic

  
  Wondering what the Inot generation is?

  Kate
  
  
  
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  ignored_one

  Most of the JWs my age that I knew have left. I'm glad I left whilst I could still make something of my life.

  -

  Ignored One
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  Utopian Reformist

  I find any evidence of any trend which reveals a decrease in any of the WTBS's activities to be a very positive sign!
  
  I hope the trends continue and accelerate as much as possible. I also hope these trends spread to all mainstream religions, especially the judeo-christians.
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  Elsewhere

  I wouldn't be supprised if there is a sudden significant drop in hours and meeting attendance.

  Just as many corporations used all sorts of accounting tricks to hide their deficits, the WTS is using similar tricks to hide the decreases that are going on... Publishers able to turn in 15 hours a month to prevent them from becoming inactive...the new 5 Minute Study at doors... 9/11 Scaring some JWs back into the fold (who will later drip away in time as before)... the Spring Roundup where the elders went and visited all of the inactive people. All of these are signs that they are scratching the bottom of the barrel to keep their statistics up. Eventually the decrease in publishers and hours will catch up with them.

  I'm sure that many JWs are getting tired of all of the Do More! Do More! Do More! messages they are getting. The new tract "What are you Going to do with Your Life"... will likely be summarized as: You can serve the organization Jehover by giving up carriers, your family, and living in semi-poverty, or you can go to college and get a decent job and risk destruction at Armageddon.

  Just as the US economy has gone into hard times to make up for all of the hidden deficits… so will the WTS.
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  Nosferatu

  In my old congregation, there have been a total of 2 that have left (me included). I know a couple others that have fallen out, "experimented in the world", and have discovered that the Troof is the best way of life.

  So most of the ones I knew are still in.
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  UpAndAtom

  Well... if history repeats itself (and I'm sure it won't )... eventually the organization will suffer a crisis and split into two factions. I can't wait for that day! Yippee! When the end comes - it will come quickly... as a thief in the night.
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  dmouse

  I know a youngster in our congregation who leads a double life (shan't reveal who 'cus of spys) and keeps me informed of stuff that goes on.

  Of course, no statistics are collected for this sort of thing so it's difficult to quantify. Most, if not all, evidence of the youth slipping away will be apocryphal local tales.

  To cut a long story short many of the youth in my local congregation are refusing to go to meetings at earlier and earlier ages, some as young as 12 are rebelling. Others, in stricter families, say that they will leave the religion as soon as they are 18 or leave home; in the meantime they lead double lives. At a rough estimate barely 30% of the youths in the cong look like they have any chance of staying in for the long term.

  The Society KNOWS they are in deep brown stuff, the future of the Organisation is in its children (since very few people come in from cold calling anymore). This is why they are responding with many campaigns to target them. Hence the new children's book and pamphlet you spoke about, plus many parts at the meetings and assemblies aimed at the 'youth' and their parents.

  On a side note, my informant had told me recently that a large proportion of the sisters in the congregation are suffering badly from depression - many of them elder's wives. It has become unusual for a woman in the Organisation to be mentally firing on all cylinders.

  Many are on anti-depressants, and even those that are not exhibit obvious signs of fatigue, irritability, anxiety, paranoia etc. Try it yourself; ask ANY JW female how they are and you will be subject to a catalogue of what ails 'em.

  So much for being the happiest people on Earth
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  OHappyDay

  It is not surprising that younger ones are not reaching out but are quitting when they see how shoddily their parents are treated by the Do More Society and the hypocrisy among us.

  Many of the older ones have given their all to the WT, only to have to feel guilty now that they can only do so much.

  Others have put off careers, marriages, children out of the vain hope of Armageddon Yesterday!

  And other youth have found "worldly" people to be just as moral, fair, and good as many Witnesses, if not more so.

  Young people don't appreciate double-speak and hypocrisy, and react negatively to it.
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  truthseeker

  This is so true. In my old hall, a couple is planning not to have children until after Armaggedon. Yet they are in their mid 30s.

  When an 18 year old looks back at what his parents did and their parents did for the Society, is it any wonder they want to quit after 124 years of deceit and lies and endless meetings?

  The same is also partly true - when the oldest child leaves the truth, his/her younger siblings often follow suit