Weekly Meeting Importance Being Reduced

TheListener

I've heard a number of witnesses in my wife's hall talk about how they can't wait to start meeting in person at the KH again.

Nitty-Gritty

"The cart "Witnessing" and directing the public to JW.org has replaced the door-to-door ministry"

This is not true. The door to door ministry is still done by the majority of publishers.

Gorbatchov

Most jw's need the social structure of the organization.
It's their hole in the donut.

G.

LongHairGal

STEVE2:

Your family’s story is interesting.

Yes, it’s true that it is extremely hard to keep up the hope in something called ‘urgent’ when decades pass and people get old. How could they not feel let down. But, I guess the religion nips that thought in the bud by saying that people shouldn’t ‘be serving for a date’. So, I guess that guilt trip kept quite a few in their seats for life.

When I read what you said about how frugal your grandparents were and how they never bought their house but remained as tenants until death, and those that came after them were determined to own property, etc...Well, why shouldn’t they?..Why is owning properties an indication of less spirituality? There were wealthy people in bible times. I never agreed with this stupid (and hypocritical) stand the JW religion has.

I can understand that the zeal and enthusiasm have gone - because SO much time has passed. Nobody can maintain that edge of your seat excitement when literal lifetimes have passed. You say many of these relatives are still in the religion. I guess it’s all they know.. I also suspect they and many JWs are victims of the ‘sunk cost fallacy’ and this is why they don’t leave..

I wasn’t born in but decided to leave after the 1995 Generation teaching. I wasted a little over twenty years there...Cannot believe I wasted that much time!!. Was treated like shit because of the full time job I refused to quit and have No regrets about that..But, when the religion pulled this Generation stunt, I could no longer continue there even though I tried...I have been happily out twenty years and Retired several years ago.

smiddy3

The WTB&TS /JW`s have to come up with an about face U-turn on the 1914 doctrine where they spoke for decade after decade that young people who witnessed the events of 1914 ,that generation would not pass away.

It was on the inside cover of their official magazine the Watchtower for many decades.

On the front cover of the WT were photos of aged JW`s with the heading "The generation that Will not Pass Away "

And what do we find now ? they have all passed away .

In 1922 ? "Millions now Living Will Never Die " , they are all dead now .

While many who clutch at straws hang on to the nu-lite about an overlapping generation ,many ,many more are seeing this for what it is .

Another failed prophecy that has been explained away with a ludicrous explanation.

Even Jehovah`s Witnesses can be led along for so long with a carrot dangling in front of them ,but sooner or later the penny has to drop .

We , JW`s are just being led up the proverbial garden path .

Apparently ," not forsaking yourselves together as some have the custom ' in a physical sense doesn`t mean much anymore .

A zoom meeting doesn`t make up for the physical intermingling and connection that a face to face / person to person / physical contact does.

And I just don`t see the younger generation buying into this anymore and it is their exodus that is going to have a profound impact on the JW organization more than anything.

BluesBrother

JW Tom... like you I spent decades within the JW's and still am on the fringes due to family being in it.

I wonder about the Zoom attendances that are quoted. The seem good but in our case the camera is turned off for orivacy . I am entered as attending but I take little notice. Sometimes the gadget is left connected but we are elsewhere

I never understood the reason to stop the Group study, years back. A backward move surely.

However, I am sure that as soon as the law allows, the KH will be opehed and all invuted to attend . I do not buy the idea that they want to stop meeting together to sell the halls. The GB know that if they did that the whole thing would fall apart.

Anna Marina

Regarding when the Group Study Arrangement stopped -

I noticed that it coincided with instructions to not use 1st names, even within the Group Study. They were stamping on natural human relations. To not use someone's name is cold and distancing. The apostles did not refer to each other as 'Brother + surname'. The term brothers is used as a collective term in the Bible and maybe as an affectionate term but not as a general replacement for a name.

Also around this time, they stopped speakers bringing the love from the congregation they came from or had visited. The love was only to come from top down. It wasn't to go sideways.

All this reminded me of Gestalt Humanistic Psychology - teaching people to live without love, within a cold set of relationships based on contract and money (ie the corporate environment).

Given it is pretty clear they are nothing but a media and property developing company posing as both a charity and religion, the practice of Gestalt Humanistic Psychology instead of Jesus' teachings seems to be their direction of travel.

tiki

From my observation, a good portion of jw's remain loyal for social reasons...the people factor, the group dynamic. Take away that actual organized physical aspect by deleting halls and actual real meetings and there are going to be a lot of unhappy campers....and they will gradually seek alternative support groups and systems. The doctrine used to be so much more significant, but that has been so convoluted and diluted most don't even know what they believe in....so.....I see the sect dissipating.

asp59

Dont really understand people that think org wouldent cansell meetings in fear of going under. People go to meetings to socialise . They dont give that much money to org. Org gonna get more money from selling buildings then from JWs at KH. Either way they do things they gonna loose. But cansell meetings and selling buildings is gonna give them more money for the moment. Plus tv preachers have made millions. Think they can turn the online thing to money

LV101

I think they've got the JWs afraid of their shadow with COVID to go beyond their back door. JWs will jump with glee to return to the halls once COVID dies out and consider it a special blessing from their private god. I can't imagine them wavering on their WT fantasy faith wagon - at least the elderly but I'm not around elderly JWs to know.

Weekly Meeting Importance Being Reduced - Your Thoughts?