About 6-7 when you could charge for the mags it was how my father got us out on a Saturday because we could keep the extra charge for the public, saved him giving us pocket money and as a kid people felt sorry for you and sometimes gave extra ,spent on sweets 😀😁
From reddit...How old were you when you became a publisher?
by Biahi 18 Replies latest jw experiences
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stan livedeath
i was about 12 when i started going "on the doors". often on my own--especially tuesday evenings before the book study.
imagine...a 12 year old kid..out door knocking..tuesday evening...in the dark..in HANDSWORTH.....!
but that was 60 years ago..things have changed.
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Gorbatchov
7 years old, born in. 4th generation.
G.
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newleaver1
I was 12. I was actually turned down 1st time i asked due to my dads poor personal hygiene. I know crazy lol. Then a few months later i got accepted then baptized at age 14. Was in nearly 24 years till i was disfellowshipped in march
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RubaDub
7 years old, born in. 4th generation.
@Gorbatchov ....
Yes, I'm 4th also. My great grandparents were into the CT Russell stuff.
I remember several years ago at a "gathering", that came up for whatever reason when we came into the Troof. Some were giving dates, some second, third generation, I just said first generation.
A brother that knew me pretty well said I thought you family had been in the Troof for may years. I said yes, but I was considering overlapping generations. I knew my great grandmother. She didn't die until I was 8 years old so we overlapped.
The room got rather quiet.
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Gorbatchov
@rubadub, that's great humor!
My first generation great great father will turn in his grave when he would see todays jw.org and it's doctrine.
G.
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FaithLess
I was 8 maybe 9 but had been giving the pitch 'they are 25 cents' for years previous to that... Pretty sure until they became 25 cents apiece but didn't become a publisher until sometime after that. I hadn't given any kind of pitch, or talked to anyone at the door for quite a long time before that. I remember their being pressure to sign up... From my parents. Can't recall any particular instance, just remember that to be the case. I do recall that I stopped offering the magazines to people because I got a little older than 5 and started realizing the whole thing was bullshit. I remember asking my mom questions that really got hollow answers. She was spot on with what she was supposed to say to questions like that, but I shrugged off her answers the way I felt my questions were being blown off, but they weren't. Hell, mom would take the time and break out whatever literature addressed my query, look up all the scriptures with me... But it never felt like anyone was hearing me. I'd be left still pondering whatever I'd ask, think over the replies and come to the conclusion, that was all bullshit, it makes no sense. One or two years later at school, age ten, they did a round of standardized testing, then did a round of testing for certain kids they thought may be eligible for the gifted program in our district. I was the only kid in my class to pass and was enrolled. We had class once a week at the junior high school. The curriculum consisted of computer programming, delivering speeches, research projects, etc... But really it was always about critical thinking and problem solving. I had already felt like a real tool after having become a publisher and joining the theocratic ministry school, telling strangers, and people in the congregation alike about topics in which I did not believe and in some instances had contrary beliefs. Years in the gifted program made this feeling much worse. I was taught to digest information given to me break it down analyze it's validity and then research why it is or isn't so. There weren't many scholarly texts around the house, or at the poor county school district, but the program was independently funded by the state outside of the state educational funding. We visited many research libraries. At 11 we did a unit on space. A unit consisted of a simulation, or entire classroom board game with knowledge of the topic advancing your team and a research report with oral presentation. I chose black holes. I learned a lot about space time and read books by Steven Hawking. No one around the house or congregation had much to comment on things I was learning that made sense, and could be substantiated by mathematics and classroom simulation. Nothing I ever read in the Bible made sense not could be proven outside of it's thin leather cover. I read it three times, outside of the congregational Bible reading before I determined that outside of SOME wisdom in the form of personal advice that there was nothing of value in it's antiquated and contradictory text. Also no one wanted to hear how Christianity in general, let alone the wtbts, were more the work of Paul and nearly nothing of it's structure, bigotry or dogma came from any letters that were printed in red... Well not in the NWT, but others I read. No one wanted to hear a 12 year old kid talk about how distorted some of the NWT word choices were after just a remedial inspection of the diaglot. For instance, trees have branches, I'd say, a stake is far from a tree, a cross is more like a tree.... Gets you labeled as a hard case.
This kinda thing went on until age 17, when I couldn't handle the hypocrite role anymore and dropped off both rosters. My parents still drug me around in the field ministry until I was 18... Prolly would have tried after that too. Six months shy of my 18th, dad and I were into it about my behavior, which I assure you was not anything a normal parent would have raised an eyebrow at. He says, if you leave the house today, don't come back. No problem. It got easier all the time.
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FaithLess
Also, thanks for the analogy of generational overlap. I'd read that on here a couple times and was getting ready to ask. I could have received no better explanation.
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JoenB75
I remember I was asked out to field service several times as teen. But my mother protected me from some of it, especially when the one asking was a woman in her 20s or 30s. She might have suspected a honeytrap. She was very aware that jw baptism was about enrolling in the jw workforce and being more subject to elder authority