adjusted knowledge

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Posts by adjusted knowledge

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  28

  A Green Handshake

  by dgp in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just learned that sometimes people give "green handshakes".

  is this the same as bribing your way up?.

  thanks for any posts..

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  adjusted knowledge

  I never knew about this and I actually didn't find out about from this site. I found out last year from the mouth of two local elders that visited my house. I brought up the point how CO are able to support themselves in retirement. The elders told me it was common for the COs to get $20 here and there from members. One of the Elders mentioned some CO will get land donated to them and other high dollar items.

  It wasn't until after they told me this that my eye would catch the attention to topics on this board about "green handshakes". Can you imagine some of the "handshakes" the GB get?
  
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  52

  Helen Keller is not a hero

  by StopTheTears in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  few realize just how wicked some of the most revered people in history were.

  helen keeler (1880 to 1968) was a wolf in sheep's clothing, no hero.

  keller was a communist.

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  adjusted knowledge

  Haha! Hoover kept dirt files on everyone, Including John Kennedy. He knew pretty well how many women this American hero was rooting. So what?

  Was about to post the exact same thing.

  When I read the OP post I thought he/she was writing a satire. Reminds me of the satire video spin on original Karate Kid being the bad guy.
  
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  21

  Did You Ever Hear a Non-Witness Opinion After They'd Attended Their first Meeting?

  by snugglebunny in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i was about 12. i took a friend along to a meeting and he said he didn't mind learning stuff but it was a shame it was so boring.. i was about 14. i had my very own bible study and took him along.

  he just kept whispering about the girls there that he fancied.. i was in my early 20's.

  i took along a lady that i knew.

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  adjusted knowledge

  I left in my late teens, so most of my experiences are with my non-jw teen friends. They all found the meetings to be extremely boring. They wonder why there was no program just for children.

  I'm glad JW don't have a Sunday school for children. Could you imagine the pedo perv running that school?
  
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  17

  Some Bethelites are Jackasses

  by Old Goat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  rachael de vienne is one of the authors of separate identity, a history of the watch tower's earliest years.

  she's received low grade harassment from the watchtower for years.

  she posted about it on her personal blog.

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  adjusted knowledge

  Simonsays is so funny. She is so obsess with her fellow apostates and what we write.
  
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  83

  What woke you up?

  by Israel Ricky Gonzales in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  in march of 2014, i was a very active jw, a ministerial servant, gave a public talk, was an attendant for the memorial, and one of 4 cleaning captains for an international convention of 40,000+ attendees.

  so what woke me up?

  an innocent comment from a co-worker about the candice conti court case rang a bell that could not be unrung.

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  adjusted knowledge

  I posted this before, but my awakening began on my baptism day at age 15. It was 1992 at Plant City, Florida. My friend was watching a door or hallway can't recall, but needed to use the restroom. I volunteer to guard the area while he left, but the Elder in charge ask me if I was baptized. I told him yes, I got baptized today. He informed me it wasn't long enough and I was denied the "privilege" of guarding a door. Later that day I went to see the same friend, he was an Elder's son. He was in a room where his father was counting money. Again I was told I couldn't enter, only Elders allowed in. Inside this room were Elder's wives chit chatting, and young Elder's children running around playing tag. I learned right then they were no different than any other religion with hierarchy. I knew with a non-witness father and a "spiritually weak" mother I would be a 2nd class citizen in this religion.
  

  In 1995, when I was 18, the last straw was the generation change. So both the double standards I witnessed and false teachings was enough for me to leave. So glad I got out early
  
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  39

  What went wrong in your congregation?

  by The Rebel in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the target is converts.. why does it seem such an outrageous aim for a congregation to recruit new converts?.

  in my old congregation, the enthusiasm was there but the knocking on doors produced zero " baptisms" in my final years.. a) why so little interests?.

  b) was it the internet ?.

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  adjusted knowledge

  The product JW offer is terrible. No amount of marketing is going to fix that issue. A polish turd is still a turd. I don't blame the publishers. I found it a hard sale to pitch in the 80s and 90s. I don't know of a single convert from preaching in my congregation during those two decades.
  

  The whole religion has a potential for great growth but requires major changes. With free labor and a strong faith base of followers they could accomplish a lot in the community to attract followers. However truthfully the GB don't want to attract all followers. They target only the ones they can control, thus the slow growth.

  The meetings are boring and the religion is fanatically controlling. They have major beliefs that are physically dangerous and emotionally damaging. The message is not uplifting and their reading material is both bland and targeted to the uneducated.
  

  End of the day I think it boils down to this.... The community as a whole looks at JWs as a bunch of weirdos.
  
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  27

  Nice Old Dears Tried to "Witness" to me Today

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  an older man and wife - ray and mary - got chatting to me today.

  they were tourists admiring local wildlife.

  i gave them a few tips on where to go to see some interesting things and it wasn't long before they were telling me about how awful the world is "nowadays" and paradise yadda yadda.

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  adjusted knowledge

  Cofty,

  Your approach is in my opinion what others here should imitate. The hostile interactions of other former board members BOTR, Dologist, ect.. with JWs has very little impact, but if anything reinforces the JW mindset.

  Good Job
  
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  22

  Has the Great Witness Trolley/Cart campaign produced ANY results?

  by freddo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i live between two cities that are big enough to have their own metropolitan trolley cart arrangements organised at circuit level.

  the 3 congregations at the hall i attend have trolley schedule noticeboards.

  i see trolleys in the high streets and markets locally.

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  adjusted knowledge

  I was going to start a new thread about this but will just add to this one.

  I never knew anything about these trolley carts till I read posts here. However I did see one at a shopping complex last year.

  I just started my 3rd week of nursing school at the local college. On Wednesday for the last three weeks a different Elder and their wives setup a table and two carts. They just sit there; rarely do I see anyone talk to them, nor do they attempt to engage in conversation. They usually are there from 10am to 2pm. This is so easy to get the hours in. I would've so much rather of done this as a child than knocking doors. Much less intrusive and embarrassing.
  

  I've had interactions with all the local elders last year as I let them in my house to discuss some topics. So I know them by face. However each time they visited they refuse to answer my questions about the GB so I finally ended the waste of time. The funny thing is two of the Elders there were the ones I complained to about The Organization stance on higher education. They blast higher education but yet will go to the campus to preach to the students. I feel like pulling up GB on my tablet during royal commission, but not worth even acknowledging them now.
  
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  12

  My yoke is easy and my burden is light, unless you're a JW than you will have many strange complicated rules

  by adjusted knowledge in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  there is this jw husband and wife i knew from the 80's when i was a child.

  they got a divorce a few years ago and never remarried.

  they are older now and unable to afford to live on their own.

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  adjusted knowledge

  bsmart

  "So they are both still witnesses? Weird."

  Yes they are still witnesses and have been for at least 40 years. Probably were born in since if I can remember from my youth their parents were witnesses. They are legally divorce but the husband was a carpenter and like typical witnesses have no retirement savings. I think they are in their early to mid 60's.

  Just think the Elders are more concern with what the "world" would think about these two living together and yet the Organization doesn't bother to put that much effort in protecting children.
  
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  41

  The elders of the 1980s are now in their 60s and 70s

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  having just come back from the uk and spoke with some witnesses to find out how my old congregation is doing, i realized i am now the age that my elders were when i was a kid.

  and i wonder what the elders who are now in their 60s and 70s are thinking when they look in the mirror and an old face looks back at them.

  many of the elders in my old hall are now retired.

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  adjusted knowledge

  truthseeker, I'm the same generation as you. I'm 38 now and am close to the ages of the Elders were in the 80's. My mom is still a JW and these elders visit her. Two of the Elders from my youth died of old age related illnesses. The others look so tired but still believe. They don't have retirements and two are still working in physically demanding jobs in their mid 60s.