Posts by Balaamsass2

There was just a lot of creepiness at Bethel. Imagine the thrill of being a "new boy" at Bethel and being able to meet Watchtower guru Fred Franz and ask him bible questions in person any wed evening after dinner!! The one big caveat is...You need to meet in the sauna in the basement....ah..em... I passed. I like to keep my clothes on for meetings..... :)

28

Remember the sex talks?

by KerryKing in

i remember sitting through public talks where the speaker spent the hour discussing in great detail anal sex, masturbation (of yourself and others), sex during menstruation and so on.

.

i was a child, looking back now, i realise that they systematically stripped away our childhood innocence, we knew and heard things no 'worldly' child would have heard.. the child abuse and grooming happened to every single one of us, the feelings of guilt and shame was in all of us even if we didn't actually do anything bad, the mental images caused by these filthy men hung around in our innocent minds till there was no room for that innocence.. it has taken me 44 years to realise that what was done to us, even those of us not physically abused, is a crime.. do they still have talks like that nowadays i wonder?

Balaamsass2

Tenyears..Thanks for the needed laugh!!!

29

2024--Become a Circuit Overseer in Your Mid-to-Late 20's!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

become a circuit overseer in your mid to late 20's.

you would have had to qualify as an elder previously.

this would mean the male would have had to have been an elder in his early 20's.

Balaamsass2

Incredible.

I had a relative who became a CO and Branch Overseer very young in his late 20s after graduating from Gilead.

He was removed in his mid-30s.

It warped his personality. He became an overbearing ass, which he remained until the day of his death.

37

Reddit thread re Oct 2024 WT with picture of window washer - Theme knocking people who Planned

by LongHairGal in

jw
friends

this thread currently has over 300 comments.. it shows a picture of an older man washing a window looking wistfully… then it talks all about how some may have doubts about not having planned and the situation they are in now that they are older, etc.

it refers to others who did plan and who supposedly have ‘apparent’ financial security.

in my opinion, the whole gist of this article is to make older witnesses feel better who did not pursue a career or plan well for retirement.. it tries to imply that those others who planned only have ‘apparent’ financial security - which is to say they don’t (?).

Balaamsass2

Standard Watchtower hogwash.

I was googling the disfellowshipped Elders from the Menlo Park Congregation kingdom hall takeover/sale fiasco a few weeks ago. I saw the death notice of one of the Elders who spoke out against the Congregation bank account seizure and hall sale. (If you remember everyone who spoke out was summarily disfellowshiped in absentia about 10 years ago. There are a few threads here about it.)

The brother, Arlen St Clair, a gentle, humble man who worked as a widow washer was broken by Watchtower. (His son was severely injured in Arlen's car when it was forced off the road by an employee of one of the local elders investigating for Watchtower).

The obituary stated former Elder Arlen St Clair, fell to his death from a customer's roof while washing skylights. Arlen died while washing windows in his mid-70s. Lost his life, lost his shot at a "retirement", and lost his religion. The sad and rotten fruitage of Watchtower.

Actually, the bible encourages thrift, saving, knowledge, and hard work.

28

Remember the sex talks?

by KerryKing in

i remember sitting through public talks where the speaker spent the hour discussing in great detail anal sex, masturbation (of yourself and others), sex during menstruation and so on.

.

i was a child, looking back now, i realise that they systematically stripped away our childhood innocence, we knew and heard things no 'worldly' child would have heard.. the child abuse and grooming happened to every single one of us, the feelings of guilt and shame was in all of us even if we didn't actually do anything bad, the mental images caused by these filthy men hung around in our innocent minds till there was no room for that innocence.. it has taken me 44 years to realise that what was done to us, even those of us not physically abused, is a crime.. do they still have talks like that nowadays i wonder?

Balaamsass2

Who can forget the "youth book" and "Young People Ask" book and articles?

YIKES!!!!

I remember the council not to eat spicy foods! (they would make you horney). lol I heard a lot of JWs joke about eating Mexican food.

While at Bethel in the 70s Knorr and others would drone on about masturbation and other "issues" while I was half asleep trying to drink some coffee and eat breakfast. gag.

In my 50 years of daily working "in the world" I never heard so much conversation centered on sex as I did attending meetings.

25

New instructions on not using sisters to manage KH computer ?

by fifth.column in

since covid in france, especially in the countryside with lack of brothers, it was quite common that some sisters were using the computer at the back of the kingdom hall to manage zoom session.. i heard a rumor that new instructions, maybe a july letter, stated that this was reserved for male only, even unbaptised publishers, but no sister if there is at least a male available.

that would be a steps back and disappointment for these sisters.

last week i heard at my mom’s house how they were happy that this service was available for them, a proof that the org was moving forward.

Balaamsass2

My mother, her sisters, and my Mother in law, frequently brought up Rutherford's famous quote "Women are nothing but a hank of hair and bag of bones". That quote was followed by some comment that "the brothers" were women haters, misogynistic, male chauvinists, etc....yet they never fully woke up or left the cult before they died...... Strange.

28

Remember the sex talks?

by KerryKing in

i remember sitting through public talks where the speaker spent the hour discussing in great detail anal sex, masturbation (of yourself and others), sex during menstruation and so on.

.

i was a child, looking back now, i realise that they systematically stripped away our childhood innocence, we knew and heard things no 'worldly' child would have heard.. the child abuse and grooming happened to every single one of us, the feelings of guilt and shame was in all of us even if we didn't actually do anything bad, the mental images caused by these filthy men hung around in our innocent minds till there was no room for that innocence.. it has taken me 44 years to realise that what was done to us, even those of us not physically abused, is a crime.. do they still have talks like that nowadays i wonder?

Balaamsass2

I will never forget a meeting in the early 70s when they had some Watchtowers on "Porneia".

We had a developmentally delayed teenage girl in the hall who never spoke, and of course, had never answered publicly during a meeting her entire life.

The Watchtower conductor asked" So what is the definition of "Porneia"?

For the first time EVER her hand shot up! Everyone waited with bated breath...the shocked conducted called on her..We all waited to hear her very first words... She slowly blurted out each syllable...SEX..U..AL...PER...VER...SION. ...... A dead silence gripped the congregation for at least a minute. The very first words of a regular JW meeting attendee!!!! :)

17

The Book Study Group - Reminiscing

by ukpimo in

any fond memories or funny stories relating to the old book study arrangement?.

i remember a time when a new sister turned up with very smart jacket and shirt.

yet she was wearing trousers and when questioned by everyone she said "blimey, i think geoff (her husband) is wearing my skirt!".

Balaamsass2

We had the book study at our small home when I was a kid in the late 60s.

Mom loved Star Trek, so she made a ton of popcorn afterward and half the Bookstudy stayed after for popcorn, cocktails, and Star Trek. lol :)

In the early 2000s, we used to have "Goodies" night once a month in my California Congregation. We turned that into a weekly event at the Bookstudy I conducted and added Wine and cheese. It increased attendance!! lol.

26

What was covered up in your congregation??

by karter in

family move to remote pacific island to serve were the need is great get a mention in the year book.. however one of the (married) boys in the large family has sex with his sister while his wife is in hospital giving birth to their child.

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all hushed up not even a word said and hes now an elder d.fing people for lesser crimes.. young couple dating leave the jws and move in togather doing drugs partying ect.. his family grandfather,uncles, dad ect are all elders.. after a few years they decide to come back to the jws and are married in the k.h a few months latter.. 1 elder questions them getting married in the k.h and is voted down by his family.. to many drunks and c.s.a to mention.. karter..

Balaamsass2

What gets covered over? Usually, crimes and sins committed by family and friends of the local elders...who are well-liked. Who is well liked? Those who give green handshakes.

Bigger financial stuff? Regional assembly hall and building committee members fudge the numbers that are reported to the publishers. Lots of kickbacks and graft that benefit Watchtower.