Posts by cleanideas

7

Saw this Watch Tower article from 100 years ago and decided to start a "100 Years Ago Today" blog on AD1914.com

by Gilgamesh in

http://ad1914.com/100-years-june-28-1915/.

june 1915 was the first full month wherein watchtower readers could obtain and read a new publication that had just become available out of brooklyn in the previous month.

here's how it was announced in the may 1, 1915 watchtower, known then as, zion's watch tower, emphasis ours:.

John Denver hates JW's

by problemaddict 2 in

jw
friends

i remember this making the rounds and people swearing by it.

knew someone at the concern and whatnot.

how does this crap come up?.

I too heard that about John Denver years ago and totally believed the rumor. Wouldn't listen to his music at the time because of it. It never stops surprising me how fast the crazy can spread among the JW's. Persecution complex is a powerful thing! LOL!

20

Orchestral Accompaniment for Singing at Congregation Meetings

by pixel in

to all congregationsre: orchestral accompaniment for singing at congregation meetings.

dear brothers:.

many will find that the newly composed orchestral recordings are more inspiring andconducive to our worship than is piano music alone.

cleanideas

I remember a long time ago before the recorded piano music came along, my congregation had an actual piano that someone would play the song while we sang.

18

GB Bodyguards

by Socrateswannabe in

i have heard that at the international conventions and even at us headquarters, the governing body travel with entourages or bodyguards.

does anyone know this to be a fact?

if so, why?

cleanideas

This is going back 20 years, but when I was at Bethel they just walked around by themselves if they had to get somewhere. No bodyguards that I could see.

7

Filling the parenting role - I need help

by Garrett in

hey guys, .

so, as you may know, i'm 21 and an older brother to an 12 year old boy.

our father was a severe drug addict that tried to kill my family.

cleanideas

I would recommend to continue to assure your little brother of your love for him. Fighting will push him further away. Make sure you say the words and let him know of your support in his life and you want the best for him. Being 12 is hard and he's no doubt trying to exert his own growing independence. Being "sick" from school could mean a problem at school he is having difficulty with. Maybe try to draw out his thoughts a little more when he claims to be sick. Remember to have lots of patience, and overall a 12 year old acting like this nothing too unusual. Hope it all works out for you two!

17

Deplorable Website Promotion

by HBH in

jw
friends

my siblings mother in law died recently, and there was a condolence posted with the borg website.

i googled the name of the poster, and found the same condolence on 100s of funeral home websites!!!

many of these sites dont have mods or a way to report a website promotion.

cleanideas

This makes me so sick! But this type of thing isn't new. Back a good 17 years ago there was a crazed old lady JW who would send a letter to everyone's family in the obituaries with a tract. That's how she counted her time because she was too old to physically go knock on doors. Even then I thought it in bad taste and I was still a true believer. I can't imagine how easy it must be to count time now. Just write a few sentences and then go spam random websites with a cut and paste. Ugh. Glad to be out of the madness.

64

Shutting down the Judicial Committee "invite".

by kairos in

jw
friends

judicial committee invitation comes, with be there or be square consequences.. ( come or we will df you ).

what are the sure fire, tested and true tactics that will keep the elders off your back?

( for good ).

cleanideas

What millie210 said above is probably your only option. If you don't show up to the JC meeting they absolutely will DF you. Saying anything about a lawyer might delay it, but honestly I don't think anyone has ever been able to win a lawsuit for getting DF'd and they know it. But yes saying you are suicidal and their harassment is what is causing it might very well get them to back off for a bit.

26

How many of you actually "contributed"?

by Garrett in

jw
friends

guys,.

don't tell the elders, buuuuut, i sorta kinda maybe never contributed money....ever..... i always thought - hey, i give a lot of my time and energy to the org, so that's how i contribute.

i was also pretty stinkin poor for most of my life and didn't really have the money to give.. anyone else like me?.

cleanideas

I was a very poor pioneer. I never gave anything because I couldn't. I always kept saying to myself once I started to make more money I would donate, but considering I gave up a scholarship to university so I could pioneer and was stuck a janitor for years I don't feel vaguely guilty. They screwed up my life, they owe ME money!

46

Is disfellowshipping as popular as it was years ago?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i seldom hear of people getting df'd anymore.

years ago it seemed there were a few per year in a congregation.

cleanideas

Well it's been a good 15 years since I was a JW but at the time we had heaps of kids DF'd. The strange thing is when it happened it was a massive group of them getting DF'd all at once. Around 15 or so total. Several boys around 15 - 17 years old got DF'd for trying pot a few times, others for minor sexual stuff. Also an elder committed adultery with a pioneer sister and a former CO in the hall got DF'd for cheating on his wife with, you guessed it, a pioneer sister. That hall was filled with scandal. LOL!

The PO was actually removed the following CO visit over it all. HAHA! He was a jerk anyway. I got hauled in the back room just because I saw a witness from another congregation smoke a cigarette and I didn't tell on him. They were furious as to why I wouldn't say something. The reason was simple, he told us all he was getting DF'd at the next meeting because he smoked so there was literally NO REASON to tell the elders, they already knew, but they wanted me to be in Gestapo mode I guess, reporting any and all infractions. UGH!

DF'ing people does that religion no good. The grand majority of the kids DF'd never returned. It's hard for kids to get kicked out and then have any desire to come back. I mean seriously, to get reinstated you have to go through shunning at the KH and then you still can't have any friends outside the KH? That's far to unreasonable. I'm still in contact with many of the kids that got DF'd for pot, and the good news is they all have very happy lives now and don't even smoke it anymore. If they had never gotten kicked out they might still be slaves in that cult.

85

jw.org cart days numbered?

by jookbeard in

reading a report of an elder in a friends cong has been hiding and spying on the pioneers who seem to have a practise of dumping the cart and finding a local coffee shop, i've noticed that they do this in my local high street as well but this week they seemed to be all huddled around the cart, they've clearly been warned, a vast percentage of the time i see they seem to be more interested in fiddling with their mobile phones and gossiping, is just seems these carts are a means for the pioneers to turn in "easy time" i wonder what sort of figures show how much literature is being taken by the public?

i bet its very minimal.

naturally the gb would say they are a phenomenal success , we clearly know they are not.

cleanideas

It's only a matter of time before insidetheKH leaves the JW's for good. Seriously, they clearly know the ramifications should the elders ever find out they frequent an "apostate" website. The elders would totally drag them into the back room for a nice long chat. And they would kiss the "privilege" of aux pioneering goodbye. But i'm glad. So many times I have seen people who are mega super JW's come on sites like this or make Youtube videos standing up for the JW's, to some years later feeling foolish of what they used to believe (including me) and leaving that religion. We will welcome you with open arms insidetheKH when that day comes, and help you as you transition from this cult. You won't agree now of course, but you will in time.