I had always thought that the reason they discontinued the book studies is because smaller groups of people starting discussing the inconsistancies of the WTBTS which led to people leaving the Kingdom Hall. Too much independent thinking going on in the early '90's that I recall and several people in the Lynnwood, WA congregation were doing too much research and were all in the same book study. They don't care about gas or expenses but they do care about independent thinking! So they want people to come to the KH to make sure everyone is getting the same info.
Lynnie
JoinedPosts by Lynnie
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53
Due to Ongoing Concern about Dwindling Meeting Attendances, IS THE BOOK STUDY ARRANGEMENT GOING TO BE RE-INSTATED NEXT YEAR?
by steve2 ini have some family and friends still in the organization.
i don't actively seek updates - my lovely contacts provide me with them unsolicited.
so far the updates have been reliable and confirmed sooner or later by subsequent developments.
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Apostacy a one way street?
by zound indo you know anyone who has 'awakened' that went back to 'sleep'?.
i'm not talking about concious class, but someone who somehow got suckered back into the wts little game.. (i for one could never ever ever ever ever return - but interested if you've heard of people that have).
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Lynnie
I have a cousin that never went for the JW thing even though her mom and dad and 2 others sisters were in. She ran away from home at
14 or something too but eventually came back but was still not interested in the whole JW thing. Now she's 33 and is studying!!!! WTF? I think for her it's all about family and associating with them and of course she's getting love bombed to death and lots of attention etc. However I dont' see her going out in service or getting baptised anytime soon so it will be interesting if they pressure her to do that. I was shocked that she would go back after all her "wordly evperiences" but I also think she's a little mentally fragile so this is a way to insulate herself or something.
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68
So...What Are YOU Doing Tonight?
by minimus ini think i'll go to my favorite`watering hole and help "celebrate" tonight's festivities.. what are you doing this evening?.
anyone going to the "lord's evening meal"?.
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Lynnie
My mother wondering if I was going and I said "NO". She said "your loss". Really? I said to her WTF would I go to some place where the people hate me (I'm DF'd) and won't speak to me? Oh they don't hate you she says. Really again? What is wrong with these people?
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Outsourcing of printing?
by Lynnie ini heard through the grapevine this weekend that my second cousin and her husband made a trip to india to investigate possible outsourcing of printed docs for the wtbts.
he is a uber bethelite in the purchasing dept and my cousin is a good bethelite wife.
they were living in brooklyn but have been moved up to wallkill in the last few months.
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Lynnie
I heard through the grapevine this weekend that my second cousin and her husband made a trip to India to investigate possible outsourcing of printed docs for the WTBTS. He is a uber bethelite in the purchasing dept and my cousin is a good bethelite wife. They were living in Brooklyn but have been moved up to Wallkill in the last few months. Thought it was very interesting that they want to outsource printing now, less bethel mouths to feel I guess!!
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Could the JWs sway you back...?
by new22day inop based on mr. freeze's topic - could attending the meetings/studying again sway any of you back to the org.
hearing the propaganda over and over again is pretty powerful i'm sure.
(i'm a non-jw, non-christian (no offense), stubborn as a bull and even i had moments of pause based on some of the doctrine (lasted 30 seconds) but i never had family/friends at stake or a background in this.
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Lynnie
The moment they start letting women wear pants to the meetings! HA! Now we know that will never happen so I'm pretty safe! HA!
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POLL: How long did you remain a JW from point of baptism to leaving the KH
by Terry ini was baptised --1963. left in 1978. fifteen years.
pre-baptism, another 5 years.
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Lynnie
My mom started studying when I was 8-9, baptised at 15, ran away from home at 19; DF'd at 22(I think, I wasn't around for the announcement). Been shunned ever since by my self righteous mother and uber elder cousin and his family. Such a warm fuzzy feeling (not!)
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Snarky Question
by earthfire inso i have a question that's been bothering me for years.
i know this is extreme but i think you'll see where i'm going with this.
so ex-jw's are evil we're on "satan's side" as my dad told me and we aren't worth a hello.
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Lynnie
yes it seems that the "new JW's" are allowed to do much more than I ever was when I was younger. My second cousin who is 33 and is "on the fence" and has other JW buddies that they are ALWAYS going to rock concerts and music venues which were highly discouraged in my day 35 years ago. Oh and reading books of any kind was forbidden for me unless of course they were WT publications. So I snuck books home from the library and read them late at night. Couldnt' waste my money on albums that was wrong too. Oh and let's not forget higher education, we I decided to go back to school for education my family said "why would you quit your good job to go back to school" and "dont' expect any support from us". Thank goodness for student loans.
Oh and how about participating in marathons and triathlons? Isn't being competitive bad and takes too much time away from the ministry? My same cousin is constantly going with other JW's to compete in these races which are usually held on Sundays and I'm sure they are missing the meetings to participate. I really don't get that one but the rules were very much harsher for me for some reason.
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Quote Re: Elders Whose Kids Go To College Might Lose Privileges
by Justitia Themis ini seem to remember some new 'rule' that elders whose children go to college, or perhaps it was out-of-state college, should be carefully examined to see if they still qualify.. does anyone know where that is in the publications?.
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Lynnie
I remember in the late '70's even vocational school was verboten. I remember I had left the JW's and realized I needed more education so I quit my job and went back to the community college for my 2 year degree. I remember my parents and cousin saying "why would you quit your good job? and "dont expect any support from us" blah blah blah. Thank goodnes for student loans and grants!
Then when my cousin Kevin's kids became of age in the '90s oh somehow it was okay for them to go to vocational school. He's an elder but of course somewhat wealthy and thought of highly so of course there were no consequences for him or his daughters.
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Curious About My Disfellowshipping.
by vajeni82 ini recently read an interesting thread (is there a 'third' way to leave?
) that talked about fading instead of being df'd or da'd.
i myself had planned to fade, but was df'd instead.
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Lynnie
Yes it very much depends on who you are on how a DF is handled. When I was 19 I decided I could no longer go door to door and
moved about 12 miles away to a house with worldly high school friends. I attended a few meetings to begin with and then no more.
It wasn't until about 2 years later the elders from my old congregation showed up at my door unannounced saying "they wanted to talk to me".
Of course my mother gave them the address since there is no way anyone else would have known. There was a big party at the house
when they showed up and so that gave them all the fuel they needed to DF me. However I never received any notification, my mother had to
tell me. My cousin was able to walk away with no consequences and marry an unbeliever (someone she had met 3 months prior) and no elders
stalking her looking for any excuse to DF her. To this day she isn't DF and this was 35 years ago. I'll never understand that at all. She was the
one that told me you could "leave the witnesses anytime you wanted". Well it worked for her but not for me.
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What are the things you dislike most about JW's?
by Chariklo intop of my list has to be hypocrisy.
it runs right through, from elders downwards.
the literature and the gb are bad enough, but the bit that touches ordinary people, householders, students and ordinary rank and file is the false goodness that they put on like a raincoat.
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Lynnie
Yes hypocrisy is definitely up there. Disfellowshipping is the worst practice they have and they don't seem to have
any problem with the policy. They do it "out of love". Oh and depending on who you are you can get DF'd or just
get left alone. Depends on how much money you have!