Posts by Beck_Melbourne

11

whats the funniest thing youve said to the co

by chezza in

jw
friends

im sure we all remember how nervous we were around the circuit overseer and how careful we were with our words, i recall one day being out in service with the co's wife and my daughter said to her my dad calls me his mamoo which in greek meant monkey and the co's wife says how cute,and then my daughter says and i call him my little farting machine, omg i called have fallen through the ground, needless to say the circuit overseers wife was not amused, so what funny things have we all said or heard said?

Beck_Melbourne

Hi Chezz

LOL@your daughter

I used to dread working with anyone not related to me lol. Usually the CO would stay with us anyway...so it was always very difficult to avoid her when she would gaze and me and say "I'm looking forward to working with you in the FS tomorrow".

The worst situation I ever encountered was when we went country witnessing one time. It was customary to take a thermos of tea or coffee and sometimes a packet of biscuits for a mid morning cuppa to refresh the soul....and of course we got the opportunity to swap partners so that everyone got the privilege of working along side the 'chosen ones'. This particular day...we had the CO's wife in our vehicle...and the CO was in another car. Well we stopped part way thru the morning for our mid morning cuppa...and while we chatted (gossiped) about this one and that one we noticed the CO's wife quickly tipping out her cup of tea and discarding her biscuit. I thought this to be rather strange...and continued with my indepth conversation. Next thing the vehicle (chariot) carrying the CO pulled up...and we all straightened our backs and changed our conversation to a FS topic. The CO strolled over to us and looked at us in a judgemental fashion....we kindly offered him a cup of tea...he refused....but he didnt say a word about our own indulgence. I looked at his wife and could see that she had her FS bag over her shoulder and a pair of magazines in hand...OHHH HOW SPIRITUAL!!!!

Nothing was said at the time....but later on we had a special needs talk about how some publishers are wasting valuable time having 'cups of tea' while out on FS and were counting time for it...instead of engaging in the preaching activity. I have since learnt that this particular CO's wife ran off with a bible student and is living happily ever after...and is having all the cups of tea she wants. Good for her.

Beck

6

I finally committed!!!!

by VioletAnai in

jw
friends

ok, to you guys it's no big deal...but to someone who is still studying with the witnesses, it's a big step.. you're officially one of my favourites!!!

now that's committment!!

and i'm so good at it .

Beck_Melbourne

Hey Vi

You on that bong again girlfriend??

Beck

7

Memorial Service...why is it special??

by Double Edge in

jw
friends

i've been on this board since january, and although i'm not a jw or ex-jw i've learned a lot from some very 'interesting' people.

my question is: from what i understand, the memorial service comes once a year to jehovah's witnesses.

i come from a christian background where the communion is served almost every week (other christian churchs serve it once a month).

Beck_Melbourne

Hi Double Edge

Yes it is only a select few who will partake of the emblems...these are the ones that believe they have a heavenly hope. In your church...you will be taught that everyone who is good will go to heaven when the die I assume. JW don't believe that...they believe there is a small group numbering 144,000 who will go to heaven when they die...most of whom are there now with Jesus. They believe that there are a few still left here on earth...and they call these ones the 'remnant class'. It is this small group of people who drink the wine and eat the unleaven bread. I am not sure how many on earth that claim to be of this class...the number changes from year to year. There are a lot of scriptures to support their reasoning....and I'm sure Dungbeetle can tell you them...I can't cos I have no interest in scriptures anymore.

But that is just a brief summary as to why only a few will partake at Memorial time. The reason why the whole congregation still attends...is to 'pass over' the emblems. When I was a kid we used to call it the 'pass over'. The other class of people are called the Great Crowd...and these are the ones who believe they will live forever on earth...and NOT go to heaven. Most JW are members of the great crowd...and the memorial is still a significant occassion as the great crowd get to 'pass over' the emblems. It is so ridiculous!!

Hope u can make sense of my jumbled thoughts lol.

Cheers
Beck

13

Jehova's Witnesses and Dating

by SoManyQuestions in

jw
friends

there's this really great girl i know, and she is so perfect for me, except for the fact that she's a jehova's witness and i'm not.

she says that she can't date outside the religion.

i'm pretty sure that jehova's witnesses are a branch of "mainstream christianity" (meaning they just basically follow the bible, not have a different interpretation like like mormons).

Beck_Melbourne

Hello SoManyQuestions and welcome!

I can't understand how this girl can be perfect for you. To find someone that is perfect for you, would mean you share a lot of the same interests....and her religion is not just a 'thing' she does in life...it "IS" her life. The JW faith will dictate everything she does, says and wears....and unless you can find a way to have some common ground...your relationship is pretty much over already.

Sorry to be a wet blanket...probably not the words you want to hear. I do think however, that if you and her are a couple (as in boyfriend/girlfriend)...then she isn't a very strong JW member...which will make life a whole lot easier for you. But then again, she may have her moments when she will want to strengthen her spirituality...and that is when your relationship will suffer...when she feels like following scriptural counsel. For example, she will be told that you are not a good associate...for now she isn't listening to the counsel...but the day may come when she will. Where will that leave you? Down the creek without a paddle?

I don't see a future for you...and anyone else who has been in a 'divided' household can tell you why. I was bought up in a divided household...my father was not a JW and my mother was and still is a JW. After 20 yrs of marriage they got divorced...and my father's life spiralled downwards.

I think you have 2 options...to either join up with the JW and become one of them...or entice your girlfriend to leave (however this must be done in a subtle way). Good luck.

Beck

6

I finally committed!!!!

by VioletAnai in

jw
friends

ok, to you guys it's no big deal...but to someone who is still studying with the witnesses, it's a big step.. you're officially one of my favourites!!!

now that's committment!!

and i'm so good at it .

Beck_Melbourne

vi

Do you mean you picked "us" over "them"??

73

Any other churches call themselves the 'truth'??

by Beck_Melbourne in

jw
friends

old habits die hard...and quite often in my comments i will refer to the borg as the 'truth'.

does anyone know of any other churches that refer to their own particular church or religion as the 'truth'??

also, does anyone know how it originated...all my life i have used the term...comments like 'how long have u been in the truth?

Beck_Melbourne

Hi All and thanks

Yes I remember the 'way' being used...reminds me of a church hyme.."I am the way..the truth and the light..that's what Jesus said"...goes to show I was never a very good witness kid...cos I remember that song from when I used to sit outside the classroom during religious instructions.

I think it is interesting to see the relationship between Russell's use of the term 'truth' and JW today...it seems to me that it is a term unique to the borg...as the few SDA I have met never used the term. The only time I ever heard it used was by a charismatic church goer. When I was engaged in a conversation with her...she said to me "now that I am in the truth blah blah blah"...and I looked at her in a state of shock!! I thought to myself 'how dare she steal our word' lol.

Beck

73

Any other churches call themselves the 'truth'??

by Beck_Melbourne in

jw
friends

old habits die hard...and quite often in my comments i will refer to the borg as the 'truth'.

does anyone know of any other churches that refer to their own particular church or religion as the 'truth'??

also, does anyone know how it originated...all my life i have used the term...comments like 'how long have u been in the truth?

Beck_Melbourne

Old habits die hard...and quite often in my comments I will refer to the borg as the 'truth'. Does anyone know of any other churches that refer to their own particular church or religion as the 'truth'??

Also, does anyone know how it originated...all my life I have used the term...comments like 'how long have u been in the truth?' or 'what made you come into the truth?' etc. Anyone know when this term started to be used in JW-land?

Beck

35

Wow I'm getting married

by lauralisa in

jw
friends

he asked me on friday night.

wow.

he's the man of my dreams, and i'm so happy i was able to meet him.

Beck_Melbourne

Congrats Lauralisa

Looking forward to seeing wedding photos posted.

Beck

3

Shunning Family Members

by chezza in

jw
friends

just wondering if anyone has a similar experience like me, i had to shun certain family members because of their being disfellowshipped and we all know how hard it was, even though we thought we had gods blessing, when i myself was disfellowshipped for confessing my wrongdoing to the elders i felt like i was all alone with no-one to turn to, and interestingly the very family members i had shunned were the first to offer me help, i didnt approach them when i was d/f coz i felt guilty after shunning them but they got in contact with me and helped me through a really dificult emotional time, and the intersting thing here is that gods people are supposed to be forgiving as he is and yet they wouldnt forgive me but my family who were "no longer believers" did, anyone else have a similar story?

Beck_Melbourne

Hi again Chezz

Yup...seems like only the other day I was talking about this with a friend :o)

The part that gets me is how 'righteous' we thought we were to shun our relatives. I hate the fact that we were taught to do this as an expression of our faith....and the better we were at shunning...the more faithful we were. What a crock of sh*t.

Its not until you are on the outside that you realise how conditioned you were as a witness. Also, there are more and more 2nd, 3rd and some 4th generation witnesses out there...which means most in the truth are related. Its not unusual to walk into a kingdom hall and several families are related...and if not by blood then by marriage. Some congregations are made up of entire family units...so much to lose when you are DF or DA.

Beck

11

Why do they call themselves Christians?

by KistByQpid in

jw
friends

i am not trying to be sarcastic.

however, it just doesn't make sense to me.

if a christian is one who "follows christ" how does that apply to the jw's?

Beck_Melbourne

HI KistByQpid

I do not think JW describe themselves as christians as much as other churches do. They like to emphasis that they are a 'Jehovah's Witness' rather then a christian...mainly because the name Jehovah identifies them as different to other 'christians'.

I rarely came across a witness who referred to themselves as christians...rather they were witnesses...to be a christian you could be anything...and they do not want to be referred to as another nutto in christendom...lol.

In saying this however...I have no WT reference to suggest that they were discouraged from using the term 'christian' when referring to themselves...it was just an observation I made.

Beck