i`m new on here so don`t know if this subject has been covered, but i was wondering if anyone else experienced that overwhelming feeling at the end of assemblies, or when the c/o visited and gave his talk, there was a different feeling in the air, and i always thought it was `jehovah`s spirit`.
now i`m out and have learnt a lot about the borg, and know all their dastardly deeds, i can`t understand what that feeling was.
it can`t have been his spirit, as i don`t believe now that the borg is the `truth`.
The only emotion that I felt at the conclusion of an assembly was relief that the bloody thing was over.
Of course, you were not allowed to say that -so had to keep up the fiction that:
- It was "upbuilding"
- You could "feel Jehovah's Spirit"
- You could "feel the love"
- It was "sad that it was over"
Or the classic - "There won't be many more before the end of the System!
Jack.
someone asked a question in the "what generation are you" thread:.
were you "raised in the truth," or did you "come into the truth?".
i was raised..
Came in - sort of!
i.e. My grandmother became a JW when I was eight or nine years old. She saw to it that our house had plenty of WTS propaganda literature lying around in it. Me being an avid reader by the time of my early teens, and I fell for it!
Jack.
PS: It may sound hard to believe, but I don't resent my grandparents for this. They did believe that they were doing the right thing. (But then, didn't we all at one point?)
i am going to start this debate of by saying that those of us who were raised in the so called truth, and i being one of them, can only come to terms with our past by accepting that our parents infected our minds like a virus infects a computer.
we wouldn't categorise children according to their parents' political stance, since they are too young to make up their minds about such matters.
but they (jw) segregate them from the world.
After my experiences with the dubs - I, too, am "All religioned out"
Well said, Minimus!
Jack.
i was thinking about this, as i have a former witness friend who is showing signs of wanting to go back, even though they have expressed over the years a lot of frustration and lack of belief for the faith.
as much as i find their decision to be a mistake, i do understand why.
after all, unlike myself and family, i have never been shunned by the few family members left in and i moved on over the last decade to build new friendships and hobbies.
I got past the stage of wanting to manipulate others the day I broke with the JWs:
- Privately, I would probably take the view "It's your funeral, not mine" if I heard of anyone wanting to return.
Too many people died in two World Wars to uphold such freedoms as the Freedom of Worship. I would not want to try and interfere with that.
Jack.
do you know who the worst offenders were??
the elders.
the elders, because they were "shepherds and overseers" believed they had the right to talk about you, your family, your job, your personality and so forth.....they pick apart any male in the hall under the guise of seeing whther someone "might qualify for privileges".
As Juni said " Who wasn't gossipped about?"
In my experience, the Elderettes were the worst offenders (although hardly anyone was squeaky clean).
This is one of the many, many reasons that I am glad that I broke with this lot 12 years ago.
Jack.
i once heard that we were not allowed to be pallbearers, but i can't find anything in the wt.
any idea's?
In answer to Blondie's question: - when I acted as a pall-bearer at a funeral, it was over 30 years ago.
This was at the funeral of my grandmother; and the service was conducted by a minister of the Presbyterian Church - but was held in the chapel at the Funeral Director's premises.
In those years, I did believe that the World (mine anyway!) trembled at the mere shadow of the WTS. Consequently, I did get the green light from the local Body of Elders beforehand.
My experience with the matter, anyway,
Jack.
PS: The question that begs answering is - if nobody is allowed to be a pall-bearer, how do they move the coffin?
the highest i ever got was my being considered for a ministerial servant back in fall'ish 2004. .
of course, i also started college that semester, and was given an ultimatum and now i'm here .
but anyway, when and what was your pinnacle height in the organization?
I regard my "Spiritual High" to have been achieved after I broke with the dubs.
The "highest" that I got in the JW heirarchy was Ministerial Servant - and I didn't make MS until I was over 35 ( I had obviously managed to piss off a few people who counted in such matters!)
From the time that I was finally appointed an MS, I never had any aspirations to make elder.
Certainly, looking back on things from the perspective of where I am now, I am happy that never was. i.e. I do have many regrets - but at least participating in the spiritual / emotional / mental abuse of the the rank-and-file JWs is not one of them!
Jack.
the bible is chock full of information about the supernatural - ghosts, demons, spirits - and the list goes on.. the apostles, jesus, and god spoke of the supernatural.
the bible says that the supernatural is real.
does the "swine" ring a bell?
It would be hard not to, after working in Papua New Guinea for 15 years.
In particular, there was an incident in which I misplaced my keys one day, while carrying out an inspection of two hydro-electric plants.
I went back, firstly to the Lower Power Station, but without success. As I set out from there to the Upper Power Station, the operators telephoned ahead, letting the Upper Station staff know that I was on my - and for what reason.
Apparently, as soon as the Upper Station's Security Guard heard this, he "immediately knew where my lost set of keys were" - Those were his exact words to me afterwards.
Anyway, on arrival at the Upper Power Station, I set out to retrace my steps around the building.The Security Guard, on the other hand, went straight to my Double-Cab Toyota Hilux ute, and immediately picked my keys out from up behind the rear seat.
He knew that the keys were there, as soon as they had received the telephone call.
What must have happened was that the key holder on my belt broke off.Then the jolting off the vehicle over a rough road - and while going uphill - managed to shake the bunch of keys backwards along the floor. These eventually lodged themselves in the corner behind the rear seat, where it touches onto the cabin wall. (The bunch of keys ended up hidden behind the back seat).
So ---- I can explain how the key ring ended up lodged behind the back seat (and I certainly bought a more robust key holder after that!)
What is more difficult to explain is how that Security Guard "knew" immediately where to find the keys - even before I had arrived on site. I am open to suggestions, but find that difficult to explain without the involvement of the Supernatural.
(The only explanation that I will NOT accept is that the whole story is BS - because I was there, and saw what happened!)
Jack.
.
if the nwt was produced by people who can't read and write the translated languages - can it really be a translation ?
or, is it a transliteration - have they used other bibles (of english) to produce the work - altering the words as they go ?
Mayor of Turiwhate - you aren't the character who used to ride horse called "Buck" by any chance?
Jack.
i once heard that we were not allowed to be pallbearers, but i can't find anything in the wt.
any idea's?
I was a pallbearer at my grandmother's funeral, some 33 years ago.
I did that after "clearing" it first with the JW Administration - so, no - there was never anything said that put it on the "no-no" liist.
Jack.
