so, we had this meeting with 3 elders ( larry, moe and curly) my uncle who is the lawyer sat in the room and stayed quiet, and fact for 40 minutes we let them talk.
we would just sit there.
they went into along winded monolog about how the world is in bad shape and getting worst.
FOOLEDNOMORE:
The poster MUM above seems to think the meeting discussed here with your uncle and the elders was a ‘committee meeting’.. Was it?
I got the impression that it was a ‘friendly’ meeting that you arranged that may have been over somebody’s house. I didn’t think it was at the hall. You didn’t give any details. Please clarify a little.
i rarely post here, but i often check in.
i used to post on h2o as well.
i think i once posted some of this on h2o, but there are many new ones who have joined since then.. i first encountered jw's at the age of 9. it wasn't in the door-to-door work, however.
MUM:
I’m glad you escaped from the JW religion at an early age!
Instead of 32, it could have been double that at age 64. Just think about how many Witnesses reached that advanced age with no preparation for retirement!.. They were discouraged or intimidated into not preparing. They were afraid to face shunning and not being invited to gatherings. I experienced this, but I stuck to my guns.. You got out at an early enough age to get an education, a decent job and preparation for retirement. You also had the chance to get some happiness out of life instead of the JW gloom and doom outlook.
Good for you!
i would like to ask the ex-jws on this site to put their ‘apologists hat’ back on for a moment, so that i can go through the overlapping generation teaching in an attempt to make sense of it.
i apologise if these points have already been addressed on this site.a quick background for the reason for my request… having never confronted a jw apologist on the topic, i recently engaged with a jw regarding the official understanding of a ‘generation’ and unfortunately he didn’t have an answer to the points i was making.
i was left a little confused as to what the official jw response would/should be.so i was hoping that my thoughts below might be considered from an apologist’s perspective.the point in question relates to this section of the watchtower article below from 2008, as well as the jw.org video explanation of the overlapping generation:---:w08 2/15[box on page 25] can we calculate the length of “this generation”?the word “generation” usually refers to people of various ages whose lives overlap during a particular time period or event.
THOMAS MORE:
You must be referring to the 1995 Generation teaching. That’s what did it for me and I think a lot of people left in the decade after that. I knew right then and there as the article was being discussed that my time in the Witness religion had come to an end.. I did a ‘Fade’ after that so I’ve been Out many years.
This latest ‘overlapping’ generation teaching of recent years sounds so absurd I have a problem accepting it is actually believed by current Witnesses. Maybe they’re just keeping quiet and letting it go in one ear and out the other like other ridiculous teachings.
so, we had this meeting with 3 elders ( larry, moe and curly) my uncle who is the lawyer sat in the room and stayed quiet, and fact for 40 minutes we let them talk.
we would just sit there.
they went into along winded monolog about how the world is in bad shape and getting worst.
SEA BREEZE:
That’s a good story and it was embarrassing to that MS but it just goes to show how people there can’t keep up with the changing teachings.. But, I suspect many Witnesses now don’t CARE what the teachings are. At this point it’s just a club and if all you know is the name “Jehovah” and “new system”, you’re good in their eyes.
BIAHI:
I didn’t believe that at first either when I read about it. But, when you think about it, if something like that were literally true and Jesus was not everybody’s mediator - then people should be praying to the GB, right? 🤣🤣
as some of you may know, i disassociated myself from wt$ last april.
and i did it in the noisiest way i could find: i wrote my disassociation letter and made sure to send it to all elders of the two congregations in my town and to all jws whose email address i possessed.
i knew this would bring loads of issues because my wife was in as well as our younger daughter.
FOOLEDNOMORE:
Yes, somebody’s exit must be carefully planned and I wish your relative good luck.
It is especially necessary for JWs raised in the religion to plan carefully because they have led an unnaturally sheltered life.. And if anybody wants to believe this was a ‘protection’ for them, I disagree. I always felt it was a protection for the religion because these people were pretty much trapped there and less likely to leave . They had no options and knew almost nobody outside!
This is why I am ever grateful that I was not raised in the religion and kept my job. So, when things started unraveling and it started to stink - I was prepared all around for my exit from the charade!
as some of you may know, i disassociated myself from wt$ last april.
and i did it in the noisiest way i could find: i wrote my disassociation letter and made sure to send it to all elders of the two congregations in my town and to all jws whose email address i possessed.
i knew this would bring loads of issues because my wife was in as well as our younger daughter.
I planned my ‘Fade’ far in advance. Even though that 1995 Generation teaching was what did it, I didn’t leave immediately but had to wind-down, etc. I made sure all my ducks were in a row. I kept my thoughts to myself.
I re-established contact with non-JW family and friends first before it was too late. This was priceless and I remember sending out Christmas cards again after so many years!
Being as I already was working (I held onto the full-time job the Witnesses hated me for).. I wasn’t faced with the problem most Witnesses have: a mad scramble to find work to support themselves when reality hits them. They realized they need to prepare for retirement. You could say I was already in ‘reality’ about this!
My next problem was working out ‘when’ I would actually stop going. It just so happened somebody passed away and that was my excuse. I remember the first night I actually stayed home from the meeting. I watched CSI. After several weeks of deliberately not going, I mentally got used to it. I felt I broke a bad habit and I think I went for so long because it WAS habit and I didn’t know what to do with myself plus those very few people I was friendly with.
Afterwards..I did get several cards of the usual ‘miss you’ variety but I could see some were from people who hardly bothered with me. So, how could they ‘miss me’?🙄 It’s absurd and I’m glad this terrible waste of time was finally over. I should have done it a decade sooner with the bad treatment I received! ..Good riddance.
so, we had this meeting with 3 elders ( larry, moe and curly) my uncle who is the lawyer sat in the room and stayed quiet, and fact for 40 minutes we let them talk.
we would just sit there.
they went into along winded monolog about how the world is in bad shape and getting worst.
RATTIGAN:
I don’t agree.
I think it was smart to ask them questions about past teachings of the religion. Most Witnesses are ignorant about past teachings or scandals. Many are even ignorant about current teachings! ..I could just see these guys getting all tongue-tied and stuttering - and then he asks them that last question (which they didn’t expect) and they got tongue-tied even further.
I’m sure they must have been embarrassed, shocked and angry when they walked out of there.
15 years ago there were 5 congregations now there is only one and it is still struggling.
congregations closing their doors doesn’t mean business is good.
it looks like this last one to fold had no young witnesses, they either left the religion or moved.
WIZARD:
Yes, it’s all a waste and I’m Glad I have been out these past 21+ years. Whether it’s driving longer distances like an idiot or listening to constant appeals for money, I’m not having any of it.
I would never tolerate what the Witness religion has become.
(in the what's new section) apparently jehovah is still failing to provide the necessary funds so have to beg and petition men for support even though we said we'd never do that!.
new angle, if you want to make friends with jehovah and jesus we need more of your unrighteous riches .
apparently jehovah is in the protection racket now.
FOOLEDNOMORE:
I’m sorry your mom’s in bad shape. It’s a distressing thing to watch a parent go through dementia. So, she’s the reason they are coming over! Just make sure none of your other relatives are making a similar mistake.
Depending on how far gone she is mentally, you could change her phone number. I know I would DO this immediately to solve the problem of unwanted people of any sort trying to contact a vulnerable individual.. But, if she’s not at that point yet, you will have to manage the problem carefully and tolerate the intruders.
If it were me, I would privately tell off these people because I wouldn’t want JWs in my house and would be bothered they were there. I wouldn’t be able to relax.. If they are going to be nervy and take advantage of a situation where they know they are not wanted, I would make them feel very uncomfortable.
Again, I’m glad you say you are managing the purse strings in view of all the obvious requests for money. 👎
15 years ago there were 5 congregations now there is only one and it is still struggling.
congregations closing their doors doesn’t mean business is good.
it looks like this last one to fold had no young witnesses, they either left the religion or moved.
HOSER:
There’s No way I would have driven over an hour to another kingdom hall.. My hall was under ten minutes away and I missed meetings now and then. Of course, I worked full time but still..
As for the JWs who do this long drive to the new hall, I assume they aren’t elderly and this isn’t at night in the winter with ice on the roads! ..Maybe for people like this they might make a sunny Sunday meeting in milder weather - but maybe not every week with gas prices.
Nah, the religion is delusional if they think they can yet keep selling off halls and that people will drive even further to the next one. At some point, there will be people who just won’t go anymore.
Just as well I’ve been out for ages. I would never have done this.
