i think the gb needs to expand publishers' volunteer activities beyond door knocking.. gb has shifted away from door-knocking to more varied forms of witnessing and no longer counting time for publishers.
my prediction is that the gb will start encouraging jws to participate in broader community volunteer efforts: clean-up drives, food banks, senior citizen support, and other non-proselytizing activities.
this move could help them gain goodwill with government agencies and the public.. expanding volunteer activities could significantly shift how jws are perceived by the wider community.
DOINMYPART:
Yes, opening food pantries and the like would most definitely improve public perception of them.
It would certainly help out those of their members made poor by following their bad advice not to get a career but instead be out in the ministry!
let's be honest, there's a stigma to the name jehovah's witness.
if they are going more mainstream.
i imagine the first recommendation was a name change.
NOW WHAT2:
I could be wrong and it certainly makes No difference to me…but if the religion were to actually change its name from Jehovah’s Witnesses to something else I think it may contribute to an exodus.
Too many have had enough and are already on the fence and are disturbed and disappointed by recent changes.. I could picture some hearing this, chuckle to themselves and then leave after the closing prayer - for good.
i am thinking that the "ten year plan" that some have spoken of is the most likely scenario.
the org.
has to both attract new members and retain as many existing ones as possible.. so i think they will let the recent changes "bed in" for a while, maybe a year ?
JOEY JOJO:
I believe you are right about time being a friend and an enemy.
The death of older Witnesses can be a relief to the religion as they won’t be around to complain about failed prophecies/faulty teachings! Of course, the opposite side of that coin is that these older people are far more faithful than the younger ones would be.
VIDIOT:
When you talk about a ‘compassionate fellowship’ you couldn’t possibly mean some of the older die-hards in the religion!
These judgmental angry people wouldn’t have an ounce of compassion and I could actually picture them very vigorously barring that ‘ark door’ against any less deserving (in their eyes) individuals from getting on!
because of some respect for family members, we visited the memorial today.. a moment i always think, could i go back into this religion?
we entered the hall and some said a short hello.
and with short i say short.
GORB:
I am not surprised you encountered short ‘hellos’ and a general grim feeling in the congregation at this year’s memorial.(lower case).
Even though the Witnesses were more upbeat years ago, I couldn’t wait until it was over so I could run home! It seemed absurd to pass those plates like a charade.
Thinking about it, I can understand the feeling of disappointment today some JWs can’t hide.. After all, many are now seniors (after being assured by the religion they would never get old ‘in this system of things’). This isn’t always pleasant even for people who planned financially.. How must others feel who didn’t ?
To add insult to injury, the JW religion’s teachings recently got gutted (and they may not even be done yet).. Even the most faithful probably wonder how they should feel about everything. I’m sure there are a lot of mixed emotions - anxiety, resentfulness and other things as well!!
does anyone know how punky is ?
he hasn't posted in a while ?
jan from tam .
PUNK OF NICE:
I agree that the Witness religion is a distant memory many of us no longer identify with.. The recent shocking changes there (and those yet to come) are meaningless to those of us who have been Out for so long!
It is always wonderful to hear of other ex-JWs who are getting on with their lives. Be Happy!
one theory why tony was booted out was because he was a stickler for not changing the shunning doctrine.
he actually said the words we will never ever change it.. they are slowly deleting all of tony’s videos and now losing court cases and losing government hand outs in places like norway.. it’s looking very likely they will release new light on shunning policy after losing this latest one in norway.. .
what are the odds they coincidentally get new light from jehovah and lighten up their shunning policy ?.
JEHOVAXX:
This was a good video and I do feel sorry for anybody raised in the JW religion.
She’s very correct that JW family are toxic and incapable of normal relationships since they are brainwashed. She is wise to tell DF’d people to keep their expectations low if they are contacted by JW family who have been shunning them for many years.
I always thought it absurd that Witnesses act as if people are like light switches that can be turned On and Off… Maybe it’s part of the absurd teachings that nothing we endure now means anything because the ‘paradise’ is coming, etc.🙄 So, JWs imagine people they have harmed are supposed to forgive them and just forget about it.👎 It’s part of the culture of unaccountability that persists there, in my opinion.
DESIROUS OF CHANGE:
I don’t blame anybody for not wanting to sit in front of judgmental men in a religion. I never accepted their assertion of ‘authority’. They act like they are ‘somebody’.
one theory why tony was booted out was because he was a stickler for not changing the shunning doctrine.
he actually said the words we will never ever change it.. they are slowly deleting all of tony’s videos and now losing court cases and losing government hand outs in places like norway.. it’s looking very likely they will release new light on shunning policy after losing this latest one in norway.. .
what are the odds they coincidentally get new light from jehovah and lighten up their shunning policy ?.
VIDIOT:
I agree that there IS a distinction in the minds of Jehovah’s Witnesses regarding a Disfellowshipped person versus a Disassociated person.
A Disfellowshipped person would be viewed as more ‘desirable’ in their eyes because they have a ‘weakness’ and the religion rejected them. They can ask to come back.
Whereas a Disassociated person has seen through the religion and doesn’t want any of it!.. Very Bad in the egotistical religion’s eyes! How Dare anybody reject their magnificence!
you heard me correct, this is not a joke, and it is not april fools day!
the asl portion of the governing body updated #2 (march 2024) has been released a bit early and someone caught it.
summary: .
WING COMMANDER:
I just saw some posts on Reddit that mention how this new pants (allowance) for women may cause problems.
Some feel the brothers will be ogling certain sisters’ behinds!.. Another thread posted a rule some have suggested that sisters have to wear a long jacket to cover their buttocks.
I had too many ‘problems’ there and would be one of the ones singled-out and criticized because of my ‘assets’. I would be expected to try harder to be ‘modest’.
They have serious issues about certain women’s figures. I got a boatload of hatred over this and my full-time job.. So, none of this nonsense about their recent changes means anything to me - except I was proved right all these years later for having kept my job when they decided to do away with their time requirement for publishers! Glad I never listened.
Anybody still wants to go back there? 🙄
slacks.
ties.
jackets.
ATLANTIS:
Thanks for all your info!.. Even though I’m many years ‘Faded’ from the JW religion these changes still shock me.
This, and their 2023 annual meeting changes, just drives home the fact that this is a man-made religion teaching things that are simply somebody’s opinion and not in the Bible. How many countless lives were affected over generations - and for what? It wasn’t about ‘truth’, that’s for sure.
When Petra hears all this she’ll shake her head and be so Glad she got out and moved on. Hope she’s doing well.
you heard me correct, this is not a joke, and it is not april fools day!
the asl portion of the governing body updated #2 (march 2024) has been released a bit early and someone caught it.
summary: .
LAS MALVINAS..:
You’re probably right that this is a serious attempt to keep the younger generations from leaving.
You are also probably right that Boomers and older would be angry because they lived their entire lives under these rules. I ‘Faded’ in 2001 and kept my job until retirement. When I heard they dropped the reporting of time at the 2023 annual meeting, I felt justified and relieved that I never quit my job to be in the ministry!!! …I can only imagine how angry and betrayed any other Boomers must feel if they DID do this.
How must they feel about all these other changes and whatever else may be coming? They must think their precious religion sold out and I’ll bet it doesn’t give a sh#t about them.. While I can imagine how they must feel, you have to remember these people criticized me for working - so there isn’t much sympathy on my part.
