Posts by JWdaughter

72

Is the preaching work, no longer the number 1 priority?

by ToesUp in

i have been observing a pattern in recent wtbs publications and events.

is the importance of the preaching activity no longer the number 1 priority?

are not billions of lives still at stake?.

JWdaughter

INSIDE THE KH:

The WT changed the rules of what makes a JW-the hours used to be 2 hours. Now it is 15 minutes in a pinch. A MONTH. My mom does that much "witnessing" to me each month and it is a subject we are not even supposed to talk about! (She's older, I just let it go these days). Children are being baptised earlier. 15+ was standard when I was a kid. Now 9 seems to be accepted.

I am sure a few come in from the doorknocking-but the numbers do not lie-baptism rates as related to hours reported have gone down immensely. So, you have more publishers putting in so many hours and getting so few baptisms (total) in return compared to how many hours per baptism was required a couple of decades ago. Numbers don't lie.

I am not trying to be snarky, but you seem pretty loyal to the Society. What is a nice JW like you doing in a place like this?

72

Is the preaching work, no longer the number 1 priority?

by ToesUp in

i have been observing a pattern in recent wtbs publications and events.

is the importance of the preaching activity no longer the number 1 priority?

are not billions of lives still at stake?.

JWdaughter

Some people do come in - but these days, even for the last 50 years, not many from the D2D work. Most come in because of friends, relatives, spouses talking to them.

My mom was brought in 70 years ago-but not because of the message, it was because two nice JW ladies offered to give her mom an evening off and took my mom to the meetings with her. Then my uncle, too and later on the rest of the siblings. Others in the family came in this same way (all lived in the same neighborhood. I think they had something like one of those Baptist Sunday School Busses going on!). My grandma (and great aunts, save one) never really had much to do with the JWs other than accepting the free babysitting that was offered to her by the nice JW ladies. My mom, 70 years in the org brought in one other JW. She was her next door neighbor and long time best friend. She pioneered. Never brought in anyone from D2D work (permanently), but lots of nice people came once or a few times because she is the nicest lady you will ever want to meet. Too bad it is wasted on the WTBTS. My mom is the only person I know that could (as a stretch) be said to be brought in as a result of D2D work, but so far as her experience, she is essentially a born in-she never knew anything differently and never "Chose" to be associated with JWs, she just was dragged in, literally in diapers.

I think it is funny how the WTBTS has essentially admitted recently that their role is to make and keep money.

33

Semi Home Study Based Charter School vs. Regular School

by SonoftheTrinity in

i blame my stepkids bad grades in school squarely on the watchtower.

they don't get enough sleep because of the demands of family bible study and thursday meetings but comprimise isn't in my wife's vocabulary.

my stepson has friends at school but there are also bullies, and the classes are overcrowded with sicknesses spreading through them in a way that is detrimental to the family's health.

JWdaughter

I like this compromise between traditional and home school options, generally. I think it could work well as you will be his teacher. . .IF you take the opportunities that are available with local home school groups for music or art instructioon or PE, Science, social studies as well as field trips and other options to expand his educational experiences. YOU can have a lot of say in his actual educational growth. YOU can set lessons that teach him critical thinking skills. Help him find the group of kids that he fits with (just one or two good friends is all anyone needs) OUTSIDE of the org. How involved will your wife be? Who is supervising him day to day? If it is primarily your wife, this idea is not good.

I am always happy to see parents who are so involved with their children's (and stepchildren's) education. If your wife is an uberdub, beware that he will likely be dragged into FT pioneer work as soon as allowed and will likely be bullied into Aux Pioneering the minute he makes the choice for HS option.

I used to teach English to college level students and my literacy when posting on forums does NOT always reflect my abilities. Don't worry about your ability to help your son academically. They have instructional materials that I am sure you will be able to keep up with:)

It is the keeping up with it that will be the challenge. Be consistent, don't let him slack or end up playing on the computer or watching tv or reading graphic novels or MBoBS-there will be a great deal more time in his day even after he has finished with his academic requirements. Schools waste a lot of time. Do your best to enrich his education with that extra time. It is a great opportunity so long as he doesn't get coerced into FS all the time.

12

Does the NT condemn/outlaw polygamy for christians?

by Island Man in

yes, we all know that, according to the bible, god originally established a union between one man and one woman - adam and eve.

however, later in the ot we see that polygamy started being practiced and god permitted it and later even gave laws to regulate it.

so in the ot god does not condemn polygamy and israelites practiced it.. fast foward to the nt.

JWdaughter

When one considers the simplicity of the early christian congregations. . . I dont know that more than one wife was going to be as critical as it would be in the modern world with the responsibilities put on pastors, elders, MS's. What do they do now? Hand out magazines, organize conventions and pay bills for the congregation. They arrange field service. I don't think it was that complicated back then.

12

Does the NT condemn/outlaw polygamy for christians?

by Island Man in

yes, we all know that, according to the bible, god originally established a union between one man and one woman - adam and eve.

however, later in the ot we see that polygamy started being practiced and god permitted it and later even gave laws to regulate it.

so in the ot god does not condemn polygamy and israelites practiced it.. fast foward to the nt.

JWdaughter

Christian standards were often derived (and have been since derived) from the culture that they live in. Polygamy is still ok among Christians in parts of Africa. That Chrstianity did not promote polygamy and moved away from it is likely based in that Christianity was a Roman institution after a few centuries in addition to originating in the Roman world. That being said, polygamy has been openly practiced by Christians in various parts of the world since the beginning of the religion.

There is a contingent of "christian polygamists" that are not fundamentalist mormons in the US. The thought regarding the scriptures that direct that an overseer be the husband of one wife is that it means that the husband should at least have one wife. Single men were not qualified to be overseers of a congregation since they had not proven anything about their ability to even lead a household -how could he be qualified to lead the household of the saints?

Polygamy serves purposes in communities that go beyond supplying a man with more sexual partners. But they don't usually apply in the western world in any way that we really can comprehend when we have life insurance, social security and a social safety net for widows/orphans.

I don't think the Bible forbids it, but common sense should do so in the west.

19

Magazine Routes March KM

by Rattigan350 in

improving our skills in the ministrydeveloping a magazine route.

what does delivering magazines have to do with skills in a ministry?.

"many people who enjoy reading our magazines do not wish to study the bible with us.".

JWdaughter

Yeah, we see JWs for the flyer invites, but can't get one to have a conversation. They got places to go, people to not see!

5

My experience living with Jehavah's Witnesses in Colombia.

by dpw41 in

in 2012, i met a girl online who lived colombia and who happened to be a jehovah's witness.

we got to know each other for about 8 months before i went down to see them.

i was there for 6 weeks during my first stay.

JWdaughter

I don't know much, but I do know that JW culture varies a lot more than many of us would understand unless we had been exposed to it in different countries or even regions of the US. I have seen the difference just between the E and W coast and also in a bit of S. America.

I therefore wouldn't question the JW'ishness of the family for having a young man visiting to start with.

I would however say that the particulars of the way they act is not condoned. They sound like a manipulative and controlling family that had an agenda.

Good riddance to bad rubbish. Lesson learned (fill in your favorite platitude).

Take care of yourself. Stay away from JWs. Its just a mind muck no matter how "good" they are (or not).

57

New Caleb video uses fearmongering on children

by Jonathan Drake in

jw
friends

check it out.

literally the message is if you don't pay attention at the meetings you could die.

how insane, i feel like this must wake some people up..

JWdaughter

You know, if a kid is falling asleep in class at that age, a teacher would question the parenting choices that don't allow a child to get adequate sleep. Are they supervising them? Are they up too late? If a girl can't stay awake at the meeting, maybe she should be home and. . . (dare I say it?) sleeping instead of being at a meeting that keeps her from getting adequate rest. When I was little, We got home around 9:30. When my kds were the same age, bedtime was 8pm. And they had dinner, chores, bathtime bedtime stories. . . pretty much, dinner to bedtime was spoken for. I really don't know how JW families did it as much as we did. Its less onerous now as to demands on the time, but no less demanding on the children. A couple of days a week(at least) they are having HOURS of their time consumed with this between meetings, service, getting ready for them socializing around them, and driving back and forth. OUCH.

19

Magazine Routes March KM

by Rattigan350 in

improving our skills in the ministrydeveloping a magazine route.

what does delivering magazines have to do with skills in a ministry?.

"many people who enjoy reading our magazines do not wish to study the bible with us.".

JWdaughter

Magazine routes are simply a sales technique. Though most are not interested, its a numbers game. The more you "expose" the more are likely to take the bait. Husband sells insurance. I hear this stuff ALL the time. It honestly is about the most annoying thing-how all the verbiage brings me back to my childhood that way (also associate it with persecution and armageddon, so its kind of wound that keeps getting rubbed open.)

On the positive note JWs are one of the few groups disliked more than insurance agents. People actually get a benefit out of insurance!

37

Are the trolley dollies* getting any results? Or, is it just another waste of life?

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

steve2 initiated a discussion on how our former loving brothers and sisters are behaving, while engaging in the 'trolley work.

' (link: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/93590001/within-one-minute-jw-trolley-directs-me-jw-org ).

my own observations are the same as the posters report on steve2's thread.

JWdaughter

Maybe they ought to offer folks a coffee, soda or scotch along with the mags. They'd get more takers.