hey everyone.
i'm sorry that this isn't a very thought provoking post but i could really use some advice on how to handle this.
there isn't anyone else in my life i can ask right now because, being dfed, all of my friends are "worldly" and don't know how witnesses function.
Im sorry about all this. I don't think revealing the letters will help. I think it might help inform your next step though.
If you trust any elders, ask their advice about your chances of ever being welcome in the congregations and any suggestions on how you can not only be reinstated, but part of the congregation. You don't really want to be, but it may help you make your next move.
All the best. Later you can TP the MSs house.
was it settled?
is it still pending further appeal?
today has been a horrible day.
what began as a day of joy finding out that one of my lifelong friends had her baby, turned into a nightmare when her brother called me to let me know she had passed away after birth.
i was in shock and didn't ask how.
http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/industries/health-care/2016/01/19/bill-removes-protections-parents-choosing-prayer-over-medicine/79001194/?from=global&sessionkey=&autologin=.
holly fletcher, [email protected] 5:26 p.m. cst january 19, 2016 .
a bill filed tuesday would remove a legal shield in tennessee for parents who reject medical treatment for children in favor of treatment by prayer.. it is a crime in tennessee to fail to provide medical care to children, with an exception, known as the spiritual treatment exemption act, for parents who want to rely on "spiritual means through prayer alone," according to state code.
a. in 2026 in what state do you think the organization will be?.
) 9million + members.
) roughly the same amount of members as today (7-9 million)..
A. In 2026 in what state do you think the Organization will be?
4.) Roughly half the number of members as today
which will happen because it will be
5.) Split or dissolved.
B. In 2026 do you think amount of literature printed in other languages (not English) will be:
3.) Less than today
C. In 2026 do you think the amount of literature printed in English will be:
3.) Less than today
D. In 2026 do you think the number of countries that have Bethel facilities will be:
4.) Only in one country (maybe one in each continent)
i haven't seen this mentioned yet.
last year in the uk, shortly after the money grab that everyone had, we had a video and letter (both probably still available from atlantis) appealing for money for the new bethel and slips were handed out etc.
this means that most uk congregations are sending a regular donation specifically for the chelmsford build.
It's an old auto wrecking yard. There is some contamination/remediation work happening, without a doubt.
I am pretty cynical about the borg, but I think there is a cash flow problem that will be temporarily ameliorated once they get everyone out of Brooklyn and collect the cash for the properties.
Then they will keep on spending it and not much will be replacing it. I can live with that scenario.
did they name the road at warwick?
kings dr??.
im so sure......them gb members got some big heads!!
Naked Emperors Lane(to honor the GB)
Streetwalkers Avenue(to honor publishers)
with the book crisis of conscience detailing the turbulence at bethel during the early to mid 70's, the transformation from autocratic rule to governance by committee or a body of men, many of us can speak to how that felt among the rank and file of the local congregations during those years.
we learned new concepts based in large part to research done for the aid to bible understanding volume, then we were asked or coerced into unlearning those principles, going back to the old ways.
some of us never readjusted, finding ourselves very different from our more hardline compadres.. the inertia for the changes that eventually were initiated in the congregations came from the discovery that the greek words episkopos and presbyteros were used biblically to refer to all qualified men in a congregation, not just one.
It is funny, now they would say I DA'd myself, but back then, (maybe they were confused) I was disassociated from the congrgation, I didn't DA myself. And frankly, I wasn't trying to cut off my life and piss off my mom, I just didn't want to be a JW or ID myself as one. I still liked them (though the shunning soon took the bloom off of that partiicular rose!)
with the book crisis of conscience detailing the turbulence at bethel during the early to mid 70's, the transformation from autocratic rule to governance by committee or a body of men, many of us can speak to how that felt among the rank and file of the local congregations during those years.
we learned new concepts based in large part to research done for the aid to bible understanding volume, then we were asked or coerced into unlearning those principles, going back to the old ways.
some of us never readjusted, finding ourselves very different from our more hardline compadres.. the inertia for the changes that eventually were initiated in the congregations came from the discovery that the greek words episkopos and presbyteros were used biblically to refer to all qualified men in a congregation, not just one.
Man. Most of my years in the borg that I remember are 1970-1982. It didn't feel that liberal to ME, but I guess I do remember the cracking down when our youth bible study was summarily canceled after some earnest conversation with an elder about 1975 and other stuff.
I don't remember there ever NOT being elders. I don't remember short skirts, pantsuits or much more than cheesy sideburns and bro dent's neon green suits and purple shirts. He was s slight, short, balding white guy in his 30's and I can't even describe his style as I think he was completely unique in this world. Mostly I liked the elders until I was called in the back to testify that I was indeed abused and wasn't a willing victim(??) and then when I asked questions no one thought worth answering i just said I didn't want to be a JW and poof, I was DA'd. Not sure how/why as I was a kid and never baptised. I had no idea it was anything more than not ID'ing myself as one anymore and not going to meetings. It was I think a whole new category of getting busted in the congregation.
i've been drawing back lately and looking at the big picture going on in the org, somewhat like slimboyfat has also been doing, but i am wondering about different possibilities.
so the current gb has modernized recently in various ways.
they have done a strong and sudden about-face regarding the electronic world, from viewing the whole thing suspiciously and condemning bros. use tablets from the platform to suddenly embracing them and causing the r&f to do so to such a degree that old ones are spending hundreds of dollars to buy devices that they have no clue how to use; they have heavily embraced this media for their message, very much like the churches have been doing for years, especially with their jw broadcasting and their caleb and sophia animations.
