Nancy,
That is a great pic.
Who is the taxi cab driver standing next to you?
U
so, i was on here earlier tonight, on jwd, and i find this thread about posting a pic of your partner, mate, significant other, etc., and there are like four pages of posts.
soooo, i go and get these photos of lori, or of lori and i, and then i come back here and i can't find the gd post!!
wtf!!
Nancy,
That is a great pic.
Who is the taxi cab driver standing next to you?
U
during what period of time did they have some credibility and were they most active and making the most money?.
around here, when i joined back in 1987, there were so many pioneers in the congregation and they were in the field service morning, afternoon and evening.
that lasted about 5 years, then it was a quick and steady decline in field service and a decline in building new halls.
Garybuss,
That is a damned depressing way of putting it! Makes them look pretty successful.
I feel that the mid to late 50's to 1975 was probably the heyday for the same reasons as Mulan and TD and others have stated.
I do know that in 1995 with the 'generation' unplugged to 1914 was the beginning of my decline, although in truth, I started losing faith in the organization in the early 80's.
Brant
oops.
one of my friends parents referred to us (my sweetie and i) as "new wave" apostates.
has anyone else heard this term, been referred to as one?
i was just wondering if this is a new attempt to squash critical thinking?
Haven't heard about New Wave apostates, but where we were from in Texas (around Austin) a young brother told a friend of mine that we were not just apostates, but rather "super apostates".
Top that one.
Brant
i'm talking about the new posters, like kitten whiskers, who started posting today (hope this works: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/120817/1.ashx).
and it seems like we're getting a few like this nearly every day.
people who were raised jws, really worry that they are doing the right thing in leaving, yet who have been made to feel not good enough by the wts, who felt they never measured up, who struggled with it, but came to realize that what they'd been brought up to believe was just not the truth.. the same stories are told over and over again, and they come from sincere, good people - not whiny, fault-finding apostates like the rest of us riffraff around here!
Doubting Bro,
Welcome!
I know many elders who are good men, who really do care. However, the burden placed on these men by the WTS is impossible to carry.You are right. So very right. There are many. But they are still in the minority. My father is such a man, which is why it kills me to see him waste himself away in a fruitless effort for an organization that never has been approved by God. The burden is impossible to carry. And the burden is from the very organization that claims to represent the one who offers a kindly and light load. The organization is plainly lying in that claim. Why would anyone carry a burden other than the one offered by Christ and still think they are pleasing Christ by carrying it?
I just don't understand. My dad is in my front yard right now. My wife just got home. My dad is no doubt expressing to her, yet again, how much they miss me. I am not thirty feet away from him and he knows I would welcome his company, but the same organization places upon him the burden of cutting me out of his life and discarding me, like a malignant cancer. He served on his first Judicial Committee when he was 17 years old. Why does he carry this Pharisaical burden?
Respectfully,
AuldSoul
AuldSoul,
You are doing a great job on this thread.
I would like to inject though that I disagree with the statement that you commented on above, (but not your comment). That statement conveys the idea that the elders are "victims" rather than willing (and PAID) participants. This is the statement that I am referring to:
I know many elders who are good men, who really do care. However, the burden placed on these men by the WTS is impossible to carry.
The Watchtower religion is a "WORKS/ REWARD" system. You do the prescribed work and you get the recognition and the personal aggrandizement that goes along with it.
In my opinion, that is one of the primary reasons why elders, both who come to this DB as well as elders who hear or know about the WT-UN deal as well as other corrupt activities of the organization find it so difficult to leave.
I respect the elders that post here, especially they are trying to figure out how to leave the organization, but I was an elder for over 30 years and I know the feeling of euphoria that accompanies recognition by the Society, fellow elders, publishers, etc. when you give a good talk, or have an assembly part or provide counsel that seems to be effective. It is like a drug and a lot of our brothers are staying in their positions because of the REWARD system in place.
It took me 2 and 1/2 years to leave the organization after I found out about the WT-NGO.
But...........I had a sickening feeling from the decade of the 80's and a worse sickening feeling in the 90"s that the WT was totally out of it, and yet, I didn't leave till June of last year.
All I can say to you elders and others out there, YOU WILL KICK YOURSELVES FOR EVERY DAY YOU STAY AFTER YOU REALIZE IT IS THE WRONG PLACE TO BE.
I am so happy to be rid of that place. 45 years a witness and only two or three friends now to show for it, but I am so glad to be gone!!!! Every day it just gets better and better.
Welcome to Becca ---doubting Bro---OPR83-- and great post TD (#1183)--it was a touchdown.
Brant
i'm talking about the new posters, like kitten whiskers, who started posting today (hope this works: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/120817/1.ashx).
and it seems like we're getting a few like this nearly every day.
people who were raised jws, really worry that they are doing the right thing in leaving, yet who have been made to feel not good enough by the wts, who felt they never measured up, who struggled with it, but came to realize that what they'd been brought up to believe was just not the truth.. the same stories are told over and over again, and they come from sincere, good people - not whiny, fault-finding apostates like the rest of us riffraff around here!
i'm talking about the new posters, like kitten whiskers, who started posting today (hope this works: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/120817/1.ashx).
and it seems like we're getting a few like this nearly every day.
people who were raised jws, really worry that they are doing the right thing in leaving, yet who have been made to feel not good enough by the wts, who felt they never measured up, who struggled with it, but came to realize that what they'd been brought up to believe was just not the truth.. the same stories are told over and over again, and they come from sincere, good people - not whiny, fault-finding apostates like the rest of us riffraff around here!
i'm talking about the new posters, like kitten whiskers, who started posting today (hope this works: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/120817/1.ashx).
and it seems like we're getting a few like this nearly every day.
people who were raised jws, really worry that they are doing the right thing in leaving, yet who have been made to feel not good enough by the wts, who felt they never measured up, who struggled with it, but came to realize that what they'd been brought up to believe was just not the truth.. the same stories are told over and over again, and they come from sincere, good people - not whiny, fault-finding apostates like the rest of us riffraff around here!
Auld Soul,
I totally agree with your take on the idea that we are going to hang around and try to help.
First, you would have to believe in your heart that the organization IS or WAS God's chosen organization. If you believe that, it would be foolish to leave. It also would be a good time to take another look at the facts.
If a person establishes that it IS NOT God's chosen organization, then staying around could indicate a lack of confidence in Jehovah, and a desire to 'take matters into your own hands'.
Auld Soul I really like your posts.
Welcome to the gang Zarco.
S4, it is again always a pleasure to read your posts. (did you get my airplane question on a post yesterday?)
Chris, you have really spoken truth below. People usually won't leave unless they are adversely affected. Rule #1 below was mine, when someone really thought they were serving Jehovah and in reality when the truth comes out it was just another scam. (UN-NGO)
Brant
zarco, you remind me of my wife (and I mean that in the best way possible!).
She stayed for 13 years after I left, giving every reason possible. I think she stayed because she wanted it to be the Truth so badly. In the end, she left because finally the dysfunction of the organization touched her.
I'm coming around to thinking that we don't leave this organization until one of two things happen: (1) we find a reason that means something to us personally; or (2) the organization harms us personally in some way.
I wish you well.
Chris
i'd probably have a pretty well stocked backyard machine shop, complete with lathe(s), milling machine, welding gear, etc.
i'm a fitter and turner by trade, so it kind of makes sense...
I'd like to buy a motor home and travel to a few dozen National and State Parks. I would love to see the United States real close for about a year.
Then, I would go live in the prettiest place I found, buy an airplane and several motorcycles of different kinds and just sit back and enjoy life.
Seeker 4-- I have been a pilot since the mid 70's. I love flying. What did you fly and how much time do you have?
Brant
i wrote most of this in response to drew sagan, in a thread that wasn't really about this issue.
when i read back over it, i figured it need a thread of its own.. the first part of the puzzle is in appendix 1d of the nwt reference bible.
they list all "237 places where the name jehovah occurs in the main text of the new world translation of the christian greek scriptures.
Auld Soul,
Very well written post.
Funny how they were willing to "add to" or "take away" words and meanings from the Bible when it serves their purpose.
Question:
Do you think it is wrong when the quote in Hebrew is YHWH that they place the Name Jehovah in that place? I didnt quite understand your statement.
Brant
my brother and i had good harmony.
i played lead and i'd sing but i preferred just to play lead.. .
this was about 1967. i was about 23. i still have the jazz and the fender amp.
This is the way we lived so my dad could be a prolific Witness. He followed the Society's directions to aspire to poverty and that was a goal that a lot of people could reach. We would all pile in the car to go door to door and tell people with nice yards about the paradise earth, and the weeds in our front yard were a foot high and there was deferred maintenance and ignored grounds care everywhere.
I enjoyed that comment. "poverty...was a goal that a lot of people could reach".
that was so true of the 50's organization mind set, maybe even into the 60's.
Real nice thread Gary, kind of melancholy. Nice to see and share, but kind of hard too.
Brant