Posts by dozy

40

More cracks in the dam - WTS pleading for elders "in their early 20s"

by FFGhost in

jw
friends

i have another post here about how the wts is reeling from covid, as reflected in their abysmally catastrophic service report:.

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/6315842470936576/annual-service-report-yet-another-analysis-big-trouble-wts.

here's another rupture showing.. in the latest "announcements and reminders" to elders, there is a paragraph with these sentences:.

dozy

That's a big change (the elder's age requirement change). It was always the case that 30 was (unofficially) the minimum age to be appointed - I remember several well qualified JWs who patiently had to wait till their 30th birthday before being made up as an elder.

Although never officially stated , I think Timothy was often cited as he was in his 30's when recommended by Paul and of course Jesus who was baptised when 30. Very occasionally a slightly younger guy was made an elder but that was very much the exception. My cousin was appointed when he was 28 and even that was really unusual even though he was a pioneer / Kingdom Construction worker & very zealous JW.

Appointing elders in their "early 20's" does seem a sign of desperation for people to take responsibility in the congregation and is somewhat stretching the definition of an "older man"!

22

Commenting Ban?

by Iamallcool in

jw
friends

do you think the watchtower will ban commenting at the meetings one day?

if you are pimo, you might want to try to make some comments to make others think about the “truth”!

.

dozy

I don't think commenting will ever be stopped - it's a control / personal reinforcement learning mechanism ( a bit like the "personal testimony - why we believe the Mormon church is true etc" in the LDS).

For many years we had a really good "old school" WT conductor who made it a genuine bible study (within the limited parameters of the article) and he encouraged additional research and commended answers that weren't basically cut and paste verbatim from the paragraph. It was a real highlight , to be honest , and probably kept me in the Org for an extra couple of years , in hindsight. Sadly there was an elders school that focused on "sticking to the material" and I think he got privately criticised by a CO so in a shake-up of elders duties he decided to resign taking the WT feeling he had done it for long enough and wanted to give a younger elder the chance. The new guy was pretty useless.

Sadly real teachers like that are few and far between in the Society these days and the religion is so "dumbed down" that most people just regurgitate what they read in the paragraph.

31

I have come to the conclusion that a lot of JWs don't care if the end is near.

by mickbobcat in

i was in the cult for years about 40. fourth gen born in cult member or for me ex cult member.

i have seen so many cult members who don't seem to really care if the end is near or not.

they are much more concerned with the idea that this is their social network and they need and or want it just the way it is.

dozy

The immediacy definitely isn't there like it used to be. In the past there was always a kind of mental calculation from 1914 - that has all changed now with the change in the generation doctrine.

But even the Society itself no longer seems to believe. They just keep on building and flipping - Ramapo isn't due to be finished by 2026. If they really thought the end was near they would just rent a few buildings , subcontract everything and focus 100% on preaching.

17

2021 Annual Meeting Talk, "I Will Never Abandon You"

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

this 19 minute talk by “governing body” member samuel herd lacks enthusiasm, energy and mostly reads his script.

looks like he was forced to talk about something he no longer believes, but goes along what was written to appease the rest of the ''governing body.''.

mr. herd says, ''sometimes we have to make adjustments.

dozy

At least Herd will eventually be looked after in the Bethel infirmary and get the GB funeral that his status will permit.

I find old JWs tend to double down on their beliefs - very few seem to reflect on a wasted life working as an unpaid volunteer for a religious media corporation. Many go by the old mantra "even if it isn't the truth , it is still the best way of life". At least in some cases it gives them a degree of community , albeit it depends on the congregation and family ties etc.

17

2021 Annual Meeting Talk, "I Will Never Abandon You"

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

this 19 minute talk by “governing body” member samuel herd lacks enthusiasm, energy and mostly reads his script.

looks like he was forced to talk about something he no longer believes, but goes along what was written to appease the rest of the ''governing body.''.

mr. herd says, ''sometimes we have to make adjustments.

dozy

I always felt a bit sorry for older guys in the Org who were still pushing themselves to give talks etc even though they became really poor. It became quite an ordeal to listen to them and a relief when they eventually got put to pasture.

Herd has always been a really poor speaker , though - I heard him at an international convention many years ago and even then he basically just read the talk word for word from the script ( losing his place a few times ) , including the rather painful scripted "jokes" that he comes out with. If a young kid had done that in our congregation he would have been counselled by the school overseer , but I guess a GB member gets a free pass , especially as he is the token non-white guy there.

43

WHO finally admits that the shit don't work.

by pistolpete in

the main reason most got the vaccine was to protect others.

now they’re being told they can spread it just as easily as the unvaccinated.

quotes;.

dozy

For me , the prime reason I took the vaccine was to protect myself and to reduce the impact on my health if / when I do catch covid. Same reason I accept other vaccines , such as measles , flu etc.

The reason that sub Saharan Africa apparently has a lower level is primarily down to demographics ( many more younger people and fewer elderly ) and other factors ( including much lower levels of reporting ). Other factors discussed in the report below. The few African countries that are similar to western countries ( such as South Africa ) have a much higher level of Covid.

https://www.ghspjournal.org/content/9/3/433

14

What happens if a JW say “Happy Holidays!”?

by Iamallcool in

jw
friends

any takers?.

dozy

Official JW response (KM 1986)

"If people wish us a happy holiday, there is no need to make an issue over their holiday greetings. Rather, we can briefly thank them for their kindness and time in listening to us."

19

How on earth can WT lawyers continue to believe WT has God’s backing, when they see all the deception play out in Court.

by pistolpete in

here is a post on reddit from mark and kimmy o’ donnell, from the crusaders documentary,.

ask us anything.. mr. o'donnell gives his assessment of why wt lawyers continue to defend the child sex abuse cases that the organization continues to fight, even though they see firsthand the deception, the lies, the withholding of facts and dirty tactics used in court.

by an organization that claims to be god's earthly representative, and the only one to hold the truth.

dozy

I guess you could ask the same about Catholic lawyers or Mormon lawyers etc. Most criminal lawyers tend to have something of a relaxed attitude to the truth and have the ability to rationalise away any doubts or concerns - their job is to defend their client ( in this case the Watchtower Society.)

15

Prince Andrew, the Walls are Closing In

by Simon in

one thing i've learnt over the years is to read between the lines.. that means reading statements carefully.. if you have never met someone, would you say "i have never met them" or would you say "i don't remember ever meeting them"?.

the latter is just a get-out out in case evidence is presented that you did in fact meet them, because there is a photo of you with your arm around them in the upstairs of a pedo's friends, girlfriends house, which you also claim you never went to.. what will happen if the us jails a uk royal?

who knows.. before then i just hope he does another of those "utterly convincing" bizarre interviews to "prove" how he couldn't have done it because he is incapable of sweating (cut to photo of sweating andrew).

dozy

I still can't believe he did the Emily Maitlis interview. Utter madness. If he wanted some TV exposure , he could have done a Harry & Meghan type daytime interview with a Philip Schofield type about his war experiences, focused on some current charity work and simply batted away any awkward questions.

20

Did You Think The Majority of Elders Were “Qualified “?

by minimus in

jw
friends

in my opinion, in a body of elders let’s say with 7 elders , 2 or 3 were pretty much on the ball.

they were reasonable, intelligent and moderate.

the others were either extremely extreme about everything or very liberal.. did you have qualified older men or were they all lousy to you?

dozy

One of the problems with the elder system is that unless they end up fornicating a pioneer sister , or leaving the Org after discovering the Truth About the Truth , it is basically a position for life. I've sat in long boring elders meetings where elders refused appointments of elders & MS and frankly , they themselves would never be appointed if they applied the same criteria to themselves. Its like the Peter Principle in real life.

After I left JWs and got involved in some voluntary and community organisations , I noted very similar set ups in most committees of any type. 25% of people are pretty competent , 50% just are padding , maybe OK if you just threw them a bone to work on and 25% are useless and/or obstructive.