Good stuff!
You get a "G" on your use of ellipsis!! You were in the Writing Department, weren't you??
Doubting Bro
JoinedPosts by Doubting Bro
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45
I had no idea there were people who felt like me
by Orgull ini've recently begun challenging my beliefs.
all my beliefs, including those ingrained in me as one raised "in the truth".. a few years ago i sought therapy for chronic depression and my treatment was remarkably successful.
as a side effect, things that used to "work" for me no longer fit with the new emotional pathways and strengths i was developing.
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Doubting Bro
Welcome Orgull!!
Yes, you are not alone. I can tell you that if not for this place, I truely be a mess right now (ok, maybe I'm a little bit of a mess but it could be so much worse).
Look forward to hearing more from you.
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62
August KM provides solid evidence of declining JW morale
by sir82 inas you may or may not recall, the february '07 km (for the us) had a huge article, taking up the full 4 page insert, on the "blessings" of auxiliary pioneering.
the part covering that insert took up the entire service meeting (aside form the announcements).
the "encouragement" was that the us branch had set a goal of 160,000 auxiliary pioneers for the month of april ("if only one of every 6 publishers signs up, we can make it!")..
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Doubting Bro
Sir82,
Fully 25% or more of the US Witnesses are in Spanish-language congregation, you can probably add a few 10's of thousands more in all the other languages.
I also get the sense that Spanish is making up a pretty large portion of the JW population based on the number of Spanish language DCs I saw listed and the fact that many cities with congregations of say 20 or so in the metro area have at least 4 or 5 Spanish congregations and at least one other language, some with larger numbers than the English congregation they share the hall with.
Has anyone seen any actual statistics that back this up? I find it interesting that the WTS doesn't break out their numbers in local branches by language group, but I think at Bethel, they know exactly what the percentages are. My theory is if they reported the numbers by language, the English speaking publisher numbers would be down by quite a bit, which would cause even more discouragement.
Good business strategy to push the foreign language "avenue of service". Makes sense to deploy resources where the larger profit margin can be had. However, I agree that while the numbers will go up in this segment of the population, the $$$ will not go up correspondingly since that's not the wealthiest segment of the population (on average, especially recent immigrants to the US).
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Closing prayers at JW conventions
by TD ini've often thought that the closing prayer at jw conventions is a study in psychology in and of itself.. consider the typical scenario.
it's 4:30pm on a sunday afternoon.
people are tired and hungry.
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Doubting Bro
HUGE pet peeve for me. I've been chairman before and was given specific instructions to make my prayer no longer than 2 min. And, the shorter the better was what I was told. If you want to pray for an hour in private, that's fine. But a 10 minute public prayer is downright rude. And, my DC ended with one that long because I timed it! The kids have it right. When they start fussing, its time to wrap it up.
Minimus said:
-It's just like the Pharisees---just like them!
I'll give you an amen on that one my brother!!
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Public talk will be reduced to 30 minutes
by martinjw7 inhave you heard about a letter for all congregations announced next new change in wts politics?.
in letter is information that the time for the public talk will be reduced to 30 minutes.. does anyone have a copy?
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Doubting Bro
If this is true, which is certainly possible, it's really only an extra 15 minutes since the PT is already only 45 min long. Still, an hour 45m is better than 2 hours (they usually allow 5m for the song/prayer at the beginning, middle and end to get to the 2 hours).
As the others have said, I'm sure they will be forcing people to stick even closer to the outline or perhaps even making it a manuscript.
When I was a little kid, I remember the intermission. It was great because I could run around for a few minutes. I think it would be a good idea to allow the kids a chance to walk around a bit.
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15
How far would you go to save your marriage ?
by troubled mind in.
would there be a limit to what you would do to make your mate happier ?
would you swallow all you know and go back to meetings just to try to make it work ?.
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Doubting Bro
I really don't know. I can't imagine my life without my wife. She's the only reason I go so I guess I've already answered the question. How long can I continue going before the damage begins? Fortunately, apathy towards the JWs has started which I'm sure is my defense mechanism.
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110
For Lurkers Only
by nvrgnbk inare you an active jehovah's witness?.
i was when i found this place.. this place, jwd, didn't change that.. i knew that so many things were wrong with the organization.
i was an elder.
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Doubting Bro
Nvrgnbk - Amen my brother! You have summed up my experience as well. By the way, I always love reading your threads and am glad to see you posting. Here's a beer for you (maybe one day we can have one together in person)
Timbob - Welcome to the board. You will find many here that can totally relate to what you're feeling right now. For me, it was as if I had been betrayed by a life long friend. I was still an elder when I found out the truth about the truth and stayed one for almost 2 years (the first year or so under the false impression that I could somehow make a difference and be a force for reform until I woke up and realized could not fight the machine). It is a scary prospect to leave a belief system that you've known your whole life. Your entire social structure is probably tied up with the JWs (as is mine). If you're married and have kids, it gets very complicated as Open Mind brings out. We each have to decide how best to procede but this board has been a great "source of encouragement" to borrow a JW phrase to me.
Look forward to hearing more from you.
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25
How would your respond?
by Billzfan23 ini received the following from an elder in a nearby congregation that i was just disfellowshipped from:.
hey, .
i saw your wife at the special assembly day; she didnt mention you and didnt want to talk, so i just let her go.
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Doubting Bro
BF23,
I think that's a perfect response. Please let us know if he responds. If he already knows you were DF'ed for apostasy and is reaching out to you, I wonder if he's having questions too?
Either way, you left it on a positive note.
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Doubting Bro
I agree with OTWO & Gary on this one. I see this article as a stepping stone to making the GB = the FDS (which of course in their minds it already does but the official teaching is that the FDS is all of the annointed). The 5/1/07 was the first major step and this is step 2.
The DC really hammered the FDS over and over more than usual it seems to me. So, I can see that soon, maybe even within the next year or so (complete speculation on my part) they change that particular teaching. I'm sure no one will really care since in the minds of the R&F, the FDS=GB anyway. But, it will open up the door to place non-"annointed" on the GB or at least have them become "annointed" upon their promotion. Its just too hard to groom folks to keep up the charade.
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Sad News Orangefatcat's husband died this morning.
by orangefatcat inthis is one of the sadest days in my life, my beloved husband marco passed away this morning at 5:15 am.. it has been a dreadful day.
but my dear friend was with most of the day while we went togerther to make funeral arrangements.. that was really hard on me.
i have done nothing but cry and cry all day, i finally fell asleep a few hours ago while my friend diane was here and she let me sleep.
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Doubting Bro
Terry,
My deepest condolences. You and your family will be in my thoughts and prayers.