Completely echo everything sir82 said. A very astute analysis. I know that in my congregation, an elder™ encouraged me to get a vasectomy, even though it is forbidden by the Society™ in a recent Questions From Readers™ article. Some honesthearted Witnesses™ I know recognize and are bothered by this situation and really yearn for the old days of strong belief.
under_believer
JoinedPosts by under_believer
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22
Finding Jehovahs Witnesses Faith
by Marvin Shilmer infinding jehovahs witnesses faith.
i have a question for serious participants of this forum: .
what do you deem the most reliable means for determining the various convictions held by the population of jehovahs witnesses in terms of the range of what individuals within that group consider as core tenets of their faith?.
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Did you ever write an excuse on the back of your service report?
by JH in.
when i joined the jw's, i remember an elder stating that when you do less than the average number of hours in your month, mark the reason why in the back of the service report sheet that you give at the end of each month.. did anybody else receive these instructions way back in the late 80's?
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under_believer
No, never any excuses. It's weird too. I'm inactive™ but the secretary™ or his assistant still call me each month for the "nope, I got no time™ in service™" conversation.
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Were YOU Gossiped About In The Congregation?
by minimus indo you know who the worst offenders were??
the elders.
the elders, because they were "shepherds and overseers" believed they had the right to talk about you, your family, your job, your personality and so forth.....they pick apart any male in the hall under the guise of seeing whther someone "might qualify for privileges".
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under_believer
Anyone who has lived in the same house as an elder™ knows that they talk on the phone for hours gossiping about the publishers™. Often in casual situations, like a dinner, two elders™ will go off into a side room of the house and gossip. It happens at the meetings™ too. It's also totally true that most elder bodies™ are factionalized and usually have one or more internal parties vying for control. Any former CO™ can attest to the problems with elder body™ strife he encountered in the circuit work™. I personally have been gossiped about many times.
There is the odd, virtuous Witness™ who is above gossip--my mother was one. But they are few and far between, and as others have mentioned, it's mostly because they don't have anything else to do with their time. -
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Do you believe that Demons really Exist.
by MARTINLEYSHON inthe reason why i have asked such is question is that i served as a congregation elder for 12 years.
i served as the presiding overseer for 10 years, and as chairman and media spokes-person for a particular region.
during my time within the organisation that being almost 30 years, i have concluded that there is, as far as my own experience is concerned grave doubt in my mind as to the existence of the devil and his demonic hoard.
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under_believer
No, I do not. No proof. And this is something I have publically stated to a couple of different elders, who raised their eyebrows at me with a "we shall see" look on their faces, but no discipline was given.
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Chaperon Stories
by Dr Jekyll in.
anyone got any chaperon stories from when you were dating as a dub?.
matt
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under_believer
Not too many chaperone stories. My soon-to-be-wife and I mostly snuck around by ourselves without chaperones, made out in dark cars, etc. We were naughty. I did get corraled into chaperone duty many, many times though. Sucked.
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Another poll: raised in or came in?
by under_believer insomeone asked a question in the "what generation are you" thread:.
were you "raised in the truth," or did you "come into the truth?".
i was raised..
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under_believer
Someone asked a question in the "What Generation Are You" thread:
Were you "raised in the truth," or did you "come into the truth?"
I was raised. -
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under_believer
3rd.
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I found this and am in total agreement. Feel free to answer the Questions.
by jw inregardless of how you feel about jehovah's organization--the true religion, one thing for sure, you will not escape the almighty jehovah's judgement right along with satan the devil and his destructive organization.
how will you save yourself and those who follow you...?
it's ashame that your energies could not be put to a more positive use.
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under_believer
I realize that this is trollfeeding, but some of the content of that post caught my eye. You're taking your cues from Society literature and some of what you say is fairly iconic and representative, so I wanted to hilight it.
Satan the devil and his destructive organization.
Where is this destructive organization? Can you point to it? Where is it? Who are its members? This is a common ploy employed by the Governing Body, to try and set up an us-vs-them mentality, but in reality I can see no evidence that Satan has an "organization." Even if you accept that Satan directly affects the world, it sure doesn't appear to be organized.
It's ashame that your energies could not be put to a more positive use. ...saving lives! Are you doing that now? ....Are you offering others hope?....direction? unity? Peace? Security? a futrue?
This is another anti-apostate thing the Society says a lot. "Those apostates only tear down, they don't build up. They don't give anyone hope. They don't have anything better than what we have here." This is basically reforming the "where else would you go" argument. In other words, Witnesses have been made dependent on an organization for their spiritual needs, for their sense of right and wrong, for their social needs, everything. If apostates make you lose faith in the organization, then where else would they go? But this is an appeal to fear. Believe it or not all these things ARE in the world, available for everyone, but it's not my job to provide them for people. People need to find these things for themselves, not be spoonfed them.
He only listens to those that are busy doing his will,
Wait, what? How can that be, even by WTS doctrine? What about all those stories of people praying to God for direction and the moment they say "Amen" a Witness knocks on their door? Why even pray with Bible Studies then, since they are most likely NOT busy doing His will?
not those that are looking to glorify themselves....
Another common anti-apostate rant, but it's not true. The only way someone can make this statement (and the WTS makes it a lot) is if they themselves are seeking to glorify themselves. It's impossible to read the Society's literature and not realize this, though. In any case, I'm pretty certain nobody here is looking for personal glory.
Your articles have a lot of material, however, you fail to have scriptural backup.....how true can it be....when not one scripture is sighted!
Making that statement is either lying or ignorance. Read the board a bit more. There's a lot of scriptural backup for those who desire it. Some posters here still believe the Bible and some don't. -
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Desperately seeking fade
by 5thGeneration in.
i really want out but keep going for personal reasons.. my question: has anyone else during their fade period gone off the school, quit do-t-do and just gone to the sunday meeting?.
that's where i'm at right now but it's a living hell still 'being' a publisher but being a lump at the same time..
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under_believer
My sister is attempting a fade. She tried moving to another state and my mom called the city overseer in the city she moved into to make sure they were aware of her, find out what territory she was in etc.
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At This Point, Would You Care If You Are or Were Disfellowshipped???
by minimus inat this stage of "coming out" of the "truth", would it faze you if you were disfellowshipped?
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under_believer
I would care because I have immediate family who is still in, and extended family that I want an opportunity to antiwitness to. I kind of like the idea of making a huge public declaration, on principle, but for practical reasons it would be best if I succeed in fading.