Posts by Open mind

104

Hear ye!hear ye!!!!Take notice

by mouthy in

jw
friends

tomorrow the 22nd i will be 85 years old .

good wishes only please,remember if you say something nasty i will cry.

and my mum told me it is a sin to cry on your birthday .

Open mind

Happy Birthday Grace!!!

You've probably long-since forgotten, but I'll never forget the warm welcome you gave to me on my very first post here.

Best regards,

Open Mind

35

Could you 'Wake Up Happy' if you were an active Witness, knowing what you know now? (A 2012 Convention invitation)

by ScenicViewer in

a convention invitation.

i came home the other day and found an invitation to the upcoming district convention in my door.

i don't believe these are left in the doors of the general public, so a well-meaning witness must have been thinking of me, even though i have not been to the kh in about 7 years.. the leading question on the front immediately got my attention, and made my jaw drop a bit.. i thought i would ask the forum, .

Open mind

Great description by Billy the Ex: "pre-recorded propagandist lip-sync melodrama"?

I hate to give the Watchtower good ideas, but they could actually make it a live play and not alienate the Brits so much if they just used body microphones. The "actors" would still be going off a manuscript, but the reduced melodramatic hand-gestures and off-putting accents would be a plus for the JWs.

om

78

6/15 WT - WT Society can Run it's Business - but JW's Can't Have their Own

by flipper in

jw
friends

in the typical do as we say , not as we do type mentality - the wt society puts forth in this current wt study article ( jw's only wt ) - that it's not " advisable " or " reasonable " for jehovah's witnesses to seek entering their own business ventures , or further themselves by getting a college education, or even have a career - due to the imminent coming of the alleged " end of the system " or alleged " paradise " .

the guilt and control used here is ridiculous.

in the article titled , " why put jehovah's service first ?

Open mind

Flipper: "Bottom line in my opinion is that the WT society wants to steal away ANY individuality or motivation Witnesses have towards bettering themselves financially"

I agree 100%.

And, as usual, I am blown away by what a hospitable thread host you are.

om

78

6/15 WT - WT Society can Run it's Business - but JW's Can't Have their Own

by flipper in

jw
friends

in the typical do as we say , not as we do type mentality - the wt society puts forth in this current wt study article ( jw's only wt ) - that it's not " advisable " or " reasonable " for jehovah's witnesses to seek entering their own business ventures , or further themselves by getting a college education, or even have a career - due to the imminent coming of the alleged " end of the system " or alleged " paradise " .

the guilt and control used here is ridiculous.

in the article titled , " why put jehovah's service first ?

Open mind

Hey there Flipper! You know I love ya bro, but I gotta put on my "defend the Watchtower" hat for just a minute.

I think you may be reading more into this than really is there.

Here are the quotes you referenced:

pg 21, par 4

Do you think that it would have been reasonable for
Noah and his family to focus their efforts
on developing a business, getting
ahead among their contemporaries, or
establishing a comfortable lifestyle? Of
course not! Knowing what lay ahead,
they avoided such distractions.

pg 21, par 6 (actual quote is at very top of pg 22)

Rather than focusing on a career or any
pleasures of this system of things, our
focus must be on Jehovah and his service.

(Pardon my bolding, but those words jumped out at me as I was wondering how my Elder dad or Elder brother would try to explain this stuff away.)

It is not wrong for a JW to develop a business, get ahead of their contemporaries or have a comfortable lifestyle. We all know plenty of JW elders who fit the bill perfectly.

The question is, where is the individual JW's FOCUS?

If you're born into money, no problem. If you were a money-grubbing, career-advancing "weak" JW for a while and now you've seen the light, no problem. We're glad you're now a Pioneer/Elder and looking good on assembly parts.

I know most here will probably say I'm splitting hairs, but, IMO, this is exactly the explanation most Elders I know would give for these quotes.

Also, there's the word "develop". It's one thing to "have" a business, it's quite another to FOCUS on it and "develop" it into something bigger. All the while letting "Kingdom Interests" (unpaid work for the WT) slide into the background.

My $.02.

Let the flames begin.

om

p.s. Looking forward to sharing the campfire flames in Tahoe!

30

How Does One Get Into The GB?

by Cold Steel in

if one wanted to get onto the governing body, how would one go about it?

and who is currently the head of the gb?

how often do occupancies arise?.

Open mind

MC Hammer & Blondie nailed it, IMO. We had a CO who was a GB reject. Donald Arnot. Word on the street was exactly as Blondie described. He was called back to Bethel for "observation" and didn't make the cut. Holy Spirit was clearly at work. He was a most disagreeable little man. My daughter called him "Rumpelstiltskin".

44

What is your favorite Restaurant in New York City?

by Iamallcool in

jw
friends

new york city is on my list of places that i want to live in.

.

Open mind

We ate at Charlie Palmer's "Aureole" many years ago.

Uber-expensive but what a memorable meal.

I think we've just about got it paid off now.

om

141

I'm not a camper. I don't see the point in pretending you are homeless

by wha happened? in

jw
friends

i used to camp alot as a kid.

i was in cub scouts and boy scouts.

dad and i went to lot's of camping trips.

Open mind

@ wha: "So how many are camping in Tahoe this year?"

We'll be roughing it this year.....

.....at a motel in South Lake Tahoe.

Check your PMs in a few minutes.

om

61

I made it!! I'm just so freaking happy!!!

by Rocky_Girl in

jw
friends

as some of you know, i started college 5 years ago for the first time at age 27. i had been out of the "truth" for 9 years at that time, but had just broken free of the mentality.

well, on saturday i walked across the stage with the 130th graduating class at rocky mountain college!.

after 5 years of working several jobs, taking care of two little boys as a single mom, and trying to get the most out of my college experience, i earned my master of accountancy, bachelor of science in business management, and minors in writing and organizational leadership.

Open mind

Thank you so much for sharing your success with us.

Brightened my day, and you and your children's lives.

CONGRATULATIUONS!!!

om

9

2 year into my fade, where I'm at...

by gutted in

jw
friends

well it's been exactly 2 years and 2 weeks since the night where i investigated (googled) as much about jws as i could after being born and raised in the cult till my mid 20s.

it took just one all nighter to completely demolish all of the doctrines and bullshit of the religion.

basically after that i went to one more convention and have not stepped into a kingdom hall since.

Open mind

Good life-coaching advice from clarity!

Our fade is going quite well since we all (my wife and late teens/early 20s kids) woke up around the same time.

Lots of spin off activities through our various new-found friends.

om

32

August 7th going Skydiving - Want to come?

by Found Sheep in

sorry i'm talkative today.

only day off this week.

so some work friends from va and wv and some local wv's are going.

Open mind

I hope you have a blast FoundSheep! Good for you on pursuing your bucket list.

Have you ever checked out YouTube videos of "Wingsuit" flights?

REALLY dangerous, but it looks like quite an adrenaline rush.

I hope you never do wingsuit jumping, but the vids are worth checking out.

om