I tend to agree with Driving Force. Say what you need to your friends, but hesitate to put it in writing.
I don't want to be the ultimate downer, but most who fade or leave any other way still wind up losing their JW friends.
through what i have learned from reading bro.
russell's writings about the ransom for all, coupled with the blood issue, i feel the need to let my friends know that i am making a stand for truth.
i could have lost my wife to the blood issue during pregnancy.
I tend to agree with Driving Force. Say what you need to your friends, but hesitate to put it in writing.
I don't want to be the ultimate downer, but most who fade or leave any other way still wind up losing their JW friends.
did you watch the story about the jw who was working as a burger boy at some diner and his boss wanted him to work on sunday during the time of his meeting?
this faithful jw decided he could not attend a later meeting (6 pm sunday meeting) and soon quit his job(or got fired to attend his sunday meeting) so he could attend the sunday meeting he was assigned to.
i think he was on welfare because this story states he won't work on sunday morning because that's when his meeting is!
i have been out of the org for several years.
i faded.
my husband became inactive but still believes that the jws have the truth.
when i see people on here saying they've looked on several sites before this one, jwfacts, jwstruggle, youtube, etc., and then they make friends here, sometimes meeting up with ex-jws, it seems incredibly easy compared to leaving in 1989. .
no internet, no amazon to find ex-jw books, no facebook to link up with ex-jw groups.
still people find it so hard to leave.
I do believe we are at a point where most born-in's will leave and very few converts will join. While 7 or 8 million is a drop in the bucket with 7.3 billion people, it is massive enough to be self-sustaining for several decades.
Plus, we don't really know how many are leaving and certainly how many are leaving mentally, but staying officially "in" for family.
Personally, I think the money grabs of late are from an organization that sees a decline of membership and contributions in the future and wants to take the holdings now. People are already becoming secondary to money.
There must be some power behind the powers that wants to maintain WTS for a long time, so they must be using the money to buy goods or services from their own companies or those of their families. I suspect that these same powers have moved their people over to construction and building materials now. They have to build build build while the people are still there. Then they can sell sell sell when the people are gone.
It's almost wide open to view now. So I tend to agree with you. Most of what will be done now will piss off members and they will leave. But people in for a long time will only slowly cause a decline unless a huge event (scandal) gets them out.
steven hassen is a well known name for many, if you do not know him google can help.
this information is certainly not new, but as almost every exjw has deep affection and concern for active jws it is certainly my wish and i hope the wish of other exjws that any active jw considers this information.
this information cannot be deemed as apostate, it is just stating the opinion of someone who has spent much of his adult life in helping people to realize what a cult is.
"Cult" is a loaded 4-letter word. Various people give various definitions. Basically, a cult is a group that deviates from the majority. JW's would be proud of the label if it ended there.
I use the word too. In modern usage, it has taken on a different meaning that applies well to JW's or Heaven's Gate. Steve Hassan uses "dangerous mind-control cult" as the complete term. If in serious discussion, I always add that part. That's the part that leads to discussing the dangerous aspects of their practices.
stephen lett about 33 minutes in to may's "liar liar" episode of the monthly worship broadcast said "jehovah's witnesses have the most multilingual speakers of any organization in the world!".
the catholic church has the most people i thought, do you think he's telling the truth and where is he getting these facts?
i finally broke down and decided to watch this in order to work on my reverse witnessing skills, lots of ammunition for anyone needing fuel to extinguish their dirty flames of lies!.
"Jehovah's Witnesses have the most Multilingual speakers of Any Organization in the World!"
It's one of those statements that JW's would think just must be true.
On the surface, it's really unverifiable. But logically, people in Africa and Europe tend to speak more than one language, and JW's are such a minority. Logically, the Catholic Church or some Asian group would beat them out for the title.
The claim just seems to bolster their idea that only "THEY" are doing a worldwide work. We know they are not really working at all in Muslim countries and in most Asian lands. Even the Mormons are working harder to penetrate such areas than JW's are.
i was an extremely sincere, zealous pioneer.
i really cared about the people in the field.
i thought their lives were in danger.
When the product is made by unpaid volunteers and sold by unpaid volunteers and decisions are made by unpaid volunteers who kissed ass to get up the chain, these things are bound to be a bit screwed up. It seems that back in the day, it was assumed that money would not be an issue and it was easier to run millions of each publication on the presses and put them in boxes, than it would be to run the now-needed number and run more later.
I always thought the monthly offer was driven by overstock. But there were plenty of simplistic and not-so-simplistic books mixed into older 192-page books, so I assumed the angels would make sure the householder would get what he needs.
couple of weeks ago an elder took a young man aside and crawled all over him after the tms for wearing a "skinny" tie.
it was one of those 2 inch wide ties.
nothing bright or scandalous about.
On theWayOut, "As an elder, I wore animal ties."
Village Idiot, I had some like your picture, but mostly more like this:
with all the furor over the jw's cash strapped pleas, i'm surprised no one noticed a different issue with this broadcast.
it was historic!
yes, all 7 of the gb have broadcast in the 7 months of the channel's existence!
Yes, all 7 of the GB have broadcast in the 7 months of the channel's existence! Is that not HISTORICAL?
Just as the non-events of Cedar Point became so pivotal in their revelations, it is highly likely that they are going to refer to these early times of jw . tv and the Governing Body becoming prominent on it as another pivotal time period.
When I resigned as an elder, I told the C.O. and COBE that while trying to follow the guidance for members, particularly elders, I kept reading how we are supposed to "know" and "work with" the anointed and that I did not know any anointed, and the only way I could follow was to "know" the Governing Body. I said that they were not visible to me and I knew absolutely nothing about them. Sure, I was kind of making a straw man, but that would be much harder nowadays with the GB all over the videos.
couple of weeks ago an elder took a young man aside and crawled all over him after the tms for wearing a "skinny" tie.
it was one of those 2 inch wide ties.
nothing bright or scandalous about.
White shirts only, skirts/dresses that stay below the knees, stockings for the ladies, never pants for the ladies, clean shaven only (maybe a mustache is okay). Now some congregations object if your tie isn't wide enough.
They might as well have a uniform. It would be easier.
Here's one for the women:
As an elder, I wore animal ties. I would have a wolf or elephant on my tie or maybe dolphins. I would tame that the slightest bit when delivering a public talk and just go with a colorful pattern. There were sisters that did not like my ties and thought they were a bit too much for "the platform" but I was never counseled for stumbling them.