Posts by OnTheWayOut

hi guys.. i mostly lurk but i'm sure there was speculation early summer about some "big announcement" scheduled for octoberish.. did i miss it or are we any the wiser what/when it will be?.

pub.

OnTheWayOut

the big announcement was in regard to the tract:
False Religion's End is Near!

Yes, that was the big announcement. There was also a recently released Awake that discussed "Blood is an organ." You can find posts here on the forums.

it has gotten some of the rank and file excited and thinking that the end will be here by the end of the year.

From what I read on the posts here, and from reading the WT study articles, the Governing Body has gone back to making everyone think that "the end is right around the corner." They are desparate to get numbers up in developed countries (like the US). Donations are down, preaching is down, everything is down.

Also, IMO, special campaigns do more than get JWs preaching, they are cheaper than large campaigns with books or brochures. Keep em busy, but cut costs.

7

I wish every witness would seek the truth

by megsmomma in

jw
friends

as i have been reading different posts here, i can see that it is a huge factor that the jw's are just so in the dark as to what the org.

actually does and teaches.

i had thought my experience was unique....but i can tell that it is not so.

OnTheWayOut

Good to hear that you firmly convinced yourself thru study. I had to convince myself that JWs

don't have the truth by studying only WT material, looking for answers but getting more questions.

After years of spare-time searching, fully convinced that JW are wrong, I finally went to the internet.

It could have saved me lots of wasted hours in study. All the arguments were there to be found, and

many issues I never heard about. I found Ray Franz' book, thanks to freeminds.org. That inspired

me to take more action about leaving JW. I am in the process now.

I hope you can find support/advice about how to help your family. I may need the same soon.

14

Question for the Board

by chappy in

jw
friends

i just finished talking to my uncle for the first tim in quite a while.

he's a long time elder and in charge of setting up all of the local circuit assys.

and partially in charge of da., so he knows a lot of bro's.

OnTheWayOut

I have been an elder from about 1993 to 2006 with a slight gap in 1995 while changing congregations after moving. I never ever heard of any information about NGO and the UN. I never heard publishers or elders or COs discuss it. I'm sure it was swept under the rug in the US before I was appointed, and I'm pretty sure there was no letter issued in US congregations.

46

Why are the world's anointed not called to Brooklyn to be Governing Body?

by free2beme in

jw
friends

when i was in the witnesses, and near the end of my time in.

there was the whole new understanding, of putting non-anointed people in positions in the organization that were normally something an anointed person would be in.

i remember them mentioning that the amount of anointed was dwindling and there needed to be people in these positions of responsibility, to make sure the work continues.. after this was highlighted and all good witnesses swallowed this thinking hook line and sinker.

OnTheWayOut

ICBehindtheCurtain said:

....there are no annointed. This is just a made up thing, to be able to govern the flock.

I believe that some people convince themselves that they are annointed (whatever that really means), maybe they go into some kind of trance where they feel weird stuff, but more than likely they have mental issues, I have known a few where this was definitely the case.

While reading this thread, I thought that many people here still think that there are anointed JWs. But we are just discussing the doctrine in relation to the question. I am sure that most of these people understand that Christians get a "feeling" and many JW would get that same one.

I tend to agree with you, though, that they might have mental issues or seek attention. When I was 5 yrs old, my mother knew a family that all claimed to be anointed. Years later, they denied ever being of the anointed. When someone tried to mention it, they said, "You are mistaken. It was all a misunderstanding. We were never anointed." They leave out the fact that they SAID and THOUGHT they were anointed. They got alot of attention.

15

JW's you thought would never leave the WT

by aniron in

jw
friends

i've received an e-mail from a jw who i'm still in contact with.

telling me that a certain jw elder has da'd.

i had to read this mail 2-3 times to check it was the right name.

OnTheWayOut

In our circuit there was an outgoing elder with a very quiet wife, both pioneering. He was always used at Conventions for major parts. They started using him as our substitute circuit overseer, and the next thing you know, he DA'd. Nobody believed it. I wish I sought him out and asked "What's Up?" because that was 6 or 7 yrs ago.

46

Why are the world's anointed not called to Brooklyn to be Governing Body?

by free2beme in

jw
friends

when i was in the witnesses, and near the end of my time in.

there was the whole new understanding, of putting non-anointed people in positions in the organization that were normally something an anointed person would be in.

i remember them mentioning that the amount of anointed was dwindling and there needed to be people in these positions of responsibility, to make sure the work continues.. after this was highlighted and all good witnesses swallowed this thinking hook line and sinker.

OnTheWayOut

The thrust of my resignation as an elder was that I don't "know" the GB. I asked if they consult the FDS class before doctrinal changes, or if they even keep track of who the FDS are. (I knew the answers, but not from JW literature- they don't bother keeping up with them)

IMO, they only allow women to be anointed because the Bible said that men and women were filled with holy spirit in the first century. Otherwise, they would close that loophole.

36

If the UN dissolves...will the WTS recover?

by AuldSoul in

there is a public groundswell of support within the united states of america, inc. for the us to withdraw from the un.

while this departing of one-half of the seventh king (and the "king of the south") could be prophetically spun into a harmless twist and twang on an old saw, the general consensus seems to be that the un would have great difficulty maintaining orderliness within its ranks.

also, there is a strong argument to be made that without us financial backing the un would fold due to a shortage of funding.. although it isn't particularly likely, it is certainly a possibility.

OnTheWayOut

Dragging back to a completely different subject, Arthur wrote:

So, doctrine is important to the organization, but unquestioning loyalty is really how they hold people. To me, the folks most likely to leave are ones who really understand the doctrine.
For the rest, they're happy not understanding everything but they're not willing to make too many sacrifices. Its a tightrope and eventually, they're going to fall off.
These are very good points. I have noticed throughout my years in the org, that many of the most ardent defenders and apologists for the org are those who really don't understand the deeper doctrines very well; and have no idea how such doctrines were formulated. I fell into this camp. When I actually began to do in depth research into various doctrines (Faithful Slave, etc.) I began to see through the smoke screens.
Most Witnesses are happy to let someone else do the hard work of thinking for them. Despite it's handicapping effect; it affords a certain level of comfort for people who need to have their reality sliced and diced into nice, neat, little symmetrical categories.

This is SO TRUE. I, myself, fit in like you did with the ignorant, then became un-ignorant, but notice that most want to remain ignorant.

When I try to discuss (serious) deep doctrine with the average JW (in a non-apostate) way, they get that deer-in-the-headlights look.

There are many who follow doctrine, accept current understanding, and will have problems with change, but there are many who will

read the WT article and say "Okay, whatever." But the point was made that only so much of these bumps in the road can be tolerated.

They may eventually only have the blind-faith followers at the meetings, then meetings will get more robotic and nobody will want to go.

37

NEW TRACT

by stillajwexelder in

sorry if posted elsewhere.

the new tract (kingdom news 37) was released last night.

letter read to congregation.

OnTheWayOut

blondie wrote:

*** w79 10/15 p. 15 par. 13 Sustained by the Millennial Hope ***
With the discerning eye of faith, Christians can even now see that "disgusting thing"?the U.N.?"standing where it ought not," with "horns" threatening the so-called ?holy realm? of Christendom. (Mark 13:14; Matt. 24:15) The desolating of false religion draws near! She has miscalculated in placing her trust in this "disgusting" beast! As the reader discerns these things, what should he do? Jesus answers: "Begin fleeing to the mountains."

Did I miss something? Did they flee to the mountains before I even became a witless? I'm sure the article explains that this just means to get out of Babs the Great, but that's not what they are saying. Why would they even go to the UN library if they were fleeing to the mountains? What if the day and hour arrived while they were checking out books?