Posts by mimimimi

27

1975 Letdown increasingly becoming topic of conversations among witnesses

by Meeting Junkie No More in

i have noticed that more and more, witnesses seem to be discussing the 1975 debacle amongst themselves, and agreeing that it is amazing that witnesses as a whole are all still here and the world is still here, and their kids are now in high school, or married, or whatever.

they also seem to be discussing the importance of retirement plans, in direct contradiction to what cos and dos are spouting at the annual conventions.... the last time this happened was at a recent funeral, where another long-time witness had passed on.

the interesting thing was that a younger group were discussing this, and some of them weren't even around in '75!.

mimimimi

My whole family lived through it, though I was disfellowshipped in 1975. I remember my mother trying to get me to talk to the CO and I said "what for?" I wanted no part of it and I was not at all worried about 1975. I have not talked to my mother about this in years, but my younger sister who is still in the Borg, she is about 53 now, says she remembers it very well, and that, yes, the Society did try to convince the rank and file that Armageddon was coming in 1975.

I am so gratified to see how many people are leaving the Borg. I talked Saturday with someone who is a member on this board that I had just found out had gone "apostate" that I have known since I was a teenager. I know people in at least two congregations near here that have left also, and I wonder about some that I know have not gone to meetings in years, or very rarely, and suspect they also are "apostate", but just trying to keep it low-key to keep from being disfellowshipped and losing their families. Who knows what the future holds for the Society as the common J-dub talk more and more about things like this and learn more and more; hopefully, someday the downfall of the whole rotten system.

39

New arrangement for field service?

by Zico in

i don't know if this is a worldwide thing because i didn't go the meeting where the arrangement was announced, but it's being done in my congregation anyway.

during those 6 months the member assigned to the pioneer is meant to make time to work with the pioneer as much as possible, so they can strengthen each other.

the idea is meant to be that eventually each member of the congregation will get a go.

mimimimi

"what about the woman on the edge of a nervous breakdown, alcoholic husband, kids are a wreck - lets tell her she's not doing enough, give her more to worry about. Aahhh. the loving provisions of the WTS."

Yup, that was me. And very looked down upon and judged in the congregation because I could never come up to their standards of meeting attendance and field service time. Feel the love.

39

New arrangement for field service?

by Zico in

i don't know if this is a worldwide thing because i didn't go the meeting where the arrangement was announced, but it's being done in my congregation anyway.

during those 6 months the member assigned to the pioneer is meant to make time to work with the pioneer as much as possible, so they can strengthen each other.

the idea is meant to be that eventually each member of the congregation will get a go.

mimimimi

Ah, yes . . . the pioneer assist program. I once participated in that. I was, of course, the weak one who got out in service very little. Then...........the pioneer sister assigned to assist me and I were asked to appear on the circuit assembly program to tell about our experience with the pioneer assist program. What an eye-opener that was! When we went to practice our part, the brother giving the talk let us know what we were to say. It was very clearly a manipulative sales pitch; I could recognize it right away. The pioneer sister just didn't get it and kept wanting to say something else and he had to really get on her to say exactly what he wanted. At the time, I felt like the ends justified the means, but my eyes were opened to the sales techniques practiced by the WTS. From then on, I would sit in service meetings and see very clearly that it was nothing more than a sales meeting. The service meeting became very tedious and boring to me. I could barely keep my mind on what was said. Now I look back and am amazed that so many people cannot see this for what it is, but clearly there are many J-dubs in thrall to the Watchtower Society.

21

A question from my wife: OTWO, what do you think about women on the Pulpit?

by OnTheWayOut in

jw
friends

out of the blue, my wife asks: what do you think about women on the pulpit?.

otwo: why?

(silly little paranoid me.

mimimimi

And men wrote the Bible - no women as far as we know. I have begun to wonder about that. Are some of the things in the Bible ideas of the men who wrote them and God allowed it because his main idea was still gotten across? This subjection to men is a pet peeve of mine.

28

hindered prayers says my wife...so I stopped

by oompa in

jw
friends

i really have never understood prayers too well or how they are answered or not.

i really think it is more of a self-help type excercise.

aren't there some really funny experiences in the yearbooks on prayers answered!?

mimimimi

I would tell her that God does not need the Watchtower Society to determine for him which prayers are approved and which are not.

19

Died faithful so she has a chance for a resurrection --- Huh?

by mimimimi in

jw
friends

yesterday at the grocery store, i ran into a sister from the hall.

i have not attended meetings now for 15 to 16 months, but most people there think my health has been really bad and that is why i don't go any more.

anyway, i asked her how her mother was and she told me her mother passed away in july at the age of 95. she then said that her mother died faithful, so she would have a chance for a resurrection.

mimimimi

Tula,

I don't know when the selective resurrection idea really got going. I was raised as a witness and when I was a kid, I remember it being emphasized that people who died at Armageddon would not get a resurrection, but up to that time everyone could be resurrected. Then I left the "troof" for eight years in my early 20's and when I came back things were more dogmatic than they had been before. I came back around 1983, the year my youngest son was born, so it was right after the shakeup at the Watchtower Society headquarters that Ray Franz was involved in, and it really seems to me that things were more dogmatic after that.

I was raised in this and did not know anything else, but there always were things that bothered me and I did not think they were right. I am so glad my eyes were completely opened up and I am out of it now. I still have family in and my mother is elderly and it would kill her for me to be disfellowshipped for apostacy, so I keep a low profile. For a while I was trying to gut it out and still go to meetings, but it became intolerable to me and I just couldn't do it any more. Things like this resurrection thing remind me of why I don't go there any more.

Mimi

28

grateful to my Elders..No talks, no FS time, no privledges....no problem!

by oompa in

so one year of lots of questions and showing doubts, and missing quite a few meetings but still going out in service, doing mics, reading, hall projects...then i get the new light from society regarding the letter i sent them (wow, stunned me, blew me away) and i let them know how i felt about it and i quit the ministry after 40 active years.

nobody says anything about this, no counsel, no will you go out with us on saturday.

not a single "were is your time for the month" phone call.

mimimimi

Hi, oompa,

I would appreciate it if you would post the link to that letter, too. I would like to read it.

Thanks.

Mimi

19

Died faithful so she has a chance for a resurrection --- Huh?

by mimimimi in

jw
friends

yesterday at the grocery store, i ran into a sister from the hall.

i have not attended meetings now for 15 to 16 months, but most people there think my health has been really bad and that is why i don't go any more.

anyway, i asked her how her mother was and she told me her mother passed away in july at the age of 95. she then said that her mother died faithful, so she would have a chance for a resurrection.

mimimimi

Yesterday at the grocery store, I ran into a sister from the hall. I have not attended meetings now for 15 to 16 months, but most people there think my health has been really bad and that is why I don't go any more. Anyway, I asked her how her mother was and she told me her mother passed away in July at the age of 95. She then said that her mother died faithful, so she would have a chance for a resurrection. She also made a point to tell me that her mother died of a stroke while she herself was at a meeting at the Hall I felt both comments were directed at me to let me know I should be at meetings and that if I want everlasting life, I needed to be "faithful".

Anyway, what I really wanted to say is, I find it very offensive the way they believe that only faithful witnesses have a chance at a resurrection. I think that idea is more emphasized than ever before. There was a gal at the KH a couple of years ago whose husband died. He had never been a witness and she was scared to death he would not be resurrected. And, of course, the other witnesses are not too encouraging about that. They say, "it is up to Jehovah. He can see hearts", but usually make it pretty clear they do not believe the person has a chance for salvation because they never became a "witless". I sent that sister, who was a wonderful loving person, a sympathy card and assured her in it that her husband would be resurrected because the resurrection is for everyone.

When I was growing up (born in 1952), I don't remember them being so dogmatic about this idea. It seems to me that this is one more thing they have become more and more adamant and dogmatic about - only they, the good and faithful witnesses, have any chance at salvation. They used to say that anyone who died before the big A had a chance at resurrection, but now they try to present it otherwise. Just one more way to control the masses, I suppose.

30

Inattentive elders...anyone else experience this?

by B_Deserter in

everyone always talks about the elders and people in the congregation coming around to see why you aren't at meetings...but i've never experienced this.

i've been away from the meetings for months, and not one single elder has called me.

my friends occasionally call me but never bring up my lackluster attendance.

mimimimi

I have not gone to the hall now for well over a year, and in that time have received two telephone calls from my book study conductor. I know for sure that the last one was at the time of the CO's visit and probably the one before was, too. THe first one was on the answering machine and I never called back. THe second one I made the mistake of not screening the call (we do not have caller ID) and actually talked to the guy. He kept asking me how I was and I kept telling him "fine". He sounded like he was amazed that I was fine, which I am sure is because I had told a couple of sisters who called me before that I had health problems. He invited me to come to the meetings for the CO's visit and then told me that he and another elder wanted to come by and talk to me. I put him off, so he said he would call me again in a month to set it up. It has now been about 3 months and I have heard nothing more, which is the way I want it.

In the meantime, I have been in the hospital and had complications while I was there. One of the elders was in the hospital at the same time and saw me in my room when he was walking the hall and stopped by to see me. He never brought up anything JW at all, just visited briefly. He does business with my non-and never was- witness husband and probably feels he needs to respect my space because of it.

91

Avatars

by Vernon Williams in

jw
friends

to all,.

i wish a thread would start where in everyone would explain why they picked the avatar they have.

i have not found one, yet..... v.

mimimimi

It was a case of what did I have available. I had saved this wolf picture in My Pictures sometime before, don't even remember why, and I really liked the picture, so I thought why not use it. I really like wolves (all animals really) and there is just something about this one peaking out from behind the tree that spoke to me.