Posts by neverendingjourney

35

Cant get nobody to give the sunday talk

by darth frosty in

jw
friends

i was just talking to a friend of mine who is the talk coordinator at his hall.

he was telling me that he cant get brothers to come and give talks at his hall.

i remember when i was giving talks that was all the rage.

neverendingjourney

Another good line the elders use to pass you over for promotion err privliges. Is to tell you that maybe JAH is testing you and you need to show a waiting attitude

God. This is bringing back old memories. Some of the friends noticed what happened and were not pleased. An MS from the hall approached the CO about it and wanted me to get in on the action. I decided to take the "humble," wait-on-Jehovah route instead. I was really devastated. It wasn't just being passed over, but the year and a half I spent as a regular pioneer was one of the worst periods in my life. I felt like I was being constantly belittled and the pretty picture of Jehovah's loving organization was vanishing before my eyes. There was little to no support from the BOE, that's for sure. They didn't like my proactive attitude. Anyhow, to make a long story short, my faith in God was on very shaky ground. Because of this, I ended up making some mistakes. I went to the elders to confess and there was the confirmation that the elders needed to confirm that they were right in taking their time with me. I wasn't spiritually ready to handle more responsibility. Bastards. They shattered my faith in God; I failed to live up to the high standards of the WTBTS as a result of my weakened state, and that confirmed they were right all along.

The irony is that they began to take a liking to me after that. I slowed down considerably because I felt I wasn't worthy of serving Jehovah. They were ready to appoint me MS not long after that, but I wanted no part of it. From a JW perspective, I kept going down the tubes and it made it impossible for them to appoint me because of it. Looking back, I needed to go through all of that to realize that it was all a farce. What can you do? I just try to extract life lessons from all of that and move on with my life.

35

Cant get nobody to give the sunday talk

by darth frosty in

jw
friends

i was just talking to a friend of mine who is the talk coordinator at his hall.

he was telling me that he cant get brothers to come and give talks at his hall.

i remember when i was giving talks that was all the rage.

neverendingjourney

the society does not want anyone standing out or being a leader in any way. Any normal organization would nourish such talent and breathe life into the cong. but this is not what they want. The Gb wants all that attention and glory for themselves.

This is so true. I experienced this in my own life as well. I was a young teen when I bought into the Watchtower teachings. I was something of an up and comer. I received a lot of compliments on my talks and a lot of the friends really saw good things in store for me (I also did well in school). Not the elders. They didn't like it one bit. It's as if my enthusiasm and preparation highlighted the fact that they lacked both. In fact, I never was given a #4 talk until well after I was baptized. I was a regular pioneer before they gave me one (this was back in the days when you could prepare an introduction and a conclusion for a #2). They preferred robots that just went along without causing much of a stir.

One of the lowlights of my JW career was when I was about 18 years old or so. I had been baptized for over a year and a half and I had been a regular pioneer. I had been very involved in congregation activities. I consistently led the morning group out in service, etc. I was expecting a recommendation as an MS. To my surprise, I was passed over, but this complete dumb ass was appointed instead. He was a few years older than me, but was a complete slacker. He always showed up late to meetings and had a reputation of being quite a partier. However, he towed the party line and didn't stick out very much. Also, his dad was an elder. That's they type of brother the BOE liked. I asked the PO what I needed to do to qualify for that "privilege" and he said that I wasn't old enough yet. There were two 18 year old ministerial servants in the neighboring congregation, however. Go figure. I remember thinking that I would have walked out of the meeting had that happened to me in a "worldly" organization. There's a Chinese (or is it Japanese?) proverb that applies really well in the JW world: "A nail that sticks out gets hammered down." You're right. They're paying the price for it. But then again, they prefer loyal subjects instead of talented overseers.

45

DO THE MEMBERS OF THE GB BELIEVE THEIR OWN PROPAGANDA?

by nvrgnbk in

neverendingjourney

Do you believe it?
What makes you think they do?

Did you ever believe it at one point? The question is more complicated than that. There are a lot of JWs that truly believe this crap. I was among them at one point. The question is whether the leadership at the very top believes their own teachings.

45

DO THE MEMBERS OF THE GB BELIEVE THEIR OWN PROPAGANDA?

by nvrgnbk in

neverendingjourney

That is a fantastic question, nvr. I haven’t been able to make up my mind about this yet. Here are the reasons why I think they might and the reasons why I think they might not.

Reasons why they might believe their own propaganda

The organization requires strict loyalty and obedience in order to move up the ranks. One would think that these men have to buy into what they’re teaching in order to demonstrate the required traits to move up the chain. After all, when we became convinced that the JWs were not the one true religion, most of us could no longer hold up appearances. Any hint of doubts would be sniffed out and would spell the end of their theocratic career. These men do not receive considerable financial compensation for their services (yes, I know all about green handshakes, gifts, etc.). Their primary motivators are power, position, and pride. As I understand it, many of these guys underwent considerable hardships in their lives (some of the dead GB were imprisoned and such). Why go through all that just for the sake of power, position and pride. Why not seek those things out, plus financial rewards, in some “worldly” organization?

Reasons why they might NOT believe their own propaganda

There has been a whole host of adjustments on doctrinal positions based on the threat of lawsuits (blood fractions, pedophiles in position of responsibility, restructuring of the Watchtower corporations, etc.). If these men truly believed that this is the “truth” and that they enjoy the protection of the Almighty, why change their positions? Shouldn’t Jehovah step in to protect them from harm? In my opinion, this is the biggest sign that they do not believe what they preach. If I had been on the GB back when I was a sincere JW, there’s no way I would have accepted changes in doctrine based on the threat of lawsuits. I would have been certain that Jehovah would let no damage come to his people. Also, why is the Society so concerned about apostates and opposers (apostaposers, if you will)? If they have the truth, why not defend it against criticisms? Let you your line shine, etc.

The question is much more complicated than I have outlined, but I don’t want to write a dissertation on the subject. In short, I think the evidence that they do NOT believe their propaganda is stronger than the evidence that they do believe it. However, it’s hard to say since I don’t know these men personally and I have no real inside of knowledge of their inner workings. I’m interested in hearing other poster’s reasoned opinions on this subject.

61

Zone talk by David Splane - Four figurative giants - Education etc

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

found this interesting talk on e-watchman's site.

it was given by david splane, a gb member.. the talk is really interesting as it gives a more focused look at the troubles the society is facing as it trys to cope with education, peer pressure etc.. .

http://e-jehovahs-witnesses.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=454.

neverendingjourney

The Peter Principle is alive and well at that WTBTS. Each new GB member seems to be crazier and crazier. This is probalby a good thing. Maybe all of the JWs that have been having doubts or no longer feel like they're in a very Christian religion will be able to see the madness for what it is more easily and walk away.

11

I just realized my weakness in my social life.....

by R.F. in

jw
friends

....and i'm quite scared.

for instance, i have found it quite easy to get many jw acquaintances by means of the typical...."hello, what congregation are you from?

what are your goals?

neverendingjourney

You'll be able to meet lots of new friends if you go to college. That's where I've met almost all of my current friends. There are even student organizations you can join to meet people that share your interests.

17

turn in

by fiveangels in

jw
friends

hi,is it wrong to turn in a committedjw who has been sleeping with someone at the same time he goes to meetings and such and what would happen to that person if he was found out-what would happen to the person that turned him in.

neverendingjourney

Wow, fiveangels, judging from this post and your previous one, it seems like you have some serious relationship problems with a JW. A JW is only really accountable to the congregation if he is a baptized member. If he is, and it is discovered that he has been practicing fornication (sex outside of marriage), he is subject to discipline by the congregation. The discipline might take the form of a public reproof (slap on the wrist) to being excommunicated. If he's excommunicated (disfellowshipped), all JWs are to avoid any communication with him. Even JW family members are to avoid him (except for "necessary" family matters). However, the congregation elders must have proof or a confession before they can administer any discipline. JWs also have a two-witness rule in place that says that a member cannot be disciplined unless there are two or three witnesses to the sin. So, your word alone will not be enough to get him in trouble, unless he confesses.

I wish you all the best with your relationship problems. We'd be able to offer you better advice if you told us more about yourself and your relationship. All the best - NEJ

30

Did anyone ever actually go out in street work at 5:30 AM?

by WTWizard in

jw
friends

neverendingjourney

I've got one better for you. One day when I was a regular pioneer I just couldn't sleep. So I got up around 4 in the morning and went out to service by myself. I handed out tracts and magazines at local gas stations and such. I needed to get my hours in. It always bothered me how we were forced to go out in service just to keep the hours up.

34

Discussion with Elder....a must read story

by drew sagan in

jw
friends

for those who don't know i've been 'inactive' for around one year.

i stopped attending meetings late last year.

all during this time i was working on my wife (known on this board as amber rose), helping her see the problems with the watchtower.

neverendingjourney

I enjoyed your story, but I'm with minimus on this one. Of course, I don't know the elder personally, so I can't give an opinion based on anything other than what you have written. But, JW's are very, very good about quickly throwing their doubts in the garbage can because the "sin" of apostasy is the most vilified of all sins a JW could commit. This man has likely invested many, many years of his life to get to that position in the organizations and probably doesn't want to throw that away because you made some interesting points about dates. He will discuss the points you made with the other elders and they will probably say that these are all points that apostates have made before and the Society has already addressed and debunked them. The apostates don't have Jehovah's spirit because, look at them, they're all scattered around with no organization. Jehovah's organization, on the other hand, shows the blessing of the holy spirit by the incredible growth that's taking place.....blah, blah, blah. You know the rest of the story.

This man won't leave the org. until he's personally ready to. Unless he's already at that point, expect a judicial committee for apostasy. Who knows, maybe he will get tired of the org. at some point in the future and give what you said some further analysis. But there are a lot of justifications for him to put what he heard from you in a part of his brain that he doesn't access with any regularity. Where else would I go? Wait on Jehovah. David was loyal to Saul even though he had become evil, etc. Thanks for sharing.

119

If Bush Used Nuclear Weapons On Iran Should He Be Tried As A War Criminal?

by frankiespeakin in

jw
friends

what do you think?

should he be put on trial before a world court?

neverendingjourney

Boy, I'm not the type to usually get involved on political discussions boards, but I just can't resist today.

Bush would be a hero in the History Books; his tenacity to spread human rights & freedoms in a place that is far behind the modern world

And you spread human rights and freedoms by nuking Iran? Interesting.