Posts by neverendingjourney

324

Is this new donation arrangement for real?

by nugget in

just read a post on jwsurvey about the new donation arrangement.

congregations are to pledge a monthly amount to be sent to the society to fund the building of assembly halls and kingdom halls.

congregations who already have a loan from the society will no longer have to pay back the loan but the amount pledged should not be less than the current monthly repayments to the society.

neverendingjourney

I can't quite put my head on what this means.

It's bizarre. The trend had been away from exercising control from HQ, likely in response to sexual abuse lawsuits. They didn't want liability flowing upward. This new arrangement bucks the trend.

Just thinking back to my old hall, I don't see how this arrangement changes anything. The friends would likely try to step up their game, but after a few months things would return to normal. The elders would do some hounding, but at the end of the day these people are not well off and you can't squeeze blood out of a turnip. The elders won't make the difference up out of pocket. The only way this sticks, at least with respect to the poorer congregations, is if they step it up and set a standard or minimum sum directly in the WT literature.

324

Is this new donation arrangement for real?

by nugget in

just read a post on jwsurvey about the new donation arrangement.

congregations are to pledge a monthly amount to be sent to the society to fund the building of assembly halls and kingdom halls.

congregations who already have a loan from the society will no longer have to pay back the loan but the amount pledged should not be less than the current monthly repayments to the society.

neverendingjourney

If you could go back in time to an assembly in the 70s and read out the latest letter, and put up the credit card machines that you have today, they would assume the organisation had been taken over by another religion.

The beauty of it is learning the religion's history and realizing the statement holds true for any 30 year block of time you choose. It's sad how blind I was to this when I was a member. Then again, I left when I was in my mid 20s.

103

Why do I bother to wake up in the morning?

by punkofnice in

jw
friends

i'm not suicidal just fed up.. i did think of suicide (briefly), but as there is no painless way and it's not something i would willingly do just in case things would have been better the day after.

i do have a slight grain of hope.. money problems.....problems at home (that's another matter with a son up court for something he is adamant he didn't do.

first offence but the pigs police and the cps have got charges made.

neverendingjourney

This might come across as rather corny, but there's a lyric in one of Tupac's rap songs that goes as follows:

I once contemplated suicide, but when I held that 9 all I could see was my momma's eyes.

It was a line I never gave a second thought to until I realized "the truth" wasn't the truth. I was borderline suicidal at that point. I never took steps to carry it out, but I didn't want to live anymore. Dying in my sleep would have been a welcome relief.

But during those dark times when I contemplatee how I would carry it out, I kept thinking of how much it would affect the loved ones I left behind. It wouldn't be fair to them. It doesn't even occur to you until you're in a really dark place.

Things got better. It took some time, but things improved. I haven't been anywhere near that level of depression in nearly a decade.

36

First post after a year or two of lurking on this site-Sorry for the length!

by Pattytheperfect1 in

not sure of the point of telling my story, but just got off the phone with my grandma and i am so angry, stressed and i don't know what else...i guess i just wanted to hear from someone other than my husband that i'm not crazy for my reaction to family interaction.. my condensed story gramatical errors and all :).

father was a born in jw, mother was a convert.

i was born the last of 3 siblings and shortly after my birth in 1981 my parents divorced.

neverendingjourney

Thanks for sharing your story. It takes courage to put it out there, but it's healthier than keeping it bottled up inside. It sounds like you're in a much better place now. Look forward to your future contributions to the board.

36

The Ray Franz Movie

by RayPublisher in

been wanting to talk about this for a while... three years ago on this forum my friend cedars brought this up.

let's do it!.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sykaxxpyos.

neverendingjourney

Maybe Watchtower leadership is smarter than we think.

One of the major reasons the WT has avoided much public scrutiny is because they've carefully disconnected themselves in as much as possible with links to famous members.

The reverse is true with Scientology. They actively court celebrities. The WT has tried as much as possible to distance itself from Michael Jackson and the like.

On the one hand you have high-profile exposes of Scientology and a first-rate movie about their founding (The Master). On the other hand, JWs barely register on the public-consciousness scale even though there are far more witnesses than scientologists in the world.

There simply isn't a big enough market for a Ray Franz biopic. Outside of the current and former JW world, people barely even know JWs exist.

I may be wrong, but I believe the guy who runs JW Facts has said the area of his site with the most hits is the section regarding famous JWs.

24

No more WWI veterans... Only 5 people born before Jan 1st 1900

by ILoveTTATT in

jw
friends

we should keep watching this list: http://www.grg.org/adams/e.htm.

this list shows the list of verified oldest people alive.

technically, articles in the 1960's and even in the 1980's indicated that "this generation" meant people born before 1900.. 5 more people, and we can officially celebrate another failed wt prophecy.. when i was "in" i thought that the wwi veterans had to die.... they're all dead... all of them... not a single person on earth now can tell you what happened when they served in wwi.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_last_surviving_world_war_i_veterans_by_country.

neverendingjourney

"Jesus was obviously speaking about those who were old enough to witness with understanding what took place when the 'last days' began. ... Even if we presume that youngsters 15 years of age would be perceptive enough to realize the import of what happened in 1914, it would still make the youngest of 'this generation' nearly 70 years old today." Awake! 1968 Oct 8 p.13

Growing up I used to view WWI vets as a definitive marker. Many of these men went off to war not much older than 15. I had no idea they'd all died off. At one point I was certian there had to be some around when armageddon came.

On the other hand, it'll probably take another 15 to 20 years before everyone born on or before 1914 is dead.

22

College Class about JWs .... book suggestions?

by Shepherd Book in

i have the opportunity to take an independent study class through my university this summer.

my advisor, a history professor, suggested i choose jehovah's witnesses as a topic.. we are now trying to formulate a syllabus.

she suggests i write two papers: one on the history of jws, and another on their doctinal approach.. so now my question is...what books/articles/videos do i list on my syllabus as sources i intend to read and use for the papers?.

neverendingjourney

Don't you think there should be more thorough histories of the Witnesses available?

There just isn't a market for it. The only people who are interested in Jehovah's Witnesses are current witnesses, former witnesses, and academics who study religion as a career.

Current witnesses won't read anything not approved by the Watchtower. The former witness market isn't big enough to draw an interest. Ray Franz's book sales were meager when you look at the big picture. It's not like he was able to make a career out of selling books. I've always wondered whether there might be good academic papers (not books, necessarily) that aren't readily available. Stuff like unpublished PhD dissertations or master's theses.

I believe there is a biography on CT Russell, but if I remember correctly it was written by a current Bible Student. It may not be an unbiased source. I've not seen anything on Rutherford. I would love to read a good book on Rutherford.

22

College Class about JWs .... book suggestions?

by Shepherd Book in

i have the opportunity to take an independent study class through my university this summer.

my advisor, a history professor, suggested i choose jehovah's witnesses as a topic.. we are now trying to formulate a syllabus.

she suggests i write two papers: one on the history of jws, and another on their doctinal approach.. so now my question is...what books/articles/videos do i list on my syllabus as sources i intend to read and use for the papers?.

neverendingjourney

The closest thing to a history of Jehovah's Witnesses is Apocalypose Delayed by James Penton, who himself is a historian.

Lots of valuable historical information in Crisis of Conscience, although it reads more like a memoir than a history of the movement.

26

The Watchtower is under siege from inside and outside

by suavojr in

jw
friends

that is the reason the watchtower leaders are desperately trying to protect their indoctrinated supporters from being influenced by the critics.. it will get harder and harder to recruit in countries where the internet is easily accessible...the watchtower has no control over the public like it does the indoctrinated jws.

..any interested person can very easily google and learn the truth about the watchtower cult before a 'return visit' can be made.

although most jws would be afraid to go into 'apostate ' sites, more and more are waking up to the truth about the watchtower , their interest triggered by different reasons such as the child abuse cover up, the constantly changing doctrines,the downsizing etc.

neverendingjourney

We don't shun. Don't believe what hateful apostates say. Read jw.org

Slightly off topic story.

About 15 years ago I was out in service with a JW who was originally from Mexico. The person answering the door said he didn't want to hear us out because we didn't believe in the trinity. The JW said something along of the lines of "Who told you that? We do believe in the trinity." He then proceeded to give a legalistic, insincere speech trying to mislead the guy into believing we agreed with him.

After we were done, he said he'd learned that tactic from a CO in Mexico. You have to be creative if you're going to reach out to worldly people, you see. I was pretty livid. He was being so blatantly dishonest. I shared that story with a JW friend of mine and he became incredibly upset to the point where I though he would have gotten violent had the Mexican JW been there with us.

It's amzing to think that in 15 short years that kind of dishonesty would have become standard practice.

16

Two Roads... and the one I took made all the difference

by adjusted knowledge in

jw
friends

introduction to the faith.

ive been a lurker for many years now, and recently created an account to post comments.

someone suggested i should introduce myself and tell my story.

neverendingjourney

It's funny. Sounds like you're a year older than me. I, too, was a self-motivated Watchtower youth.

However, my reaction to the 95 change was different. I remember reading the magazine when it came in the mail and being thoroughly excited. I always felt there were gaps in knowledge that needed to be filled in and here was Jehovah supplying information at the proper time! I wish I had reacted as you did.

I graduated high school a year early. Became a regular pioneer. Shortly thereafter, the doubts became too big a burden to carry and it was a long, slow march out of the religion. I didn't become inactive until I was 26 years old.

Like you, I decided to pursue a career and have done quite well for myself in that aspect of my life.

Best of luck on your journey.