Posts by neverendingjourney

143

Letter to BOE: Adjustment in process for appointing elders and ministerial servants

by pixel in

hello, you read it here first!.

governing body of jehovah's witnesses.

to all congregations.

neverendingjourney

As long as WT policy continues to be that the elders are to call the Legal Department at the local branch office FIRST when they hear of any child abuse, WT will continue to be held responsible for protecting pedos.

Or its an effort to disclaim liability by showing that (a) they have a mandatory policy that elders contact the branch when a child abuse case arises and (b) showing that they always give the same advice: contact the authorities where required by applicable law. If pedophilia went unreported it was either because the elders didnt' contact the branch despite the mandatory policy being in place or because the elders failed to follow through on the branch's instructions.

43

New Atlanta Assembly Hall Has raised 3.4 million Dollars... GONE

by James Jackson in

jw
friends

they announced last week that the new atanta assembly hall has thus far raised 3.4 million dollars.

my local told that will become the society's come may 1. i wonder how that will go over with the ones who have been contributing to this fund..

neverendingjourney

There's a real simple fix, in my opinion. Instead of your volunteer workforce wasting its time in pointless "field service," convert them into a construction crew. Let publishers count their time for building projects. Train them to perform useful tasks. Then flip those properties a few years after they've been built. Leadership could simply give out lame excuses for the sales and the flock would either buy it or not ask questions.

The infrastructure is already in place. If the Watchtower ever moves in that the direction, it will signal to me that the men running the organization are more cynical than I imagined.

43

New Atlanta Assembly Hall Has raised 3.4 million Dollars... GONE

by James Jackson in

jw
friends

they announced last week that the new atanta assembly hall has thus far raised 3.4 million dollars.

my local told that will become the society's come may 1. i wonder how that will go over with the ones who have been contributing to this fund..

neverendingjourney

I agree with everything CommitteeChairman said.

What I will follow with interest is whether cash-flow troubles will necessitate a change in the religion's views on higher education. How can you expect to sustain your organization when your members aspire to be window washers, or in the parlance of today's political conservatives, "takers?"

38

Looking Back, Are You Embarrassed By Your Attitudes, Speech, Actions as a JW?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i think of how judgmental we were as witnesses.

"worldly ones" were almost as bad as disfellowshipped ones but not as bad as "apostates"..

neverendingjourney

I'd like to think a was one of the "good JWs" for the bulk of my association with them. I was on a high-horse for the first year or so, though. I was a teenager then and I relished the opportunity to argue points of doctrine with religious householders.

In hindsight, it was in extremely poor form. A 16 year old kid arguing with grown men and women about things I had very little knowledge of. Ignorance was bliss, however.

43

New Atlanta Assembly Hall Has raised 3.4 million Dollars... GONE

by James Jackson in

jw
friends

they announced last week that the new atanta assembly hall has thus far raised 3.4 million dollars.

my local told that will become the society's come may 1. i wonder how that will go over with the ones who have been contributing to this fund..

neverendingjourney

20

Meeting with an Elder and his wife

by Abe Ostate in

i'm a non-witness who is doing research on jehovah's witnesses (and has been for several years).

i just got out of a meeting with an elder and his wife.

i'm still somewhat stupefied.

neverendingjourney

They don't encounter people like you very often. I don't know if you were a return visit or if this was their first time there, but JWs are typically ill-prepared to speak to people who've done their research. I wouldn't expect them to return. They were probably caught off guard and resorted to reciting talking points they were comfortable with regardless of the topic.

It's good that they were forced to confront an inconsistency in their beliefs (the end-is-near stuff). It probably made them uncomfortable having to lie to you that way. It may not bear fruit immediately, but it was a series of these types of confrontations that led me to loose my zeal for field service. Years later I quit the religion altogether.

30

Memorial Musings

by undercover in

jw
friends

a few things noticed in last nights annual, jesus who?

gathering:.

1: only one scripture from the gospels was read or cited.

neverendingjourney

I think it's been four or five years since I've been to one. I didn't even get a call from my family this time until 5:30 the day of, which I didn't answer. Things have are turning out quite well for me on that front.

13

First year without Memorial

by sp74bb in

jw
friends

my first year after more than 20 years.... it seems strange.

happy fellings but at the same times feeling some loniness.. is your first one as well?.

veterans: how do you feel after some many years?.

neverendingjourney

I began waking up rouglhy during the summer of 2003, but I kept going to meetings for another two years or so. For a few years I was 99% out, but that last 1% exercises a huge influence over your life.

The last memorial I can remember going to voluntarily (without family begging me to go) was in 2007. I had already discovered this site and was completely out mentally but something about the indoctrination wouldn't allow me to stay at home. It's difficult and for some it's harder than others.

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

JV,

Keep doing what you do. Some folks will get carried away with speculation. Others will express skepticism and try to bring them back down to Earth. Healthy debate and the free flow of information is superior to groupthink.

As to the trolls...it's the internet, man. I belong to another board centered around a football team I follow closely. This is tame compared to the stuff that gets thrown around over there. Don't take comments from anonymous internet commenters too seriously. Just my $.02.

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

JV,

Go back and look at my comments. There's nothing in there that could be remotely construed as a personal attack or a threat against you or your sources.

The point is, everytime the WT announces a change, regardless of how minor (and I've been on this board for over seven years), it results in rampant speculation. There's a disconnect between the importance of the change to the everyday lives of ordinary witnesses and the banter on this board. I don't think I'm out of line in counseling restraint or that people take what they read with a grain of salt.