SnakesInTheTower

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Posts by SnakesInTheTower

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  49

  Here in the UK - a £3 fee charged for going to JW assembly hall

  by James_Slash in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i cannot speak for other countries, but it has become evident of late that more and more talks are being done by presiding overseers at kh's (especially in the west midlands) and they are making it quite clear that they are expecting 3 from every publisher (per day) who visit the dudley assembly hall, west midlands to contribute towards the upkeep of it.. the quote from the po's who have done this talk have said that "it is expected that each publisher will put 3 into the box on each day".. what do you think of that then?

  as the world hits an economic breakdown the jw's seem to maximising their income from struggling families.. dudley assembly hall holds about 600-700 people.

  i'm sure people are capable of doing the maths.. so much for voluntary contributions !!

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  SnakesInTheTower

  Toilet paper is already provided by the Faithful and Discreet Slave™ through its Governing Body™

  and is paid for by Voluntary Donations® to the Worldwide Work®.

  That toilet paper is called The Watchtower®

  

  Snakes (Rich )
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  50

  Eliminating all traces of exJWs

  by Scully in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  does anyone know if it is common practice for jws to take down or remove photos of dfd or dad family members within their homes?.

  if so, is there any basis for this practice within wt literaturetm?

  or is it simply a matter of "going beyond the things written" in order to hurt and disrespect the target, and extended family members who have close ties to the target?.

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  SnakesInTheTower

  I cannot pretend certain things did not happen in my past life. I cannot ignore the fact that I was a judgmental JW elder, despite the fact that I wanted to be understanding. I tried but by being an elder I was, by default, judgmental. I hurt people. I cannot change that. I can LEARN from it.

  I cannot change the fact that I was once engaged to a JW from India. 20/20 hindsight is great, and I of course realize how bad an idea it was from Day One.

  I learned from both parts of my life. I have rid myself of almost all traces of JWdom in my life. I have all but rid myself of all traces of my time (brief as it was) in India. I deleted all the emails and got rid of most (if not all) pictures of her. I still have the watch she gave me, I only have not rid myself of it because it is a $200 watch. It sits in a drawer. I keep meaning to take it to a pawn shop.

  I learned that I can love someone and I can love kids. Both lessons have served me well with my fiancee and my soon to be step son. I also learned one does not need a religion to shape ones "spiritual" life.

  My fiancee, never a JW, also made mistakes, but if she went back and undid any of it, she would not have her two great kids, and we would never have met and gotten together.

  Lesson here is learn from our past but don't bury it so deep as to pretend it doesn't exist. Scully's reference to memory holes is right on target. I just did not know it had a name. (I always called it Personal Revisionist History... Memory Hole is easier.)

  Snakes (Rich )
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  8

  @SnakesInTheTower, What did you use to call this method of service?

  by donuthole in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this morning i was trying to think of what you used to call that that method of field service were we bounced all over the the territory map hitting calls that were distanced far apart to waste time.

  there was a funny term you called it at the kh but i can't remember.. i'm posting this instead of private message because someone else may know.. .

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  SnakesInTheTower

  The Star Method.

  We started at the KH (point A.... shoot all the way out to Worden (the furthest point north), then back to South Roxana (the furthest point south), then stop for coffee (at Hardee's in the middle of the star), then after 45 minutes, go out to Cottage Hills (the furthest west), then go all the way to Hamel (furthest east), then back to the kingdom hall (in cottage hills)....

  Doing this slowly was called The Pioneer Shuffle.

  Now I just simplify it by calling it A Big Waste of Time.

  Snakes (Rich )

  (p.s.. by the way... Streets & Trips puts the above route at 72.6 miles and 1 hour and 40 minutes of driving. When I hit the "optimize" button it reduces the route to 42.3 miles and 1 hour and 7 minutes .... were we good at wasting time or what? LOL)
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  6

  Elders Given Too Much Freedom to Destroy or Conceal JW's Secret Records

  by flipper in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as a witness- i always thought elders had way too much ultimate authority over rank & file members.

  i was always questioning things - which didn't make me popular with the elders.

  there has been a lot writen about secret database files containing information about jw child molesters .

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  SnakesInTheTower

  When I was a congo secretary anything related to child abuse was marked "do not destroy" and supposed to be kept forever. I will tell you that files have a way of disappearing and/or being opened by people (elders) who have no business looking at it. Even as secretary, if I did not have a specific purpose in opening one of those sealed envelopes, I left them alone. I did not want to know everyone's business, but I was an exception unfortunately. I knew of elders who, when they became secretary, went into the files and purged anything of their family and friends. Some things are copied to the Society so it doesn't completely disappear.

  Once when I was cleaning up badly organized files, a lot of envelopes were so badly deteriorated that they were not sealed revealing very personal information about current and former JWs. I had a "envelope resealing party" right before an elder's meeting. All the elders participated. I had already organized manilla envelopes and relabeled them properly. If the original elders on the JC were there, then I had them transfer and seal the envelopes. If none of the original elders were there, one elder was given the material and it was resealed in front of all of us. One elder tried to read some of the case notes, but I and/or other elders stopped him and it was resealed. Since I had found envelopes unsealed for no reason, I also had seals put on the flaps and signed by two elders and dated. If it was reopened, the seal would be obviously be broken. If there was a reason to revisit a case, then a new seal would be applied and dated with the names of the elders opening it. A lot of work to protect confidentiality but I felt it important. I took my responsibility seriously.

  Stopped a lot of the underground gossiping among the elders and their wives... no access to the goods .... for awhile. About a year later I was deleted... and a ... lets say less than careful elder became secretary.... and the gossip began to flow again.

  Ironically, most of this BOE is now either DF or at least no longer elders. A**holes. LOL At least I don't have to worry about such mundane s*it anymore.

  Snakes (Rich )
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  105

  Sept.15th WT - WT Society uses Guilt & Fear to Avoid Friendship & Internet

  by flipper in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  once again my wife and i were sent the " witness only " wt version by our lurking jw friend that they study at wt study meetings.

  and once again wt society is showing very controlling tendencies towards it's jw members.. do any of you remember the " old days " in the 1970's or early 1980's when witnesses used to have goody night after book study ?

  or you would have a " potluck picnic " with about 30 to 40 people getting to know one another to draw close as friends outside the confines of the kingdom hall ?

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  SnakesInTheTower

  I remember once organizing a congregation picnic where we stopped at this abandoned/quarried out area along the river. It was known there were lots of fossils, trilobites, etc. I think we were studying the Creation book at the time and it talked about them. The goal was to find enough of them for each CBS group to have one to talk about the following week. We succeeded. Then the groups all went further up the river road to a state park. While some of the older ones with a disabled sister in a wheelchair prepped the BBQ in the picnic area, we all went hiking. Came back, ate, all had a great time.

  Unfortunately, one or two pairs of young teenagers went off on a side trail away from the main group. Whether anything actually happened or not who knows. That was the beginning of the end of such large scale picnics.

  The CBS group that I conducted toward the end we had a goodie night once a month. Best attended of all the nights and we had a close little group.(Side note: donuthole, do you remember that group? You were part of it until you were DF. Do you know what ever happened to that family? The host of that home was an elder that you confided in... and the elders attacked him and you. )

  Things started falling apart in the congo and the book studies when the socializing was discouraged/out right banned.

  stupid cult. glad I am out.

  Snakes (Rich )
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  11

  Can I request my own Disfellowshiping?

  by Joshnaz in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just want to know, and how to do it.

  i've been out of the religion for 12 years now and just want a reason for my parents to not talk to me, seeing how they don't anyhow i don't think it'll hurt any..

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  SnakesInTheTower

  yep. just tell em you do not believe in the FDS and its GB anymore. that should do 'er. Or just tell them you are disassociating. It will be the same announcement: "Joshnaz is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses." Half the audience will look around at each other and say "Josh who?"

  In all seriousness...12 years? Who cares what your status with WTBTS is. And for your parents, hell my JW mom rarely talks to me anymore and I am not even DF.

  Snakes (Rich )
• 
  47

  Hello fellow apostates

  by gumby in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  gumby here, thought i'd say hi to everyone.

  my nutbag is still intact but it's a tough road to please others in order to keep a family.

  really tough.. i'm glad this place is still here as it's a haven for you ex-es and a means to help others to see that when man (governing body) is a mediator between christ and oneself, it becomes a cult.. .

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  SnakesInTheTower

  glad to see you still pop in once in awhile gumby....

  Snakes (Rich )

  ps to funnyface...hiya granny grace...still cant get into your mouthy account?
• 
  39

  Got a visit from door-to-door JW's!

  by donuthole in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  today while i was home for a quick lunch break i got a knock at the door.

  i opened the door and was surprised to see two elderly jehovah's witnesses women.

  i haven't been called on since i've been out for four years, so this was a bit of surprise.

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  SnakesInTheTower

  dh:

  Yep, there it is. Oh rats, her white car isn't there. I guess I'll try the door anyway since we came all this way."

  so is that why we both always had not at home return visits when we worked together? LOL In reality, I had a fancy schmancy RV book.... kept very organized..... and almost none of those RVs were interested. Most of them were scratched out. Lots of dates, fake notes from previous "successful" RVs...until they were finally determined "NI" (not interested).

  My trick was to work with those older ones who had lots and lots of return visits. I would volunteer to take them to their calls all over town...especially the ones out in the country.....take lots of time to get there. The older ones appreciated that I did not speed. I appreciated that I controlled the car not them. In reality, most of their calls were mere social visits with a sprinkling of magazines.

  I think that is why my JW mom goes out 5 days a week... socializing.

  Snakes (Rich )
• 
  23

  Please ring in if you have currently hold a "rank" in the WTBTS

  by stillin9 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  just wondering how many active pioneers, elders, ministerial servants, or perhaps even co's visit this forum.

  no need to disclose any personal information just what you serve as.. i am sure other threads similar to this have existed but what the heck.... i'll start off.... i am currently serving as a ms in a congregation in the us.. .

  so what your's rank?.

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  SnakesInTheTower

  currently and forever more....... nothing (though I dont like the whole "non-practicing JW" thing. maybe I should just up and DA. I left 3+ years ago.

  When I was an elder/pioneer, I frequented this site as a visitor, a lurker. I needed answers. I got them. I left. (Oh, I was a doubting JW even while attending MTS....upon graduating, I was no longer doubting.....I was sure it was all BS...it only took me 5 more years to leave.

  Snakes (Rich )
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  38

  Sign on WT Building... make your own!

  by Mastodon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  here's a pic with the sign removed... have at it!

  let's do this right!

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  SnakesInTheTower

  oh my God....FSM... I am laughing so damn hard right now... I needed that laugh... thank you

  Snakes (Rich