I see this as a relaxing of standards. I have been in congos that assign calls, keep track of what is said, publicize all kinds of personal details amoung the elder body- in short really turn shepherding into a pain in the ass for everyone. This letter seems to be saying "back off- just show personal interest"
Posts by lrkr
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91NEW BOE LETTER - It just got exponentially harder to "fade"
by sir82 inhere is the text of the letter:.
february 2, 2014. .
your brothers,.
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17
Rotary, Lions Club & Kiwanis, etc
by 4thgen inlike so many have said on this site, it is hard to begin again and make new friends.
this has been a real challenge for me.
i recently joined a local rotary club and have become acquainted with some very dedicated business people (some retired), wanting to be of service to others.
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lrkr
I was a Rotarian for a while. It was helpful to me to meet and socialize with non-Witnesses. However, the time commitment is oppressive. I got over the prayers, and pledges- it was much lighter than anything JW's ever came up with! And there were lots of agnostics and athiests there too. The impact that Rotary's have is impressive- from campaigns to cure polio to supporting local non-profits to giving out scholarships. I really enjoyed Rotary. Just didnt have the time to commit.
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Will Child Molestation Lawsuits Against The Watchtower Corporation Make It Claim Bankruptcy?
by frankiespeakin inwe all know sales are dropping in money recieved from printing literature and that it must have been a money drain for quite some time now at least from the time they went to a completely free literature offer to avoid paying ceaser's things to ceaser, so that now the next big finacial move is thru real estate flipping and capitalizing of the jw work force thru slave labor working conditions.. could these lawsuits bring them to the breaking point finacially i know there are a lot of nay sayers among us, but what say you and what is your gut feeling on this one?.
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lrkr
They have hundreds of millions in real estate which they are now liquidating. If there is to be a financial problem- its at least 20-30 years out.
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Will Child Molestation Lawsuits Against The Watchtower Corporation Make It Claim Bankruptcy?
by frankiespeakin inwe all know sales are dropping in money recieved from printing literature and that it must have been a money drain for quite some time now at least from the time they went to a completely free literature offer to avoid paying ceaser's things to ceaser, so that now the next big finacial move is thru real estate flipping and capitalizing of the jw work force thru slave labor working conditions.. could these lawsuits bring them to the breaking point finacially i know there are a lot of nay sayers among us, but what say you and what is your gut feeling on this one?.
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lrkr
They have hundreds of millions in real estate which they are now liquidating. If there is to be a financial problem- its at least 20-30 years out.
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Were you 'alive in '75' and how was that year for you?
by punkofnice ini was a junior borgite in 1975. i remeber looking at the calendar at work in october and thinking: 'armageddon isn't here yet.....and it doesn't feel like it will be here anytime soon either!'.
i was surprised that jehovah hadn't obeyed the superior command to bring the big 'a' as instructed to him by fred franz.
how dare god disobey the jw leader!!!!!.
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lrkr
I was 4. My brother was 2. My parents tell stories of the congo giving them shit about having 2 kids so close to Armageddon. They were part of the 20 somethings that converted about 1972 after Vietnam, etc. Dad was finishing up a degree and they gave him trouble over that too.
But they kept with it- and always used 1975 as an example of why you shouldnt be "unbalanced" in the truth.
Unfortunately- that moderate approach to the org. makes a clean break more difficult for them.
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Billy's Comments You Won't Hear at the 01-26-2014 WT Study (Obey Jehovah's Shepherds))
by Billy the Ex-Bethelite infine.
holy spirit appointed overseers to shepherd?
6:1, 2; jude 22) are these not good reasons for being obedient to those who are taking the lead?read hebrews 13:17.. .
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lrkr
Elders are referred to as shepherds because the Bible has a clear shepherds vs. farmers motif. Shepherds are the independant entrepreneurs, close to God, idealized. Farmers are the specialized, captialistic, city dwellers- who are always evil (Cain v. Able)
http://pryorthoughts.blogspot.com/2012/09/farmers-vs-shepherds-really-old-story.html
Sorry to hijack the thread. Couldnt resist.
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Did You Ever Learn Anything From The Meetings?
by minimus ini found the meetings to be especially boring from the late 1980s on.
before that, we actually tried to make people want to listen.
the meetings were pretty interesting.
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lrkr
Sorry- I realize you want negative answers- but the truth is- I learned to speak and read Spanish, I learned to speak and read Russian and I learned to speak to an audience. (Had to learn that last one over after I left and wasnt giving speeches based on canned religious statements learned since I could talk and to audiences who would actually listen and question everything I said.)
I also learned unquestioning obedience, that I am a terrible person, that I should feel guilty about everything, that I wasnt doing enough, that I wasnt working hard enough, that I should not use logic when examining the teachings of the WT, that asking questions was a sign of disloyalty, that I should fear being caught, that I was part of a group that was intrinsically better than everyone else on earth, that I should give up my dreams now because the New System will be sooooo great, (I could go on...)
Unlearning the second half took a few years. Probably still a work in progress.
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Remember what they said at the assembly today...
by lrkr inso, the wife and i are reminiscing today about how when you would leave an assembly- you would struggle to remember just one interesting point.
usually- you had to look at your notes or the program to just remember 1 thing that struck you.
all day of talking and less than :30 seconds of information retained!!!.
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lrkr
@Fink- and the 8 day assemblies were in the days of the master propagandists- Freddie, Nathan, Friend, Glass, Schroeder, Ghengis. Guys that felt like they were writing the bible- not just teaching it. I imagine listening to those wind bags drone on was sheer torture (especially in NYC in the summer in an open stadium)
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Remember what they said at the assembly today...
by lrkr inso, the wife and i are reminiscing today about how when you would leave an assembly- you would struggle to remember just one interesting point.
usually- you had to look at your notes or the program to just remember 1 thing that struck you.
all day of talking and less than :30 seconds of information retained!!!.
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lrkr
@cc- Yes the American brothers giving talks in foreign languages are notoriously poor speakers of the foreign language. In my experience- that goes all the way up the food chain. I remember hearing Wally Liverance- a Gilead Instructor- speak in spanish. It was like listening to fingernails on a chalkboard!!
But you cant diminish the fact that the assemblies are more and more just canned, proofread manuscripts without an ounce of reality or actual human emotion. Now- 6 years out- I cant imagine going and listening to a seminar for a full day and walking away not being able to remember a single interesting item.
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Remember what they said at the assembly today...
by lrkr inso, the wife and i are reminiscing today about how when you would leave an assembly- you would struggle to remember just one interesting point.
usually- you had to look at your notes or the program to just remember 1 thing that struck you.
all day of talking and less than :30 seconds of information retained!!!.
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lrkr
So, the wife and I are reminiscing today about how when you would leave an assembly- you would struggle to remember just one interesting point. Usually- you had to look at your notes or the program to just remember 1 thing that struck you. All day of talking and less than :30 seconds of information retained!!!
Wife said- "It was brainwashing- just very poor quality brainwashing!!"
Was that your experience? Was it just because we were in a foreign language field where the non-native speakers were just ghastly??