okay, an elder just showed up at my doorstep and he was wearing sweat suit and sweat pants and he was alone.
whats up with that?
is this a new tactic to get me to talk?
LDH said:
Tell him, "Don't call us. We'll call you." and leave it at that.
And that is the EXACT TRUTH! That's exactly what I did. I told them not to come by unannounced and not to call. So where did that leave them? NOWHERE! They haven't bothered me since. No visits, no phone calls, and I never wrote a letter. Don't call me, I'll call you. That's what I told them. I know where the KH is, so don't bother me anymore. And it worked........at least so far...
the bible says that we shouldn't compare ourselves with other people either physically or spiritually.
some would produce 5 to 1, and others 2 to 1. .
but why is it that the elders always tried to compare us to other witnesses?
Blondie, I reread your post and noticed a few observations from the Society's quotes....
If illness or advancing age hinders you from accomplishing as much as you would like in Christian activity, do not despair.
Because of limitations imposed by poor health, advancing age, or other circumstances, at times some of us may feel that we are "weaker" or "less honorable" ones. But that is not how Jehovah views matters.
If your situation permits, love will motivate you to spend much time in the ministryperhaps even as a full-time pioneer minister. If you are battling an illness, however, the time you spend in the ministry may be less than you would wish.
The few hours that some can devote to public witnessing may represent a greater effort than the many hours that others spend preaching, in view of younger age, better health, and other circumstances.
Did you notice how they've emphasized illness or bad health as a reason that is acceptable to not be at all meetings and get in lots of hours? IMHO, they're using this as a subliminal message that unless you have a really good excuse, like being ill, then you are expected to "perform" up to standards. Notice the last quote....
may represent a greater effort than the many hours that others spend preaching,
Did you notice how the ill people's efforts may be greater than the MANY hours that others spend preaching? Again, a subliminal message that unless you're sick, you should be spending many hours in the preaching work, because most others are getting in MANY hours.
Anyway, just thought that was kinda interesting. Some may not agree with that, but that's what I happen to see. I copied and pasted your Watchtower quotes into Word and saved it. It may come in handy one day .........
Edited by - jimbob on 8 January 2003 21:57:28
the bible says that we shouldn't compare ourselves with other people either physically or spiritually.
some would produce 5 to 1, and others 2 to 1. .
but why is it that the elders always tried to compare us to other witnesses?
Blondie....excellent post. What they said in the magazines is obviously a complete 180 from what they tell you from the platform.
the bible says that we shouldn't compare ourselves with other people either physically or spiritually.
some would produce 5 to 1, and others 2 to 1. .
but why is it that the elders always tried to compare us to other witnesses?
JH...YOU JUST OPENED A CAN OF WORMS FOR ME!! This is so much of the reason why my wife and I left. I could never stand the fact that they would tell you to never compare yourself to others, but of course when the CO came around, it was always..."your congregation's hourly average is below the national average"....which of course is a comparison!!
Then, to compare you even further and make you feel even more guilty...they would tell you how sister so-and-so in the African Congo has no money, 6 kids, and travels 25 miles (walking of course) through alligator infested swamps in order to make it to meetings, and she never misses one....SO WHAT'S YOUR EXCUSE FOR NOT GOING TO THE MEETING? I hate this bullsh*t with a passion. They're always comparing and making you feel guilty. They tell you how good we have it in this country, so why aren't you going to every single meeting and pioneering??? If the sister in Africa can do it, brother so-and-so who owns 2 cadillacs and only lives 3 miles from the hall should be able to make it to all the meetings and since he obviously has lots of money, he should pioneer.
I heard this crap for years and always believed it and felt guilty. Well guess what???????
I'M NOT ONLY FREE NOW, BUT GUILT FREE!!! Life is good!
my friend was counseled for having a bad attitude because he wore white socks w/ his suit.
Hey Escapee.....I just wanted to make you feel better by letting you know that if I was an elder in your hall, I NEVER would have counseled you on your "problem", or any other sister with a similar "problem".....
i just got back from today's circuit assembly.
i haven't been to one in the last 1 and a half yrs.
obviously, nothing has changed.
Minimus...I can't believe you still go and listen to that garbage. How do you do it...and better yet, why? I couldn't ever imagine going back and having to sit through a meeting. You must have a helluva reason to keep going.
a few days back a dfed black woman came to this site - asking for help and looking for answers, so lady "c and myself decided to offer our help, being black we understand that black jw face some issues that a white witness would not, black congo operate many times in a somewhat different fashion in my exp at any rate , we offered our help, we discussed many issues, but in the end she has decided to return back to wt despite the fact that they treat her like dirt- one of the hardest things to watch is to see a jw get so close to freedom and then return to slavery, it reminds me so much of blacks during slavery who were just afraid to run for freedom , even many times when they only needed to cross the river -as a single black mature woman she is facing an uphill battle, if she approaches an elder more than 2 times the elders wife will think she is after her man, if she wants to marry her selection is reduced to some guy with a plaid suit on, instead of the regional director of her company who notices how intelligent she is, but since he don't sell books on the weekend she must let him slide- well here is just a glisp of what we dealt with and how sadly it ended with the jw doing what they have been trained and indoctrinated to do run and deny below are just 3 different sets of dialog .
---- dfed person--sorry, but i don't really think that it is a black and white issue.
jt- o i fully agree it is not a black and white issue, i was merely commenting on what my observation have been, when i was an elder, white bro in meetings would always challenged the co and do if they made some off the wall comment, while black elders would consistently just go along,
James, you truly are a wise person. I think that was an excellent idea to print and save your e-mail. You brought up such excellent points, I don't see how an open-minded, reasonable person could refute what you said. Hopefully she will do as you suggested and at a later date, realize the foolishness of what she has been taught and leave the WT. I only wish 7 years ago I was able to print your e-mail....
in every congregation there is always a brother who gives a marathon prayer.
in my congregation there was a brother whose prayers were so long that i decided to time his prayer with my watch.
it lasted about 3-4 minutes.
This is another pet peeve of mine....I hated it when the brothers felt they had to give a prayer that was as long as an instruction talk. My god, why was it necessary for one to give such a long prayer? I remember at District Conventions how I used to look around during long prayers and see everyone doing the same thing, and fidgeting, wondering when this prayer would ever end. I think all the bigwig heavy elders, CO's, DO's, Bethel Heavies and the like, were expected to give super long prayers, because after all, they were important bigwigs and much closer to Jehovah and needed to spend more time talking to him.... I really feel that those who gave such long prayers did so because they wanted to show everyone how "spiritual" they were. If they gave short prayers, they thought it would appear to the R&F that they weren't really spiritual people. I think the rest of us couldn't have cared less....just end the frickin' meeting so we can go home for god's sake!!!!!!!!!!
i never thought that they could be this dumb.
i called an elder in the cong.
where my daughter's abuser lives.
I agree with avishai......the only thing that will make them change is to punish them monetarily. When it affects their pocketbook, then changes will happen, but until then, they will continue with their current policies. The Society would hate to give up money to abuse survivors, and if they had to, they would definitely change their views so it wouldn't happen again. After all, the contributions aren't flowing in like they used to in the good ol' days. I believe with the many lawsuits being filed, they will be forced to pay and change their outlook. Until then, my heart goes out to all who've had to endure the pain of what has happened to them. Money may not take away their pain, but it will hopefully force the Society to seriously take a look at how they handle molestation issues that arise within the organization.
my husband, who's a ministerial servant, was approached by an elder and asked if he'd offer our home to become a 'book study' meeting place.. i'm a bit of a loner, and need lots of peace, quiet, privacy, and solitude; plus to boot you all know i'm living this sort of double life, you know, just doing the very minimum to remain a witness.. this is awful!!!!!!!!!!
i can't deal with it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
take care!
Blondie wrote:
I guarantee after a couple of complaints about the dirtiness of the house, that it will most likely be moved.
I hate to say this isn't always true. My in-laws had bookstudy at their home for a couple of years, and their home is absolute trailer trash. But the elders still let them have it there. And when they finally stopped having it there, it had nothing to do with how dirty their home was. And we're talking definite trailer trash here. Appliances in the driveway, grass (weeds) mowed 3 times a year, dishes in the sink, laundry area overflowing with dirty clothes, carpet ripped up, junk vehicles in the yard, toys strewn about everywhere. It amazes me they preach about paradise, and their own home looks like sh*t!
We had bookstudy in our home for 4 years, but finally got tired of it. People were starting to be disrespectful in our home, so once that started I said....Adios!! Find somewhere else!!
Now I don't have to go at all........
