BonaFide

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Posts by BonaFide

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  22

  Apostate CO?

  by Marmite in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what would you think if a co said the following things from the platform?

  during a talk entitled the spirit and the bride keep on saying "come" he goes off at a tangent talking about how from 1920 to 1925 we said "millions now living will never die".

  he went into great detail about how at first the title was "may" but was changed to"will".

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  BonaFide

  WOW! Me too Marmite, can you give me a little more info about him in a PM?

  BF
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  22

  Is there a GROWING AWARENESS among Jehovah's Witnesses that SOMETHING is REALLY WRONG with the Organization?

  by BonaFide in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i hope i can explain this clearly.

  years ago, we all knew what a child molester was.

  but there were a lot of misconceptions, mishandled situations in and out of the congregations, and just a general non-awareness of the seriousness and pervasiveness of pedophiles.. not anymore.

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  BonaFide

  I hope I can explain this clearly. Years ago, we all knew what a child molester was. But there were a lot of misconceptions, mishandled situations in and out of the congregations, and just a general non-awareness of the seriousness and pervasiveness of pedophiles.

  Not anymore. There are Government websites that maintain a registry, there are laws concerning housing, employment, even proximity to children.

  And GENERALLY SPEAKING, people are MORE AWARE of child molesters than they were years ago. There is more UNDERSTANDING of how to protect yourself, your children, etc.

  The same can be said of drunk driving. What was once almost sometimes a "comical" point of view regarding driving drunk is now regulated by stricter laws, punishments, programs to rehabilitate drunkenness, etc. It's not funny to even joke about having a beer or two and then driving. Awareness is much higher.

  Similarly, substance abuse, spousal abuse, steroid use by athletes, global warming, etc. There is just more AWARENESS now on so many fronts because of the Internet, cell phones, 100's of cable channels, networking, and so on.

  Yes, I am gettting to a point. SO, is there a growing AWARENESS among Witnesses that something is really wrong with the Organization? Not that everyone talks about it all the time, but is it there?

  I remember growing up in the truth that the speakers on Sunday used to say all sorts of crazy things. "Scientists are really stupid." "The only really honest people are JW's." "The churches are losing members and we are gaining members." NOT ANYMORE. Unless they are real old-timers, speakers can't say anything they want like they used to. There is just too much information out there. Same goes with those car group conversations, and JW groups in restaurants, you can't get away with nonsense like you used to be able to.

  Is this just a hopeful feeling that I have, perhaps because I regularly read this site and hear balanced arguments and truths regarding the Organization? Or is it that there is a SLOWLY GROWING AWARENESS by many Witnesses that there is something WRONG with the Organization?

  Well?

  BF
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  9

  How BIG a DEAL is no more Saturday working for Bethelites?

  by BonaFide in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the first thread is more focused on why the change?, which has some great posts.. but i want to see what you all say about the outcome of this announcement.. for those of us that have served in bethel we can tell you, an announcement like this is big news.

  even small announcements at morning worship are whispered and talked about for weeks in rooms, at work assignments, and in the car on the way to the meetings.

  analyze and re-analyze.. this is a big announcement.

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  BonaFide

  My friends in Bethel will send me an email for sure on this. They say hi with an email every few months.

  But this is big...

  My thought is that everything will continue on as normal at Bethel for awhile.

  Then people will start to leave......

  Why? Because Bethel used to be the hub, the most important place in the world. Serving there was more important than service, meetings, anything. My friends there often missed meetings to work.

  But now they are saying that field service is just as important, in fact so important that Bethel is essentially closing on Saturdays. Even if you use their reasoning, its a big deal as far as the Bethel "House of God" reputation.

  BF

  BF
• 
  9

  How BIG a DEAL is no more Saturday working for Bethelites?

  by BonaFide in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the first thread is more focused on why the change?, which has some great posts.. but i want to see what you all say about the outcome of this announcement.. for those of us that have served in bethel we can tell you, an announcement like this is big news.

  even small announcements at morning worship are whispered and talked about for weeks in rooms, at work assignments, and in the car on the way to the meetings.

  analyze and re-analyze.. this is a big announcement.

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  BonaFide

  The first thread is more focused on Why the Change?, which has some great posts.

  But I want to see what you all say about the OUTCOME of this announcement.

  For those of us that have served in Bethel we can tell you, an announcement like this is BIG NEWS. Even small announcements at Morning Worship are whispered and talked about for weeks in rooms, at work assignments, and in the car on the way to the meetings. Analyze and re-analyze.

  THIS IS A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT. MAJOR!

  So what will happen? Will Bethelites with more time on their hands take off every weekend? Will the "urgency" slow down? How can they say as they always did that "Bethel is more important than the congregation?" Will some start to go online and ask questions? Could this be the start of something REALLY BIG?

  What you say?

  BF
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  40

  No More Work on Saturdays at Bethels Worldwide

  by Lost-In-Translation in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a letter was read at tonight's meeting announcing that the governing body has decided to stop work on saturdays at all bethels worldwide.

  bethel workers are encouraged to now spend saturdays with their local congregation in field service.

  the new arrangement goes into effect june, 2009.. what do you think are the motives for such a change?.

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  BonaFide

  Wow, I never thought that would happen. A friend of mine at Bethel for over two decades told me that the Governing Body would never allow free Saturdays because the Bethel boys would be out having fun on weekends and be too tired on Mondays.

  Guess that changed.

  BF
• 
  8

  How many people did you bring "into the Truth?" Have you tried to tell them the REAL TRUTH since?

  by BonaFide in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i pioneered and was a missionary for 20 years.. i brought 1 person in.. he is still a witness i hear, i haven't been able to find him though.. and you?.

  bf.

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  BonaFide

  I Pioneered and was a missionary for 20 years.

  I brought 1 person in.

  He is still a Witness I hear, I haven't been able to find him though.

  And you?

  BF
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  42

  How did you REALLY feel when you where out in field service?

  by megaflower in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i never felt comfortable knocking on door and i hoped no one would be home.

  my presentation was short and to the point because i did not want to get into discussions.

  as we walked from "door to door" i secretly wished i could be like all the ones i saw in the nighborhood.

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  BonaFide

  Well, I was a publisher since I was 7 years old. Never missed a month. Then a regular pioneer at 16. Then a missionary at 24. Missionary for several years.

  Adding all of that up, comes to about 19,000 hours.

  What a waste.

  I did try to enjoy it, when I was a missionary, I used to feel good about it, because everyone liked to talk practically.

  Here in the States, though, I pretended like I liked it, but I was always glad to be going home. So was everyone else.

  BF
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  27

  What crazy demonstrations did you see on the Service Meeting?

  by BonaFide in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i had a couple of pretty good ones, i thought.. my first one was theocratic news.

  i know a lot of congregations that did this one.

  we had a long table facing the audience, and we gave the "theocratic news" from the km as if it were a tv news broadcast.

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  BonaFide

  I remember one in one of the congregations when I was in Bethel. The brother giving the part was a Bethelite, and it was the night of the C.O. visit.

  The brother said, "We will begin the News Conference." Suddenly several in the audience shouted out loud, "Mr. Chairman! Mr. Chairman!" until he called on one of them. They stood up and said, "Is it true that Jehovah's Witnesses do not take blood transfusions?" The brother answered his question, then again a few shouted, "Mr. Chairman, Mr. Chairman!" The next question was,"Well if you don't take blood, would you let your child die?" So he answered that one with the standard WT answer.

  It was pretty exciting, I have to admit, and the C.O. said he liked it.

  BF
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  41

  Were there 200 JW's disfellowshipped in 1980 all at once - in Cleveland, Ohio?

  by BonaFide in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have some old notes from a 1981 circuit assembly.

  brother frank bartell was the district overseer.

  i am pretty sure its 1981 or 1982.. anyway, in his last talk he said that there was a terrible situation in cleveland ohio the previous year (1980).

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  BonaFide

  I guess I think it might be true because Brother Bartell was a very strict, no nonsense guy. He seemed to indicate he had special knowledge of this, because I remember he said that Bethel sent out there a special committee to deal with all of it.

  BF
• 
  27

  What crazy demonstrations did you see on the Service Meeting?

  by BonaFide in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i had a couple of pretty good ones, i thought.. my first one was theocratic news.

  i know a lot of congregations that did this one.

  we had a long table facing the audience, and we gave the "theocratic news" from the km as if it were a tv news broadcast.

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  BonaFide

  I had a couple of pretty good ones, I thought.

  My first one was Theocratic News. I know a lot of congregations that did this one. We had a long table facing the audience, and we gave the "Theocratic News" from the KM as if it were a TV news broadcast. At the end, a brother ran onto the stage and handed me a paper. I read it to the congregation. It said, "Despite heavy rains in Fiji, the brothers were still able to achieve a new peak in publishers."

  Everyone applauded.

  My second one was I pretended like I had a talk show. I interviewed one of the elders, who explained the work of Jehovah's Witnesses. I asked him what Witnesses say at the doors. He said, "Let's have a demonstration." So two sisters came up and did a demonstration. The audience liked that one too.

  We also had a bro who used to love to turn off all the lights in the auditorium, and then bring a lantern onto the platform. Or turn off all the lights and turn them on one by one. All illustrating the light of the truth.

  What about your congregations? Any crazy demo's?

  BF