The ones I knew were cheap. For people who don't celebrate any gift-giving holidays I would have thought that they would put some thought into the gifts they did give. When I got married I had a list of things I wanted. What stands out the most is that I got 4 wall clocks (no wall clocks on the list). A group of my " friends" all got married within a couple of years of each other. For each one of them I thought about what they liked and went to the store to purchase gifts that showed my interest in them. I was single, and very poor, and supported myself financially, but gave creative gifts. These "sisters" all lived at home and had many comforts I did not have. What did they give me? Left over gifts they had received at their wedding showers. One family that I had spent a lot of time with and did favors for when they were in a jam gave me a toaster (not a toaster over, just a simple silver, two slot toaster). Another family who said they thought of me as a daughter gave me a binder to put my recipes in - not a book of recipes, just a binder with maybe 2-3 hand-written recipes to "get me started." The sister who had conducted my "Bible study" gave me wine glasses - don't know if they were left-over gifts of hers but do know that I did not drink alcohol and if she would have taken my history into consideration she would have known better to give me such a gift. What surprized me was that it was the couples that I didn't know, but my fiance insisted we invite because of the positions they held in the congregation were the ones who actually gave us the best gifts or actual cash.
startingovernow
JoinedPosts by startingovernow
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19
Are JWS really cheap or poor?
by heyfea inone thing i've noticed in all the congs.
let's say that a couple in the cong.
gets married and they choose to have a party at a caters.
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Has anyone done a cleansing fast?
by frozen one inmy gal is having some issues.
she's gone to her doctor and he ruled out a bunch of ailments but she still isn't feeling good.
a friend of hers said what needs to be done is a cleansing fast.
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startingovernow
From what I understand, as fast is one thing, and a cleanse is another.
If she is not feeling well, fasting can be a difficult thing to do. I've benefiting from increasing my intake of cleansing foods in my diet. Give her this link to learn more (I got the book in my public library) http://www.amazon.com/Liver-Cleansing-Diet-Sandra-Cabot/dp/0646277898/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224982739&sr=1-1
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To SO CAL: What CO's and DO's do we all know?
by IreallydidwalkoutofaKH inokay, in order it goes like this for me............brother peace 1980-83, brother rose 1984-86, brother yasko 1986-88, brother sekella 1988-91, brother billy ford 1992-95, brother davis 1996-99, brother irskin 2000-03 and then it gets kinda blurry....brother burge and another, brother hairston.
okay, that just about does it.
i have this topic becauce i tried reading the favorite co and do thread, but did not recognize any names......
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startingovernow
Was your Bro. Davis, fairly new as a CO, had a southern drawl, and had been in the armed forces?
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What Stupid Rules Did Your Congregation Have?
by minimus inwe had a few.. no gum in your mouth ever!
the elders found some gum on the carpet so gum chewing was banned.. disfellowshipped ones should sit quietly in the rear of the hall.. you had to get at least the congregation's average in order to share in the privilege of mowing the lawn!.
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startingovernow
regarding the brother and sister in service rule:
Wow, at least they got to go out. 1st time this happened to me, the brother refused to go in service with me. The second time (not wanting to be as rude, but following the apparent "rules"O I offered the brother (different brother) to come on a RV with me and we could drive seperate. Tough times pioneering.
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And this was how it was a little ok to go to college...
by Inquisitor ini don't know how the situation sits with the congregations these days in light of certain overt anti-education directives.. see seeker4's thread fallout from gb anti-college.... but where i grew up as a witness... there was an unwritten loophole (among the r&f) that made going to university "palatable" to the witnesses.. if you were going to uni to be trained it certain professions it was deemed worth the sacrifice made.
it was believed that:.
lawyers could defend the wts from the menace of government oppression, aiding in the release of incarcerated bros and sis.. lawyers would have sharp oratory skills.
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startingovernow
BTW rumor is that Losch doesn't agree with the college restrictions but hey if you are a company man and wanna take over someday you gotta tow the partyline!.....
If what you say is true, then what kind of hypocrisy is that?
I was at a 'for those interested in Gilead' meeting at a DC once and heard another member of the GB say that he knows what the Society says about college, but despite that he said, "We need a Certified Public Accountant." So add that to the list of OK reasons to go to college - but only if you plan on using your skills at Bethel.
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And this was how it was a little ok to go to college...
by Inquisitor ini don't know how the situation sits with the congregations these days in light of certain overt anti-education directives.. see seeker4's thread fallout from gb anti-college.... but where i grew up as a witness... there was an unwritten loophole (among the r&f) that made going to university "palatable" to the witnesses.. if you were going to uni to be trained it certain professions it was deemed worth the sacrifice made.
it was believed that:.
lawyers could defend the wts from the menace of government oppression, aiding in the release of incarcerated bros and sis.. lawyers would have sharp oratory skills.
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startingovernow
I recently talked with a former elder whose children are going to the college. I asked him if the Society had changed its stance on this subject. He said that it had not.
And no one else wanting to go to college can point to this elder's children being considered OK, because according to Gerrit Losch it would be comparable to shooting oneself in the mouth and "surviving" because they heard of someone else doing that and being cured of their OCD.
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What is a Presiding Overseer, just a super elder
by insearchoftruth inthe husband of my wife's study conductor is a po, what is so special about this position, what are the responsibilities?
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startingovernow
You have every right to ask such questions. Here are some suggestions:
What is your training - What led to your becoming an elder? Had you read the complete Bible by yourself before becomiing an elder. How many times have you read the Bible cover to cover?
What training have you had by the WTBTS (note: besides baptism, there is no time that someone has to answer questions as to what they believe) and so any "training" is listening to and giving talks. He has never had to take any type of exam or has never really had to proven himself as to his qualifications. Most likely he commented at meetings, gave talks, went out in field service and met the national average (but may have never actually conducted a Bible study with anyone, and who really knows if the time he reported was spent preaching or eating out) and was seen as others as fitting the idea of being exemplary- He did not have a beard, or questionable length of sideburns, did not have a haircut that may confuse others as to him being worldly, no one had seen him watching R rated movies, etc.
When he tells you elders are 'spirit appointed' ask him what that means EXACTlLY, and then read what Ray Franz has to say about the matter in Crisis of Conscience (I can give you the page number once you have the book).
Has he ever studied the Bible or religion from any perspective outside of JWs. Just having been in another religion does not count.
Does he have higher than a high school/vocational school education?
As far as women are concerned, most likely he will refer you to publications. But men and women are expected to listen to the "counsel" and "direction" of the elders, no questions asked - because they are spirit appointed.
When it comes to personal problems that occur - what does he do (not what are elders supposed to do, but what does he do, and ask for references - people that have actually been encouraged and built up by him using the Bible, not just being nice enough to take time out of his busy schedule to visit them). Elders will always direct people with problems to study the Bible more, attend all meetings so they can be built up, and lean on Jehovah in prayer - ask him what happens when people are doing these things but still having problems.
Since he is supposed to be a "counselor" of God's Word - ask him what counseling skills he has and how he obtained them.
Ask him and each elder you come into contact with.
There is no excuse for them not to answer any of these questions.
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Some really friendly witnesses
by Junction-Guy ini never thought i would ever say anything positive about jw's, but after attending a funeral last week, i must say they were some of the friendliest people i have seen in quite awhile, luckily for me, i already know their religion is a lying croc, but still i was treated with the utmost respect.
just something a little positive to share, to balance out the negative.
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startingovernow
There is a difference in being friendly and being a friend.
JWs can be very friendly to nonWitnesses - after all you are a potential Bible Study.
But become a JW, become "too zealous", "make others look bad" by your following direction, become ill and in need of help, become confused about others' behavior, especially elders and their family and express such concern, have doubts about teachings, and then tell us if you still think they are friendly.
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what angers you about the truth
by stillajwexelder inthis angers me .
elders who will not make shepherding calls to comfort their brothers and sisters but as soon as that brother or sister puts one little foot out of line those same f-----g (sorry about the language but it really angers me ) elders can not move fast enough to form a judicial committee and then are so unmerciful - it makes me want to vomit literally
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startingovernow
Wow, so I wasn't the only one!
When I was continuing my "Bible Study" after baptism, the "sister" conducting it had all the time in the world to talk to me (I know realized it's because she was counting it). She did not, however, train me in field service, I learned that by myself, sometimes literally all by myself because no one else showed up to the group (yes, I now realize how dangerous this was, but at the time I had just given up college to preach, so I was going to preach).
When my "Bible Study" was over and I called to speak to this "sister" about things that were troubling me (mostly about the inconsistencies over what I had "studied" about the "true Christian Congregation" and what was happening in the congregation we were in, she was suddenly too busy (not able to count her time).
When I talked to others about what I was seeing in the congregation and how it didn't make sense to me compared to what I had been "studying" I was told by others that that reaction often happens with people who are "new." Oh how I wish I had realized then what I know now and gotten out! But the hope of living forever in paradise sure does have a strong draw, doesn't it?
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what angers you about the truth
by stillajwexelder inthis angers me .
elders who will not make shepherding calls to comfort their brothers and sisters but as soon as that brother or sister puts one little foot out of line those same f-----g (sorry about the language but it really angers me ) elders can not move fast enough to form a judicial committee and then are so unmerciful - it makes me want to vomit literally
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startingovernow
I second that.