Found this today, many thanks for your sharing your experience as I'm in the same boat. I've already had a few heated exchanges with Mrs. Dismayed, and hopefully we can reach an "elephant in the room" agreement soon.
dismayed
JoinedPosts by dismayed
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110
On The Art Of Fading
by expatbrit inin october of 2000, i faded away from the watchtower.
like most people, i have family and friends who are jw's (including my wife and parents).
fading is generally the best method for people in that situation.
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15
Is the WTS About to Massage the Numbers in a huge Way?
by dismayed inobviously with no end-time date being out there right now, the wt to motivate members.
stagnation is the word that comes up frequently on the board here, and a currently active member, i see it permeating the dub attitude.
so this week's study article was interesting in that it potentially expands the area where dubs can count their time.
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dismayed
Wobble-I agree, the number massaging has already started. Especially with the elimination of the average hours in the KM. I cant wait to unload that one in the next elders meeting when some over righteous elder questions someone's hours. "Well, now that the Branch doesn't publish the hourly average, it must not really be that important"
Loosie-Good point! I know sisters spend way more time on their parts than the average elder does on his.
Homer- Maybe i am aux pioneering and didn't even realize it?
Gordy- I agree. By making these visits and good deeds FS time, it makes it even tougher for some to leave. Maybe faders have become a big problem in the eyes of the GB.
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interesting thread on facebook JW page...What to say in field service....
by oompa inas in "what do you tell householders as to how close we are in time?
"........it has over a hundred posts on it, lots of kinda mean anti-dubs on it, but one real nice passionate dub who is so sincere and ya, he so loves his life and the brotherhood....his posts are long and he really seems nice, you can tell the other dubs love him.
my thought is that since there is absoulutely no time link (such as a lifespan generation) how do dubs stress the "urgency" to learn and come into "the truth".......i used to do that in service, and stress to people how the time was short because the gen of 1914 was getting so old....some of the dubs on facebook have repeatedy mentioned how many millions are still alive from 1914 as if that even matters anymore....they were quickly informed that duh.....so what....wt has totally bailed on that teaching.......i feel these "last days" could just as easily bet 1000 years away even if the bible was true.......i can find zero scriptural support for wt to teach that is very, very near (they have only used the double very once!
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dismayed
When I first started deprogramming and investigating 1975 and generation, I thought there is no way they will ever put out another date. I'm not so sure anymore. They really are at a crossroads. They can throw out another date and cycle through another generation of dubs, or they will go mainstream and watch the FS work die a slow death.
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Is the WTS About to Massage the Numbers in a huge Way?
by dismayed inobviously with no end-time date being out there right now, the wt to motivate members.
stagnation is the word that comes up frequently on the board here, and a currently active member, i see it permeating the dub attitude.
so this week's study article was interesting in that it potentially expands the area where dubs can count their time.
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dismayed
Obviously with no end-time date being out there right now, the WT to motivate members. Stagnation is the word that comes up frequently on the board here, and a currently active member, I see it permeating the dub attitude. So this week's study article was interesting in that it potentially expands the area where dubs can count their time. While no directive within the article says dubs can now count FS time in these areas, it equates these activities with field service time. Paragraphs 5-12 explain this in these scans:
http://i39.tinypic.com/2v7x9tv.jpg
http://i43.tinypic.com/156tmr5.jpg
http://i42.tinypic.com/pbn2r.jpg
Pars 5-6 lay out the definition of Ministering to One Another
Pars 7-8 talk about more ways in which those in the 1st century ministered.
Par 9-Very interesting, here are the examples in modern times. Are these activities where dubs might start counting time?
1) Brothers spending time preparing meeting parts
2) Compassion shown toward fellow believers
3) Visiting depressed ones and praying with them
4) Writing letters to others- heartfelt words of encouragement
5) Helping others to meetings
6) Relief work- Natural disasters
Next subheading - Which is more important?
Pars 10-12 lay out the argument that preaching door to door and ministering to others in the congo should be viewed as equal or complimentary.
Par 11 uses an illustration of which of a birds wings is more important? The bird needs both wings of course, so it is with JW, preaching to others and ministering to one another.
Par 12 concludes that doing this will help them remain Christ's disciples. (Italics theirs)
So what do you think? Is the groundwork laid here for all of these other activites to be counted as FS time? If they are in fact equal in importance to actual FS time, then why would one be counted and not the other?
Several advantages come of course to the WTS if they authorize thes activities as "time" Many, if not most dubs hate FS. But most don't mind doing a favor here and there for others. Many do this kind of stuff already. Elders suddenly get to count extra time for meeting prep. Visitations to sick ones, preparing meals for them, etc. get counted too. Everyone gets re-energized as they are now putting in 20 hours a month! WOW! YAY!
And of course the numbers go up in a bigtime way. Suddenly, dubs spend 3 billion hours in FS rather than last years 1.5 billion. More so-called "evidence" for the GB to say that Dubs are the one and only true religion.
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How long does reinstatement take?!? Question for a elder or someone thats been in this situation
by N-kiki in -
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dismayed
Your current hall will conduct the reinstatement hearing, they will probably call or write the old hall for details though.
I would also encourage you to call your local elders. Call them early, call them often, thats what they are there for. They put these burdens on you, certainly they are the ones who should be harassed errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, called for any additional questions you have.
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How long does reinstatement take?!? Question for a elder or someone thats been in this situation
by N-kiki in -
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dismayed
One cool thing you can do if you get re-instated is to immediately start missing meetings right after you are readmitted to the club. That way, some may wake up and realize the so-called "holy spirit" has not been cornered by the WTS.
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How long does reinstatement take?!? Question for a elder or someone thats been in this situation
by N-kiki in -
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dismayed
6 months is the unwritten rule. Much depends on the committee. They usually have the same brothers meet with you that DF'd you, unless you have moved to a new hall.
If they gave you counsel when you were DF'd, be prepared to tell them how you have applied that counsel. Bring them a list of scriptures that you have been meditating on regarding your situation, and how those scriptures have affected you.
Most of all, act humble, act like you believe every word they are saying, and act like your life is at stake. If you are a good actor, you will be back in the club.
BTW, no man/judicial committee can give or say you a have an approved relationship with Jehovah/God.
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Pecking order of Memorial jobs
by Open mind inwhat's your personal take on the perceived level of jw prestige attached to various jobs at the memorial?.
here are a handfull in no particular order:.
parking.
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dismayed
Speaker obviously is top dog. Usually an experienced elder, new elders don't really get a shot.
Servers-Pretty much the rest of the elders
Prayers over bread and wine-usually the old elders in my experience.
Lot duty-usually MS or well regarded pubs.
The worst job though is Hounder- sometimes you are assigned to buttkiss new ones/faders/relatives and chat them up. Usually they are there for one reason, they've been "hounded" themselves by family and can't wait to get the heck out of Dodge.
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wedding anniversarys
by Adrianoblue inyou`ve probably had this topic before, but there always was this one thing which kept bugging me: here in germany it is pretty common for married jw couples to celebrate their wedding anniversary each year.
do jws in the us or elsewhere do the same?.
well, the reason i`m asking, is the fact that i never really understood what the hell is the difference between such an event and a birthday party?.
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dismayed
Don't you know? people always get executed at birthday celebrations....
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Do you think JW's really know the "Truth" about the "Truth"?
by Quirky1 inwith the many threads surfacing here focusing on internet access opening eyes of beleivers and the unsuccessful d2d work, how many do you think really know the truth and are just going with the motions?
and if so, what is there reasoning?
family, freinds, etc...
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dismayed
I dont think many do, I woke up about November of 2008. Before that I still bought it for the most part. I was born in, so I never compared what traditional Christianity teaches vs what WT teaches. I'm not talking about things like trinity or hellfire, cuz certainly those are debatable.
But I didn't have any understanding of what the mediator means, or what being born again is. I never really questioned 144k, just thought about petting panda bears in the new system. I think the new system concept distracts so many from really thinking about what the message is that Jesus preached, the kingdom of the heavens.
I dont think too many go through the motions for an extended period of time, they find a way to fade. I think back to a few that disappeared over the last few years, and now I know what happened.
