I would drop all service hour requirements and titles related to service hours. It's a personal matter between that individual and Jehovah and is a matter of conscience and part of working out your own salvation. Then I set about the arderous task of reviewing all policies and procedures and strip out any of them that have zero basis in the bible and are a fabrication of man. Jesus simply sent out his disciples by twos. They weren't called pioneers and there is no mention of any hour requirement. All congregations would be encouraged to have picnics throughout the year where applicable or fun events much like organized youth groups and so forth. Everyone would be encouraged to go to school - not to make the making of money a goal in life, but so that you standard of living is such that you have much to be thankful for and then people would have money to put in the box if they so desired. There would be one meeting a week (Sunday discourse and WT study) and informal meetings for service if any so desired, but not mandatory. (It's hard enough as it is.) And the one meeting a week mimics the reading of the law once a week to serve as a reminder. Anyone who is single and can't seem to find someone to marry could log into a website run and sponsored by the organization so that they can have help finding someone. No chaperones needed - just behave yourself and if you fornicate, you can choose to get married immediately after confession, or be DF'd until you get things sorted out. Basically it needs to be structured so you feel good in it, (not to tickle ears), but something more than rudimentary study all the time. Also, an immediate accounting of all brothers in position if a complaint is leveled against them. That's the only way you keep people in power in check is make them easy to oust. If 2 people got together and filed a complaint and signed it, that elder would be immediately removed for one year. That would encourage them to really have care and compassion and to conduct themselves humbly before others. If they knew they could get the boot over one occurance of mistreatment, they'd shape up or be ousted. I've got more ideas, but basically, I'd hate to be on the governing body. I can't stand all the negative stuff that led me to almost kill myself and take sedatives so I could go.
silent
JoinedPosts by silent
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9
Pretending to be the Governing Body
by edmond dantes inlets pretend we are of the governing body in brooklyn .
what proposals would you put before the members .
you can vote and add ammendments if you like.
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WTS Loses Money By Disfellowshipping Info.
by mind blown inhello, i found this info interesting from a spanish xjw site and thought it may be of interest to you too?
i used bing language translator.
i assume when the post below refers to commissions judicatives, they may be referring to jc?.
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silent
I insist on asking, "Where did their legal team get their eduation?" Were they non-JWs before becoming JW lawyers? Then that must mean it would be okay for me to leave, get my degree, then I could be a JW Lawyer right? What about all these war veterans who are now JWs but still drawing their veterans pay. That bothers my conscience so they should have to give up that money because it ties them into this world and their military service.
So much unfairness and punishing the weak and humble...
Makes me sick...
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WTS Loses Money By Disfellowshipping Info.
by mind blown inhello, i found this info interesting from a spanish xjw site and thought it may be of interest to you too?
i used bing language translator.
i assume when the post below refers to commissions judicatives, they may be referring to jc?.
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silent
Let's not forget too that by keeping you from going to college (like those of my generation who didn't need to go to school because the end was so close), a bunch of us are stuck working dead-end, manual labor jobs, and can't hardly put food on the table, more or less have *ANYTHING* left over to put in the box. My middle aged body can't take much more of the manual labor that I have to do on a daily basis. No health insurance either! Where's the WTBTS health care plan? I can't think of anything that makes you more a part of the world, than going on welfare and having a bunch of worldly people's tax dollars support you because you didn't go to school so you could provide for yourself adequately. They've created a whole generation of people that cannot afford to put anything in the donation box because we don't have anything left to give. You darn right they're hurting.
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A Dazzling apologist effort concerning Watchtower United Nations N G O
by Terry inintroduction: in the beginning.
how it all started.
read this chapter.... know your ngos!.
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silent
If being a member of the YMCA makes me an activist and proponet of some interfaith movement, then does giving money to a non-JW doctor and his medical organization make me an interfaith proponent? What I'm getting at is if I'm paying for a service, then how is that any different than paying a non-JW plumber, non-JW doctor, non-JW public utilities department, non-JW anything for services or product? I live in a small town where the only swimming pool I can go to for exercise and therapy is at the YMCA. If I wanted to donate money to their cause, that's one thing. But to get a membership (as they call it) or pay dues so I can have access to their swimming pool is considered interfaith? Okay, well if that's the case, then where is the JWCA pool so I can go have my therapy there? Honestly, if your heart is all for Jehovah, and your motive is pure, do you think Jehovah will hate you so much he'd kill you over something like that? What kind of God are they making him out to be?
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Top 10 EASIEST WAYS TO FADE....lets use our new Code words ( I will do 2 of 10 )
by dreamgolfer in1. move out of your assigned congo territory - with gas going back to $ 4 a gallon, they wont come hunting for you.
2. stop going to meetings because you:_______________________________________________.
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silent
I told an elder about all the stupid things people had said and did to me while I was dating my now-wife. I explained how people judged us for meeting online, driving around and doing stuff without a chaperone, and a whole list of negative things. We found out that dating without a chaperone was a non-event. Every single person in my age group that went to my hall while I was growing up is either DF'd or not doing anything with it any more. I remember thinking from a young age that I better not have anything to do with girls because I figured I'd be all caught up with passion and drop my pants and start hammering away. My wife and I had no problems with any of this while we were dating. We were just 2 kindred spirits who wanted to wait until after we were married to have sex. So many JWs minds were in the gutter, they personally marked us and considered us bad association.
So how I faded was I told the elder, "When will all this stupid stuff stop so I can come back?" He had no answer and that was the last time I talked to him.
Wouldn't it better, instead of making all kinds of rules about things, just to tell people what the discipline will be for certain behaviours, and then let them experience the discipline if they make a mistake? Let people live and try to live and if they make a bad decision, well just own up to it and move on. I just wish JWs would treat each other better and treat me better. I enjoy the beliefs but have zero respect for anything that isn't bonafide in the Bible. If it's not in print, I can't go along with it because then you are adding to it.
Maybe how I went wasn't a fade per se, but up until that meeting, I had done a good job. I attended a friend's wedding and got pigeon-holed into a corner at the reception. I told him that's why I sweated bricks and debated going to the reception because I was worried an elder was going to pigeon-hole me and have this discussion - just like right now. I was really agitated.
I'm just sad that I can't worship Jehovah without all the other B.S. that gets in the way. I think underneath the facade that the WTBTS presents Jehovah as, he's a really loving, caring, considerate God and I'd really like to just visit with him personally. I think a chat with him would expose so much of the hurtful rules that are foisted upon us and makes us hurt inside so much. If you really love someone, you don't make up rules that hurt them and tears them down - making them want to kill themselves as was the case with me for so many years.
I've had to fade for my own survival because wanting to die is not a product of a healthy religion.
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Did You Have A Lot Of Meetings With The Elders?
by minimus inwe're you always in the back room with the elders?.
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silent
I used to have lots of meetings with elders. They took issue wtih the most basic of things - namely me just trying to find a wife. She came here from a foreign country (she's a JW) and she stayed in the basement of the house while I stayed upstairs with my brothers who also live with me. They came unglued and said it, "Looked bad." I was ready to call off everything because I hated being in the spotlight. I finally wisened up and just said that after 40 years of dealing with it all - people ratting on me, certain people getting away with things others weren't allowed to, my wife's brothers getting sexually abused by JWs but nothing came of it (because the perps were unbaptized), people spying, my having to take sedatives just to attend a meeting, phone calls about low service time, taking 3 different anti-depressants over the course of 10 years, etc. I just had finally had enough. Surprisingly my depressive episodes have all but vanished, I'm married to my wonderful wife, no more calls, no more guilt trips, no more sedatives, no more feeling like I wasn't good enough, etc. Although we do both suffer from a terrible loss of self-esteem that permeates everything we do and bothers us daily to the point of torment, we still manage and do the best we can. Looking back, growing up a JW was extremely hurtful, debilitating, and it's left us both damaged goods. We hurt a lot inside, but we get up every morning and try our best. If a person sticks to the bible 100% and doesn't add anything and mean ANYTHING (no hourly requirement, no titles for levels of service, no prohibition on college (how in the heck are you supposed to provide for your family and afford health insurance working mential cleaning jobs?) and speaking to people as your heart motivates you to instead of trying to meet some hourly goal, then it feels good and you can see how simple serving Jehovah really is. Man has to add all kinds of things that spoils it for everyone. I see it as protection for the group, not the individual. I mean after all, if Jehovah protects us individually, then how do you tell that to someone who was as JW and execute by the Nazi's. I honestly think what it is, is when Jesus comes back to clean the earth, the WTBTS can say, "We did everything you asked." and covered their rear-ends at the expense of many humble individuals whose hearts and spirits were broken with rigid rules that were created, applied unfairly, and enforced only to a level based upon your service time - none of which the Bible backs up.
Interestingly enough, my wife grew up literally on the other side of the world and in the southern hemisphere and her experiences of being shunned and mistreated (especially for going to school) were the same as mine. And once she finished college, Bethel in her country came knocking and wanted her to work for them. How can they do this when they are busy telling everyone they shouldn't go to school? How did their lawyers earn their degree to practice law? By divine inspriation? I just don't get it why it's okay for some and not for others. We're suffering out here and nobody seems to care.
Sorry for my OTP. I finally don't have to feel bad for being called in for an unfair elders meeting. I told them I hated being in the library and being seen in there and they called me in anyway. I almost killed myself over it - it hurt so bad. I still talk to people about happy things concerning the Bible and a new life and new world where wrongs will be righted. I do this out of my own enjoyment in my heart. I don't turn in my time because I don't like them keeping record of it and using it as a guide to judge me. My time is between Jehovah and myself and I enjoy letting him see into my heart that I'm an honest-hearted person trying really hard to do the right thing. I told the brothers a year ago if they would pay for my anti-depressants and sedatives, I would be able to go back. So far, nobody has offered to pay...
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I Am So Bad~Yard Sale Experience
by StAnn ini went yard saling today.
had lots of fun, got some great bargains.
at one of the yard sale, the people were firm on their prices.
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silent
I had a guy get upset about me seeing a piece of lawn equipment and staying firm at $55. He tried for $45 and got upset when I told him I never sell anything under $50. He scoffed at me and made some off-color remark about my lack of intelligence. He left in a huff and I sold it 4 days later for $55. :)
sign me silent
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16
My brief respite
by silent ini have been so worked up and worried for years about the end and armageddon that i have headaches, depression, and all kinds of maladies.
been having troubles with it since 4th grade and nothing seems to help.
just being at the kingdom hall is mentally taxing, just anything jw is mentally taxing.
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silent
I have been so worked up and worried for years about the end and Armageddon that I have headaches, depression, and all kinds of maladies. Been having troubles with it since 4th grade and nothing seems to help. Just being at the Kingdom Hall is mentally taxing, just anything JW is mentally taxing. Tonight I went over to a gentleman's house to help him work on his computer. He knows me from work, I'm good at computers, and I not only love to fix them but teach people as well so they realize it's just fear of the unknown that makes it scary. The 2 hours I was over there, I completely forgot about Armageddon. We talked about corruption in the workplace, some political issues (of which I could care less), lamented corruption in the legal system, about thunderstorms and tornadoes, etc. I almost didn't want to leave because it meant slipping back into this depression riddled world I live in. "In due season we shall reap if we do not tire out," I think. Something is just really nice about being ignorant of the world scene. It struck me though that the whole reason I have so much trouble with witnessing is because I'm a non-confrontational person and this indeed puts you in a confrontational situation. If only I could have a relaxing chat with some sane JWs about topics such as hobbies and personal interests instead of it being punctuated with guilt and terror. "In the new system where knowledge of Jehovah is commonplace we will have this kind of peace," I think to myself. I find that when you know what the future will bring (good or bad), it completely and utterly ruins your life in the present. Then to know there are tests to determine your "faithfulness" and whether you're fit to live on the earth or not just totally robs the enjoyment of life for me. I actually researched purchasing valium online because one healthy does of that can put you out of your misery forever. I guess I need to read and concentrate more on topics such as God/Jehovah's love, mercy, kindness, as well as Jesus' qualities instead of having this JW-driven idea of the both of them being tyrants willing to kill you at the drop of a hat. It's how I feel all the time. Another thing I noticed at this gentleman's house is that his 2 boys have girlfriends and they have their pictures up all over the house. Just really a nice family-oriented atmosphere. I've noticed that the relaxed atmosphere in "worldly" homes seems to create a nice & loving feeling. I'm sure a fair amount of worldly youth get involved in sexual sins, however I suddenly realized that in an environment as that, even if I had the chance to have sex before marriage with a young lady, I just couldn't do it to her out of respect and love for her. It seems that incessant fear-mongering about sins does nothing but create an atmosphere of distrust and you can't even act like a human being anymore. It struck me then, that a true test of morality is how you behave when you no longer fear discipline for wrong-doing or dwell on the what ifs all the time. All of a sudden, at least to me, it takes away the desire to do wrong. As I kept thinking, I started to wonder, "How many people would still be in the truth if it was discovered that Armageddon wasn't going to come as soon as was thought or that it wasn't going to happen at all?" I imagined that scenario and I felt like a huge burden was lifted off of me. I started to daydream about being loving, enjoying life, and still having disgust and disdain for wrong-doing. What I could do that I enjoy instead of coming to Solomon's conclusion that everything was vanity and consequently making me give up on life?
It's my inordinate fear of death at Armageddon that is tainting my life and then I'm constantly reminded of it. It's a control issue and fear of how you can be killed for the slightest of wrongs that is destoying my joy. I've read about people who are diagnosed with terminal cancer and they, being right-to-die advocates, secure a bottle of nembutal or pentobarbital. The peace of mind that the sufferer gets from being able to end it at anytime gives them such peace of mind that in many instances, they tough it out until the disease takes them. So I'm curious if maybe I would see a huge relief by being able to end it all at anytime myself. It's a weird situation that is born out of feelings of loss of control but it's amazing to me, that by having the ability to end my life at anytime I wanted to, it actually gives me a desire to live to see if living is really worth it or not.
I've already sinned by thinking and by writing this post. Everything's a sin anymore. I've never understood why Jehovah has rules that are so insanely difficult to follow when those of us humans who take the Bible seriously, have to work so hard and put so much effort into just living. When you feel guilty for everything you do, why even bother living?
Any comments into this insight? I'm not really interested in Witness bashing as I am in just plain ol' common sense balance in biblical matters and plucking the brains of like-minded individuals who struggle along these same lines...
sign me silent
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37
How Did You Deal With Weirdo JWs?
by minimus inlet's face it, some witnesses are weirder than others.
we had one certain mama's boy who made sure he was dressed up properly, especially in the winter.
she'd make sure he had his "rubbers", scarf, hat and gloves.
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silent
Reminds me of a sister I dated for a couple of months. I broke it off when I found out her mom ran her bath water. She was 24 years old at the time.
sign me silent
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34
My JW Life... (LONG)
by silent ini never, ever thought i would ever be posting on a board such as this but here i am.
i've been reading the boards for several months and despite my initial conscience twinges, i couldn't help but follow a logical thought process on many issues that were causing me grief.
over this past week, due to the things i've read on here, i've had a massive cloud lift from me and i'm starting to feel joy and love in my heart that i've *never* felt before.
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silent
Than You all again. I'm really starting to appreciate this forum. I always thought that dabbling in this sort of forum would make me spiritually week or take me out of the truth but I'm really starting to feel things inside. Sometimes it scares me. I feel guilty for reading posts on this board but I can't help but feel love inside for all peoples. I don't have to love the wicked/bad things they do nor does it make me want to associate with them. It simply makes me more sympathetic to the victims that we all are on this planet. I had a couple of customers come into my store today and I know they have relatives doing hard time in prison. I just frankly asked them how their relative was doing. They at first acted sheepish and ashamed and I just quipped up and said, "The reason I ask is because I care. We all take different paths in life and some of us take a wrong turn or 2 but that doesn't mean I can't still ask how they are doing." I think the people were shocked that I asked. I even spoke with a gentleman who has a terminally ill wife. My fiance and I went to visit them - not as a formal witnesses thing - but simply to take some motorcycle parts over to them earlier this year. We went in and it wasn't long, this terminally ill lady was in tears because we simply cared enough to step in and visit for a half hour. I was even touched and I usually don't cry.
I see now what I've missed so much is the comraderie of fellow human beings who love and act out of love. I used to be on an antique car forum and was quite revered for my writing style. I miss that admiration but since I've left that all behind, I see that part of being human is really acknowledging that we were created with a need to be loved and to give love back. It helps me understand this whole Jehovah/Jesus/religion thing and helps to solidify and secure good human relations in a way that is necessary when you get to live forever.
I'm so sick of the mindset of having to get in hours and this incessant warning message we are told to give out. Yes it is a warning message and it is urgent but human nature just doesn't respond very well to that. It's too Baptisty-like. Yes, in times past that was required but in this case, you have to feel, love, and sympathize with people - befriend them if you will. Think how Jesus talked to people - he was informal, spoke confidently, and people were drawn to him. Showing up at people's doors with a book bag drives them away.
I hope that sometime in the near future, I'll feel more comfortable to reveal who I am and meet some or all of you in person. I'm not here looking to find fault with the GB - I just find that their approach over all these years has left me with a horrific fear complex and I'm still taking my sedatives trying to shake the pictures that were crammed into my head back in the 70s. Because of that, my entire family doesn't go anywhere or do anything out of this subconscious fear. By their own admission, they are imperfect men and so when I see imperfection, I'm going to do my best to try and perfect it and make it something that works starting with myself.
Thanks for your help all. I'm feeling more and more like living everyday and those guns can stay on the shelf at Walmart. :)
sign me silent