My advice to any lurker:
"Use your loaf" when deciding if this represents God's holy spirit in action.
Posts by freddo
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55
Quality of newer membership
by Lostandfound inon a previous post mamacita29 pointed up the low quality of new jw converts.. is the quality falling even more as the society use lower than low meeting, talks, broadcasts etc.. when i was active initially the organisation and standards seemed totally different today.
i have seen hard working intelligent elders fall by death or exhaustion.
the younger generation that came along never really grasped responsibility hence shortage of good elders, never mind the watered down to almost nothing quality of meetings.
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freddo
In the 60's, 70's and 80's the folk coming in were solid hard working tradesmen, technical bods and salesmen with "stolid" families. Even a few professional types. Convinced by the triple whammy of 6000 years chronology, 1975 and the biggest convincer of all "the generation that saw 1914 would not pass away".
"The generation" teaching kept those of the 1960's going. It made sense. Along with vulnerable housewives whose non-witness hard-working husbands put up with their fantasy of seeing their dead loved ones.
Their kids who stayed became the semi-born in elders of the 70's, 80's and 90's. And their husbands' (dead or alive) pensions and common sense kept the old sisters and widows plodding round the doors.
The early 90's was the last of the "this made sense" time - the Berlin wall came down, (peace and security) the generation was nearly gone, surely Armageddy was upon us!
But it wasn't.
The big "generation" change in late 1995 is the catalyst for when the downward spiral started. For a few more years people could keep the old and the new generation teachings in their heads together. The deceleration would have been quicker after 2000 had not 9/11 occurred to give a little boost for a couple more years. This finally petered out in 2014 when no-one could hold a real generation lasting more than 100 years in their minds.
Those that come in now are increasingly lonely old people (who rarely become publishers) and the mentally ill, vulnerable and frankly useless. I see them - no jobs, single abandoned mothers, unwashed - homeless - on benefits - on drugs.
The quality working classes and thinkers have not been coming in round our way for over fifteen years. The odd ones (very odd) who have seem to rise quickly and burn out quickly - there is always a character flaw that brings them down.
The internet being in your pocket from pre-teen upwards spells doom for any quality coming in to jw's.
I just wish the crash would be fast rather than a very slow crumbling away.
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Daughter FINALLY escaped!
by MindBlown666 inwow....has it been a while!
i hope many of you are doing good!
it's awesome to see many of you holding strong, and keeping the site going!.
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freddo
Woot!
Can you tell us the backstory please?
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freddo
They're not really waiters (cuz they've all been "let go") they're members of the teaching department impressed into service. (Oh the mock humility.) -
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Reveal News: "Jehovah’s Witnesses fight law on reporting child sex abuse to police" by Trey Bundy
by AndersonsInfo inhttps://www.revealnews.org/blog/jehovahs-fight-law-requiring-child-sex-abuse-be-reported-to-police/.
jehovah’s witnesses fight law on reporting child sex abuse to police.
trey bundy, february 1, 2016 .
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freddo
Thank you Barbara - you do a fantastic job. Such bravery to walk away from WTHQ and fight for what is right.
Question: Is this being put out to mainstream news?
I seem to recall a case in North-east England where 3 elders (obviously leant on and "guided" by London branch legal) tried this "confession" defence to avoid giving evidence in court (they weren't charged with a crime because UK does not have mandatory reporting) but they had to testify due to a court order summoning them to do so.
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Baptisms and Assembly attendances
by freddo inlast year we had a thread posting baptisms in relation to assembly attendances.
the numbers seemed to be down.. please keep'em coming.
and describe whether you think they might be born-in (kids/teens) or adults from outside.
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freddo
Any more with any more? -
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2 BOEs arrives!
by Atlantis in2016 march 7, through march 28, answer sheet.. .
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.. .. 2016 revised talk outlines.
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freddo
The Public Talk outlines letter may seem innocuous. But it shows yet more control. Public talks are divided into a few subheadings with the number of minutes allowed for each subheading printed alongside. Typically a 45 minute talk might be:-
Title: Obedience Preserves us Alive!
Introduction: Why we obey Jehovah (5 minutes)
God will bless you if you obey him
God will kill you if you don't
Why We Are Ready to Obey Jesus (3 minutes)
Jesus loves you!
But he will destroy you at Armageddy if you slip up!
Obedience to the Faithful and Discreet slave brings blessings! (30 minutes)
The GB really love you and want you to succeed.
Give us your money
Give us your ice cream money
We want a lakeside apartment so leave us your condo in your will
The GB want you to have a happy life
But if you don't believe the Overlapping Generation or 1914 you're dead.
Be blessed and pet that Panda while eating bowls of fruit in Paradise (7 minutes)
Listen obey and be blessed
Today's trials (that we put upon you) are transitory.
Keep obeying now and for ever!
When elders first had 45 minute public talks reduced to 30 minutes they were given free rein to remove what they liked from each section and were guided to cut each section proportionately. This meant a thinking elder might have a subsection of the talk of e.g. originally 15 minutes which he would reduce to approximately 10 minutes and he could leave out what he disliked and emphasise what he liked within that section.
And no there is no talk (yet!) as I have described above!
Now, just like good old OCLAM meeting, there is less room for freedom.
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Daily Mirror article about JWs destroying evidence
by Tornintwo ini can't see another thread but maybe i missed it:.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/jehovahs-witnesses-paedophile-sex-abuse-7278824#comments-section.
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freddo
@Konceptual - you are 100% correct.
I speak as a U.K. ex elder/ex secretary and as a member of a service committee who sat and went through our congregation records in around 2000/2001 and complied with the branch direction.
EXCEPT FOR CHILD ABUSE CASES - All judicial records (envelopes and contents) were read, noted and destroyed and the basic dates and actions became a one line entry on the "specialised shepherding list". This actually benefited those on the wrong end of a J/C whose notes included how many times they rogered each other and other gory details.
CHILD ABUSE CASES - all records were sent to the branch and the basics were to be put on a congregation "Child Protection File" including whether the "authorities were involved" and who the "alleged victims were" - WHETHER THERE WAS A JUDICIAL CASE OR NOT. A one witness allegation should have been included on this file whether a J/C occurred or not.
I know this for a fact - I kept the files myself as Secretary from 2000 until my resignation in 2004.
EVERY YEAR SINCE a reminder to destroy elders notes as per the form has been sent to the BoE and the Service Committee primarily via the Secretary were to check it had been done.
ALL details of OLD AND NEW CHILD ABUSE CASES WERE to be kept and/or sent to the Branch. Not destroyed.
Looking at Australia and the ARC and their successful subpoena of so many records and elders letters/notes I believe the Branch kept them.
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The wonderful things you hear AFTER you step down as an elder!
by redpilltwice inwell, well, that was quite a heartfelt welcome on this site four days ago.
thank you all for the encouraging replies.
one of them was this one from magnum: "hey now, don't just pop your head in and disappear.
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freddo
@Toesup
And they have huge offices - like a suite really with a massive desk, sofa, big office chair. All overlooking (now) a prime New York area - and soon a luxury apartment over a remote controlled lake.
And power. Power with toadies and flunkies to do your bidding.
1st class flights around the world, staying in prime hotels, chauffeur driven and being butt-kissed by local branch heavies that want to stay in their relatively comfy and powerful positions.
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Good news to report: Congregations merged because lack of attendance, publishers & field service
by Khaleesi inso it's official, i am happy to report that we merged with another congregation having the same problem.
why is it good news???
because people are either waking up, fading or just not buying into this organization any longer or walking away.... i think many young ones are just not buying into it as much, i see many in the congregation i go to very depressed and some i know personally going thru major depression especially the young "sisters" in their early 20s.... .
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freddo
Good news from the south Welsh borders of the U.K. here -
Sometimes they disband a cong. Sometimes they sell a hall and move a complete cong. into share with another.
Just heard that Abergavenny - south east Wales UK - has had its hall closed and they've had to bunk up (i.e. share k. hall) with Ebbw Vale 10 miles away. Lots of very unhappy bunnies there! This is fresh news to me although it may have happened in late 2015.
On the other hand also in 2015 late last year Cinderford on the Gloucestershire/south east Wales border has been disbanded and the publishers split up among nearby halls. (No KH sold in this case)
This means Lydney (now incorporating half of Cinderford) has the hall to itself. And Chepstow, ten miles down the road has a hall to itself as it lost it's sister congregation Caldicot who were moved to the Newport hall in 2014.
Chepstow is now rumoured to be on the hit-list and to be moved in to use Lydney's hall.
And of course it was reported on here that in September 2015, just over the Bristol Channel in England - Portishead and Clevedon lost their hall. Clevedon moved in its entirety to the Weston-super-Mare hall and shares with 3 other congregations. Portishead got disbanded among nearby congs.
Wonderous expansion is truly taking place!
If Britain branch reports an increase next year then I know they "lie like a carpet" in the publisher figures.