Posts by hoser

8

Nepotism and Simony

by NotFormer in

i've read on here about connected families within congregations who seem to get all the "privileges".

how likely is an elder's son, or other relative, to rise within the ranks?.

i imagine it's harder to do it that way once you start to ascend the ranks.

hoser

I find that these power families all make sure they are in the same congregation.

We’ve got 2 different families in our hall that compete with each other

9

What If?

by peacefulpete in

recent news about beards is getting lots of attention.

it made me wonder if any guys will return to the church under the impression that 'so much has changed'.

back when, i knew a couple guys who were outspoken about beards, seeing it as an issue, and was never terribly moved by their viewpoint.

hoser

I think they are just lowering the bar a bit as they are desperate for ministerial servants and elders

21

the difference is now blatantly obvious, older ones who went against direction of the gb and planned for retirement have relatively more comfortable lives.. those who trusted and followed gb direction never got further education or training, pioneered or spent most of their lives knocking on doors for free, making just enough to get by in a part time job.. if you followed direction from the gb then you thought the end was just around the corner so no need to plan for retirement.. now these ones have indeed got old which they were given the impression they never would.

they are a burden on others.

the state has to pay for them in their old age.

hoser

They are paying for their social acceptance with their lack of future earning potential.

To be accepted into the jw club and have jw friends you have to follow the social rules which means no college, no missing meetings or service for work. You have to buy the right car, go on the right trips and associate with the right people. The average joe can’t earn or save enough for the future and the borg has convinced many that there is no future in this system. Because of this false belief many jws have some serious money management issues.

46

What do you think?

by Tahoe in

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hoser

Vidiot:

I made a mistake. It’s actually 5 congregations turned into one! One of the last closings actually amalgamated with a nearby congregation 15 years ago.

46

What do you think?

by Tahoe in

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hoser

The congregation I formerly attended now holds the territory of 3 former congregations. So 4 congregations is now one aging congregation of 50 publishers. I’m not too sure how many attend but I know their preaching territory is over 15,000 square miles. There used to be well over 300 publishers in these congregations.

There is a congregation about 100 miles from that congregation that is on life support from SKE grads that I expect to be closed soon.

The congregation that I am currently marginally associated with amalgamated with another a few months ago. Two former congregations of over 100 publishers each and now the typical Sunday meeting attendance is 40 in person and 30 on zoom.

Today a 70 year old long time elder ran the mike for the entire watchtower study as there are few qualified brothers to do it.

Yes, COVID broke the spell

49

The ''dreaded'' birthday cake

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

the watchtower—study edition | september 2023. study article 39. let mildness be your strength.

11 if a workmate asks, for example, why we do not celebrate birthdays, consider: could he be wondering whether we are allowed to have a good time?

or might he feel that our position will dampen the company’s team spirit?

hoser

The jw birthday ban is all about control of who you associate with and splitting up families.

It’s all about manipulating cult members and keeping them in the cult

65

Just had a thought…

by Vidiot in

i been reading quite a few experiences on reddit lately, and their seems to be a common theme coming up….

…dialed-up-to-eleven shunning of xjws by their witness relatives.. it reminds me of back in the day, listening to some of the over-the-top vitriol displayed by hard-core loyalists when the topic of evolution or apostates came up….

…i was gobsmacked when i finally realized these guys weren’t offended and indignant because they thought it was lies….

hoser

Diogenesister

It’s happened to me as well. I was always the one that got blamed for others misdeeds for some reason.

I had a workplace incident many years ago that I am still blamed for that has been proven to be another employees fault.

There are bad, manipulative people everywhere unfortunately. The lowest person seems to always take the fall.

65

Just had a thought…

by Vidiot in

i been reading quite a few experiences on reddit lately, and their seems to be a common theme coming up….

…dialed-up-to-eleven shunning of xjws by their witness relatives.. it reminds me of back in the day, listening to some of the over-the-top vitriol displayed by hard-core loyalists when the topic of evolution or apostates came up….

…i was gobsmacked when i finally realized these guys weren’t offended and indignant because they thought it was lies….

hoser

Gotta blame the subordinates for a problem that they never created or have the authority to fix.

That CO should have been yelling at the governing body. They created this problem, it’s up to them to fix it.

42

Still no U turn on vax mandates for all schools

by ExBethelitenowPIMA in

you still have to be fully vaccinated to attend any theocratic schools.

elders and ministerial servants have their kingdom ministry school every year, the cobe of every congregation has to check that everyone is fully vaccinated.

after the school everyone will ask any bothers who were not there why not?

hoser

I was raised in a 1970’s jw household and thought that jws were anti vaxxers.

Maybe my parents/grandparents were still reading the shit judge Rutherford wrote in the 1930’s

68

Governing body

by moley in

are the governing body really in charge or are they just a figurehead with the real power being behind the curtain .

hoser

Are the governing body in charge?

Yes and no

Watchtower is a corporation riding on the inertia of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Eventually the momentum ends and the object ceases to move.

They are just following what the previous governing bodies did, tweaking the teachings when circumstances force them to.

Covid was the game changer for this cult. The gb quickly adapted to zoom and people stayed at home for 2 years. They patted their backs about how Zoom was a blessing from Jehovah. When it was time to go back to the Kingdom Hall most realized that they could still do zoom.

When me and the missus go to the in person meeting we see a half empty Kingdom Hall, and this is from 2 former congregations as we have combined with another hall. This tells me that 75% of the publishers have vanished …..just like smoke!