Posts by ambersun

56

Is the Governing Body Guilty or not guilty of 1975 speculations going too far?

by Terry in

the most disengenuous aspect of "official" pronouncements from the society can be identified.. it is in the positioning of the speaker/writer as a passive onlooker commenting on exterior happenings.. this bystander mode is clever by half.. why?

it spoon feeds information without taking any active personal responsibility.. sort of an "oh gee, wow--look at all this going on" stance, while taking a stand-offish tone, is printed in the official magazines and books approved for publication by the governing body as mouthpiece of jehovah.. think about that.

it is insidious incitement without responsibility.. the person (likely fred franz) who crafted these bulletins had gone through several previous incidents of failure and disappointment and was well aware of the effect of any speculations upon jehovah's witnesses in the past.. this makes what was printed all the more calculated and irresponsible in the extreme.. let us parse the language printed by the watchtower society with careful attention to what is said and left unsaid.. w68 8/15 p. 494 why are you looking forward to 1975?.

ambersun

Now that we are down the road in history from when this event was published and we NOW KNOW it was all bullshit it stands as a warning

for all of us that THESE PEOPLE KNEW WHAT THEY WERE SAYING.

The Watchtower Society was being crafty and calculating.

They were trying to have it BOTH WAYs.

Having lived through the Fred Franz era, and having been on the receiving end of the effects of all that mass hysteria I can agree 100% with what you are saying. Franz knew full well what was happening and could have put a stop to it at any moment, but it served his purpose not to do so.

27

I must say goodbye to you all......

by Mr. Falcon in

jw
friends

the fine spiritual information that i recieved at the convention has made an impact on this bitter heart.

i came to realize that what i thought was logical was nothing more than my imperfect heart seeking to be rebellious.

i was so wrong!

ambersun

I quit you beat me to it. I was going to ask him that!!!

53

Do Active Witnesses Find Meetings Exciting?

by Band on the Run in

jw
friends

kh meetings were utter hell.

the boredom, particularly for a child, was awful.

i feel it was a form of child abuse.

ambersun

Our new Kingdom hall doesn't have any windows.

Just the memories of all those glorious summer Sunday afternoons spent inside stuffy KHs listening to monotonous voices droning on and on and on about things you had heard a thousand times before makes me feel .

At least I usually had a window to look out of, and I can remember going into trance like states just watching leaves on nearby trees swaying in the wind. The thought of NO WINDOWS is unimaginably awful

My guess is that we would be amazed at the number of active JWs who find the meetings boring and just endure them every week because they have no choice, but dare not admit it even to themselves!!

LOL at clarity!!!

10

Need help confronting my father..sorry for the length

by grewupjw1969 in

i'm 42 and was a born-in although i have never been baptized.

as a teenager i had a lot of problems and eventually ran away several times.

at the age off eightteen i confronted my dad about an extra marital affair he was having.

ambersun

grewupjw69, I really sympathise with your predicament, and I also agree that a carefully composed letter is the best option as you are in complete control of what you write and your father will be able to read the letter over and over again.

In my humble opinion the letter nugget has composed is perfectly worded and shows compassion, humility, the true remorse of a daughter who has grown up and deeply regrets the hurt she caused him during her younger years, but most importantly, it shows love.

A letter like this will prove to your father that you have not rejected him and that your dearest wish is to re-kindle your father and daughter relationship, which should be a comfort to him at the very least. Even if he does not respond immediately, he may go back to that letter and re-read it and, given a bit of time to digest it, will hopefully respond positively to it.

My very best wishes to you, my dear

8

The Governing Body - Elusive & Strong

by the-illuminator81 in

when it comes to cults, jehovah's witnesses have a very strong hierarchical leadership system.

in many ways it enforces their control on the individual.

one of the tricks is that the lower levels of followers never get direct contact beyond the circuit overseer level.

ambersun

Really good topic. Would the GB have this much impact if all its members were known as individual middle aged and elderly men with faces and names, their background histories and whether or not they were married etc?

My guess is that they would be in danger of being viewed as imperfect humans doing their best but prone to mistakes like the rest of us. They have actually admitted that God does not talk to them directly, which is why 'New Light' has to come out every few years to replace the doctrines they have got wrong.

The subtle way they have changed wording in the songs and the baptism oath placing the emphasis on obeying the Organisation rather than God would raise a few concerns on the issue of idolatry and worshipping men which the bible tells us is deffinately not on. Much better to remain faceless and rather mystical so nobody can actually relate to you.

100

What's the most dumbest/petty thing you've heard of someone being "stumbled" over?

by Reality79 in

- some loser once took offense that i hugged a sister goodbye at a leaving do and ran back to the elders like a little child telling on me.

i was 15, this sister was in her 40s at the time.. - this elder said someone told him they saw me with a copy of the sun newspaper.

yes, this paper is known for its 'page 3' topless girls but far from pornagraphic and i wasn't even thinking along those lines.. - one brother who had a good job was 'counselled' because he was actually able to buy himself nice things including a new car (shock, horror!!

ambersun

lol at watersprout 's comments I had similar experiences!! Not long after we became JWs when I was in my early teens, I got in trouble for being too bubbly and chatty. I was like it with everyone, but because some of the brothers enjoyed my company I was made to feel I was 'leading them on'. I quickly learned there was no such thing as a platonic friendship between the sexes in mid 20th Century JW congregations as sisters were beneath brothers and should not laugh and joke with them as friends unless they were looking for a marriage partner.

I was always being reprimanded for wearing skirts that showed my knees at a time when practically every non JW teenage girl in the Western world was wearing mini skirts that were hardly bigger than belts! I felt dowdy enough as it was and would rather put up with the disapproval and dirty looks than make myself look even more old fashioned and wierd. Oh, those were the days.

100

What's the most dumbest/petty thing you've heard of someone being "stumbled" over?

by Reality79 in

- some loser once took offense that i hugged a sister goodbye at a leaving do and ran back to the elders like a little child telling on me.

i was 15, this sister was in her 40s at the time.. - this elder said someone told him they saw me with a copy of the sun newspaper.

yes, this paper is known for its 'page 3' topless girls but far from pornagraphic and i wasn't even thinking along those lines.. - one brother who had a good job was 'counselled' because he was actually able to buy himself nice things including a new car (shock, horror!!

ambersun

One that sticks in my mind is when I was pioneering back in the late '60s/ early 70s. I was earning a pittance doing a part time cleaning job to help pay my way at home, and barely had enough money to buy myself a new pair of tights each week.

One day while out in field service I told another pioneer that I had the princely sum of £2 in my savings account for emergencies. I expectected her to laugh but instead she looked at me shocked. She really told me off and questioned my faith because if I believed that armageddon was coming any minute, I should not have a savings account.

63

Do You Blame Your Current Life's Issues Because You Were A JW?

by minimus in

jw
friends

do you tend to blame your problems on the fact that you were a jehovah's witness?.

ambersun

Well, there is the small issue of the fact that I am approaching retirement age with just a basic state pension to look forward to, having had no career as a direct result of this:

*** Awake! 1969 May 22 p.15 ***
If you are a young person, you also need to face the fact that you will never grow old in this present system of things. Why not? Because all the evidence in fulfillment of Bible prophecy indicates that this corrupt system is due to end in a few years. Of the generation that observed the beginning of the 'last days' in 1914, Jesus foretold:'This generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.' Therefore, as a young person, you will never fulfill any career that this system offers. So the answer, plain and simple, is yes, but I have still managed to have a happy life with my family so I suppose it's not that much of a big deal really compared to the sufferings going on in the world.

47

The Infamous May 15th 1984 Watchtower "1914: The Generation That Will Not Pass Away"

by PublishingCult in

.

i do not know how the blogger who posted this infamous wt cover (5/15/84) got all the names of those who posed for this magazine cover, or whether the names are even correct, but if he got it right, man, what a provocative statement.. .

ambersun

I can remember being amazed when I first saw that WT back in 1984, thinking even back then how the WTS were really sticking their necks out with that one, and wondered if they were actually painting themselves into a corner. Now, over a quarter of a century later, it is quite obvious that is EXACTLY what they have done! Well done to whoever came up with all the names and dates of all those who were not supposed to 'pass away'.

It would be good if as many JWs as possible could see that updated image. Anyone who had doubted the WTS's teachings on the 1914 generation back in 1984 would have been severely reprimanded if not DF'd. Now, with the 'New Light', we know they will try to excuse it away as being an 'overlapping generation', and most of them will no doubt dismiss it out of hand, but hopefully it might create a spark of doubt in some of their minds.

Again, well done

10

easy work today talking to 6 jw's

by JunkYardDog in

jw
friends

i asked for the mag's then asked them what in the world makes them jw's think they are jehovahs people?

they said the preaching work.

i had a field day exposing the false prophices of the preaching work done by the wts/ jw's just in the last 50 years.

ambersun

It is actually amazing that the sheep have no idea about loads of things that have happened in the JW history.

I quite agree. I tend to forget this sometimes, and recently mentioned Rutherford's mansion Beth Serim to a JW relative who has been in the organisation 50 odd years. I had come to consider all Rutherford's exploits as common knowledge due to the discussions on this board and other sites, Beth Serim being frequently discussed with pictures of it on the internet for all to see.

She had never heard of it!

Trouble is, after a few minutes of explaining all about Beth Serim and why it was built, and how Rutherford had a wonderful time living in it, I could sense the lack of interest. I noticed her eyes had already glazed over and her mind was elsewhere. I saved my breath as there was absolutely no point continuing. Sad.