respectful_observer

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Posts by respectful_observer

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  37

  When "The Persecution" Comes - What a Let Down that turned out to be!

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  when i was young there was endless speculation about "the persecution".

  i have very clear memories as a child sitting in the old kingdom hall in coatbridge hearing it talked about from the platform.

  it was a frequent topic at home.. sometimes there was lurid detail about what sort of torture "they" might use against us to make us betray others.

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  respectful_observer

  I remember my father having two copies of the oh-so-precious Congregation Contact List (only elders were permitted to have it), listing all the friends' phone numbers and addresses. We were under strict orders that, if persecution were to suddenly break out and he was at work, it was our job to tear them up into little pieces and flush them down the toilet so the police would have a harder time tracking down the friends.

  I also recall having a reversable coat when I was young. I remember speculating how it would be that much easier to escape from the police out in service now that I had this fancy new coat.
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  42

  Why do all the COs have food intolerances/allergies/special dietary requirments?

  by Julia Orwell in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it's a well known phenomenon i've observed from jwn, my own cos. a new co we had once who was fresh from being a normal elder and after a couple of visits he said, "well i've finally become a true co...i now have food intolerances.".

  i mean, only once did my husband and i ever have a co around for dinner and they couldn't eat this, he couldn't eat that, she couldn't eat this...it was so hard to cook something with none of the zillions of things they were 'allergic' to.. and then after all that the wife couldn't come anyway because she had a naturopath appointment or something.. why do all co's seem to have weird dietary problems?.

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  respectful_observer

  I've been told by more than one CO that it's the only way they can have some semblance of control over their diet. When left to the their own devices, the friends TM will typically make that "special meal" with rich cream sauces, or will make the "budget" meal, which is typically some type of pasta dish. If they didn't give the friends some type of guidelines, they'd be putting on 20 lbs a year and need bypass surgery by 45.

  I can sympathize somewhat. When I have lunch meetings and conferences, they turn into carb fests. I've seen colleagues ask for a special gluten-free meal, only so they can take a break from the carbs.

  R_O
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  23

  Jehovah's Witnesses calling us "mentally diseased" hits Danish media

  by Amelia Ashton in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/2013/07/25/151958.htm.

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  respectful_observer

  I love the Google translation:

  " When Jesus walked on earth, he called his religious opponents married long-fry."

  "Did you hear what happened with Andre and Susan? They're married long-fries now!"
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  221

  What JW catch phrase DRIVES YOU NUTS!!!!

  by megaflower in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  "we should be mindful".

  grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

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  respectful_observer

  During the prayer:

  "Jehovah, we thank you for the provisions you provide."

  (Yeah, my eyes are open during the prayer.)
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  28

  100% pure unadulterated speculation - what changes would a "New New World Tranlsation" contain?

  by sir82 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  on this thread:.

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/257481/1/i-cant-find-any-bibles-seems-to-be-a-shortage.

  some (well, me, mostly) are speculating that the wts is planning to distribute a "new new world translation" some time soon.. if that is true, what changes do you think they would include?.

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  respectful_observer

  I'd laugh if they managed to slip in some Org buzzwords into the NT (e.g., "those taking the lead" becomes "elders and MS's; Barnabas and Timothy become "District Overseers", the "Governing Body" rules on the circumcision issue, etc.)
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  33

  Who still goes to meetings and out in field service?

  by SloppyJoe in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just curious as to who on here still regularly attends meetings and goes out in service?

  as i sit at the district convention i can't help but think who else out in the crowd is just like me.

  doesn't believe what they hear, but are still here..

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  respectful_observer

  We are still regular meeting attenders. My other half, although not "awake", doesn't really like going to the meetings and finds them even more of a chore than I do, which makes it easy when "better offer" comes along-- friends from out of town, a brunch invite from non-JW friends, beach weather...you get the idea.

  As for service, we're techinically "low hour publishers" TM on paper, but in reality we haven't been out door-to-door in almost 3 years. Thankfully, no one seems to really notice, or is willfully blind to the situation. We're well-liked in the hall, good speakers and regular, eloquent commenters, so we've been able to fly under the radar for quite a while now. My other half never complains about getting to sleep late on the weekends, but will occassional express feelings of guilt around this.
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  36

  Zealous Witnesses who never had children and regret it now.

  by MsGrowingGirl20 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i had two close friends in the org.

  one is in her early thirties and got married last year and the other one is single and in her late twenties.

  after reading coc, i couldn't help but feel sad at how ray and his wife felt regret at putting the religion first and not having any children.

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  respectful_observer

  I also wonder how many couples there are where at least one person is "awake", but with family keeping them in they are afraid to have kids because then they're forced to either start indoctrinating their young kids or take a stand and suffer the consequences. So instead they choose not to have kids to continue flying under the radar.
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  36

  Zealous Witnesses who never had children and regret it now.

  by MsGrowingGirl20 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i had two close friends in the org.

  one is in her early thirties and got married last year and the other one is single and in her late twenties.

  after reading coc, i couldn't help but feel sad at how ray and his wife felt regret at putting the religion first and not having any children.

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  respectful_observer

  It's funny...I've actually never really felt like there was pressure on couples to NOT have kids in the area where I grew up-- or maybe it's more generational. I feel like couples who have the means and circumstances to have children and DON'T are looked at with suspicion. There are quite a few couples in my area who both work full time at decent jobs and choose not to have kids and they are constantly badgered by those of the 50+ crowd with statements like:

  "Oh, we wish you two would finally just start a family", or

  "It's such a shame that none of you couples seem to be having kids", or

  "It's so sad. When we were younger, everyone had 3 kids by your age. There were little ones running all over the hall after the meetings. Hardly anyone has kids these days."

  Then you watch the looks on their faces when you reply:

  "I'd love to have kids too, but given the fact that only 1 in 3 kids stay in 'The Truth' TM , I really don't want to take those chances of never getting to talk to my kids or grandkids someday. Would YOU play those odds?"

  They get this depressed/forlorn/sad look of realization across their face and mutter something about "well I'm sure that wouldn't happen in your case" and quickly end the conversation.

  R_O
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  36

  The Pecking Order Of Jehovah's Witnesses

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  they don't realize it but there is a pecking order.

  you especially see it when the circuit overseer comes by.

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  respectful_observer

  I think this is the current pecking order:

  
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  78

  Crazy JW chaperon Stories

  by superman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the jw's must not trust their members or at least don't have too much faith in them when it comes to being alone around member of the opposite sex.

  i can remember one time in particular from when i was a teenager that still makes me laugh today.. when i was younger i used to go out in service on a regular basis during the week when i had summer break.

  one time when i met for service there were only two other people that showed up.

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  respectful_observer

  When I was dating someone in my congregation, we got pulled aside one day because someone has seen us....walking down the street together without a chaperone!!!

  Her parents also insisted that we take seperate vehicles to drive 2 hours to visit them, and that we'd have to sleep in different houses upon our arrival. We were both adults with our own homes. After double-checking the WT CD-ROM (yeah, we actually wasted the time doing that), our response to them was: "Well it's your house and so we'll respect your rules. We've done the research, and unless you can show us from the WT that two dating adults must always travel with a chaperone and cannot sleep under the same roof (in sep bedrooms obviously), I guess we'll never get to visit you as a dating couple." Two days later they called back and said one car and sleeping under one roof would be fine.

  As an aside, I think it's hysterical that the Bethel dating rules mandate a chaperone in many circumstances, but strangely enough, a Bethelite is aloud to have his girlfriend alone in his room...as long as the door is open. Anyone who has spent any time at Bethel knows that the corridors there are ghost towns 95% of the time. Even if the door WAS open, how many random Bethelites would just wander into a random room just because the door was open. I can only imagine the amount of hanky panky that has occurred under that "open door" policy.