respectful_observer

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Posts by respectful_observer

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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.
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  8

  Who could tell me the current WT stance on JW's Facebook, etc.use?

  by Glander in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  seems that over recent months that jw's were being forbade to participate due to interaction with mentally deseased apostates.

  has this been softened?

  i have a reason for asking.. i use the word "current" because it seems the watchtower "use by" dates are getting shorter all the time.

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  respectful_observer

  Pretty much "if you choose to use it, don't abuse it." I've never read in any publication, nor heard from any stage that JWs are forbidden to use it.
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  15

  You can now get into debt using credit cards to donation to the JW's

  by life is to short in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i knew this was coming but to actually see it was another thing.. i am a huge dave ramsey follower where he hates debt and charging on credit cards.

  he totally feels everyone should be out of debt and pay cash only.

  that everyone needs to do plastic plastic surgery to cut up their credit cards.

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  respectful_observer

  On a related note, they read a letter from the Branch at the Service Meeting this week highlighting several ways you can contribute electronically to the World Wide Work TM . One method was by sending an email to the branch (specific email address was provided) with "Donor ID Request" in the subject line. They will assign you a specific donor ID that you can include in the reference line of any checks you send them via online banking (even for monthly recurring payments, as was pointed out in the letter!). I suspect the donor ID makes it easier for everyone to track for receiving an acknowledgement letter from the WTS annually for tax purposes.

  R_O
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  62

  Rumor: April 3, 2015 start of Great Tribulation?

  by Londo111 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  on another forum, somebody mentioned that there is a growing belief with those high up in watchtower hierarchy that the great tribulation will begin april 3, 2015. evidently, one has to check the skycharts for that date and compare with 33 ceand also compare with the history of jws for past 40, 80, 120 years.

  dont ask me to verify the rumor...these things come and go.

  im sure lots of people in hq believe all sorts of things.. .

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  respectful_observer

  I'm guessing that the GB will eventually announce in a not-so-distant future Annual Meeting that the GT has already begun, but INVISIBLY, so only JWs realize it (just like JWs were the only ones to recognize Christ's invisible return in 1914, even though the earthly signs (WWI) were there for everyone to see). Imagine the surge of activity and flood of inactive TM ones that would come back (similar to post 9/11)....for about 18 months.

  The convenient thing (for the GB) about the GT is that there's no definite length to it, so this invisible version can drag on for as long as needed!
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  28

  Blood Ban Witch Hunt in Progress

  by 5go in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  i have had my own power of attorney drawn up and sent to my non jw family to void out my old card.

  but now the society is pretty much forcing the issue on everyone with the emergency contact information (witchhunt) gathering drive every year and basically not taking a no for an answer fill it ot or get pulled in back.

  well i am giving them the big fu this time i filling their card out but listng my non jw family on it as the contact and then filling yet another power of attornty to void out their stupid card again..

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  respectful_observer

  I wonder if what the WTBTS is doing with the DPA scams is a violation of HIPPA laws. What are they doing to keep your information secure. Keep in mind the HIPPA law is over 17,000 pages.

  ..............................................

  That's stance I would take. "Actually Br., since my DPA is part of my medical records HIPPA laws apply here and I don't feel that comfortable having part of my medical records out there. The laws around storing medical records are so complicated, I'm surprised the congregation has subjected itself to complying with HIPPA regulations."
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  27

  We are "On the doorstep of the New World" (Awake!)

  by Splash in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  anyone see that quote in the latest magazine?.

  in full it says:.

  "since the things are happening today that jesus told us about, we know that we are right at the very doorstep of the new world, the world to come.

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  respectful_observer

  The door must be locked and someone forgot the keys.

  Or maybe it's just "Home but Hiding TM ".