Posts by DesirousOfChange

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.

I think they've caught a lot of crap about their pharisaic rules -- "going beyond these necessary things". Beards is just one of the most prominent examples of such and the issues happens to be a BIG issue for so many people because it is sooo obviously BS. Especially when beards have been allowed in some areas of the world, but banned in others. Our kids when only teenagers witnessed this when meeting elders visiting from Australia who all had full beards even though they were one of the "deadly sins" if you wore them here.

Hypocrites were not admired by Jesus either.

16

Help urgently needed.

by MissDaSilva in

jw
friends

a sister has snitched on me.

got a message from my group overseer requesting a little chat to see if i’m okay.

urgent suggestions needed please.

DesirousOfChange

A sister has snitched on me.

I guess it depends what she is saying. That you have doubts? Or, that you're saying "apostate" things? Then Balaamsass gave good suggestions:

Smile, chuckle, and say: I think she/he misheard me. They are confused. etc.

If you want to continue on PIMO, then it's better to smile and deny than to avoid. IMO

5

Beards!!!!! Just knock me over with a feather....

by Captain Schmideo2 in

jw
friends

they finally dropped that shoe!https://www.jw.org/en/news/region/global/2023-governing-body-update-8/?fbclid=iwar3tijct69fal1hlf_ukqsafejckrhuqwwvpyk_6ieulic82suqdnlyhsvm.

DesirousOfChange

It took Jehovah and his stooges decades to catch up

Jehovah's Chariot ain't moving as quickly as it used to do.

Broken Down Wagon | Latindog | Flickr

13

New GB update - beards are now perfectly ok (no really!)

by FFGhost in

to save y’all the agony of having to sit & watch lett (looking even more puffy and jaundiced than the last time), here is a summary:.

beards are now perfectly fine for anyone & everyone, including ministerial servants, elders, and “special full time servants” (cos and betheliites).. but don’t go and feel “vindicated” — even if you knew you were right about beards, you shouldn’t run ahead of jehovah’s “chariot”.. so there you go.. if you need explicit permission from a puffy steroid addled facial contortionist with an increasingly ridiculous combover to make personal grooming decisions…you might be in a cult .

DesirousOfChange

Does this apply to sisters too? ~ Stan

Not sure about beards, but a mustache was never banned for sisters. In our old Cong, there was always old Sister Giocletti who sat in the back row. As a teenager, I was always jealous of her mustache.

70

Beards are now allowed - New Light

by Listener in

lett has announced in the latest video update that jehovah has dignified the brothers by now letting them to choose for themselves whether they want to have a beard or not -.

https://www.jw.org/en/news/region/global/2023-governing-body-update-8/.

this applies worldwide and to all brothers in any position..

DesirousOfChange

After all these years They finally see the need to clarify the issue! Beards have been commonplace for decades and I thought the issue had died the death. It is not uncommon around here ( U K) to see an appointed man with a beard.

Nothing matters until the decision affects the US Branch.

19

The "Problem" With Zoom

by XBEHERE in

jw
friends

here is the org's problem with zoom, attending this way does not fit with their "scriptural definition" of a christian gathering.

at least not anymore, one thing my pimi wife is fine with is attending on zoom occasionally, even 2-3 times a month or so.. if some of you recall, during covid there were break out rooms setup for people to stay on and associate.

many would also stay in the main meeting and talk over each other trying to say hello, etc.

DesirousOfChange

Zoom is just too convenient.

People are busy and stressed out. With Zoom, no "getting ready" for the meeting (except the real diehards who do), and no commute to the Hall and back home (and with Halls having been sold everywhere, many are traveling 10-20 miles in our rural areas).

PLUS, you really do not have to sit there and listen!!! Turn the camera off, mute the mic and open a beer and watch TV.

Elders & MS are getting "orders" to show up in person. They in turn, "encourage" anyone wanting to make points to get appointed to show up in person. Then, there are the lonely people that will show up because it is their social network.

15

It’s started 🤦‍♀️

by MissDaSilva in

jw
friends

i already have a friend who is trying to tell me that my mental health is causing my disillusionment with the jehovah’s witnesses.

funny that a mental health therapist has told me my mental health issues are caused by being a jehovah’s witness.

i’m still not going back.

DesirousOfChange

I already have a friend who is trying to tell me that my mental health is causing my disillusionment with the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Without a doubt, that is because you are now a "mentally diseased apostate".

21

Retirement

by jehovaxx in

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.

DesirousOfChange

But look at all the elderly left out to dry because they never planned for retirement and worked for free all those decades?

Left out to dry? Not true here. ~~Jehovah provides.~~ I mean, the worldly government provides. Those you speak of get a pension at 62 or 66 years of age. If it means they qualify as "low income" then the State also gives them free medical care, free food stamps/vouchers, subsidized low cost housing, and utility assistance. If you wisely saved to have a "comfortable" retirement, you have to pay for all of that out of your retirement income &/or any savings that you accumulated. And, as mentioned........ you also have to pay taxes to provide for those that did not plan for their own retirement.

Of course, those JWs give all the credit to Jehovah. He provides for them, just as he does the birds.

46

Nobody else understands

by ElderBerry in

if you once were fully pimi and truly believed jw doctrine to the core like i once did, when you come to the reality that it is not the truth at all it can be extremely devastating.. i think only other ex jws could ever understand.

i wasted my entire life i thought the real life was yet to come to wasted the best years knocking on doors.

now i’m so angry.. i can understand why so many top themselves when they realise it was all lies..

DesirousOfChange

I met a JW some years ago, not long after I left, 2 years or so, one I would describe as merely "hanging on", as he gave away himself, I asked him why he was still "in", he replied "Because I can't help thinking something is going to happen". ~ Phizzy

I think this is quite common. Consider how many return to meetings after there is any serious concern in the news. Twin Towers 9/11 attack -- That "helped" many see that it was "time to return". Covid19-- same thing.

Of course, according to the Annual Meeting, that is a good position to take. When things look like it's all going to hell, run back in and be saved -- just in the nick of time.

54

What If The Tower Fell?

by Big Dog in

what if the truly unthinkable happened and the tower went down?

perhaps the irs swooped in and claimed fraud and padlocked the headquarters and kingdom hall doors?

or the gb took the money and ran to a nice non-extradition country to live out their years?

DesirousOfChange

the watchtower is falling now
in 2012 the watchtower closed 20 branch offices around the world and
have cut back vastly on the magazines rather than new ones every month they are only 4 times a year or so and
on the carts these past few week they were giving out magazines printed in 2021 and 2020.and
of course they have sold of 1,000s of kingdom halls off ~ PEPPERHEART

I think Pepperheart has it right. Who of us would have believed we'd see all those cut backs in the past 10 year +/- ? (Pepper didn't mention the massive "layoffs" at Bethel)

What more is there to cut? Selling off more Kingdom Halls will likely continue since in-house attendance numbers are quite dismal. I guess they could slow down on the building scale of the new NY video center (is that what it is?). Somehow I guess they are convinced that the video biz is going to be profitable for them?

Still I can't believe they are as bad financially as some think is indicated by their constant begging. How do you sell off 3 BILLION$ on tax free real estate sales and be broke in just a few years? I think they just want to stockpile a large enough nestegg that the investments alone will sustain them forever.