a hypothetical question.. at a minimum, what evidence would it take to prove that the society is trying to quietly shed publishers?.
now, i don't think we have evidence of this yet but that doesn't mean it could never happen.
we must consider where the trends of magazine/literature cuts, branch office sales, coerced contributions, bethel/do layoffs, and emphasis on jw.org lead us.. otoh, you might argue that there would never be a deliberate move to get rid of them, just moves that discreetly abandon them.
Most recent converts are coming from the Third World. Europe is a wash. The U.S. may be a wash as well, except for immigrants from poor countries. I don't know where these facts fit into the speculation that they're trying to reduce numbers, but it must have some relevance.
If they really wanted to reduce the number of publishers, it seems like they might just pull out of the poorest nations.
http://gotoby.com/news/article/2245/watchtower-buys-former-faa-training-facility-in-palm-coast-for-$7025000.
watchtower buys former faa training facility in palm coast for $7,025,000the facility was owned by embry riddle and had been leased to the faa.
watchtower plans to use the facility in much the same manner as did the faa.by toby tobinadd a comment palm coast, fl june 30, 2014 watchtower, an entity ofjehovahs witnesses, purchased the former faa training facility in palm coast from embry riddle aeronautical university for $7,025,000.
AndDontCallMeShirley pointed out that JW's are cheap. The fact is that they are also poor and uneducated, not the sort of people who want to acquire a taste for fine food and fine wine or buy great books or classical music. Mind you, I am generalizing here. I'm sure some JW's are well off and highly cultured (?) and will contribute to the local economy in the manner befitting their station in life.
well you are in luck, oak ridge national laboratory in.
tn offered a class for their 4000 employees from 90. different countries, get this,a class that teaches how to.
minimice a southern accent.
This is a thread I have to chime in on. I am originally from the heart of Appalachia, Tennessee on the Kentucky and Virginia border. My grandparents spoke a strong Appalachian dialect, and I lived with the for the first 10 years of my life. Then, when I was about to go into 6th grade, I had to go live with my parents in Ohio. It was torture. I was already shy and withdrawn, but being around all of those northern city folks made me want to be swallowed up by the ground. I had spent my life among simple people with simple ways.
We lived in what were considered slums then or now. My teacher had an attitude toward me because I don't think she believed I was really at the level I tested at. My sister felt the same way, as she had gone through the first three years of school with me in Tennessee and Kentucky, attending 2-room and 4-room schools with kids from families like ours - uneducated and backward.
Eventually, I learned to speak with a midwestern accent and still do to this day. When I went back home, however, I lapsed back into my old drawl so my friends wouldn't think I felt superior because I was "talkin' proper."
Appalachian Americans ("hillbillies") speak much more like colonial Americans. My linguistics professor in college said that it was "the purest form of the English language." A paper sack was a "poke," and sitting on my grandma's lap was being "nussed." I do not regret having the hillbilly experience in my early life. It helped me understand where food comes from, appreciate what animals do for us all, and understand how relatively wealthy I have become. Our ancestors in the hills had to be resourceful and clever to survive. I am honored to call them my kin.
what happens if someone returns to the congregation but stays inactive?
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what happens if someone returns to the congregation and does not meet with the elders to "confess" their sins while away?.
What happens is not so cut-and-dried. It depends on a lot of factors, such as (1) are you from a prominent family in the borg? (2) is there anyone on the body of elders or elder's wife or wives who do not like you? (3) do you believe the borg has the truth, but no one else does?
I agree with Honesty. Why would you put yourself through that kangaroo court drama just so you can be their slave again?
I hope you find the answers to your questions but without the mental lashing of a committee meeting.
after reading from another thread, i felt it was worth asking this question.. if you left the borg on your own, have you attempted to meet others whom you used to be connected with while you were "in", but who have also become ex-jw's before or after you have left the wts?
if that's the case, has it remained a friendship, or the connection grew cold?
just curious as to what keeps friendships "stick" [or not] once you no longer have the borg's doctrinal glue.. your experiences are welcome.. eden.
The last congregation I was associated with is far away from where I live now. However, thanks to Facebook, I am in touch with one former "sister" in particular who I'm very fond of. A young man, who was only a child when I left, has also friended me on Facebook. Locally, I have LV101 and flyingfreefaerie. I have had a couple of phone conversations with a former elder I met on this board who lives not too far away.
I find comfort in having these people to talk to from time to time. I think it's similar to men (and women perhaps) who have been in combat together in a war. There's a cameraderie that outsiders can't relate to.
I have also been to several apostafests, but never met anyone at any of them that I had known as JW's. Still hoping.
today i was at the meeting (i go there about once a month now).
in the service meeting they had a part where they interviewed the secretary of the congregation.. so one question was: "why are the service reports so important?".
our secretary explained that the reports are important, because the elders can see, who is spiritually weak.
Let them live on fear! Is dying at Armageddon worse than this sh*t? I don't THINK so!
its not easy being an introvert in an extrovert worldespecially when youre a kid.
it is even more difficult if none of the adults in the kids life recognize that the child is an introvert.
this doesnt happen only when the childs parents are extroverts, but also with introverted parents who have never understood their own introverted nature.. .
Amerian culture highly favors people with great social skills. It's hard on introverts to go to job interviews and not look disinterested or "standoffish." My mother told me that I was "standoffish." Both of my biological parents had excellent social skills, They were ignorant as a box of rocks, unmotivated to achieve anything, and violent - but people loved them because they had the "gift of gab" and seemed so down home and folksy. As for my "career" success, I learned that working for temp agencies would get me hired much faster than an interview because they could see that I was capable even though I was quiet and withdrawn.
In the '70's, I recall a Watchtower article that recommended not being an introvert (and, to some degree, it might be a choice?) but, rather, a "happy, loving extrovert." I maintain that extroverts are neither more happy nor more loving than introverts, though I can understand how it might appear to be the case.
As I've gotten older, I've come out of my shell a lot. After having to look for jobs for much of my life, endure countless interviews, and interact with crazy religious people and wacky co-workers, I've learned to appear more friendly and talkative.
I, and most introverts, I would wager, like myself just as I am and cannot see the possibilty of any growth or gain by not being just the way I was made.
i just spent 30 minutes writing this story and lost it all before i hit submit.
i'll try to be brief.. last night a former co-worker of my wife's called saying he was on his way to the house to drop off a job he would like her to do.
we haven't seen him in over 8 years.
Great story! I believe you've started him thinking. I think you'll see him again. Please keep us posted as he wakes up!
ok, i'll admit it...i am weak.... as everyone knows, the pressure to "pioneer" during "the most momentous, awesome, amazing, centenary anniversay of jesus invisble kigdom rule, & distribute tracts about a dodgy website" campaign is very strong at the moment.... also, many will have read my threads about the extreme views and expectations in our cong for "all appointed men to pioneer" etc..... every elder and ms and their families have been announced as pioneering....i mean everyone's name was read out except mine..... i was not going to do it, as i do not believe anyone should be forced...(and of course its the last thing on earth i would rather do anyway since learning ttatt).
but i am not quite ready to make the break yet, so i realised that i would stand out more if i didnt put in a form to pioneer.
yes it would make me more conspicious, and make fading harder to do...it would bring more heat on me if i didnt pioneer.. so i gave in and submitted a form.... now, of course, i'm only going to make sure i'm seen at the key field service groups etc...but then go and do something more interesting...like count blades of grass..... ahh....i feel hypocritical to myself now......
Maybe you could slip a small piece of paper inside the tract with JWFacts' web address.
Otherwise, take your time, walk slowly between houses, sit and chew the fat with householders about non-JW stuff, take frequent breaks, take along something to amuse yourself, and write a journal about your experiences. Then share all the info with us. I hope it's fun and interesting.
i phoned my sister and she told me that the elders called her to visit her again the next saturday morning.
you can read the issues discussed in the past two visits:.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/medical/281372/1/elders-answer-questions-about-the-changes-of-the-blood-ban#.u9e2dnlyops.
Your sister does not need to meet with them if she does not want to. If she wants to, she needs to be well prepared for the possibility that they are coming to find out if she is still "loyal to the organization," and to measure her response very carefully. Personally, I would make it clear to them that I stood by what I said earlier and saw no need for further discussion.
If the elders want to visit somebody, one cannot know in advance what their motive is, but there's at least a 99.99999% chance that it is not to tell you that you've been a "good girl or boy."
Please keep us posted as to whether she meets with them and what the outcome is.
