Posts by mustang

60

What non-issues did you get "counseled" about?

by rebel8 in

jw
friends

i was "counseled"* for being mad that my jw boyfriend began dating my sister.

it was wrong of me to have feelings.

any embarrassment i felt was due to being puffed up with pride.

mustang

I'd confided in an elder that I was struggling to budget our very limited income.

You weren't read your rights, either: 'Everything you say WILL be used against you' (forget the 'can and WILL BE': they go straight to WILL BE)

I even rated a local needs talk (my finest hour)!

A success story; just made me think: I left before "Local Needs Talks".

I was once counseled for having a Stephen King book in my house.

I got a Shepherding Call (special trip, just for that reason) for subscribing to Analog: Science Fiction, Science Fact. Thinking back, I'm wondering who ratted me out...

I got another Shepherding Call for going to night school.

These days, that would cost lots of gasoline; a "green congo" would probably have a "Local Needs Talk" about consolidating your evildoing so that the Elders didn't have to make two trips!!!

slight difference between my garage band and a world-touring chart-topping iconic rock group.....

you too can still push pianos out of hotel windows, into the pool: you just need to pay for everything and yell 'Look out, below"; the difference is that your agent would pay the bills or you would have to pay them yourself

Rebel, all the stuff you mentioned was hyper 'over the top', but not unusual; screw the micromanaging, its a bit too much.

My father gave me hell over many things, mostly meetings, service and such: I was about to tell him that if he wanted to run my life, I would sit back and let him do it for me; and if he screwed up, his ass was grass. I just quit talking to him.

The last year or so that I showed up, I rode a motorcycle, cowboy boots, Army jacket and such to the KH. An aspiring MS threatened me on the sly: not counseled, THREATENED ME. I just smiled: I was moving on.

Mustang

36

Asperger's Syndrome

by Mulan in

jw
friends

has anyone heard of asperger's syndrome?

i was doing research the other day, for someone, and came across this disorder.

in reading it, i am positive both my youngest son and his wife have it.

mustang

Still reading, but look into PDDNOS, also.

Mustang

34

Being new we invited 30 brothers over for dinner. We got an invite once?!

by Witness 007 in

whats the deal.

i moved to a new congregation and wanted to slowly each weekend invite all the brothers over to get to know them.

the drill was we had a barbie with red wine and music.

mustang

Personally, I generally don't like people. Strange as that may sound. I am very antisocial. I hate large crowds of people. I have no problem standing on a stage giving an hour sermon, or leading a study, but once I'm off the stage, don't talk to me.

Can I see something wrong here? Should I see something wrong here? I see individuality. I see what WTS suppresses.

But I recollect (James, I believe) the Bible writer saying that "I give some as teachers, some as.. (other)...". As odious as James was, he recognized the individual. James is the one that pushed works and that is necessary for the Churches (RCC & WTS and others) to beat you with to keep you in submission. Yet he could see different people with different talents and different needs. What a contrast

WTS can't admit to this or they would come unglued: they can't allow for individuality.

Mustang

34

Being new we invited 30 brothers over for dinner. We got an invite once?!

by Witness 007 in

whats the deal.

i moved to a new congregation and wanted to slowly each weekend invite all the brothers over to get to know them.

the drill was we had a barbie with red wine and music.

mustang

It just occurred to me: some threads in the past have indicated that JW's were little more than a "social club" or "social thing". Frankly, that is where religions function best.

But now, WTS has become a "social club" where you can't socialize? What's your definition of HELL

Mustang

34

Being new we invited 30 brothers over for dinner. We got an invite once?!

by Witness 007 in

whats the deal.

i moved to a new congregation and wanted to slowly each weekend invite all the brothers over to get to know them.

the drill was we had a barbie with red wine and music.

mustang

Of course, that was the late 70's, early 80's and I was out in around 81.

Similar time frame, here. When I left ~35 years ago, there was still a fair amount of socializing (wide scale gatherings) and definitely smaller 'group things' that happened on the "extracurricular" side.

The congo I was in had a SPECIAL circumstance that made that either possible or a necessity; I won't go into that, for not revealing too much personal detail, U know :)

But I take it the Association Police have tightened up things so that they discourage gatherings, maybe even small 'hanging out' sessions.

So, now every JW-ite is to go to meetings, then retire to their own little warren and discourage approach, I take it.

Frankly, the extracurricular was the only thing that made WTS-ing survivable.

I've learned a new objection to tell to the JW who might some decade show up at my door.

Mustang

15

If JWs are very honest, do you think they will have more members?

by asilentone in

jw
friends

mustang

Disclosure?

It's part of their strategy to avoid or deflect the negative features. It's the Sin of Omission versus the Sin of Commission. I don't know if this was conscious (by design) or not conscious (by accident or evolution). I put it down to what works, works and they semiconsciously adapted the favourable strategy.

Damn WTS: preaches against Evolution and couldn't survive without Natural Selection

Mustang

16

Field Service Spies

by cameo-d in

please excuse my ignorance.

enquiring minds just want to know.. when you visit someone in field service do you give a report with information about that person or household?.

is there a pattern of requirements that you must fill out, like number in household, spoke to male or female, something about their attitude?.

mustang

This is curious. Did you have to turn in "progress reports" of your studies? Questions they had or challenges? Did you have to make a final report to turn in as explanation to why a person might have discontinued the studies?

No; and as with the other info, JW's (including HQ) is not really in the "census business". All this ever was for was to help you get back to ones who might go further with "the Troof(tm)". That became your personal "database" for making RV's (Return Visits, Back Calls in my day). The NH's (Not @ Homes) also helped for that, too.

It was up to you to develop your own format of using the forms or your own pocket memo pad. The only time I ever encountered any queries on this was when working with the Circuit Overseers (Servants): they would occasionally counsel you on "developing good habits" or would nod approvingly if you already used some recording method.

I've known of publishers to mark down houses with vicious dogs.

The mass of data that you first inquired about would overload NSA's supercomputers.

Mustang

15

How is the WT unique?

by isaacaustin in

jw
friends

the org claims to be the true religion due to being the only ones correct on not believing in hellfire, the trinity, soul, staying out of politics, being the only ones to preach, etc.. none of these above are unique to the wt.

hellfire/trinity are not subscribed to by christadelphians...most religions preach in ways other than door-knocking- my church has so many missionary outreaches going on my head spins.

jws are the only org that counts their hours preaching.

mustang

They have a bunch of what I call Left-Field Doctrines. I was going to make a list, once, but didn't. The several that I remember are:

Interfaith: don't mix with other faiths, "Babylon-phobia"

No Clergy-Laity Distinction: all are ministers, via preaching; there is to be no pew-sitting drone class. JW's drones are just dumbed down and mind-numbed.

Field-Service [FS]: "Thou shalt go door-door"; we will give you some distorted stretch of the bible for the basis, but get your bun$ out there and parade down a street.

Earthly Hope: on a Paradise Earth; does anybody else do this one, throwing in everlasting life?

I mentioned this lack of being unique earlier in the gigantic thread responding to Reniia. I expressed my doubts that JW FS was what the scriptures had in mind.

Following that, if the WTS does "go mainstream", and I discount the FS, what point are they as a religion?

And since they treat their people worse than dirt, being a modern day incarnation of the Puritans [improved, modernized uniform included] with a bit of Pharisee thrown in, what possibly could be their appeal?

Mustang

8

The writing on the wall. The end is coming!

by easyreader1970 in

jw
friends

my lovely wife is planning for the end of the world now.

as i said in a previous topic, she is in a fever over the announcement.

this is a sort of paraphrasing of her commentary:.

mustang

Now that they are ending the arrangement, there was wisdom in that since you can't effectively get to know people at the Kingdom Hall!

Huh??!!! I never had any problem meeting who I wanted at the KH; or avoiding them, for that matter.

When I went to book studies most people just left as quick as they could anyway since most had jobs to work the next day.

This could slow down things, but done properly, I could say hi and arrange to get together for whatever reason later. I still say , HUH???!!

I guess they don't want people to have a chance to be drawn to anyone. Every time anyone draws close to someone else, they will bust it up and expect the witnesses to go along with it.

I suppose that in the 30+ years I've been gone, the Association Police could have gotten tougher. I'd like to hear more about this: is this a noticeable trend? Any policy or announcements about such?

Mustang

24

Ownership of Kingdom Halls secretly turned over to Watchtower org!

by kool aid man06 in

jw
friends

the watchtower org.

is nothing more than a business masquerading as a religion.

the conference call this sat.

mustang

A KH in use has no monetary value to them in their nonprofit structure. It must
be sold or rented out. Renting to your own members is a sound idea, but it
causes profit from rent. Instead, they get the members to simply donate the
money to the worldwide work out of love/guilt/pressure. No profit.

Be careful to not confuse REVENUE with PROFIT.

Rentals = REVENUE

Donations = REVENUE

Rentals + Donations = REVENUE

((Rentals + Donations) or (REVENUE)) - EXPENSES = (LOSS [Red ink]) or (ZERO [Non-Profit Balance]) or (PROFIT [Black ink])

There could be other sources of REVENUE; but these two are sufficient for illustration.

EXPENSES are the controlling term here. EXPENSES are used to drive the books to the desired ZERO = Non-Profit Balance.

You are in the Black: danger, Will Robinson, PROFIT: BUY SOMETHING NOW!!!

You are in the Red: danger, Will Robinson, LOSS: INCREASE DONATIONS, RENT SOMETHING, GET A JOB, NOW!!!

The books BALANCE: Relax, Will Robinson.

IOW:

Rentals could be a PROFIT or a LOSS; but they are still REVENUE.

Donations could be a PROFIT or a LOSS; but they are still REVENUE.

The Balance Sheet is God

Mustang