gossipy, jealous, suspicious, scorekeeping, hierarchical, bored, critical, goofy, presumptuous, and nosy
Hey you are describing my elder body to a tee.
i grew up in the borg and can remember feeling a disconnect with the portrayal of witness behavior in the literature and what i actually experienced.
the stories from the yearbook about people wanting to study with witnesses "thirsty for knowledge of the truth" were so different from the responses i got in the fs, where people just seemed annoyed.
the pictures of happy folk and families of all colors looking toward some ray of light, united in the love for jehoober and each other, did not square with what was going on in my congo.
gossipy, jealous, suspicious, scorekeeping, hierarchical, bored, critical, goofy, presumptuous, and nosy
Hey you are describing my elder body to a tee.
i remember knowing that we could have a "large gathering" in the circuit before the new circuit overseer came on the scene and this was during the beginning of the "no large gatherings" edict.
when the co had his meeting with the elders in the circuit, he chastised more than a few and even made an example ot of one somewhat "prominent" elder by demoting his duties in the circuit to send a message not to play around and try to get away with things because "mothr" is always watching......anything that you got away with?
?
I fudge every single meeting attendance figure as secretary after I started doubting. So basically our congregations attendance is nothing more than a figment of my imagination. Just too lazy to actually record the figures and since I don't give a crap anymore it doesnt really matter what I put down. I wonder of the Holy spirit mysteriously changes the figures to the correct ones while in the card box...kind of like how the swastika's burned off the crate carrying the ark in "Raiders of the Lost Ark".
we have so many wise and well read people here on jwd so i thought that i would just toss this out and see if i could get some new enlightenment on this.
are there any other references that i have not seen in the scriptures ( and i have looked pretty hard for this) that would allow divorce that are considered 'acceptable' ?
am i just spinning my wheels in that foolishness still?
If you want to remain in good standing and remarry again without the elders coming after you then yes adultery and death are the only ways out of a JW marriage.
If you could give a shit about being a JW in good standing then get divorced, the elders can't stop you. You'd better not start dating someone again though or they will call out the gestapo on you.
we had our "special" talk on sunday.. it was incredible.
it was all about what happened in the garden of eden and the issue of universal sovereignty.
i was fascinated!
The "Special Talk" sucked as usual. It even sucked when I gave it 6 yrs ago, though back then I thought it was oh so special!
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i thought they taught that the internet is bad... a product from the devil.. association with worldlies.. maybe even so called apostates.
some post are jws in good standing but they don't believe and stay in for family or other reasons, some are on their way out.
Me too....
i know this might sound abit "harsh" but i think it is time ex-jw's, new born agains, or people just interested in the bible put a stop to this "believe"in the trinity doctrine or go to eternal flames" madness.
alot of innocent young one are being emotional damaged by this burn in hell fiasco.
just like the wts "no blood"policy and if you take a blood transfusion you will be announced "no longer one of jw's" and shunned by your family and friends, the hell fire doctrine does alot of damage to the innocent mind on several levels.
To be honest the ones I have met, either in the ministry or work, etc harp more on the actual diety of Jesus instead of the trinity. They consider that point of primary importance, at least the ones I have spoken to. Not one of them has ever said I was going to hell though just that I was wrong.
from what it sounded like the special talk was another whose side are you on jehovah's or satans.. from the beginning the speaker said there is no new information!
he said "if youre not for jehovah then youre for satan- case closed!".
he also mentioned that jehovah has always had control of his creation!
It was like sitting down for lunch and having the same old ham and cheese sandwich that I have had since I was 3 yrs old. Nothing new or special about it.
i was reading the story of james caputo on his site disfellowshipped.org when i came to the realization that i received favorable treatment because of who my father is.
i was 17 when i told my father that i didnt want to be a jw anymore because i just didnt really believe in it, i think i said something along the lines of i just don't "feel it" anyways he told me that since i was a minor i would have to keep going to the meetings and that i would have to tell the elders how i felt.
so a few days later 2 elders who had known me since i was 6 years old came over and talked to me, although they made it clear from the outset that it wasn't a jc.
I think the main reason you got a "wrist slap" is that your dad was an elder. However I do think it also varies from congregation since I have sat on judicial committee where a fellow elder had turned in his daughter for doing the nasty with a married co-worker. It really does depend on the situation and those particular elders and how much they actually believe the b/s.
i guess next week will mark the co visit at my congo.
should be loads of fun for all since last time he publicly humiliated and literally tongue lashed the yoots for dressing worldly and the moms for letting their children cry.. the 20 something guys had the audacity to wear flashy ties and dark shirts, the baby room was being used by a korean book study and it was raining outside.
wtf were the moms supposed to do with their kids when there was literally no place to put them.. something that i found very interesting was that i was exempt from the flashy tie and dark shirt thing even though i made it a point to stand in front of him and take off my coat while discussing the down pour after the meeting.
Stilla's description is very accurate. I find the Elders CO's and the Total Org CO's to be the worst pricks usually.
my daughter and her husband told me and her mom last night that she is due december 24th!
it will be our first grandchild.
she'll be 28 and is sooooooo excited!
Congratulations!