i attended a sunday meeting today after missing a couple due to a bout of chronic apathy.
out of 74 publishers we had a grand total of 33. wonderful.
for those that attend, how are you finding the numbers?.
Before the wife and I walked, attendance was sinking like a lead ship. We used to be a constant 140 on sundays but when the new COBE was appointed attendance dropped fast. I'm not sure where it stands now but months ago attendance was in the 70-80 range at best. Even the CO visit didn't help but maybe another 5-10.
With few elders and being busy at that, many might have taken advantage of the situation or they just didn't like the new COBE and left.
i was talking to one of my customers about the newly replaced kingdom hall on westminster highway in richmond, b.c.
she does not know i used to be a witness.
she was telling me how the labour is all donated and they only pay for the materials.
I think the Society owns all the kingdumb halls. In most cases, the build is funded through a loan from the society.
How could they (the society) sell it behind their backs when money is tight if they DON'T own it?
If I remember right they tell the congregants that they do not have a loan but they have to pay for that hall forever under the new arrangement.
i feel pretty foolish after reading the drivel in today's wt.
here i was operating under the impression that showing kindness to strangers was something that one did unselfishly.
boy was i wrong!
They use terms like "unbelievers" and "worldly" to ostracize others who are not of the same faith. J-dumbs are not encouraged to actively show love to these people unless they are giving them magazines in the Failed Misery or having them at the Kingdumb Hell.
They severely limit associating with people who could add spice and variety to their lives. That is why they are all the same, brain dead robots who blindly serve the Borg.
why is it that when a jw gives someone a magazine, they use the word "place" instead of "give"?
as in "i placed a magazine with him".
and why do regular door-to-door jws of no special rank refer to themselves as publishers?
"One of" because there are many. Kinda funny since most people didn't even like identifying themselves as J-dumbs.
why is it that when a jw gives someone a magazine, they use the word "place" instead of "give"?
as in "i placed a magazine with him".
and why do regular door-to-door jws of no special rank refer to themselves as publishers?
As Baker said, it's all cult-speak.
several months ago i approached a nice young couple who were standing by a jw literature stand in my local community.
they were pleasant and polite but incredibly stilted when it came to answering my "innocent" questions about their beliefs.
this was the occasion of jws featuring the article headlined "is religion dying?".
This "staring into the distance, glazed over look", is it taught in their school? All my personal experiences engaging Witnesses is that they all do the same thing when faced with undeniable fact. It must be a condition of Cognitive Dissonance. Their brain cannot compute so it shuts down as a means to protect itself.
Honestly it seems a waste of time to discuss anything with these people. They just don't know how to listen and think for themselves. The GB has done a number on the Witnesses that's for sure.
I talk to elders and show them stuff and they all do the same thing. They cannot address a single question. They just sit there, eyes glazed over like a jelly donut unable to do anything. Then they tell you you're satanic or something stupid.
as i was driving past a certain gas station today, i recalled that the family who own it are called on by a friend of mine, and in a territory where it's hard to find interest.
it reminded me of an incident months back when this friend, brother d, discovered that another friend, brother b, was calling on that family too.
hey, gotta make your time.. those two went at it.
Working in a multi congregation in the city had its fair amounts of trouble. People would work the other congregations territory because it was close and the bros would get all up in arms about it. It was all about starting their time. I'd like to think that if they took the time factor out, people would be more sincere about the work. It would be much more about the people and less about how much time they can waste at a door or how quickly they can start their time.
so, it finally happened.
the first time i have been called out for being an apostate.
it started out innocently enough: my family and i were watching a tv show.
It's good that things are smoothed over but it's too bad he feels that "worldly" families cannot get past conflict. The GB feed an abnormal impression of regular families to its members and they just soak it up. Sad.
so, it finally happened.
the first time i have been called out for being an apostate.
it started out innocently enough: my family and i were watching a tv show.
That zinger at the end about the 1914 generation was priceless. Nice job. It's always fun stunning them to silence. They know they are wrong but their mind cannot come to grips with it.
Just be prepared to lose conditional hall friends when or if word get around. But "worldly" people make great friends. There is nothing wrong with them and best of all, they won't judge your every move and you can be yourself around them.
as i was sitting in the meeting last night i thought about this question.. sometimes it feels really lonely because i don't connect with most others in the congregation and i have to be so careful with the ones with whom i do associate.. quick rundown on my life...got baptized at 17...married at 20...became inactive at 28 wife still active though...came back to meetings with her 20 years later just to keep her quiet and see if they had changed (for a while i actually thought they had)...now i am still inactive and haven't gone out in service or anything.
i just go to meetings with my wife who is happy as a lark to have me there with her...just go to meetings and think...and think...and think.... anyway, i just wondered if there are any out there like me who are going to meetings and nothing else?.
Hell no! It's worth every sacrifice too!
Those meeting are such a soul sucker. Screw that!!!! I'd rather wear a pair of poopy underwear to my wedding than to go to another one of those damn meetings.
