NotFormer, I agree that "you never know"what might hit with a JW.
I also think it is important to "read" the JW. If they seem smug or happy leave them alone.
this morning i was in our front yard sitting down pulling weeds when i saw 3 people slowly walking on the sidewalk in my direction.
2 of them were young, handsome, clean shaven, wearing nice crisp white shirts and perfectly tailored black slacks.
they could have been mormons except.... there was a 60ish portly woman wearing a frumpy dress and ugly sandals.
NotFormer, I agree that "you never know"what might hit with a JW.
I also think it is important to "read" the JW. If they seem smug or happy leave them alone.
this morning i was in our front yard sitting down pulling weeds when i saw 3 people slowly walking on the sidewalk in my direction.
2 of them were young, handsome, clean shaven, wearing nice crisp white shirts and perfectly tailored black slacks.
they could have been mormons except.... there was a 60ish portly woman wearing a frumpy dress and ugly sandals.
Beth: I absolutely agree. There are no shortcuts- no one can do the work for anyone else. The info is everywhere yet most dubs are too lazy or too afraid to look at the evidence. (The systematic conditioning from the cult you spoke of)
Still, sometimes a question can be posed that can cause a "Honest Hearted" JW to google. If they already have a doubt or something just doesn't sit right, they might look it up -even if it's just to try to prove it wrong. That's what happened to me so I figure it could happen again.
this morning i was in our front yard sitting down pulling weeds when i saw 3 people slowly walking on the sidewalk in my direction.
2 of them were young, handsome, clean shaven, wearing nice crisp white shirts and perfectly tailored black slacks.
they could have been mormons except.... there was a 60ish portly woman wearing a frumpy dress and ugly sandals.
Beth: It's true JWs are programmed not to wake up. Yet, This board and all the other exJW sites are FULL of people who DID wake up. After all, we did.
However, it takes something or someone to spark enough anger or curiosity to honestly examine their own religion.
Life changes. Circumstances change, People change, and most of all the Borg is constantly changing their minds. So never say never.
Hubby #1
this morning i was in our front yard sitting down pulling weeds when i saw 3 people slowly walking on the sidewalk in my direction.
2 of them were young, handsome, clean shaven, wearing nice crisp white shirts and perfectly tailored black slacks.
they could have been mormons except.... there was a 60ish portly woman wearing a frumpy dress and ugly sandals.
Vidiot: You are a scream. LOL!
Punky: Normally, I simply don't answer the door. Period.
I agree that 99% of the time anti- Witnessing is a waste of breath But there was some thing about this sister that drew me to her. Her appearance did not reflect what I saw in her eyes. There was not only kindness but intelligence and possibly tragedy there too.
Maybe it takes one to know one. In any case, I wanted talk to her and I actually felt better about myself after I did. The rest is up to her.
https://youtu.be/jsmbtv4nafi?si=ezj0dnudyjls4knc.
there was a time they preached the great tribulation was a short period of time between the fall of babylon and jesus coming back to save them, now they realize there are difficult years ahead of us, watch this latest morning worship video by per christensen on this subject .
YEARS?????
my family had several elders, ministerial servants, auxillary pioneers etc, so it certainly wasn't one of those 'barely in' families.
but in certain small ways, i think mine were slightly less hard line than some other families i've heard stories about over the years.
one example was the 'fall dinner'.
My grandparents' wedding anniversary was at the end of November and Mom's birthday was on the same date. Every year she and her 6 siblings, their spouses, and their kids all came to my Grandparents' house for a family reunion/Thanksgiving weekend.
All were baptized JWs except the grandchildren who were still too young.
This gathering was the happiest time of every year for me. Two of my cousins were closer to me than if they were siblings. In time, since we were the 3 oldest grandchildren, we got to sit at the adult table for the feast prepared by all the women. (Years later I found out that the younger cousins resented us for having this "privilege") lol
This yearly gathering brought such joy to my otherwise rather sullen Mother and Grandparents and the rest of us that none of us wanted to give that up by leaving Watchtower.
But time went on, Grandparents died, the 4th generation arrived, my dearest cousins died, and a couple left WT. I believe our family tradition remains but I haven't been invited since I stopped attending meetings.
this morning i was in our front yard sitting down pulling weeds when i saw 3 people slowly walking on the sidewalk in my direction.
2 of them were young, handsome, clean shaven, wearing nice crisp white shirts and perfectly tailored black slacks.
they could have been mormons except.... there was a 60ish portly woman wearing a frumpy dress and ugly sandals.
Thank you all for your comments. I'm still thinking about her because she seems like a truly nice person.
The other thing I'm thinking is Who are these handsome well-dressed brothers? Where I live most JWs look like an unmade bed--especially out in service in the hot summer! Where did they come from?
Will I be the newest DNCall??
this morning i was in our front yard sitting down pulling weeds when i saw 3 people slowly walking on the sidewalk in my direction.
2 of them were young, handsome, clean shaven, wearing nice crisp white shirts and perfectly tailored black slacks.
they could have been mormons except.... there was a 60ish portly woman wearing a frumpy dress and ugly sandals.
Hi everyone!
This morning I was in our front yard sitting down pulling weeds when I saw 3 people slowly walking on the sidewalk in my direction. 2 of them were young, handsome, clean shaven, wearing nice crisp white shirts and perfectly tailored black slacks. They could have been Mormons Except.... There was a 60ish portly woman wearing a frumpy dress and ugly sandals. They were carrying a fistful of tracts and no visible devices. I didn't recognize any of them
As they got near to where I was, the sister separated and walked up to me while the brothers kept walking down the block. As I looked carefully at her face I saw kindness and sincerity so I decided to have a conversation with her instead of being dismissive or rude.
I let her greet me and comment about how nice i was making my yard look and that i was setting a good example for the neighbors. I made a little joke that actually, my neighbors are probably relieved I'm finally doing it. Then i asked, "Are you Jehovah's Witnesses" At this point my goals were to control the conversation and make her think. Before she could say more than "Yes we are" I smiled and said "Oh, I was one myself for 60 years. I told her about my Grandmother who took Russel's books and became an IBSA Just a few miles from here. Then, my parents coming in during Rutherford's time, The name change in 1931. That I had pioneered, etc etc.
After the long introduction I told her that what caused me to honestly examine my own religion after so many years of asking others to, was a simple question from my husband's JW friend. "Hey, what's the deal with the Menlo Park congregation?" So I googled it. I really encourage you to do that too. It's a real eye-opener! Her eyes got big.
Then she said she had left JWs for awhile herself. I didn't want to ask why because I had more to say before she left or shut down. So I told her that when i was recovering from surgery I had more time to research. I told her the story of Malawi and Mexico and asked her "Do you think God, Jehovah loves the Mexican brothers more than the African brothers? NO! she exclaimed. I told her how hard I had cried for those brothers and sisters and the many letters I wrote.
That my hubby's uncle was the branch overseer in Mexico at the time and they allowed the brothers there to be technically in the army whereas the ones in Malawi couldn't carry a card basically saying they were a citizen. I asked her who set the vastly different policies with such drastically different outcomes. Was it Jehovah? NO! she said with a troubled expression. "Of course not" I said, This was the administration from the "Society".
I knew this was time to wrap things up so I concluded by saying "If you are happy where you are Then you are probably where you should be. But I really encourage you to check out for yourself what I have said. I wish you well. Then I went into the house for water.
this was one of the craziest things i remember about the summer conventions.
i would go into the sister's bathrooms and the mirrors would all be taped up with brown paper so that we couldn't look at our reflections.
were were amish or something?
Ha! Ha! LHG,
It wasn't just sisters looking for Guys. Believe me, I saw and experienced plenty of Teenage and older Males trolling as well. One time a brother I had known years before in a different town came up to me at a DC and started flirting. He asked "Are you still married?" "Yes" I said, disappointed, off he went to find another possibility.
Turns out he found an older sister and they married. His 3 years younger brother married her Daughter! This was about 30 years ago. I wonder if They are still married. LOL