Posts by pale.emperor

33

Manmade rules

by Jrjw in

i was talking to someone a few years ago and he said in his congregation they have a rail of white shirts prepared in the cloakroom for if a speaker doesn't have a white shirt on.

it was a rule in their hall that all brothers in the platform must wear white shirts when going talks and if the speaker won't comply when asked to change into the shirt they provide an elder in the congregation will do the talk instead.

i have never known any other halls do it so it must be a rule the elders have made up without gb input.

pale.emperor

My favorite rule came direct from the Borg, don't hold your significant others hand during the prayer cause it can be distracting.

I remember this one. I got a phonecall from an elder for doing just that in a Sunday meeting. He tried to counsel me on it, I asked for a scriptural basis for his rule. He said something about "modesty, decency" etc. but i asked for a scripture. He had none but Watchtower quotes.

I countered with "God is love", where better than to show love than in Gods house? Is God offended by love?

I won.

A more ridiculous one though, a sister i know was counseled for wearing a thong because her lack of panty line was distracting.

Distracting for who? Who's checking out her ass enough to be distracted? The sister should have said "im not wearing a thong either... (wink)"

41

An Active JW Sister Modelling For Me

by pale.emperor in

since leaving the borg i jumped both feet first into classes i've always wanted to do but was never "allowed" to.

two of which are life drawing and photography.

i've been studying for almost two years now and have seen more nude men and women in our classes than i care to remember.. today in the photography studio i was working in with three others (two women, one man) we were told we had a new person modelling for us.

pale.emperor

Pale, you sound like a Puritanical American. I'm surprised it's such a big deal to you.

The nudity isnt a big deal to me. The fact that she's a JW was getting nude for us was because...

Had the impression it wasn't such a big deal there, even among JDubs.

To JWs it is a big deal. Nudity = porn as far as JWs are concerned.

28

Why did the Governing Body come behind the curtain?

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

in the movie the wizard of oz, while the whole yellow brick road gang was being addressed by the great and powerful wizard of oz, the dog toto ran off to the side, pulled back on a curtain, and showed that a normal-looking humbug of a person was operating cranks and levers.

for a short while, the normal-looking man kept yanking levers and cranking cranks, and said into the microphone (which made the great and powerful wizard speak the same words) "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!

i am the great and powerful wiz .

pale.emperor

If they were still hidden, you would have accused them of being arrogant and pompous.

Not arrogant and pompous, no. I would've been suspicious if there even was a GB and if the whole thing wasn't just run by one person.

28

Why did the Governing Body come behind the curtain?

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

in the movie the wizard of oz, while the whole yellow brick road gang was being addressed by the great and powerful wizard of oz, the dog toto ran off to the side, pulled back on a curtain, and showed that a normal-looking humbug of a person was operating cranks and levers.

for a short while, the normal-looking man kept yanking levers and cranking cranks, and said into the microphone (which made the great and powerful wizard speak the same words) "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!

i am the great and powerful wiz .

pale.emperor

I was a kid in the 80s and 90s. I remember the JWs saying how different we are to other religions because we dont even know who are GB members are. Maybe you'd find a very uber dub who would know one or two of their names but that was it. The reason JWs gave was that "they're so humble, not drawing attention to themselves".

Now? Now they say "see, they come forward to show that they're just like you and I. Their identities are not secret, they're so humble for showing themselves to us".

Halo Effect anyone? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_effect

48

Anyone struggle to find meaning in life?

by Good JW in

just wondering if this is a common thing for you guys and girls?

when i left the jws it was hard to make a connection with people, much of the time i felt that whatever they wanted to talk about just didn't seem relevant/deep/meaningful.

i find myself filtering my mind to get to a level with others (small talk mostly).

pale.emperor

My life has a lot more meaning that it ever did as a JW.

How long have you been awake from the JWs may i ask? Because when i first left i went through stages of loss like someone had died. It passed.

Personally, i have a lot of interests. What things are you interested in? Are there things you'd like to learn or do but were never "allowed to" when a JW.

My advice is do anything and everything you want to do (as long as you dont harm anyone of course) and really get it out of your system and discover who you really are. Read self help, psychology, other religions, philosophy etc. May i suggest Philosopher Alan Watts? His audio lectures are on YouTube and he really had a massive influence on me.

33

Watchtower and Awake in the cafeteria of my work place

by StephaneLaliberte in

someone at my workplace, i don't know who, is a jw and has been leaving magazines in the cafeteria.

any suggestion as to what i could do?

i thought of writing up a note stating: "to whoever is bringing these magazine: jw have broken up my family, please don't bring religion to work.

pale.emperor

I thought of writing up a note stating: "To whoever is bringing these magazine: JW have broken up my family, please don't bring religion to work."

That.

Anything stopping you binning them?

Or that.

Or how about a printout from JW Facts? There's a PDF meant for people who are studying that's very useful.

26

What Is The Major Reason Jehovah’s Witnesses Exist?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i understand that cults and religious groups will always exist.

but why do jehovah’s witnesses continue as a religion that people will join?.

pale.emperor

I have an uncle who has a learning disability. He's 40+ years old and is completely happy knocking on doors, attending meetings, doing the mics, volunteering for attendance duty in every convention. If you met him you'd know right away that theres "something wrong with him" but he's a very nice, harmless man for all that.

He isnt bothered about a panda paradise or even fully aware what JWs actually believe. He's living his paradise right now. To him, his life is wonderful. Everyone knows him, everyone likes him, he lives in his little bungalow alone but visits others and recieves visitors.

If Watchtower collapsed he'd probably kill himself.

41

An Active JW Sister Modelling For Me

by pale.emperor in

since leaving the borg i jumped both feet first into classes i've always wanted to do but was never "allowed" to.

two of which are life drawing and photography.

i've been studying for almost two years now and have seen more nude men and women in our classes than i care to remember.. today in the photography studio i was working in with three others (two women, one man) we were told we had a new person modelling for us.

pale.emperor

Outside of it being a little unnerving walking out in front of a group of strangers and dropping the towel, there was no sexual banter, no comments. They concentrated on my entire figure, not just the naughty bits. It was a cool experience, and I'm glad I did it.

I dont think I could see a pretty nude woman in front of me and not feel its sexual (to me).

Strangely enough you end up seeing the model as just a collection of shapes, tones and shadows. The most "sexual" it's ever been for me was in life drawing there was a model with an outstanding body. After about 10 seconds of me thinking "dayyyyym" it's business as usual drawing her and she's just another collection of shadows and tones.

I'm sure if I told my jw about this story he would say "she's not a real jw".

Ha yh i used to say that too. She's a pioneer and married to a full time pioneer. Dads an elder and she married at like 18yo to a 19yo boy.

33

Manmade rules

by Jrjw in

i was talking to someone a few years ago and he said in his congregation they have a rail of white shirts prepared in the cloakroom for if a speaker doesn't have a white shirt on.

it was a rule in their hall that all brothers in the platform must wear white shirts when going talks and if the speaker won't comply when asked to change into the shirt they provide an elder in the congregation will do the talk instead.

i have never known any other halls do it so it must be a rule the elders have made up without gb input.

pale.emperor

Asshole elder in Liverpool is the "white shirt" guy. Brother Evans his name was if anyone from North West UK is reading.

I had the unfortunate time of doing a demo for him in a circuit convention. I was told white shirt only. And he wanted to inspect the shirt before i went out. And he brought a spare white shirt in case i turned up in any other colour. At the time i thought it must have been a circuit assembly rule or something so thought nothing of it.

Story goes that in his own congregation he enforces this rule. He even tried to get the CO to change his shirt and was promptly told off.

This same guy wouldn't allow the sisters to do vacuuming in the assembly hall (our circuit attended Northenden, Manchester). Vacuuming was fine for sister in the KH, but the "cool" jobs like vacuuming the platform was for brothers only. You know, so you would be seen?

The assembly hall itself was really nice. A former theatre so im told. Shame about it's occupants.

41

An Active JW Sister Modelling For Me

by pale.emperor in

since leaving the borg i jumped both feet first into classes i've always wanted to do but was never "allowed" to.

two of which are life drawing and photography.

i've been studying for almost two years now and have seen more nude men and women in our classes than i care to remember.. today in the photography studio i was working in with three others (two women, one man) we were told we had a new person modelling for us.

pale.emperor

So she shave her yingyang?

No

Did she recognize you?

No