No idea what it was like, of course, but in a high control environment with little in the way of social diversions, I could imagine it could be quite fun for the right group. As OP suggested in the first part of his post. But as OP says in the rest of the post, once the regime changes, its potential to be a horrible chore can be realised.
NotFormer
JoinedPosts by NotFormer
-
32
Kingdom hall cleaning
by Farmer Jim1 inwhat are your memories of hall cleaning?.
i actually enjoyed it on the whole, my dad as the elder always tried to keep it to under one hour but in my later years in a hard-line congregation it was a chore.
the po's wife had a printed list and we had to complete it all before left (or got disapproving looks if we left after an hour).. as well as vacuuming the whole building the lost said you had to dismantle the vacuum and clean and polish all the internal elements.
-
-
-
27
LEAKED 2024 USA SERVICE REPORT
by raymond frantz inhttps://youtu.be/lov1gsxj4tg?si=ze-fdc8yswirahwx.
this is a mini report on usa that includes an update on ramapo as it was delivered during the british bethel inauguration few days ago....
-
-
NotFormer
Harbour ministry has been around a while then (a while by JW standards, that is).
What is the video being shown in the background of the audio recording? It looks like something dramatised. Is it meant for public viewing (those of my ilk) or is it for internal consumption (for encouragement of JWs)? I assume it is a product of the new* video ministry that the WT is now starting to emphasise?
Out of curiosity, when did this video ministry begin to become a thing?
* New to me i.e. started up within the last two decades.
-
27
LEAKED 2024 USA SERVICE REPORT
by raymond frantz inhttps://youtu.be/lov1gsxj4tg?si=ze-fdc8yswirahwx.
this is a mini report on usa that includes an update on ramapo as it was delivered during the british bethel inauguration few days ago....
-
-
NotFormer
3:30 mark: Losing everything gets you used to the idea of being a JW?
What video is playing in the background? How does one get to view it?
2:10 mark: What's a "boooo-dist"?
Harbour ministry? When did this start as a JW programme? Do they just preach, or do they offer practical help to seafarers, like the Mission to Seafarers does? https://www.mts.org.au/ MTS has been around since 1835.
"Leaked"? Is this not for public consumption?
-
20
Waking Them Up When They Feel Safe
by KerryKing ingood morning all, i would love some genuine advice please.. i have an old friend who is still in the org, but has never been the very staunch type.
however, she is going through a very rough patch in life, (past deeds from youth caught up and now is in prison) and i reached out to her by old fashioned snail mail.. by her reply she sounds more pimi than ever and finding some sort of comfort in the literature.
would i be wrong to attempt to wake her up, would that actually be a cruel thing to do right now?
-
-
NotFormer
It's a real conundrum. On the one hand, she's in a difficult situation where she might be open to questioning her reality. On the other hand, if she's drawing comfort and strength from her WT beliefs (and presumably getting some support from her congregation) while in what is a pretty dire situation, it might not help her much to pull that rug out from under her at this time. Some JWs are happy (well, I assume that there must be some who are happy), and she might be happy and content with what she currently believes during these trying circumstances.
-
16
JW (?) murders wife and mother-in-law
by Chevelle inaccording to several spanish ex-jw youtube channels, this is a jw family... but i'm still trying to confirm... .
https://www.fox29.com/news/mom-daughter-found-stabbed-philadelphia-basement.
-
-
NotFormer
Sea Breeze, does that explanation often crop up as an officially reported aspect of such cases? Or is it common speculation by people outside the organisation?
I don't doubt that it could be a motive in a JW who's gone nuts.
Is the idea that death absolves a person of their sin debt discussed often enough in JW circles that it could make an impression such that an unhinged JW might decide to kill their loved ones in order to "save" them?
-
26
Still Confused About The FDS
by NotFormer inthis was prompted by another thread where it was revealed that the gb were referred to as "our future kings" in a wt video.
https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/4911685446402048/fun-moment.
if i've got it right, the 144,000 are (or were until recently) the fds.
-
-
NotFormer
Riley: "Building core theology around the book of revelations that basically voids the new testament for anyone but 9 men is pretty bloody silly."
That's a pretty succinct summary. I wish I could remember something like that for when it comes up in conversation. 😅 The whole adventist movement grew out of people saying "I've figured out Revelation!", and as you said, built a theology around it while ignoring all the other 65 books (maybe not Daniel, though).
-
12
Constant Pleas For Money
by NotFormer init comes up from time to time: that the wt's "constant pleas for money" signifies their precarious financial state due to the pressure of the csa settlements.
is there any way of demonstrating that to be a fact?
i ask because i've always been under the impression that "constant pleas for money" is the default state of the organisation, possibly going back to rutherford's time.
-
-
NotFormer
JW GoneBad, they're only "a" root of many injurious* things. Unfortunately, one among many.
* How long did they spend in the thesaurus to find that alternative to "evil"? 😸
-
26
Still Confused About The FDS
by NotFormer inthis was prompted by another thread where it was revealed that the gb were referred to as "our future kings" in a wt video.
https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/4911685446402048/fun-moment.
if i've got it right, the 144,000 are (or were until recently) the fds.
-
-
NotFormer
Earnest, you do not see the logical fallacy that I am pointing out? The WT two-tier system is inconsistent and didn't exist in anyone's mind until Rutherford made it out of whole cloth.
"We are all slaves of Christ, are we not."
JWs are the slaves of the GB. The GB is not Christ.
-
26
Still Confused About The FDS
by NotFormer inthis was prompted by another thread where it was revealed that the gb were referred to as "our future kings" in a wt video.
https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/4911685446402048/fun-moment.
if i've got it right, the 144,000 are (or were until recently) the fds.
-
-
NotFormer
P.S. Has anyone asked a JW who believes that they are annointed what tribe they're from? Or what number out of the 12,000 for that tribe they occupy. I. E. are they number 11,357 from the tribe of Naphtali?
-
26
Still Confused About The FDS
by NotFormer inthis was prompted by another thread where it was revealed that the gb were referred to as "our future kings" in a wt video.
https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/4911685446402048/fun-moment.
if i've got it right, the 144,000 are (or were until recently) the fds.
-
-
NotFormer
I figured that out a long time ago. Unlike most JWs, I've read Revelation without a WT publication in hand. I've argued the passage about the 144,000 at length with JWs at the door. They are absolutely adamant that 144,000 is an exact, literal figure , not symbolic, even though it is 12 X 12 X 1000, all biblically symbolic numbers. Then I point out that the 144,000 are male virgins from specifically named tribes of Israel. "Oh, that's just symbolic", they say. Then I say, "Then why don't you count the figure of 144,000 as symbolic?" Silence.
My question is to point out the inconsistencies I see in JW theology*. And the question still stands, according to JW theology, should the annointed (Jesus brothers) be referring to the vast majority of JWs, the unannointed, (not Jesus' brothers) as brothers and sisters? If they shouldn't, then why do they? To me it's just another example of a JW ramshackle doctrine that they've cobbled together without understanding its full implications.
*Also to try and understand it better in order to discuss it better with JWs I meet.