When I was a kid the congregation I belonged to (I was with the same one my entire JW life) really was a warm and loving place. Like an extended family, the way families should ideally be. Fast forward twenty years and the situation had changed. The congregation had become a colder, more rigid place to be. People were more openly judgmental. It had shifted to a more corporate mentality. I think that reflected changes in the Society itself. It's showing itself more openly as a controlling, rigid corporation and the congregations are just following Mommy's lead.
Wayward
JoinedPosts by Wayward
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10
When you were fully in, would you lie about how loving your congregation was?
by TTWSYF innot long ago my elder brother got very sick.
he was hospitalized for a few weeks and his jw wife and children were at his side often.
also, his non jw family was also bedside with him, siblings and parents.. his recollection involves asking us "don't you remember all the jws that came visiting me when i was sick?".
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Wayward
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Oh the irony! The elder, a car accident, and me....
by stuckinarut2 inoh this is just worth sharing!.
so , as many know, it has been two years since i have attended any meetings, conventions, etc....nothing...cold turkey.. the hassles and problems the elders threw our way were monumental....so many details i could share, but suffice it to say, we stood firm and kept our dignity and poise and reminded them of "appropriate boundaries ".
one elder in particular has since spared no effort in ensuring that malicious gossip and slander has been spread so that witnesses have avoided us like the plague!.
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Wayward
Whatever that elder says or does, you did the right thing. "Return evil for evil to no one but pay back evil with good." Whatever your beliefs, its just basic human decency to want to help someone in need. Its a lesson the JWs could stand to learn.
Something similar once happened to me. A couple years after I went totally inactive, I came across a car stalled at the side of the road. Turns out it was a carload of JWs out in service whose crappy old car had finally give out. (Damn that Satan!) So I pulled over and offered to take the group back to my house, not even a quarter mile down the road, to wait for a ride or drive them back to the hall if they preferred (four or five miles out of my way). They chose the hall so I dropped them off there. One of the group was an elder who thanked you-know-who for sending me. No, I just happened to be passing by on a road I drove every day and stopped to help, like any decent person would.
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JW Literature Trolleys Don't Carry the Book Of Mormon
by Athanasius inthis morning the jws set up two literature trolleys at our local shopping centre.
the trolleys were situated within 20 feet of each other with six jws attending them.
why they needed six jws on hand i have no idea as everyone was ignoring them.. anyway i thought i'd have some fun.
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Wayward
Thanks, darkspilver. I was gone long before carts, tables, and booths were a thing so I don't know the specifics.
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JW Literature Trolleys Don't Carry the Book Of Mormon
by Athanasius inthis morning the jws set up two literature trolleys at our local shopping centre.
the trolleys were situated within 20 feet of each other with six jws attending them.
why they needed six jws on hand i have no idea as everyone was ignoring them.. anyway i thought i'd have some fun.
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Wayward
I saw a JW booth at a fair last week. The first couple times hubby and I passed it, he didn't know what it was for. I only knew because I recognized the JWs behind the table. The next night we were able to take a longer look. There was a banner on the front of the table BUT the JW.org was in really little lettering. That was the only clue as to who they were.
And there weren't any Bibles out. Maybe they were under the counter?
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How the org will spin the Midweek meeting about Child Abuse in Australia
by tor1500 inluke 21:11 says:there will be great earthquakes, and in one place after another food shortages and pestilences;+ and there will be fearful sights and from heaven great signs.
but verse 12 says:but before all these things happen, people will lay their hands on you and persecute you,+ handing you over to the synagogues and prisons.
you will be brought before kings and governors for the sake of my name.
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Wayward
Slight off topic but does anyone else have the urge to laugh whenever they see CLAM? And Meeting Workborks? That's something grade schoolers do. Wow. This cult has really dumbed down from what it was 15 years ago.
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WT “Study” for 18th Sept 2016 – “Grateful Recipients of God’s Undeserved Kindness”
by Nicholaus Kopernicus in“life is to short” has commented on the above study in terms of grace being translated as undeserved kindness in the nwt.
the analysis is quite interesting.. here in this thread, i will be opening up other facets of the “study”.
for example.... paragraph 11 applies the daniel 12:3 phrase – “those having insight” to the “anointed remnant”.
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Wayward
Ah, 'undeserved kindness'! Nothing gives you the warm fuzzies like God telling you he loves you even though you aren't worthy.
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What is the purpose of life?
by slimboyfat inwhile reading the magazines the other day it occurred to me that jws never really had a very good answer to that question.
because it was aimed at young people and it said something along the lines, "if you believe in god you have a purpose, but if you don't believe in god your life has no purpose or meaning".
i think that is a faulty analysis of the situation.
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Wayward
Do the lives of animals have a purpose? Beyond that of breeding and passing on their genes? Humans are just a higher level of animal. Why do human lives need a higher purpose?
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Can GB be guilty of sinning against Holy Spirit
by Chook inthe crime is ,condoning the removal of and shunning of jw children ,who when older want to express freedom of religion and attend another church.
god created family unit ,gb destroys lives on all levels of family tree.
can this be the unforgivable sin?.
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Wayward
I don't care what God thinks about it. Ripping families apart is unforgivable in MY book. -
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Major congregational quake in Southern California
by Hecce inthis notice is not official yet and it should be confidential until released thru the proper channels.
a friend of mine told me about a huge elders meeting in southern california.
the subject was the relocation and dissolution of some congregations; it seems that this is the result of some project that has been going on for some time and is going to be implemented right now.. please let me know if this is happening all over the country?.
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Wayward
The nearest KH in my part of the world is in a rural area five-six miles from where I live and serves four small town. While we were waiting to build it 20+ years ago, we had to drive to a neighboring hall thirty minutes away. Some living farther out had a 45 minute drive or more. That was just for a few months in spring and early summer. It would be a MAJOR problem to try doing it in the middle of a Pennsylvania winter. The main road can be nasty on a winter's night with snow drifting and blowing and ice. I can't see the elderly especially or families risking that on a weekly basis because their hall has been sold.
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I need more faith so I've been told
by hoser ini attended the circus assembly last weekend and i have come to the conclusion i am lacking faith.
the opening talk on the program, the very first words that came out of the speakers mouth told me so.
he said most of us here are lacking faith even though we might not know it.
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Wayward
What they really mean is 'blind faith'. Those with blind faith will:
1) Neglect their education, settle for dead end jobs and not prepare for the future because the GB says devote that time and money to the org. "The New System is coming soon so why bother?"
2) Will slave until they drop 'doing more' (which will never be enough) and never do anything they really want to. "You can do all that in the New System!"
3) Will make martyrs of themselves or worse, their innocent kids, by refusing blood transfusions. "Don't mourn. You'll see them again in the New System! Maybe. If you toe the line."
4) And will follow the slightest whims of the GB without allowing themselves to ask questions. "They're our ticket to the New System!"