Posts by FFGhost

35

2022-07-29-Announcement!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

2022-07-29-announcements--english.

2022-07-29-announcements-spanishpage 2, par.

3. on the other hand, some brothers and sisters—younger and in good health—have more favorable circumstances that may allow them to attend christian meetings regularly at the kingdom hall.

FFGhost

Plus they are probably shooting themselves in the foot. There are a number of people who started attending on Zoom who would never have attended meetings at the KH.

In the local nearby congregation, Zoom attendance during the pandemic was easily 120% or more of the count of “publishers”, I.e. just about everyone associated with the congregation plus kids plus Bible studies (in most congregations you need about 110 -130% attendance to account for non-publisher kids & studies).

Since the decree from on high at the beginning of April:

— Attendance is consistently 30-40% in person, 60-70% on Zoom

— Adding both in-person and Zoom attendance, it’s back down to the pre-pandemic levels (80-90% of the publisher count attending the meetings).

I’m not sure if that is typical elsewhere, but here, the publishers are not only defying the “thou shalt meet in person” edict but also just generally blowing off meetings entirely, in-person and Zoom.

I’m sure it’s occurred to at least some of them, “if they don’t see me on zoom, they’ll assume I am at the KH….and if they don’t see me at the KH, they’ll assume I’m on Zoom”.

35

2022-07-29-Announcement!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

2022-07-29-announcements--english.

2022-07-29-announcements-spanishpage 2, par.

3. on the other hand, some brothers and sisters—younger and in good health—have more favorable circumstances that may allow them to attend christian meetings regularly at the kingdom hall.

FFGhost

I called this months ago, within days of the “resuming in person meetings” announcement. The only mildly surprising thing is that I thought these “the beatings will continue until morale improves” messages wouldn’t start until autumn.

JWs are staying away in droves, in just about every congregation in in just about every country. Most congregations have far less than half of their publishers attending in person. Many times it is 1/3 or less, always worse for the “midweek meeting”.

What did these morons (the GB) expect? It is far easier, far more comfortable, far less expensive to attend via Zoom.

The bozos closed congregations, sold Kingdom Halls, obligated JWs to drive ever farther distances to meet in a KH where they know half or less of their newly merged congregation, during a worldwide inflation spike where fuel prices are a primary cause…and they think people are going to rejoice because 8 sweaty old men decreed they should go back to “normal”?

The messages will be more frequent and far more harsh as time goes on and the desired effect is not seen. Of course, there isn’t a full brain among the lot of them (the GB), so their only reaction will be to do EXACTLY as they have always done, repeat the same messages over and over and over and over and over….

”Maybe the 87th time we tell them to go back to the KH, they’ll listen!”

Idiots.

20

Unmarried couple staying at my house

by suavojr in

jw
friends

i need your help with this topic.

i’m trying to find an elder’s letter or wt article that frown upon a good standing jw allowing an unmarried couple to stay over their house for the night.. my wife claims this is a conscience matter and i say that’s bs, this leadership does not allow it.

would like to find this info..

FFGhost

I think what the OP is asking is, what are the consequences for a JW who knowingly permits, as houseguests, an unmarried couple (not JW) to stay overnight in their (the JW’s) home.

There’s a whole section on this in the elders manual, chapter 12 (particularly 12:66-69). That publication is available on dozens of websites so I won’t post links here. But here is the outline:

— If the elders find out about it, they’re supposed to “counsel” the JWs who are allowing apparent “fornication” in their home

— Hopefully, the JWs respond and kick out the fornicating couple

— If the JWs “brazenly” defy the elders and allow the formicating couple to remain as houseguests, they (the JWs) would be subject to a “marking talk” and lose any “privileges of service” they may have

— If the JWs go a step farther and “promote immortality” by talking about their situation to others in the congregation, they could be subject to a judicial committee for “causing divisions”

— A (grudging) exception is made for special cases, such as elderly JW parents allowing a non-JW son/ daughter + unmarried partner to stay in the home. But even in that case, the elderly JW parents would be subject to “review” of any “privileges of service”.

Hope that helps.

28

JW "new light" immediately reversed/contradicted

by BoogerMan in

september 2022 study watchtower - par.

14 p. 18 - "after all, no one will be allowed to practice vile things in the new world.

the unrighteous must have practiced these vile things before their death.

FFGhost

It’s a fool’s errand to try to guess what the WT writers really mean in any given article, but if I had to guess, I think the key word in these 2 quotations is “practice”.

I.e., no one will be “allowed to practice vile things in the new world”, meaning “they won’t be able to do bad things over and over again without consequences.”

Then, in the later paragraph, I would guess it means some “vile deed” done just once (I.e. not a “practice”.

This point is of course not as reassuring as the writers may think. It sounds like basically Jesus and/or some angel is sitting there with his “finger on the trigger” - one mistake and blammo! Eternal annihilation.

7

Dating in JW

by Renee86 in

hi sisters,.

so i’m dating a jw guy i’m a witness myself .

how do you girls date?

FFGhost

There’s a definite pattern to this poster’s months-long posting history…

32

Sanderson’s “Young People” convention talk

by FFGhost in

so did anyone else have the misfortune of listening to sanderson’s talk corresponding to the saturday morning convention program?.

full title is “young people - choose a path that leads to peace!”.

the basic idea is, hey you teenagers, you ought to be pioneers, wt construction workers, and/or bethelites.. i tried to put myself back in time an embarrassing number of decades…if i were in this talk’s target audience, how would i respond?.

FFGhost

Oh and while I’m thinking of it, something else that chaps my hide…

Sanderson claims that he had “scholarships” to assist him with university tuition, as well as “several grants”.

This is a common lie propounded by the GB in these types of talks. That universities and government institutions are so eager to give away free money that they go out looking for anyone & everyone, attempting to throw gobs of cash in their lap.

Meanwhile, in the real world….

Scholarships and grants must be applied for. There are rigorous requirements and lots, often dozens, of pages of paperwork that must be filled out.

If Sanderson really had the goal all along, as he stated in his talk, of pioneering right after high school, why did he spend dozens or hundreds of hours applying for grants & scholarships?

Or…..more likely: he dreams that maybe he got good enough grades and he’s “pretty sure” he would have gotten “something” for a university. And over the intervening decades, that somehow has become “I coulda been a star! Turned down scholarships left & right! All to serve Jehovah!”

Moron.

32

Sanderson’s “Young People” convention talk

by FFGhost in

so did anyone else have the misfortune of listening to sanderson’s talk corresponding to the saturday morning convention program?.

full title is “young people - choose a path that leads to peace!”.

the basic idea is, hey you teenagers, you ought to be pioneers, wt construction workers, and/or bethelites.. i tried to put myself back in time an embarrassing number of decades…if i were in this talk’s target audience, how would i respond?.

FFGhost

DW,

Of course! Why didn’t I think of that!

So, the solution for the couple hundred thousand jW kids is, pioneer, work your way up the ladder, and join the GB just like Sanderson. Seems legit.

Of course, they’ll need to change their policy and allow women on the GB.

And they’re going to need a bigger conference room to hold those hundreds of thousands of GB members for their Wednesday meetings.

But otherwise, hey, yeah, worked out for Sanderson so of course it will work out identically well for everyone else who follows his path.

32

Sanderson’s “Young People” convention talk

by FFGhost in

so did anyone else have the misfortune of listening to sanderson’s talk corresponding to the saturday morning convention program?.

full title is “young people - choose a path that leads to peace!”.

the basic idea is, hey you teenagers, you ought to be pioneers, wt construction workers, and/or bethelites.. i tried to put myself back in time an embarrassing number of decades…if i were in this talk’s target audience, how would i respond?.

FFGhost

So did anyone else have the misfortune of listening to Sanderson’s talk corresponding to the Saturday morning convention program?

Full title is “Young People - Choose a Path That Leads to Peace!”

The basic idea is, hey you teenagers, you ought to be pioneers, WT construction workers, and/or Bethelites.

I tried to put myself back in time an embarrassing number of decades…if I were in this talk’s target audience, how would I respond?

The answer that jumps to mind: why on earth should I listen to this fat, greasy, dumb, smirking Gen-Xer who has obviously never worked hard for even a single day in his life, and wouldn’t qualify for “Southern New Hampshire University “ much less a real school?

Then the adult in me says “It’s really shallow to criticize the guy’s physical appearance and (lack of) mental acuity. Far better to criticize the substance of his message.”

Only problem is….there was no substance.

Here’s the summary:

— you should be a “full time servant”, Jehovah will magically take care of you

— If you’re worried about finding employment, just take vocational courses in high school; then magically employers will fall all over themselves to hire you

— If you experience any unexpected challenges in your full time service, just suck it up, buttercup. Jehovah will magically help you to endure.

That’s it. No really - that is somehow supposed to motivate folks in their late teens to forego any semblance of normality and jump into the never ending hamster wheel of JW full time service.

To say they are “clueless” and “completely out of touch” is an understatement on par with “the Black Death was something of a challenge for European peasants in the 14th century.”

The talk was virtually identical to every “Hey you kids, forget about college” talk given for the past 50, yes, 50 years.

All delivered with quite possibly the most insincere smirk/grin I think I’ve ever seen.

That’s all, rant over.

11

14 Document Pack--Talk Outlines-Data Information-Announcements!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

14 document pack.

talk outlines in english and spanish, announcements, personal data information which includes:.

see document number 13instructions for use of personal datarefusal to sign notice and consent for use of personal data"the publisher should be informed that the congregation or branch office may not be able to evaluate his suitability to fulfill certain roles within the congregation or participate in many congregation activities, such as serving as a regular pioneer, a ministerial servant, or an elder.https://www.filemail.com/d/sobkuyhiasjogql orhttps://we.tl/t-cudhivn75uatlantis!

FFGhost

“The branch will handle payment requests”?!?!?!

That sounds a little….controlling.

Probably shouldn’t be surprised though. I’m sure they’d love to just immediately and directly accept all accumulated funds from all congregations worldwide

34

History repeated: pre-1975 trend of selling homes to ‘downsize’

by LongHairGal in

jw
friends

i saw this thread on reddit.

i think the reason for this is that the 1975 fiasco is never mentioned in the jw religion.

nobody mentioned it to me when i came in the years after.. the problem with this is that all the sad stories were never told (or hushed up) of people who sold off homes, etc.

FFGhost

I know of a 50ish JW woman who moved to upstate New York to serve as a "remote" full time Bethel volunteer (i.e., she is responsible for all of her own expenses). She's living off her 401(k) account that she accumulated during her working career (and, yes, as she not yet age 59-1/2, is paying the 10% early withdrawal penalty).

She sounds happy to be there, but I shudder to think what her life will be like when the money runs out, very likely before her eligibility for Social Security benefits (and even that would almost certainly be insufficient to live on).

Bethel, of course, will be more than happy to continue to accept her labor, but their wages ($0) will remain unchanged.