Posts by TonusOH

26

Things JWs Say That Don't Mean What They Think It Means

by NotFormer in

jw
friends

sometimes things don't come across the way the speaker intended.. years ago there was an ad by the whitegoods company fisher and paykel.

they showed them going to great lengths to get customer feedback on what was important to them.

one customer said that she wanted it to be easy to get her appliances serviced when they broke down.

TonusOH

Yes. The WTS would try to cover for it by claiming that the devil would use trickery, confusing us with words and arguments in order to draw us away from god. One was basically on guard, not for the logic or truth of an argument, but whether or not it supported our beliefs or not.

By causing us to fear a terrible punishment just for listening, we never allowed ourselves to consider if what we were being told was reasonable, if it made sense. We would not allow ourselves to challenge the dogma we accepted as truth. I think this is why I felt so free and so relieved when I accepted that I did not believe in god- I was finally able to think rationally without fear.

45

List of main points from 2023 AGM

by ExBethelitenowPIMA in

1. doctrinal changes how new light comes about.

the gb raise questions then talk about it, unless it’s unanimous they wait, then years later talk again if it’s unanimous it then gets announced as new light.. 2. the gb are imperfect and sometimes make mistakes.

they are not to apologise or even admit they were wrong.

TonusOH

Governing Body: God speaks through us.

Also Governing Body: We simply don't know.

26

Things JWs Say That Don't Mean What They Think It Means

by NotFormer in

jw
friends

sometimes things don't come across the way the speaker intended.. years ago there was an ad by the whitegoods company fisher and paykel.

they showed them going to great lengths to get customer feedback on what was important to them.

one customer said that she wanted it to be easy to get her appliances serviced when they broke down.

TonusOH

That's a pretty standard JW view. The world is in Satan's thrall, so it is dangerous to consider any points people present against JW beliefs or statements. I remember being terrified of listening to anyone who might try to oppose what we believed. It's unhealthy.

83

Thought on “0 hours” reporting

by FFGhost in

so everyone knows the “big news” of this past weekend, no more reporting of hours, placements, return visits, etc.

beginning november 1, jws just tick a box indicating whether they “shared in any form of the ministry during the month”.. so there was a brief comment by a redditor that seems like a brief joke “throwaway comment” but after thinking about it….why not?.

the idea is, what is “any form of the ministry”?

TonusOH

In CoC, Ray Franz mentioned that they moved from a unanimous vote to a two-thirds majority of all GB members (even if all were not present). It's possible that they have changed it back to unanimous. But if you did that and then literally removed a dissenter, it defeats the purpose.

More likely, they feared that Morris would become a loose cannon who would undermine what are already a difficult set of changes to implement, which could have led to a schism. And that would have brought the whole mess down quickly. Better to put him in a position where he could wash his hands of the matter but also would not want to speak out, lest he find himself homeless.

22

I think circuit overseers should have a job like the apostle Paul

by forzaitalia in

am i being mean, thinking that travelling overseers should get a part-time job like paul did, in order to not be a burden to the congregation?

i wouldn't put my hand up when we were asked to raise it if we were happy to give £50 from congregation funds to the c.o.

so that he could take his wife out for a meal.

TonusOH

I don't recall our congregation elders ever asking for donations for the CO when they visited. But many in the congregation would give them something. The CO had a place to eat dinner each night (more families offered than was needed) and people giving them green handshakes one after another. I guess that's one of the ironies of human society; some of the poorest communities tend to be the most generous. Our family was scraping the barrel most of the time, but my mother always had a $20 bill to hand to the traveling overseer.

3149

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars (continued)

by Simon in

jw
friends

uh oh, looks like the mega thread gave up the ghost, so while i investigate / fix it just continue the discussion here .... it's been a long 9 years lloyd evans / john cedars.

TonusOH

Is the JWWatch site down? jwwatch.org returns "There has been a critical error on this website."

10

2023-Annual Meeting!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

2023-annual meeting.. .

https://stream.jw.org/home .

atlantis!.

TonusOH

Atlantis: The link might become inactive soon.

It will be much harder to tell, with the new reporting system.

83

Thought on “0 hours” reporting

by FFGhost in

so everyone knows the “big news” of this past weekend, no more reporting of hours, placements, return visits, etc.

beginning november 1, jws just tick a box indicating whether they “shared in any form of the ministry during the month”.. so there was a brief comment by a redditor that seems like a brief joke “throwaway comment” but after thinking about it….why not?.

the idea is, what is “any form of the ministry”?

TonusOH

There are all kinds of ways to witness to others. If the minimum is now 'anything' then you can check the box if you had a conversation with a non-witness family member. Or a neighbor. Or someone on the line at the grocery store.

You can write a letter. That is time spent witnessing to others. If you are feeling particularly ambitious, write two! Send a text message with a link to the JW site. Make a phone call and leave a message. Once a month.

If they did the same with the meetings, imagine how many "active" members they will have!

176

No more REPORTING field service!!!!!!!!!

by BoogerMan in

this is going to break the hearts of a lot of uber-jw's!

reddit has now removed the video link of samuel herd telling jw's they will no longer have to report time or placements - just tick a box which says "active.".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akdshyx79rm&t=13s.

TonusOH

nicolau: Really? I missed that, could anyone enlighten me please?

I think it is in another topic. They now believe that those who are alive when the great tribulation begins will have the option to accept the truth and be saved, even if they rejected the preaching message before. In the past, they stated that the preaching work was of paramount importance because once the great tribulation began, salvation was no longer on offer. Which is why they taught that there would come a time when the preaching message would change from an offer to a condemnation.

I'm assuming this means that they no longer expect to preach a message of doom just prior to the end. Especially when they appear to have de-emphasized the importance of such work by reducing the reporting requirements for most of the rank and file.

176

No more REPORTING field service!!!!!!!!!

by BoogerMan in

this is going to break the hearts of a lot of uber-jw's!

reddit has now removed the video link of samuel herd telling jw's they will no longer have to report time or placements - just tick a box which says "active.".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akdshyx79rm&t=13s.

TonusOH

Magnum: Like... how many decades does it take them to get the memo from their God?

Yeah, really. I agree that it's embarrassing. You cannot help but get the impression that Jehovah has been pranking them all this time. "This new light completely invalidates decades of teachings! If you were disfellowshipped as an apostate, it turns out you were right! But you're still an apostate! Clearly, we can see how Jehovah guides us through his holy spirit! Please keep obeying! Please keep giving generously!"