https://youtu.be/sfmAeijj5cM?feature=shared
A naughty song to laugh along to.
https://youtu.be/sbh213gbedo?si=ceeaip451t6i0zjp.
so as they say one picture is as strong as a thousand words and here you have it guys in the latest study edition of the watchtower for october 2024 that has just been posted on their website a middle aged jw window cleaner dreaming of the new system where things will get better.
why does the watchtower need to talk now about jws on minial self employed jobs?
https://youtu.be/sfmAeijj5cM?feature=shared
A naughty song to laugh along to.
this thread currently has over 300 comments.. it shows a picture of an older man washing a window looking wistfully… then it talks all about how some may have doubts about not having planned and the situation they are in now that they are older, etc.
it refers to others who did plan and who supposedly have ‘apparent’ financial security.
in my opinion, the whole gist of this article is to make older witnesses feel better who did not pursue a career or plan well for retirement.. it tries to imply that those others who planned only have ‘apparent’ financial security - which is to say they don’t (?).
From my experience within 70+ years of having known the Organization, encouraging specific secular work was never done by the Society. Especially in the 1970s in Britain, window cleaning was a helpful well paying business which was flexible enough to fit around the Society's demanding schedule. You see, as we were a smaller religion in England at the time, we all had mutual connections all over the country and we told them either by letter or telephone or when we visited them about this fantastic and easy business which could help "put God's Kingdom first", some may even have had relatives who emigrated to the US or Australia and shared the same message with them. As you can imagine, some independently minded elders at assemblies and conventions subtly promoted it at the time when the Society definitely was not encouraging jws to pursue a specific lifestyle, only to find work that paid all the bills and helped them to live and which never conflicted with bible principles. Of course, I am presumptuous to assume if the British JWs started the craze, but it seems that for a pre-internet era word soon spread around across to many brothers and gradually many took up window cleaning as well as other cleaning activities (some chose office cleaning).
I did it for a time in the 80s, and I hated it. Some clients were so obnoxious and demanding. Such is the way of the British in some areas with our "stiff upper lip". I went back into accounting as I had done for many years previously and I felt for all those brothers who remained window cleaners until retirement, it was an especially dangerous job in those days, due to the fact this water fed pole system wasn't yet introduced and became a more preferable option some time in the 2010s in the area I lived.
Yes, the picture is sad. Let's not remember however some of these men made the sacrifice because they genuinely believed they were doing it to increase their ministry activities.
I am stunned at the number of Jehovah’s Witness men now who work "full time" as window cleaners, especially now they don't have to report time and if they do as regular pioneers it is a measly 50 hours! It's a doddle now. Call me a grumpy old man, but some of those witnesses who work "full time" as window cleaners earn 10 times more than my state pension, those bastards!
anyone have any anecdotal reports of individual congregation finances since the stealth takeover by the wt of their checking accounts?.
are donations up?
can they pay their bills?.
I wonder what more will be surrendered to Watchtower during this great "reset" period?
i'm interested to know the age demographics here.
it must be significantly different to other exjw forums.
it would be a damning report for watchtower if most of us appear to have left for decades.. you don't have to mention your exact age, you could always say "in my 50s".. i am in my 70s.
I'm interested to know the age demographics here. It must be significantly different to other exjw forums. It would be a damning report for Watchtower if most of us appear to have left for decades.
You don't have to mention your exact age, you could always say "in my 50s".
I am in my 70s. Suck you Watchtower!
any fond memories or funny stories relating to the old book study arrangement?.
i remember a time when a new sister turned up with very smart jacket and shirt.
yet she was wearing trousers and when questioned by everyone she said "blimey, i think geoff (her husband) is wearing my skirt!".
Any fond memories or funny stories relating to the old Book Study arrangement?
I remember a time when a new sister turned up with very smart jacket and shirt. Yet she was wearing trousers and when questioned by everyone she said "Blimey, I think Geoff (her husband) is wearing my skirt!"
The room roared with laughter. We let her off.
i remember sitting through public talks where the speaker spent the hour discussing in great detail anal sex, masturbation (of yourself and others), sex during menstruation and so on.
.
i was a child, looking back now, i realise that they systematically stripped away our childhood innocence, we knew and heard things no 'worldly' child would have heard.. the child abuse and grooming happened to every single one of us, the feelings of guilt and shame was in all of us even if we didn't actually do anything bad, the mental images caused by these filthy men hung around in our innocent minds till there was no room for that innocence.. it has taken me 44 years to realise that what was done to us, even those of us not physically abused, is a crime.. do they still have talks like that nowadays i wonder?
I do remember them very clearly. The org doesn't appear to mention such 'explicit' talks nowadays, they're probably afraid of how the Internet will expose them even more. Why, they had to create a form 'guidelines for public speakers' to stop all the snotty nosed elders from giving their opinions and crazy ideas and conform more to the universal JW Broadcast bog standard material.
a pair of young blokes came to my door @ 10am (ish) today (wednesday, if that matters).
i opened the door a crack to : hi!
just asking a question: do you think that the world is getting better or worse?*".
I have wondered in the past if ever I called at the home of a former witness who chickened out and didn't reveal themselves. Your experience is probably one of many fascinating ones.
i think someone else noticed this here recently.
i wondered when i signed on today july 9, 2024, that even the avatars were missing.
does simon know?
Have you ever wondered who actually moderates this website, except for Simon? Unlike Reddit, there is no identifiable mod team here.
family move to remote pacific island to serve were the need is great get a mention in the year book.. however one of the (married) boys in the large family has sex with his sister while his wife is in hospital giving birth to their child.
.
all hushed up not even a word said and hes now an elder d.fing people for lesser crimes.. young couple dating leave the jws and move in togather doing drugs partying ect.. his family grandfather,uncles, dad ect are all elders.. after a few years they decide to come back to the jws and are married in the k.h a few months latter.. 1 elder questions them getting married in the k.h and is voted down by his family.. to many drunks and c.s.a to mention.. karter..
What was covered up? Several wife swapping cases. To this day I still can't see how wife swapping takes place behind closed doors in jw culture. The religion instills fear into people and that dread is enough to prevent illicit acts.
However, I suppose human nature sometimes takes over. Biologically, we are not a strictly monogamous species. Society and culture are the reason for this, they promote their reasons to prevent extra marital affairs.
I for one believe in fidelity for the most part, if a woman needed to satisfy any fantasies I would suggest that upon her husband's approval there probably isn't really anything wrong with sharing as long as there is good communication between them and they are absolutely sure of their personal safety.
auschwitz concentration camp in poland may not seem like a very happy vacation spot to visit.
but, if you have a home, a family and your freedom - you will be far less likely to take these things for granted after visiting.
we made the sobering decision to make the 2.5 hr.
Agreed Nikolaus,
I believe making a "parody" out of the most evil and brutal war crime in history and making a parallel with Watchtower shows lack of respect for the actual historical event as well as remembering those who died trying to end such an evil regime.
Watchtower is evil, but Nazism was a greater evil. Don't go there to compare the two. That is where I would firmly disagree with this post. The reason why jws suffered was because the organization at the time made them vulnerable to government, introducing the idea of religious neutrality and also the belief that government is essentially an agent of the Devil. Jws don't intentionally torture its members. However due to the elder and disfellowshipping arrangements, harassment easily runs rife in the organization, hidden away from Circuit Overseers and the branches around the world, so when they do receive letters of criticism they naturally believe that they come from "spiritually weak" men or apostates. Little does the Governing Body realise they have no control of its own machine which is run by elders and their wives essentially, and that is the major difference between jws and Nazism: JWs follow orders but always re-interpret them for their own localities, whereas the Nazis obeyed Hitler 100% and never dared deviate from their orders no matter where they were.