Posts by Swan

3

Picked Up A Field Service Report

by Undecided in

jw
friends

while i was at the kh i picked up a field service report and it looked the same as it did 30 years ago.

i asked some elders who were visiting me a few months ago why a field service report was scriptual.

he said something about how records were kept in the bible, or something like that.

Swan

While I was at the KH I picked up a field service report and it looked the same as it did 30 years ago. I asked some elders who were visiting me a few months ago why a field service report was scriptual. He said something about how records were kept in the bible, or something like that. I just let it go without any comments back to him. I told the preacher that went with me to the funeral that they kept up with their righteousness on a paper report. He didn't say anything about my comments. He had no bad comments at all about the witnesses and really liked the way the KH was laid out. Even though he was a baptist preacher they all were very friendly to him and me.

Yes, but in one incident a census was taken before a battle, and God was pissed at them because it showed lack of faith in Him to give them victory. Don't remember what book this account was in. Maybe Kings.

So in a way, you could interpret Field Service reports as a total lack of faith on the part of the Society. They really don't trust in Jehovah to make sure that the witnessing work is getting done.

Just another perspective.

Tammy

78

CO's talk: "Those who leave the truth say they've never been happier"

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

yep, it's true.

while giving his usual spiel about how true christians should struggle, he says that some of those who have left the truth, say they never felt better.. .

the answer: "they don't have to stuggle anymore.".

Swan

He then proceeded to say that the big stone which was going to strike "the image", the one representing the world powers, is already in mid air and right near the feet of the image. It's just about to strike. Which means, we are deep brothers, deep in the time of the end.

My CO told us the exact same thing!

... thirty years ago

Tammy

40

Are you all thinking straight ?

by wakeyupsey in

jw
friends

very worried at the total waste of time i see you all pursueing with aimless nonsense when one of the most inportant times in mankinds history, is taking place & the real truth is becoming available.

Swan

Very worried at the total waste of time I see you all pursueing with aimless nonsense when one of the most inportant times in mankinds history, is taking place & the real truth is becoming available.

Please consider that it is our time to waste as we choose to. We no longer waste our time doing what some white-haired old geezers in Brooklyn, New York dictated what we should waste our time on. No longer do we waste our time on repetitive cult activities meant to keep us under their control.

As for myself, I now have a very productive and fulfilling life. I'm sure others here feel the same way. If this is how we want to unwind and socialize, that is our choice. I think this place just shows the tip of the iceberg as far as how we have really come to having happy lives. I know when I die, I will die satisfied at what I have accomplished.

Tammy

27

What's the last good fantasy or scifi book that you could'nt put down?

by Leander in

so what's the last fantasy/scifi book that you read that was just so good you could'nt put it down until you were done reading it?

i need a few recommendations, i'm in the mood for a good book.. for me the last really good scifi book was orson scott card's "ender's game".

for a long time i avoided this book because i thought it was aimed at a younger audience, but after hearing so many people praise it i finally took a chance on it.

Swan

I have been focusing on mysteries lately, but will pause for anything new written by Jack Chalker. He mostly writes long series of 3 or 4 books or more. Often the theme of adapting to change in order to survive is key in his stories. His heroes and heroines usually must adapt to change and let go of their past and sometimes this is the greater conflict in his story than the more obvious ones.

His Well World, Soul Rider, and the Four Lords of the Diamond series were the best IMO. The Dancing Gods series was the best fantasy spoof I have ever read (I will never look at an episode of Gilligan's Island in the same way ever again).

For a single book story I liked his Identity Matrix (reminiscent of Heinlein's Puppet Masters).

Tammy

23

Super Soakers, Rock Em Sock Em Robots, And Other Innocent Childrens Toys

by ColdRedRain in

jw
friends

today, i was looking for a super soaker on ebay.

my ex girlfriend stole the other one, and i was looking to replace it.

it made me think about the time i was a kid.

Swan

There was an episode of Dennis the Menace that had to do with a Ouija board, so we couldn't even watch it that week.

My aunt cut all of the guns, arrows, and spears off of my cousin's plastic cowboy and Indians set.

Squirt guns were out, so we were left completely defenseless on the school bus. And this was during the Viet Nam war, so you would think that parents would understand the need to help their kids out in a scholastic arms escalation!

I wasn't allowed Barbies, but stuffed animals were okay. My brothers and I lined them up in chairs, gave them Bibles and song books and played meeting. Some of those teddy bears really got spanked severely when they misbehaved during the talk, but look who we learned from.

Tammy

54

What were your reasons for not liking the ministry school?

by LongHairGal in

i dropped out years ago because i couldn't stand getting together with sisters i didn't like to do a talk.

i hated it with a passion!!

i do realize that you did learn but what i resented was that the sisters were inflicted on each other in a way that i don't think the brothers were.

Swan

I also got frustrated at the blatant sexism.

It sure was obvious when any 8-year old Tom, Dick, or Harry could join the school and give talks from the podium, but an elderly pioneer sister of the anointed had to give her talks looking away from the audience and direct her remarks to a householder.

Tammy

54

What were your reasons for not liking the ministry school?

by LongHairGal in

i dropped out years ago because i couldn't stand getting together with sisters i didn't like to do a talk.

i hated it with a passion!!

i do realize that you did learn but what i resented was that the sisters were inflicted on each other in a way that i don't think the brothers were.

Swan

That it wasn't my choice to join or not join. It was decided by my mom and the PO that I was old enough to start giving talks. And then, when we changed congs., I was automatically added to their list. They just assumed I would want to do it.

Also, gimmicks, humor, and visual aids were never encouraged, and at times, it almost felt like they were silently discouraged. It always felt like everyone was delivering a eulogy. No wonder other talks and assembly presentations dragged on and were so dry.

I actually learned a lot about public speaking from the Ministry School. However, when I took a college course on public speaking, I actually learned more. I hear Toastmasters is good too, and much more fun than the Ministry School.

Tammy

121

Who Was Shocked By the Watchtower UN NGO Scandal?

by AlanF in

.

i'd like to get comments from people about whether and how much they were shocked, surprised, or otherwise bothered by the watchtower society's becoming an associated non-governmental organization (ngo).. note that i'd like to see these comments because they might lead to some interesting publicity, so please comment accordingly.. alanf

Swan

I had already left the organization but had not yet formally disassociated when I learned of the UN scandal. I was shocked by the brazen hypocrisy of it. Whereas before I thought that they were sincere but misguided, I now knew that they were totally cynical.

This was also my thought at the time. I thought they were just a misguided group, but this showed me that there was something more sinister going on.

This showed me that the corrupt Bethel leadership believed themselves to have the absolute power to declare what was right and wrong according to their of justifications at the time. Their eyes were opened and they became like gods, knowing good from bad. They blatantly rejected their own previous teachings when it suited their purposes, but still hold their followers to standards they no longer follow. They pursued a course that they always taught us was contrary to Jehovah's will without regard to His feelings or their relationship to the almighty. It leads me to believe that they don't really believe that "no part of the world" stuff themselves, and that in their own eyes at that time, they could do no wrong before Jehovah.

Their subsequent sudden dropping of their membership from the UN and the library card story reminds me of the scripture where Adam rationalized that he was naked before Jehovah and so he hid himself. When exposed, they didn't say, "oh we made a horrible mistake and hope Jehovah will forgive us." No. Instead they said they had nothing to be ashamed of, but then dropped their membership, made up a story, and covered it up by a lot of schmoozing reassurances and propaganda. These are the actions of men who find themselves guilty by their own consciences. In my mind they showed themselves guilty by their own subsequent actions.

It is one of the most telling scandals in the whole Watchtower history.

Tammy

46

Did you know that it is wrong to play Chess?

by Rod P in

jw
friends

i remember being at a bookstudy one tuesday night.

i had just recently been reinstated, and i was trying hard to believe the stuff the wbts was teaching, as i went back to be reunited with my family.

(this did not mean i had all the doctrinal beliefs straightened out so that i was an "automatic believer" just because of being reinstated.).

Swan

I remember when that article came out back when Bobby Fischer was big news. It was one of the first articles I put into the category MNFS. Then I basically ignored it. As time went on I put more and more articles into the MNFS category, until finally, from 1986 on, I started putting the whole religion into the MNFS category.

Tammy

121

Who Was Shocked By the Watchtower UN NGO Scandal?

by AlanF in

.

i'd like to get comments from people about whether and how much they were shocked, surprised, or otherwise bothered by the watchtower society's becoming an associated non-governmental organization (ngo).. note that i'd like to see these comments because they might lead to some interesting publicity, so please comment accordingly.. alanf

Swan

I was absolutely shocked!

After all of the countless mind numbing 400 page books we studied on book study night where it was drilled into us that the United Nations was the Wild Beast that harlot religions consorted with, and it was also described as the "disgusting thing that causes desolation", to have them do this was absolutely flabbergasting!

Then I became angry when I remembered that we couldn't even donate a few coins to UNICEF when I was in the third grade.

It is their biggest hypocrisy, IMO.

Tammy