Fort Worth, Texas
Posts by TMS
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7
The A-(postate) Team
by ChuckD inimagine this;.
you have been on the fence for a while, but it is becoming more and more apparent to you that your leaving is just a matter of time, and that soon, very soon, it will all come to a head.
you wait for that phone call from the elders like winston smith awaited the bullet in the back of his head.
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TMS
Brother D,
That is the "beauty" of the judicial committee form of justice, three men acting as judges, jury and executioners. The accused is allowed no advocate. Even if he disagrees with the inevitable direction the proceedings are heading, he/she must meekly go along so as not to be judged "unrepentant".
No obververs are there to say: "I think the accused just made a salient point."
If the decision is appealed, the case is reheard by three similar men, chronies of the first three. Not only is the original decision almost always upheld, it will be "payback" time during the reinstatement process.
Could the deck be stacked any better?
TMS
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22
The dreaded conversation.......
by LDH inwell, it happened.. just this morning i was talking to my aunt, a life-long book sales rep for the wbts.
she asked me, "lisa, do you ever think you'll come back?".
i replied, "come back to what?
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TMS
Lisa.
Many of us fear the "dreaded conversation", as you put it. My folks are 85 and 81. Believe me, it is not out of cowardice, but only to spare them the stress, that I have side-stepped certain issues. Any other relatives or siblings can be dealt with easily, once the folks are gone.
I always feel a certain satisfaction, Lisa, when I think of how your two offspring and any that follow will be spared the pain and non-fulfillment of a JW upbringing.
TMS
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24
Re: Judah Ben Schroeder
by sf ini pulled this out of the "berry case evaluated" thread so my questions would not be overlooked:.
i just want to make sure i fully understand, as stated here as fact, that judah schroeder was never, is or ever will be, in any way, shape or form, a "representative" or "director" for any part of the wtbts; no matter what corporate name you call them.. what has he done and/ or what were his "duties"?.
please, a history of the man, if you will.. in appreciation, skally
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TMS
The last time I saw this lad was in 1969 in Pittsburg @ the KM School.
He looked to be about 11 or 12.
As class let out, Albert usually played a few minutes of "catch" with the boy. It seemed staged, as if to show all the overseers how balanced and normal their lives were. But, maybe I'm being cynical.TMS
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YOU THINK LIKE A JW !!!
by Prisca inthe above phrase has been bandied about in the past and present, often as a form of insult when the poster disagrees with something another poster has said.. but what exactly do they mean?.
how do you think like a jw?
is there a certain code of synapses that distinguish a jw from a non-jw?.
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TMS
Prisca.
Some current threads reflect a JW mentality, the concept of "proving by references" a religious point so convincingly that the person expressing the opposing view acquiesces. This so rarely happens in real life that it is almost an absurdity.
I realize the combatants are actually playing to a larger audience. but their efforts are no less futile than a JW trying to convince a Pentecostal that "tongues have ceased".
TMS
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Russell as "That Servant"; Re: Dunsscot
by AlanF insince dunsscot claims he's leaving this board, and in answer to my specific request for a committment to answer all replies i might give to his latest replies to my previous dissections of his nonsense he said that he would not, i won't be giving a detailed reply to him.. however, dunsscot's posts contain a number of statements that prove how easily the watchtower society fools the jw community by lying to it, either outright or in so many words.. in this post we will examine a fiction that the society has managed to get poor people like dunsscot to believe with respect to c. t. russell, namely, that russell never claimed that he was "the faithful and wise servant" of matthew 24:45. the simple truth is that russell did indeed believe it.
the fact that he did was printed in the watch tower, and the society itself taught it until about 1927.. let's first look at the context of dunsscot's denial of this important bible student teaching.
in the set of exchanges below, the reader can see that dunsscot is attempting to deny that jw leaders claim to be god's exclusive earthy spokesmen.
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TMS
AlanF:
"Today, hardly anyone making statements such as "I am God's mouthpiece" would be taken seriously."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++That is my principal concern about the articulate capitalizer, AGuest, AKA Shelby. Yeshua messages us through her.
Back on topic: It seems that C.T. Russell wanted the brethren to call him "the faithful and wise servant", rather than have to declare that "truth" himself.
TMS
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26
Loss or gain?
by Deacon inon sunday, i sat outside the local kingdom hall waiting for the meeting to start.
being disfellowshipped, i was gonna go in late.... 20 minutes later.. i went to a starbucks instead.. i think im over it....i really do.. its a shame.
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TMS
Deacon:
Its funny how instantaneous our decision-making process can seem sometimes. The little Pentium processor in our cerebellum can be quick and decisive.
I recall leaving between the School and Service Meeting, KNOWING that after 50 years, I wouldn't be back. Obviously, it was a cumulative reaction, that just solidified at that point and time.
But I know that you feel pain at the moment. That does not go away overnight.
Oh, to be a JW version of Billy Crystal! He acknowledges his Jewish upbringing, makes fun of it, knows its still part of him and laughs.
TMS
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20
Pets and the Watchtower
by TMS inmy cars cheap cd player is on repeat playing track 9, bob dylan singing tomorrow night during my hour long commute to a job not suitable for a 58 yr old man.
returning home the same tune plays just short of distortion, a funeral dirge for wessie.. tomorrow night.
will it just be another memory, .
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TMS
notperfectyet:
Yes, it was acute renal failure with Wessie, too. The two poisons in his system were off the chart. We kept him alive for 14 months. He did not seem to be in pain, just weak. He still set the tone for our household. He was thin and cold. My wife would put a comforter in the dryer for a few minutes. He loved to burrow into its warmth.
betweenworlds:
You are very kind. My decision to invite my son back into the home was not a courageous one. At the time I was still trying to work within the parameters of Watchtower guidelines. One Watchtower reference mentioned that if a family head, deamed that his disfellowshipped offspring or parents needed to remain in his home due to financial, health or other considerations, that was his decision to make. At the time, I didn't view this as merely spin. Since I had always been an elder, I had never experienced the oppressive nature of organizational mandates. I was accustomed to simply doing what was right, and if someone questioned my actions, I usually could explain matters. But here the dynamics changed, and for the first time, I found myself helpless to "steady the ark", so to speak.
TMS
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11
Does Anyone Else Remember
by drahcir yarrum init's been a long, long time ago, but i remember as a youngster attending the meetings and there was a huge bulletin board next to the platform and every month they would post the field service statistics on it, i.e.
hours, return visits (back calls), mags, books, etc.. i was wondering if this was common practice in all kingdom halls back in the 50's and 60's and if so, when did the practice end?
given nathan knorr's interest in marketing the jw teachings and putting a guilt trip on those who didn't perform up to snuff this recollection makes sense.
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TMS
This was done until about 1969, I think. Publisher and Pioneer stats were separated, so, if you were the only Regular Pioneer, your figures were public knowledge. This was one of the duties of the Assistant Congregation Servant, which was my "privilege of service" in the mid-sixties.
The elimination of this large chart may have related to the semantical shift from "quota" to "goal" with the advent of the Lamp book. I can't recall.
TMS
Now I see some are saying above that this practice continued until '73. I honestly don't recall it going on that long. That would have put in into the elder era. No. It was discontinued earlier than that.
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Pets and the Watchtower
by TMS inmy cars cheap cd player is on repeat playing track 9, bob dylan singing tomorrow night during my hour long commute to a job not suitable for a 58 yr old man.
returning home the same tune plays just short of distortion, a funeral dirge for wessie.. tomorrow night.
will it just be another memory, .
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TMS
My car’s cheap CD player is on repeat playing track 9, Bob Dylan singing “Tomorrow Night” during my hour long commute to a job not suitable for a 58 yr old man. Returning home the same tune plays just short of distortion, a funeral dirge for Wessie.
“Tomorrow night. . . will it just be another memory,
Or just another song, that’s in my heart to linger on?”Selfishly clinging to hope that he can greet me just one more time, follow me to my bed and snuggle under my arm as I kick my work shoes off, I creep down the driveway. Before I reach the door, my 30 year old son breaks the suspense: “Wessie is dead!”
I get very emotional and follow my son to the back yard under the oaks, where he has been working with pick and shovel. I start swinging the pick at the red granite-like Texas clay that lies beneath the organic topsoil. I know these are not rocks, although they feel like it. “Dad, don’t do that! I’ll get it.” But I ignore my son as Wessie was my dog , too, and each strike at the unforgiving ground proves my love. Actually, Wessie was my wife’s dog. She is the one who squirted chicken broth down his forced-open throat after the vet wanted to end his life. She is the one who held him in her arms in the green metal 50’s style lawn chair the last two days of his life as his body temperature lowered even in the 100 degree Texas heat. But, it was my son who picked him, slept with him and needed him the most as a canine replacement for the wife he didn’t have and the friends he had left behind as our JWhood faded.
How true those Watchtower words of the early 90’s had been, saying in affect: “Many mature Christians “count the cost” with respect to the additional burden of the care and feeding of a pet. Realizing that such additional responsibilities could actually take time away from Theocratic service, they wisely avoid that commitment.”
But when we shattered our Theocratic future by harboring a DF’d son, we needed an advocate. Everyone else viewed us as scum, but Wessie, a supremely hyper black and tan miniature pinscher, saw the good in us and viewed everyone else as scum. Even Chester, the floppy black Labrador across the street was hated by Wessie. NO ONE penetrates this sacred yard! Wessie was a dog no one else could love, who loved only us. How privileged we were to know him.
For two weeks my car stereo has played one song and I have thought of one little boy. My wife’s weekly pill organizer is still full with a week’s medication. The gloom is like a lowered ceiling we all must bend under to walk around. The kitchen table is covered with the classified section of the Star Telegram, opened to the Pets page.
My wife writes the check out. The lanky man is grateful to find a home for one of his puppies and is sorry the black and tan one is already gone. My wife cups the 5 inch red dog in her hands like the precious life that it is.
Nothing has been replaced here. A real father is not happy with ten replacement children for the ten he has lost. A real father does not sacrifice his son, because a God suggests it. If he is that worshipful, he offers himself instead. Take my used up, tired body, Lord, but let my son live.
“Tomorrow night. Will you be with me when the moon is bright?
Tomorrow night. Will you say those lovely things you said tonight?”TMS