TMS

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Posts by TMS

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  141

  JW Kids Leave the Organization: Facts

  by Maximus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the october 1 watchtower 2001 features articles on training children "properly" and dealing with a "prodigal child.

  the latest inside u.s. figures reveal that 86% of jw children leave the fold, with some 29% who eventually come back for reasons of family ties, most never "reaching out.

  " that means over half leave permanently.

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  TMS

  My third judicial committee experience as a naive Bible Study Servant c.1962 involved a newly baptized 12 yr old who had stolen a hot wheel type toy from K-Mart. To all of the questions(What prompted you to steal? Do you realize the reproach on Jehovah and his organization? Will you ever do this again?) he had only two words: "I dunno."
  After deliberation we put him on probation for a year. This boy is now nearing 50 and long gone.

  The worshippers of Molech have nothing on Jehovah's Witnesses of the 20th and now 21st century. We have tossed so many children into the fire it is unreal. At the very instant in their young lives when the "desires incidental to youth" are at work, we brand them as unrepentant, incorrigible sinners, worthy of death.

  TMS
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  200

  How Many States / Countrys Are Represented Here?

  by Big Jim in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am from houston texas myself.

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  TMS

  Fort Worth, Texas
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  7

  The A-(postate) Team

  by ChuckD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  imagine 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 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well, 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 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i 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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  35

  YOU THINK LIKE A JW !!!

  by Prisca in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the 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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  82

  Russell as "That Servant"; Re: Dunsscot

  by AlanF in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  since 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 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  on 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 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my 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 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it'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.