TMS

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Posts by TMS

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  29

  Circuit Overseer Pensions and the Implications

  by AlanF in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i just learned that the watchtower society has instituted a pension plan of sorts for circuit overseers.

  this is a big change.. previous to this new plan, the various kinds of "traveling overseers" were pretty much on their own when they retired from the traveling work.

  in a few cases, such men were invited to live out their lives in bethel, but in most cases they simply went back to being normal rank and file members who had to fend for themselves financially.. i can only speculate that the reason for this change was that the society has been having difficulty getting elders to become circuit overseers.

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  TMS

  A "retired" circuit overseer in Texas was given our unlisted telephone number by one of our relatives. His call was a thinly veiled effort to see if we were still "in the truth." He actually invited me to give a public talk in his hall without specifically asking what my current standing was.

  When he inquired about our health, my wife volunteered that her pre-witness military service enabled her to get greatly discounted medicines through the VA.. The longtime CO replied that he was grateful that the Society took care of all his medical even though he no longer served. I don't know if this medical coverage is available to all former traveling overseers or just those with a certain length of service.

  tms
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  51

  heard back from my dad - you won't believe it!

  by freedomlover in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  hey all you great people - in case you read my letter i sent to my dad the other day you may be interested in his reply.

  (see topic history for letter to my dad) .

  i am so happy and relieved.

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  TMS

  FL,

  Your father's letter is almost a definition of unconditional love. He even reaches out to protect you from the dangers of being too open with your feelings.

  Now that he has stepped down from being an elder, he may be the one in a million who can see the forest for the trees.

  Sometimes we forget that there are still many good men and women who happen to be Jehovah's Witnesses.

  tms
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  32

  my last meeting

  by flag in

  1. jw
  2. friends

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  almost a month without meetings

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  TMS

  Bienvenidos Flag & family
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  12

  The Watchtower Study: The one way to make your views publicly known

  by sir82 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as most of us here are aware, the watchtower "study" weekly meeting is no "study" at all.

  paragraphs are read, pre-arranged questions are asked, and the "correct" answer is a slight re-wording of the sentences in the paragraph.. however, sometimes (many times?

  depending on the congregation), members could use the study as a way to publicly air their opinions on a variety of topics, without fear of interruption (so long as the answer was couched in enough "theocratese").

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  TMS

  
  Even congregation prayers can be a vehicle for "sermonizing," calling attention to trends, asking Jehovah to adjust the thinking of mislead ones.

  Unwarranted "digs" can be found in any talk, prayer, comment or experience given at the Kingdom Hall.

  Its a subtle technique learned from reading the Watchtower, where counsel can be subtle and implied, not straight-forward.

  It would be funny to see a perpetrator get called out at the Kingdom Hall: "What are you implying Bro. Forktongue? Are you trying to say I'm materialistic?"

  tms
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  46

  Whut

  by Farkel in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  thought i might post some.

  what would you like to hear?.

  farkel

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  TMS

  Just don't spend too much time on it. You know generation x has a short attention span.

  tms
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  24

  Did you know of any JW elders or JW pioneers that were "racist"?

  by booker-t in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i know this might sound like a question from "la-la" land but as a black ex-jws most of the white jw's that i did have contact with were really nice.

  i was talking to a hispanic ex-jws the other day and he was telling me of some of the racist experiences he had as a jw.

  i did not contradict him but i never experienced racism from caucasian jw's.

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  TMS

  There are a few references below to racism among JW's.

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/7391/86653/post.ashx#86653

  I spent thirty years as an elder in Arkansas. I met a few crusty old elders who were openly racist and a few younger ones more subtle in their racism. There were contradictions all over the place. Even racist JW's didn't mind field service in black areas. It sort of reinforced their superiority to see the run-down housing, etc. I knew a couple of prominent elders who scrambled like crazy to prevent their daughters from marrying black brothers.

  Generally, JW's work hard to overcome any appearance of prejudice.

  I spent a few years as well on the Texas-Mexico border. The relationship between the "English" and "Spanish" congregations is curious. Both groups tend to do their own thing, despite worshipping the same god.

  tms
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  45

  Here it is: my da letter

  by BlackSwan of Memphis in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i sent it out nov 14. my bday.

  thought that i would finally share it with you guys.

  in the end, that story is just not that important now.

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  TMS

  Black Swan,

  Well done. Your carefully distilled JW history, contradictions and failures contained not one unnecessary word. Unfortunately, the typical witness would mentally shut down twenty words in. A witness mom or dad might gloss over the entire letter looking for the faintest hope of your "return."

  Your profile indicates you are in your thirties. If so, you have an opportunity to steer your life more productively. Although my wife and I are enjoying retirement, we would trade chronological places with you in a heartbeat and do so many things differently.

  tms
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  33

  Hi ~ new here...

  by Riverwatcher in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm so happy to have found this site.

  i'm not a j/w, but my son is.

  several years ago, he became involved with a j/w, although she was being shunned at the time.

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  TMS

  {QUOTE}"Go to the hall with him. He will just be ecstatic! Meet the folks at the hall. Ask them about their personal lives. Don't let them put you in a charicature. He will try to get you to start a study, try to avoid that!{/QUOTE}

  Riverwatcher,

  The above is very good advice, although difficult to pull off. If you were able to make an appearance at the Kingdom Hall without divulging your true feelings, it would enhance your position immeasurably. The elders and others of the young couples' peer group would have difficulty painting you as evil. Someone viewed as a potential convert gets the very best from Jehovah's Witnesses.

  You are just buying time for your son to wake up of his own volition. There is no other way for him to do that. No rational argument, threat of disinheritance, criticism of his choice of spouse and her parents, etc. will do nothing but solidify his stance.

  It's going to be a long haul. Good luck!

  tms
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  14

  What have Jehovah's Witnesses made known?

  by joelbear in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  after a century of preaching and selling literaturature what do people know about the jw's message.

  they don't take blood transfusions.

  they don't celebrate birthdays.

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  TMS

  They have made known that God's name is Jehovah or something similar in an individual language. Of course, the exact pronunciation of the name is lost. What matters, though, is that we use a name for God, something common in one's language. This makes us a "people for his name."

  Does that make any sense at all?

  tms
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  33

  Anyone from Seattle Here?

  by NiecyMe in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  would love to meet some people in the area...or know were everyone is hanging out.

  it would be nice to meet some people that share my past life as a jw.

  i am enjoying hearing about all the stories.

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  TMS

  I was born in Renton, finished school in Kent. Although, I left the area many, many years ago, I still have many JW relatives in the Seattle area.

  tms