Posts by TMS

There was something beneath the mascara: a large-hearted, happy, non-judgemental person. She would have been the laughingstock of any Kingdom Hall in the world. But so would many good-hearted people.

tms

44

Human Nature

by nvrgnbk in

jw
friends

are we essentially moral beings, corrupted by society?.

or are we in fact amoral, socialized by cultural pressures and religious beliefs?.

Human Nature

by nvrgnbk in

jw
friends

are we essentially moral beings, corrupted by society?.

or are we in fact amoral, socialized by cultural pressures and religious beliefs?.

TMS

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/19187/1.ashx

tms

15

What is the JW's take on pets?

by Dragonlady76 in

jw
friends

i have always loved animals and have had pets through out the years, so that got me thinking about my jw childhood, not to many dubs had pets, i remember only a small handful of dubs that had a dog.

i wondered if there is a jw realted reason for this, so far the only thing that i can think of is that a pet "would take up valuable time that could be better spent on field service" .

any one have some information on this?.

TMS

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/9890/1.ashx

tms

14

Culture, Class, and Congregations

by saywhat29 in

i know this is nothing new- the thought of the bible being just a story and a blend of culture and of how people interpreted the world around them and recorded it as such.

it's very athiest..y, even if don't consider myself an athiest.

because culture and class also affects how people look at the bible whether they believe it or not.

The first Bible Students with pocket watches, pillbox hats and Puritanical values created the ambience for Jehovah's Witnesses. Rutherford hardened the focus, bringing a more militant, less genteel blend. Knorr turned the whole thing into a gigantic, well-oiled business. It's an Anglo-Saxon group really that has recruited other ethnicities.

The way different cultures respond to Watchtower guidelines is one hilarious subject. I don't pretend to have enough life experience and travel opportunities to have witnessed various cultures interpetation of serving Jehovah, but I know it varies greatly. Ten years in a black congregation in the U.S. taught me that talks given there were not given anywhere else. I smile now when I pass a Spanish circuit assembly at a community recreation area and see the little girls in dresses and boys in suits and ties riding the bumper cars between sessions. I love it!

tms

297

BETHELITES - Whatever Became of?

by Black Man in

jw
friends

i often times wonder what happened to certain bethelites that i ran around with during my 1990s tenure there.

while there are still a few left there, the greater majority of them aren't there for various reasons (marriage, disillusionment, left the borg, etc).

a couple of cats i wonder about - there was one brother who i believe was from kansas, who got his fingers cut off in a printing press.

TMS

Horrible Life,

You mentioned Leroy Langan. Not sure if he had a Bethel background. He became a Circuit Overseer in August 1970. I was a young Congregation Servant(Overseer) in his first congregation visit. He was from Tulsa, OK. He married a very attractive sister from Mena, AR. He had some training in geology and had worked for one of the oil companies.

We became semi-friends until one evening he invited my wife and I to his trailer for a turkey dinner. He had bragged about his wife's oyster nut dressing. The dinner pleasantries ended abruptly when Leroy learned we didn't know how to play a certain card game. He became annoyed and opened up a newspaper to partition us from his face. We left quietly not knowing what we had done wrong.

I ran into Leroy years later at an assembly. He was in news service and wanted to stage some phony action shots of the characters in our assembly drama. I let him know that it wasn't a war drama. Lol!

One former Bethelite I am curious about is Roger Ramsey from Arkansas. I think he was on what JT used to call the "fast track". . . .perhaps involved in circuit overseer scheduling. Last I heard he had left the borg and his younger brother Keith was in circuit work.

I'm sure no one remembers my close friends George Pringle and Charles Maxwell. They left Bethel in the 50's. George is in Kent, WA and Charles is in Port Townsend, WA.

tms

8

Famous Presiding Overseers

by mtsgrad in

jw
friends

i think dr perry cox from scrubs would be a brilliant presiding overseer.. dr. cox is sarcastic, unpleasant and narcissistic.

however, he is a very skilled doctor.

he would not care what the co said, would ignore the watchtower or governing body at will.

TMS

Sheriff Taylor played by Andy Griffith would have been a great PO with commonsense replacing strict rule interpretation.

Unfortunately, there are more Barney Fifes among elders than Sheriff Taylors.

tms

82

Have You Ever Met A "Celebrity" or Actually See One Face To Face?

by minimus in

jw
friends

while i was in new york i walked by two men and one looked like the comedian jackie mason whom i adore.

i looked at him and said, "i just wanted to say how much i enjoy your shows.

i've seen you perform a number of times".

TMS

Never having lived in one of the meccas of the rich & famous, I've run into just a few so-called celebrities. Thank you Minimus for such a carefully worded thread title. As a holy JW I was reluctant to say much to prominent worldlings, lest it be viewed as "idol worship".

Muhammad Ali: While attending Kingdom Ministry School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in early 1970, a couple of local brothers gave us a bus tour of the sights of the city. We saw Charles Taze Russell's grave with the epitaph "faithful and wise servant" clearly inscribed. We toured a church that used to be a Watchtower building. A loony elder from California got the holy spirit and shouted out: "God damn this church!" A self-righteous Cleveland elder let it be known that he didn't attend KM School for such frivolous activities as a bus tour. He stayed on the bus, reading his Bible. At a stop light a bunch of us almost at once saw Muhammad Ali, the heavyweight champion. I think it was the California loudmouth again who shouted out: "Cassius Clay!" Ali looked up and smiled to the waving elders.

Most of my other "sightings" occurred at my 30 year employment with Kroger(a job made possible by following the slave's direction on education).

Garth Brooks: A stocky man in a black cowboy hat came through my checkout line late at night. He was very polite, paying cash for a snack item. I did not recognize him at all. Moments later two teenaged girls wanted to know what Mr. Brooks had purchased. I told them. One girl squealed: "Oh, I just LOVE Cheetos!!"

The Everly Brothers: I did recognize these guys, especially after hearing they were in Little Rock for a concert. They were in the store at about 1:00 am after a concert. The had a shopping cart filled with frozen vegetables, no meat and a microwave oven. I just assumed they didn't want to eat at Denny's.

Natalie Cole: Bought some pantyhose and a couple beauty aids.

Sidney Moncrief: Former Milwaukee Buck and Arkansas Razorback star, probably could have been elected governor of Arkansas at the height of his popularity. His mother, Mrs. Perkins was a regular customer. His estranged dad was nearly a streat person, but wore a faded t-shirt with the inscription: "Number 32 is my son".

Bill Clinton: Did a photo-op at one of the stores I worked at. Very personable. He sacked groceries and carried them out for the ladies for almost two hours. This was during his last run for the governorship of Arkansas.

Ed Bradley: CBS "60 Minutes" man. Saw him at a mall. Can't remember the story he was working on. He was buying a gift for his aunt who lived in Pine Bluff.

Anthony Davis: Working in field service with an almost clueless elderly circuit overseer, Joel Meeks. I think it was September 1973. The USC Trojans were in Little Rock for a game with the Arkansas Razorbacks. For some reason the USC coach John McKay had the Trojans sightseeing on Main Street in Little Rock. The street ends in almost a ghetto where we were preaching. Meeks asked me who all these boys were. I told him about the USC-UA game. I remember having Anthony Davis, the later Heisman Trophy winner walk right by me. I'm short by any standard(5'7"), but Anthony and I met eyeball to eyeball.

tms

93

YOU "THINK" YOU KNOW.....BUT...YOU DON'T KNOW!!

by Terry in

the door to door work is a sham.. the central activity of the watchtower bible and tract society is not spreading their so-called "messege" about the kingdom of jehovah established in the heavens in 1914. that's a load of propaganda.. the door to door activity is feckless in producing converts.

in fact, it is an immense failure of mammoth proportions!.

but, it is a diversion.

TMS

Terry,

I understand your suspicions while leaning toward HS's description of the GB's mental state. But many questions could be asked concerning the proper use of the "King's interests".

Forgetting non-JW charity for a moment, why not sell a few buildings and build hundreds of modest Kingdom Halls in the third world?

If it's not greedy to hoard real estate, it is certainly miserly. Is it not the modern equivalent of "burying your talents" to be found in the Lord's Day with millions of dollars of donated monies tied up

in real estate holdings? Or is real estate really the "worldwide work" the contribution box refers to? Isn't maintaining a large stock portfolio gambling with the Lord's money?

tms