d id they tell you they were taking care of the brothers and sisters in need in other countries?..
did they tell you that your contributions were being used for disaster relief?..
did they tell you that your contributions were being used for humanitarian assistance?..
How many of the active members that you've known rely on government disability, public assistance, government health insurance, etc in order to make it through the last days of "this dying system"?
If it's like my part of the country ... a LOT !
We've heard for years how this system of things makes life so difficult for Jehovah's faithful...and we're SOOO persecuted.
so i found this video on youtube.
apparently a loyal jw put it together as a kind of "video tour" to show their friends, etc.
i don't know what's worse, the creepy music (is this what we've been hearing about?
What a utilitarian environment.
It's like they used an old Soviet city planner/architect to create the design. Everything seems focused on function - even the entry halls and 'relaxation' areas are about as visually exciting as the printery's rooms.
The only way to jazz it up was to add ... cheesy, interactive displays?
where do you guys find old tower books and material other than flea bay and their outragous prices?
looking for some of the old books..
Visit archive.org
Put 'Finished Mystery' in the search bar.
You'll have it....for free. These are scanned books that can be read or downloaded. Tons of JW and Bible Student publications.
the recent boe letter announcing changes to the duration of circuit assemblies was warmly received by congregations the worldover.
it was as if the brothers and sisters were already in the new world for, upon hearing this news, there were no tears at all.
instead, it is a humble acknowledgement from the gb of the mind-numbing, yawn-inducing 2-day circuit assemblies.. .
Assemblies and conventions are the closest event to a 'Holiday' for Jehovah's Witnesses.
It's like a family reunion of sorts - with your 'NEW' family. We travel together, we spend the whole day together, we eat together, we sleep under the same roof together, we all dress (look) alike, we talk alike, we read together, we take pictures of each other, we find our future husband or wife, we hug, laugh, cry, sing & reminisce, talk about the dead and the sick members of our 'family', congratulate the newlyweds and new parents, listen to experiences and hardships of our 'family'; applaud their accomplishments, strength and determination.
Meanwhile the aged non-JW parent sits alone in the living room wishing that his children and grandchildren would come visit him for one weekend this year...but their lives are just so busy now-a-days.
the ever faithful and discreet slave has provided a bountiful season of busy-work for the next 3-4 months!!
memorial season ( the last??
lol!!!
Traditional advertising cost WAY too much money.
The Big Bosses want to spend that money on infrastructure - the NEW World Headquarters complex, regional assembly halls and on new Kingdom Halls (donation collection buildings) in areas of the world where people are poor & uneducated (the lifeblood of any successful religion).
I am anticipating a series of JW.org pop-up advertisements to be developed for the internet in the near future...
thete are a lot of derocatory comments sbout witnesses and cleaning windows.
as a former window cleaner i can say:-.
a. i started my self employment at 17.. b. i built the round with my own initiative.. c. i was soon making 4 times the average hourly wage.. d. i was afraid of heights, but as the round grew i employed 2 people.. e. it exspanded to gardening painting and decorating ect, ect,.
You sound like a hard working entrepreneur. Good for you!
Window cleaning (and carpet cleaning, lawn care, fast food work, construction laborer, etc.) is an important job.
Some of us choose to earn a living in other ways. That's all. I don't knock what you do for a living. So try not to be defensive. I just decided early on that I'd rather make a living with my mind - not with my muscles.
Every person walks his own path in life.
they claim their schools, literature and teaching are far more superior than any "worldly" education.
how would you counter that belief?.
Reading is an essential skill to successfully navigate through life. JW's do promote that skill - but so do other religions, community groups, civic organizations and public schools.
The problem with Jehovah's Witnesses and reading is that a follower must ONLY read from sources that the leadership approves. A member is not allowed (and will be disfellowshipped) if they read anything that is critical of the leadership and the organization.
We are told repeatedly that the media is manipulated by big business and religion and any news stories that expose the Society and it's policies are LIES.
this is a story about a (former) elder in my kh.
this was the po for many, many years.
he used to always call me when i didn't turn in my fs report.
I've seen this happen a number of times over the last 40 years. "Elders" - by the way are human too - get disfellowshipped / reproved every month of the year. If the circumstances around the disfellowshipping were very public, those guys get the axe and the door slammed in their face.
A really good guy in a local congregation was married to a girl for twenty years when it came out that she was getting it on with an elder in the congregation. This elder and this guy were 'best friends' - the elder and his wife would vacation with this other couple. Everything hit the fan right before the elder was set to give the Memorial talk. He was DF'ed quick!
After the divorces, the two married and were reinstated within three years. They did this by playing by the rules - making all the meetings, underlining with highlighters and quarterly reinstatement requests.
If you play the game, you will get reinstated. If you don't, they'll give you the silent treatment and hope you go away.
I knew a dozen or more (of names I can recall) that were faithful, old-timer JW's who were buried in the 1960's, 70's and 80's without headstones or grave markers.
My folks always told me that it was because we had a hard time accepting "unnatural" death.
ginger
as a little background - i was born-in to being a witness, back in '79, in detroit, in mostly black and poor congregations.
baptized when 10-ish, stayed around, was on the fast track to ms, but faded when i moved out at 24ish.. there was a combination of a few things that got me on the road to "freedom" from the cognitive dissonance that kept me "in the truth" for so long.
the main thing was, being an artist and studying marketing, my thinking was patterned to constantly question if i was doing something "correctly," as constant improvement and questioning is what facilitates artistic and mental growth.
It's ALL about appearances.
"Dress and grooming"....and being at all the meetings, raising your hand, turning in service time, taking on 'special' privileges and responsibilities (titles and positions), driving a 'sensible' car, living in a 'modest' home and having a job (not a career).
You must limit your education, association, recreation....and give freely (to the organization) your wife, husband, children, money, real estate, jewelry, stocks and bonds, life insurance policies, retirement funds and (last but not least) your personal time.
ginger
