Ustabee

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Posts by Ustabee

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  15

  Yet another caption contest

  by bboyneko in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  let's see how much fun we can have with this one:.

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  Ustabee

  Pardon me, Ma'am, Do you know the meaning of the Lord's Prayer?
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  7

  Husband to meet the enemy

  by Daisymay in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i will be traveling to ca w/my husband soon.

  for part of the trip, we plan to stay w/ my jw aunt and uncle.

  they are very supportive of me and i'm still their favorite niece - even though i am technically "bad association".

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  Ustabee

  Have him say, "I've been reading a very good book by Ray Franz, 'Crisis of Conscience', have you read it yet? It's very informative about the Watchtower Society's inner workings." Might want to find a convenient motel after that.
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  36

  Special Judicial Committees

  by JEMIMAH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  you will have to understand that i have to change a few details here and there so that i can't be identified.. as many of you are aware i serve as an elder, and from time to time i have been asked by the service desk to handle matters for them by means of "the special committee arrangement".

  (a phrase you will not find in any wt letter or elders textbook.

  ) just to explain.. "a special committee is often set up when, an original committee (ojc)decides to disfellowship an individual, who then appeals against the judgement.

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  Ustabee

  Jemimah:

  Also having served as an elder and sat in on a few committees, and then having been DF'd myself, I think I have a unique perspective to offer on this issue. Here goes:

  In all the committees I sat on, the only reason the person was there was because they had 'confessed' some serious sin. Usually, these persons were considered 'weak' by the BOE. If they weren't repentant about the sin, why did they 'confess' and face a committee? The ones who didn't care what we did or said, usually didn't meet with us, anyway. Case closed. I always wondered, 'Why are we thinking about DF'ing this person when it is so obvious that they need help and support, not 'the spritual axe.''

  I'm sure you've heard the old saw, "They need to be taught a lesson, and this is the only thing that will wake them up." Hogwash! Cutting someone off from their family and support structure really teaches them a lesson all right. In almost every case of DF'g in my 22 yrs in the JW's, it did more harm than good. The DF'd individual never recovered from the humiliation it caused. And let me tell you, it is the most humiliating thing to have to come into the KH and sit in the back and ignore people you thought were your closest friends, ["Closer even than a brother."] And have them ignore you like you were an invisible ghost. To get reinstated, you have to grovel and whine like a baby to even to get a hearing.

  In one case, a brother had been DF'd by an out of state cong, after 2 or 3 yrs, the guy applied to us for reinstatement. We recommended it to the other cong. Guess what? No go! "Not enough time" Here this poor guy was in our cong, hadn't been anywhere near the other BOE for years and they knew better than we did! So, he writes the WTS in Brooklyn, lo and behold! two months later here comes a letter from the BOE in the other cong, 'We have considered Bro. 'Bad Guy's' letter for reinstatement and have decided to reinstate him.' If the guy hadn't got their 'bags' in a wringer with the CO and DO, he would still be waiting for reinstatement.

  In a nutshell, the Judicial Arrangement is full of @##!. It is impossible for imperfect men to render a perfect decision. It causes more problems than it solves; and, it is heartlessly administered by the untrained and underinformed. In those 22 years, I never saw a case where the cong needed to be 'protected'from an individual who had come to the BOE with the problem. Most of the time, the 'practicer of sin' had quit attending the meetings and didn't want anything more to do with the cong. So why DF them? Gotta keep things 'clean.'

  You are quite right to be questioning the Judicial Arrangement, it is just what some of the other posters have called it. Look at it from the other side of the fence and you will gain a new insight.

  Good Luck!
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  16

  1st door-to-door?

  by Moxy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the society tries very hard to present the idea that the door-to-door work was essentially the same in the 1st century as now.

  the rendering of 'door to door' in ac5:42 creates that impression.

  so do the talks that discuss the missionary efforts then in modern terms (eg "paul was making a return visit here on an interested one") philo's hospitality question earlier shows that we have all been a bit taken in by this.. wt covers like this (4/1/01) sure help too:.

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  Ustabee

  If you look really closely, you can see the blue smoke from the '81 Maverick parked in the drive.
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  6

  Said Goodbye

  by Ustabee in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  after lurking around myself and posting in reply to norm.

  i decided i'd better try to explain my personal view toward the wts.

  i was baptized in 1976 and, over the years, served as a ms and elder.

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  Ustabee

  Yep, they came bouncing in and announced themselves to the reception desk (three staff members on duty) and my secretary comes back and says , "Mr. So and So and Mr. Such and Such are here to see you." I couldn't believe it!

  Yes, it is great my kids are out, too. I have four JW's that work for me, and they all treat me with respect. Of course, I sign their paychecks, but one who was an MS is no longer attending the meetings and wears a stud in his lower lip and a goatee. He asked me if the stud would cause problems for him at work, naturally, I said no. Turns out his elder father was removed from the body because he told the rest of the body that they were putting the WTS over Jehovah. Got him off the body so fast! On top of that, the 'studded one'is married to a sister and one of the elders supposedly made advances to this sister at the KH! Good Gawd! I remember thinking when he told me this that I would have probably had to just naturally whip this elder's ass! This is the spiritual paradise we hear so much about!

  Yesterday, I went to the market and as I walk in the door here comes a brother who was a 'friend' of mine coming out the door. Looked right through me. Thanks, buddy! Good riddance, I say!

  Jeez, I need to get off my soapbox!
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  16

  1st door-to-door?

  by Moxy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the society tries very hard to present the idea that the door-to-door work was essentially the same in the 1st century as now.

  the rendering of 'door to door' in ac5:42 creates that impression.

  so do the talks that discuss the missionary efforts then in modern terms (eg "paul was making a return visit here on an interested one") philo's hospitality question earlier shows that we have all been a bit taken in by this.. wt covers like this (4/1/01) sure help too:.

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  Ustabee

  This doesn't look anything like my door to door experiences. The householder actually looks like he's LISTENING! That can't be!
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  6

  Said Goodbye

  by Ustabee in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  after lurking around myself and posting in reply to norm.

  i decided i'd better try to explain my personal view toward the wts.

  i was baptized in 1976 and, over the years, served as a ms and elder.

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  Ustabee

  After lurking around myself and posting in reply to Norm. I decided I'd better try to explain my personal view toward the WTS. I was baptized in 1976 and, over the years, served as a MS and elder. In 1993 I was DF'd after one hearing and spent the next year and a half getting reinstated. (Big Mistake!) Knocked around til 1998 and just walked away. By then, I had come to a lot of conclusions about what was going on in the org. All bad, too, BTW. So, I tried to walk away quietly and live my own life. No chance! The CO comes to town and evidently asks about Bro. 'Duck out the back.' Next thing I know here comes the CO and another elder into my office (of all places!) asking why I'm not at the meetings, etc. Rather than throwing them out, I proceeded to close the door and give both of them an earful for about 30 minutes. They quietly leave, two weeks later here come two elders, (back to my office, in front of my staff!) and proceed to ask me about my now wife and our relationship. At the point where they tried to put the guilt trip on me about violating God's law and you should dump this lady and return to the fold, I just said, "Boys, you do what you have to do, I'm through." Haven't been bothered since. The good news is, my son and daughter got out around the same time and I have my family intact, married to a non JW lady who thinks JW's are kooks. So now I'm a Ustabee.

  The WTS cost me a military career and a lot of years that could have been put to better use. Interestingly, while I was an elder, I encouraged my kids to (1) go to college, (2) have friends that were worth having, not just JW's, (3) tried real hard not to be a total asshole. That may be why the BOE saw their chance and jettisoned me before I could do any more harm.

  At any rate, if you are considering becoming a JW, think and think again, then run like hell!
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  44

  Wrong date

  by tattoogrl333 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hello i'm new to the whole jw study thing, but they said it fell in 607 but due to the advice of others here i looked it up.

  i found in 3 encyclopedia's online that it fell in 586. i printed them out and am going to get more.

  i'm going to show the lady i study with, i'm just curious what you think will happen, and if she will try to deny it.

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  Ustabee

  Why Fred:

  I thought you didn't want to follow me on the board! How nice to hear from you again! ;)
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  44

  Wrong date

  by tattoogrl333 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hello i'm new to the whole jw study thing, but they said it fell in 607 but due to the advice of others here i looked it up.

  i found in 3 encyclopedia's online that it fell in 586. i printed them out and am going to get more.

  i'm going to show the lady i study with, i'm just curious what you think will happen, and if she will try to deny it.

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  Ustabee

  She will deny it and try to get you off the subject. Keep researching, though. Try the book, 'Gentile Times Reconsidered' available from commentarypress.org. The 1914 date is exposed by all competent authority as bogus. That's a big pill for a JW to swallow.
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  65

  The dim people

  by Norm in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the dim people.

  the new world society.

  the chosen, brain dead, scared people.. the watchtower's obedient parrots.

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  Ustabee

  Kent:

  You said...

  "Well, I believe you're a real prime example of an idiot. I don't know what you look like, but I believe you're ugly as hell. I also do believe you had a lobothomy a few years back."

  Why, thank you, Kent, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me. I am ugly, no doubt about that. As for the lobotomy(sic), well, I woke up one day and my JW cell had been removed from my brain. I don't know if that would qualify as a lobotomy.

  I seem to be getting a lot of flack about not criticizing people as individuals for what they believe. Please know that I certainly didn't mean that all beliefs are worthy of respect. Beliefs are subject to acceptance or rejection. That's our own personal decision.

  To win over a person to your point of view requires persuasion, not a frontal assault on their value system. Insult someone and their attitude becomes, 'Don't confuse me with the facts, my mind is made up.' Show them the opposing view and let their own logical thinking process work it out. How many former JW posts on this forum and others reflect this very process? Quite a few, I would guess.

  That's all I'm saying... Insult someone they become angry and defensive... reason with them and you have a chance to change their point of view.