until a couple of months ago i was an uber-spiritual pioneer, only having association with other pioneers, elders and others who would fill in the category i classified as "spiritually acceptable" friends.. but since stopping pioneering and having more time to think about my doubts and what i really believe (or better said, what i no longer believe), i have started getting to know other less spiritual brothers and sisters of the area.
in fact, my old friends are starting to forget me quite quickly, i must say.
so, i guess my next move in fading is becoming what i call the average witness.. and what did i discover?
James Jack, your comment about sisters wearing bikinis at a pool party made me chuckle. That seems so very appropriate! Maybe I've been out too long and have forgotten, but do JWs really have issues with wearing bikinis to the pool?
Are you kidding? Of course the R&F do! Heck, I bet half the Witnesses don't believe in going swimming in the company with the opposite sex! Too much temptation.
until a couple of months ago i was an uber-spiritual pioneer, only having association with other pioneers, elders and others who would fill in the category i classified as "spiritually acceptable" friends.. but since stopping pioneering and having more time to think about my doubts and what i really believe (or better said, what i no longer believe), i have started getting to know other less spiritual brothers and sisters of the area.
in fact, my old friends are starting to forget me quite quickly, i must say.
so, i guess my next move in fading is becoming what i call the average witness.. and what did i discover?
So true! Imagine at 50 and for over 30 years you only hung out with Super Spiritual Ones! Yeah, it's an eye opener to be with just the regular pubs.
In my case, we had a pool party with no appointed individuals, and we had a blast! A little over drinking, a little cussing, some inappropriate music and 2 sisters had bikinis on. I told everyone, "what happens here, never happened "! One sister even had to puke. Everything was cool, been 8 months since our party, no reports made to the Elders and everyone wants more parties like this one!
"Yeah Baby"
there's a beautiful sky this morning.
it's my birthday, today i'm 64 and look every inch of it, but i appreciate my life and feel fortunate to be cult-free.
also very fortunate to have a purposeful and entertaining existence here in gorgeous north georgia (in the usa).
I don't know if you are close to Chattanooga, TN, there is a Cuban Restaurant named Embargo 62, we celebrated our Anniversary there last week. Very authentic!
"When I get older, losing my hair... when I'm 64..." John Lennon
Congrats, Santiago (James)
i always wondered that while i was in especially when i was an elder.
i recognize that some people,elders included are brain-dead.
but do you think that the average older today knows it's all nonsense?
At first, I just glossed over this subject, then decided to read everyone's comments thus far. I will say from personal experience, it is a mindset. Most Elders in my opinion, have never in the secular business world, held any type of managerial position over people. They become an Elder, then they "hand out assignments", "make appointments", "Judge peoples lives(JC)", "Give Talks and Demonstrations on the stage", "Have their closed door meetings, Elder Letters, their own Elder's manual, privy for their eye's only", "Conduct Meeting Parts", you can see the process.
I was an Elder for some 20 plus years and had many "Privileges" on the Circuit and Regional level, The COBE, etc. Some Brothers were in my opinion, were jealous at these Privileges, that when my Adult son got DF, they found a loop hole to delete me( although other Elders had similar things happen, but were allowed to keep serving). The CO stood up to the rest of the Body in my behalf and was willing to take it to the Branch. And I said:" If these men do not want me to serve, then I don't want to be on a Body that doesn't want me". That whole experience damaged me "Spiritually". In fact, it got me searching the Internet, discovering TTAT, joining this site. Now, I have this void of not knowing my future, the curtain has been drawn back and I see "the guy pulling all the strings and pushing all the buttons" and saying to myself, "What am I going to do now".
although not in print yet - 440 bethelites reassigned, was the figure i heard from the platform as to how many bethelites have been reassigned to the field in one way or another in the usa
A buddy of mine in Brooklyn says, as of a week ago, just a little over a hundred left there and, he has been assigned to Puerto Rico. Adios Amigo!
so a few months ago, a friend sent me an actual copy of finished mystery which was published in 1917 (not a pdf download... the actual book).
i must say, this was the most disturbing book i have ever had the displeasure of reading.
but i only read it because this was the main publication that was being distributed worldwide when jesus supposedly chose the watchtower in 1918 and i basically wanted to see for myself what jesus saw in the wt that would compel him to choose this religious corporation over all other religious denominations.. anyway, if anyone is interested in knowing the actual contents of this book, here are some bullet points i put together from some of the notes i took as i read the book:.
Me and another Brother were told to take out of the Library every book published before 1980 because "the Apostates could this information in these pulications against us."
how is the org really run?
what goes on behind the scenes?.
i just read an older post on this site that was recently bumped (http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/6600/1/don-adams-biography) the post mentioned the adams brothers don, karl, & joel and how influential they are/were at headquarters.
Don Wallace(Retired CO, DO, now an Elder in Scottsboro Alabama), told me at a luncheon recently, "The Governing Body does not run the WBTS, but when they walk in the room, everyone falls to their knees!"
wondering if simon or anyone else have statistics for this site?i.e.
how many users are there?
how many posts have ever been made?perhaps a graph showing how many users there were at a given time?
This would be an interesting read!!!
hi everyone i don't even know where to begin.
i recently saw leah remini's series on scientology thanks to my husband (semi-active jw) and i felt like my eyes were being opened for the 1st time in my adult life.
i felt shaken almost sick to my stomach with each episode i watched.
Get ready for an awakening. Then, confusion as to how you are able to process the Real Truth!
my mom, while pregnant with me, was one of thousands of jw volunteers to work on the construction of this once beautiful assembly hall in south florida circa 1984. it had a beautiful pond, waterfall, and even a resident alligator.
many remember it as well for it's huge plaster murals on the walls showing scenes of paradises.. pics as it was before (sorry for the low quality, struggled to find good pics of the auditorium as it was, if you have any good ones, do share them):.
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I worked many weekends there, free labor to build this Assembly Hall.
