Posts by undercover

29

"JUST DO IT"

by minimus in

jw
friends

those 3 words embody the basic direction of the governing body, the watchtower society, the district and circuit overseers and the elders...."just do it!

".....you're depressed because you've just lost your job?

you are heartsick because you realize that your father has got cancer?

I liked your management course lesson. It reminded me of when I was deleted as an MS at an old congregation many years ago. No words of encouragment, no warning. Just a "can we see you a minute" after the meeting one night. They informed me that due to my low hours in field service they were deleting me as an MS. Some would think that that would be a humiliating or sobering experience. But for me it was the opposite. I felt like a heavy load was lifted off of my shoulders. I no longer had to "live up" to certain standards. I could be myself again. I could relax and actually enjoy the meetings(pre-doubt days). It felt great. I actually thanked them. Of course some years later I got duped into serving again. And after getting deleted the second time I felt the same as the first. It won't happen again I can assure you.

30

Organized Dub Rave Parties...Easy sex optional!

by yxl1 in

jw
friends

my wife had a long drive home from north yorkshire with her younger brother (who is a dub) last night.

she was asking him questions about his social life and was very surprised at his response.

apparently, each week in london some brothers organize raves in various hired nightclubs.

undercover

I remember a CO going off at an elder/MS meeting about the friends renting nightclubs and having JW nights. It was wrong, wrong, wrong. I remember thinking, why? If only JWs can attend, what's the big deal.

I remember a group of JWs got together and started a band. They got some gigs around town at some bars. Once word leaked out, the elders with the backing of the CO squashed that pretty damn quick. So these same guys decided to rent a recreation center once a month or so and play there. They would invite anyone to come and even play along if they could play an instrument. All they asked was that everyone chip in something to help pay for the rental of the building(not unlike renting a gym to play basketball). Any overage of money would go to the contribution box at the hall. That got squashed too. I remember hearing one line of reasoning was "that it wasn't right to charge the friends to come watch them play worldly music". Another was that, "it's not fair to those that can't play an instrument or can't afford to chip in".

Of course, I bought the company line and never questioned the banning of these fun things. Now, though, I feel stupid for ever letting anyone control me enough into never seeing the stupidity of it all.

24

Elders misusing donations for "the Worldwide Work" in Oz

by ozziepost in

the december issue of "kingdom ministry" for australia carries this announcement:.

"as a reminder to the brothers handling the congregation accounts, donations placed in the boxes for the worldwide work are to be remitted monthly and should not be used for payment on a kingdom hall property loan or for any other congregation expense.".

fancy that!

undercover

The elders wanted to do that in a couple of congregations where my hubbie was accounts servant, that is use the money donated to the www to pay the mortgage. He told them that he wasn't going to "cook the books" and they backed down. They finally had a talk "reminding" the publishers that any money donated to the www could not be used for the mortgage and to be sure to put their donations in the right boxes.

Ya know, this kinda stuff is stupid. Give, give, give. But make sure you put it in the right box.

If I remember correctly there are three different boxes in the halls. The local monies, the Worldwide Work(read literature sales) and Building Fund(read real estate scam). Why does it have to split apart? Why not have one box, collect all the monies, pay the bills, send a percentage each month back to New York and keep a small kitty for local emergancies or repairs? Two reasons come to mind: One, if you have three distinct funds that need money, subconsciensly people feel the need to give to all three and two; It's not about serving God or preaching or whatever. It's about money. It's a corporation, not a church.

35

Music Banned by the WTS

by Nosferatu in

here are some of the bands, preformers, songs, and albums that the watchtower society has banned from it's members.

see if you can spot your favorite!!.

w93 2/22 25-27take heavy-metal music-a particularly noxious form of hard rock that is usually played at ear-splitting volume.

undercover

"One pill makes you larger, one pill makes you small, but the pill your mother gave you did nothing for you at all."

They really showed their ignorance on this one. That song, "White Rabbit" by The Jefferson Airplane used imagery from "Alice in Wonderland". The band was trying to convey their feelings on how people of the time were so hypocritical. The "squares" of the day were all up in arms about kids and drugs but yet were drug addicts themselves. They took prescription pills and drank booze but the pills and pot that the kids took was illegal and immoral. How ignorant that the WTS didn't research the meaning of the songs that they mentioned before blasting them or the bands that sang them.

Elders sometimes tried to look like they were in the know by mentioning actual band names or song titles at assemblies and at the hall. A 60s something elder(back in the late 60s, early 70s) who reads the lyrics to a Beatles song not only looked silly, he sounded like an idiot. He can't be taken serious. Just a few years ago I was visiting friends at a District Convention and an elder was giving the annual debasing music talk and he was blasting rap and hip-hop. He mentioned one artist(?) by name except he mis-pronounced it: He called this particular artist Snoopy Dog Dog. Everyone who was in the know busted out laughing. The rest, realizing he must have messed up, couldn't help but get caught up in the infectious laughing. So did he prove his point about the sinfulness of rap music, or did he just verify how out of it he was?

32

Just curious, what have some of you done with your exspensive book bags?

by Singing Man in

i use my book bag to store my computer soft ware in its perfect for that.

and as for all the old issues of magazines i used them to start my wood stove on those cold mornings.

one time i asked for a lot of older issues from the friends so i could use them to line the bottom of my camp tent, they were more than happy to give them to me.

undercover

remember those big bulky square bags that the elders carried into the hall and set next to their chair in the aisle??

Yea, I remember tripping over them as I ran the microphones at the WT study.

I knew one guy whose book "bag" had wheels and handle like the roll-aboard luggage you see these days. He'd come wheeling into the hall looking all important because he had such a big bag. We used to laugh behind his back and say he was just trying to make up for a lack of size in other areas. We must have been right because his wife left him several years later.

66

Do u know any JW"s that have suicided?

by Rick Aust in

jw
friends

sorry if this is a sad question, but i know of 3 jw's that have suicided.

i haven't known any personally, but i was wondered if you know any or know of any jw's that have suiced?

and do you know the reason why?

undercover

I knew a couple of JWs that did. One was an elder's wife. She had problems and eventually took her life. The elders blamed the demons for the voices in her head. Looking back, I know now that she needed professional help, not elders telling her to pray more. Some of her blood is on their heads.

Another was a very good friend of mine. I still think about him quite often. His suicide was a complete shock to everyone that knew him. I knew he wasn't completely happy but I had no idea he was that despondant. I have gone through the entire range of emotions over this one. Sad, then angry, then blaming myself. Now I just miss him and feel sad for his family and the anger is more directed at this crackpot religion that helped him to feel inferior and worthless. Damn them to hell.

32

Just curious, what have some of you done with your exspensive book bags?

by Singing Man in

i use my book bag to store my computer soft ware in its perfect for that.

and as for all the old issues of magazines i used them to start my wood stove on those cold mornings.

one time i asked for a lot of older issues from the friends so i could use them to line the bottom of my camp tent, they were more than happy to give them to me.

undercover

I had bought a very nice, brand name, expensive, over-the-shoulder type leather brief case. It wasn't particularly suited for the ministry work, but it was much nicer looking than anything that the others were carrying. It didn't make sense to get rid of it since it cost over $400. So now it is my work brief case. Works much better for that than it ever did for field service.

63

Older ones here, what do you remember being told about 1975 ???

by run dont walk in

.

i was just a little kid when the 1975 thing came about, didn't pay much attention to it, after it was over, my parents told me it was just some people being over anxious, and being about 8 at the time i believed it, now when you research you find some amazing articles.

what do you remember being told about 1975 as the year got closer ?

undercover

I was told not to worry about a good job, cause soon I could have my pick of homes from the ones who died. Sick huh.

We did that in field service pre-1975 and even after 1975. We'd see a house that we liked and we would say, "that's my house after Armageddon".

A friend of mine picked the largest house in the city as his post-armageddon house. The second largest house was across the street. I told him that I guess we would have to be neighbors forever because I was going to take that one.

It's hard to believe that we would look at other people's property and envision that all we had to do was walk in and take over after they died. So much for not envying your neighbors belongings or having any Christian love for our fellow man.

7

JWs and making decisions

by dmouse in

i was interested in two articles in the watchtower of october 15th 2003.

both articles give an insight into decision making as a jehovah?s witness.

i found the juxtaposition of them quite interesting!

undercover

Seems to me that the Society are creating a generation of wimps that can?t function or think for themselves without the control systems that they set up. Whatever happened to maturity?

That's exactly what they want. If you can't think for yourself or use logic to reason something out, then it's easier to keep control over them. JW kids are raised to be completely dependant on someone else in all matters. When they become adults, they have not learned to think or reason or use logic. They are unable to make any decision without consulting someone else. That someone else usually becomes an elder or another JW who will spout the company line. All of this keeps them in control to the WTS for their entire life. Only when one thinks outside the JW box does one have a chance at seeing the real issues and problems of this religion. That's why The Matrix is an interesting watch for former JWs. We are Neo. We are fighting the Agent Smiths. We are attempting to escape the Matrix.

4

Jourles, et al.: dirtclod.com is kaput?

by Room 215 in

jw
friends

maybe i've missed a thread or an announcement, but it seems that jourle's ultra-valuable website, dirtclod, is no more.

a shame.

does anyone know what happened?

undercover

I remember a while back, he got some nasty letters or emails from the WTS to cease and desist on posting "copyrighted" material. Maybe something happened with that. Just speculating.

Seems like I remember he left this board also. He posted a goodbye thread if I remember correctly. Maybe someone else knows what's going on.