Posts by wheelwithinwheel

24

Missing meetings due to the weather, and then attending meetings is making me Bipolar I think.

by miseryloveselders in

jw
friends

without divulging too much information about myself, i'm on the east coast, up north.

we've been hammered by snow storms, and from what i hear we've got another one on the way tommorrow night.

this month, i've missed 4 meetings total.

wheelwithinwheel

Misery you say “the other half I do have some emotional investments with. It would hurt me, to hurt them.” I understand where you’re coming from. I have an elder friend who went through a bout of cancer and “the percentage” he cared about, helped him a great deal. Although he has WT issues, he now feels he owes too much to “the percentage” to let these people down. So it looks like he’s feels he needs to go through the motions and will force himself to do so for the rest of his life, which could be a long time. Before he was a real company man, but due to his issues, his “attitude” has naturally changed. He has been disciplined quite severely by the G.B.’s reps. for a few of his views and actions. I believe this disturbs “his percentage”, perhaps just about as much as if he had stepped down and slowly faded. But that’s my take, he now feels fading now would just show he was not humble and couldn’t take the discipline. So for the time being, he’s going to try and hang on.

In my case some came to me and said they were sorry I stepped down and appreciated all I had done as an elder. It made me feel bad and good. A C.O. visited us unannounced, met with my wife, and then gave a condemning talk at the hall, slipping in some of her comments to his talk’s advantage. His talk took down the sister that told her about it, but the others seemed to have accepted his remarks. That is hard…not being able to explain real reasons. But then, are their ears ready? Perhaps for now they are happy in their place in life, should we try and change that? When I slowed the meetings and service, I know a lot were upset and felt sorry I was going down one of Satan’s slippery paths…and wondered which one. But I decided that to get to where I needed to be it would be impossible to try and explain. To help ease the pain I’ve told a few that my issues are with the WT and not with the local congregation. I don’t think it really helps a lot. When some tried to get further explanations, we just said we weren’t comfortable talking about it. My parents are very elderly and I don’t want to upset their beliefs, which they hold to very dearly. I just tell them I don’t agree with the WT’s attitude, that I feel they need to take responsibility for things they have said and even excuse themselves for the difficulties they have caused, but that I’m leaving it in J’s hands. Although they were shocked and quite upset at first, they seem to have accepted it.

I hope you can find a way to get to where you need to be with the least damage possible – It may help to consider how long a congregation is affected by a death or dfing of a cherished member…the memory is there…but the real hurt?…not too long in my experience. In the mean time I’ll pray J to send manna to your area…don’t take this the wrong way…but ‘I don’t need any around here’ (I hate shovelling)

wheel

24

Missing meetings due to the weather, and then attending meetings is making me Bipolar I think.

by miseryloveselders in

jw
friends

without divulging too much information about myself, i'm on the east coast, up north.

we've been hammered by snow storms, and from what i hear we've got another one on the way tommorrow night.

this month, i've missed 4 meetings total.

wheelwithinwheel

Here’s what the Watchtower doesn’t want their members to discover: In the “WORLD” there are great people to meet, many with better personalities, qualities and principles than those in the J.W. group. There are many amazing and interesting things to explore if you don’t stay focused on Watchtower interests. And you won’t stay in the Watchtower’s control long if you begin to discover this. Thus the constant the end is near so: shun the extremely wicked world, go to all your meetings, read every piece of literature, go in service every chance your get, counsel.

Having gone through a similar situation to yours, I feel for you my friend. A few words of advice. You need to fade! Begin planning your fade immediately before they notice attitude or you make a mistake. If you’re married start by making sure your wife is on the same page. If you do your fade very carefully, granted your family will be disappointed, but there will be little permanent damage. Keep in mind the Watchtower would rather vilify you as a df’d sinner than have you living in one of their cong’s territory as a burned out former J.W elder who will no longer do their bidding. Be extremely careful. Don’t regret the way you pulled out years from now.

55

Letter from WT's Haiti Branch Committee re: Society's relief response

by Dogpatch in

jw
friends

just got this in, don't know if it was mentioned here yet, but this illustrates how the watchtower views/responds to emergencies.

note the dig on university and "higher education" (especially sad for a poor country like haiti with poorly educated masses).. randy.

it was a terrifying moment for all!

wheelwithinwheel

M Davis – I hope you check out every press release and any new light coming from the WT like you suggest to everyone else here.

The report from Haiti,which seems to be written by Inez Norman, sounds OK to me.

John and Inez Norman were in the circuit and were sent to Haiti to look after the Branch years ago. I think John being black had something to do with the WT deciding he was just right for the job.

Paul Rozon was into repairing and selling batteries and made good money when the business was sold

Sylvain Bellerive is a small-time builder from a little town 100 miles north of Montreal. He was used a lot by the regional building committee.

Pierre Thibodeau was a special who laid tile to make extra money and became quite active in the regional builds. Looks like h'es got a nice Branch tile job, a beautiful room, and will be able to escape the Canadian winter this year.

Charles Synder I don’t know but it would be easy for you to check it out.

If M Davis is your real name I understand why you may find it hard to believe someone you know could have written this. Why don't you contact Inez and ask her if she really wrote it?

If you believe Disaster Relief means rebuilding Kingdom halls and helping your fellow believers you probably are a J.W

12

how can the Jw's explain away the haiti earthquake?

by highdose in

jw
friends

i'm sure they will get asked on the doors "how could god let this happen?".

i belive the standard answer is a fudged recitation of adam and eve, basicly meaning its ok that these people died becuase way back when, someone disobeyed god, and that makes it ok.... any other stupid jw explanations for this?.

wheelwithinwheel

My dad would answer thus ... Well actually it's a good thing. God is letting it happen to fulfill Bible prophecy and to wake people up. Turn to Matt. 24 and notice that earthquakes are just another sign the end is closer than you think. Jehovah is showing his loving kindness by allowing these warnings so people will take notice. They need to begin serving him or they will be destroyed.

My parents as well as other J.W's I know get extremely excited when there is a disaster like this that fits into prophecy.

33

Preliminary report: 58 JWs died in Haiti

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

http://www.jwbrothers.org/play.php?vid=2080.

among jehovahs witnesses, congregation elders work tirelessly to make contact with all members of the congregation to ensure that they are safe or can get to a safe place.

also, the elders check to be sure that each one has lifes necessities, such as clean drinking water, food, clothing, and essential medication.

wheelwithinwheel

If you believe Disaster Relief means rebuilding Kingdom halls and helping your fellow believers you probably are a J.W.

I've already noticed the only J.W. interest is how are the brothers making out. It's their mindset to forget anyone who is not practicing their religion.

As usual all the J.W. will pray for the brothers... not for the people of Haiti.

Sure is a good thing the Relief organisations don't ask what religion you are before offering their help.

In an upcoming Awake! article they will highlight how their efforts to help their brothers convinced those who needed help they need to be part of the true religion. Many observers of their show of what true brotherly love is will be moved to join the witnesses and become part of the international brotherhood.

10

How do you deal with forced time with old JW friends?

by 5thGeneration in

jw
friends

i'm facing a bit of a dilemma and wondering how to deal with it.. my fade is as complete as i want to make it but i'm going on vacation and lifelong super jw friends are going to be where i am staying.. i'm wondering how some of you have dealt with this in the past.. do i simply and uncomfortably stay quiet about not attending, going to the meetings?.

do i just matter of fact state that "yeah, i just haven't been going for a while"?.

or do i play the sheepish, discouraged, distraught role?.

wheelwithinwheel

- if he asks if you are going to go to the meeting - tell him your're on vacation - he probably won't say anything and might think you have a point there

- if he knows or finds out about the fade - adopt a very serious face and tell him you really don't want to get into it

- watch what you say - lifelong friends have been known to ruin a fade - you wouldn't want to come home to face a J.C.

42

Favorite Watchtower words or short phrases

by darthfader in

jw
friends

i have seen these words/phrases used frequently by the wtbs and rarely elsewhere.

** warning, this may become a barf inducing list.

your mileage may vary.. faithful and discreet slavefield servicemodern day antediluvians (pulled that one out of my hat)what words or phrases strike you as uniquely "watchtower"?.

wheelwithinwheel

displaying fear of man

47

'Giving Attention to the Needs of the Circuit.' Sooo uplifting...

by whereami in

jw
friends

these people just love instiling guilt on these poor souls.. .

at a recent circuit assembly a circuit overseer gave an awesome talk during the portion, 'giving attention to the needs of the circuit.

and with such a high pricetag, please don't let it be empty.

wheelwithinwheel

Had a spanking talk like this in the elders meeting at our CA. The C.O got on ours backs about better preparation and presentation. When he finally allowed the elders to comment it became evident we disagreed. We felt the 2 main problems, which really needed to be addressed by the G.B., were format and content. Told him the meetings were too long for families today and the material too repetitive and boring. We assured him we would do our part and hoped the G.B. would do theirs. This was all very carefully expressed, mind you, but the message was clear. Didn't hear any more comments about meeting attendance from that C.O.

8

Don't give up

by wheelwithinwheel in

jw
friends

im a longtime fader.

a fellow i work with is married to a dfd sister who had divorced her jw husband.

a couple of weeks ago this work companion came to me visibly quite uncomfortable and said he needed to talk.

wheelwithinwheel

I’m a longtime fader. A fellow I work with is married to a df’d sister who had divorced her JW husband. A couple of weeks ago this work companion came to me visibly quite uncomfortable and said he needed to talk. His wife had gone through a serious operation. He told me he couldn’t believe she didn’t even know how to get in touch with her JW son. Her son had moved away from the area but had left no trail. My work companion told me she just said "they stole my son" when they talked about it. He asked me if I could find the son and talk sense into him. I said that might be complicated because I didn’t want to go through official channels and stir up the silt. Of course this worldly fellow could not understand my problem. But I had known the son since he was 12 years old and decided it was worth a try. I tried to trace him with the internet – no luck. Then I phoned some weaker ones who I knew would not report my call to the S.S. Unfortunately, they had no idea where he had moved but suggested I phone his JW dad. It was not an easy call to make but I managed to get the son’s number. The son was extremely happy to hear from me and told me he was going through a very hard time…he had just learned his JW wife had been cheating on him a long time. Apparently he had recently driven to our town and passed his mom’s place 3 times but hadn’t been able to go to the door. I told him I believed his mom would take him into her arms no questions asked. He said he was so very happy I had phoned and that he would get in touch with his mom. Yesterday I talked to the fellow at work. The son went to their place during Christmas holidays and even stayed overnight. His question to me was how can a son walk away from his mother for 15 years and then just cheerfully turn up as if nothing happened. I suggested not to dwell on that but to work hard to keep the relationship going and make sure the son does not get sucked back into the WT Shop-Vac.

Needed to share. Never give up hope…..

27

The Day I had an Epiphany

by journey-on in

jw
friends

my eyes opened in more ways than one.

as i lay in bed that sunday morning, i knew i was never again going to rise hurriedly to get myself and the kids dressed and fed for field service.

i was actually feeling relieved and wanted to just turn over and go back to sleep, certain and content in my decision.. the day before, i had stood at the end of the block, after working a territory filled with barking dogs and people sleeping in after a hard days work week, and thinking, "never again".

wheelwithinwheel

Really remember our last meeting. When we got home I told my wife it was going to be easy to remember the last day we set foot in a KH….November 11 "Rememberance Day".

Can’t remember the where and exact when for service but sure do remember the why…

Having been a pioneer for years, I was being sent out to work with really young kids by the conductor. I had to take most of the doors and I began realizing the publications I was offering could do some serious damage. I didn’t even want to glance at them myself. The issue came to a point in my head when one morning I got the feeling that if someone wanted to accept a publication I would have to caution him about the damaging consequences of his interest. I didn’t go out that day or since.