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Alligator Wisdom
JoinedPosts by Alligator Wisdom
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30
How Accurate is Your Bull$h!t Detector?
by Scully ini think everyone has a bs detector, but not everyone utilizes theirs, or ignores its warnings.. i find that mine seems very sensitive and unless i "feel" sincerity from the person i am sizing up, my bs detector has various levels of "alert" mode.. in "yellow alert" mode, i tend to be very guarded with personal information until the individual's behaviour identifies whether i should maintain that status quo or not.
this seems to be my default setting, i think, because i tend to use it with all new people i encounter.. in "orange alert" mode, there's something about the person that just is not meshing with me.
they may be trying to cross a boundary that i do not want them to cross, like bestowing a nickname on me without asking me if i'm ok with it first.
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Alligator Wisdom
I believe mine to be very accurate. However, I usually have the tendency to give them the benefit of the doubt. It is my way of showing them patience while giving them a second chance to be honest. It also gives me a deeper "read" of the person. I too, am imperfect and will be grateful if someone would give me the benefit of the doubt and to allow me to rectify any wrongs that I may have purposely slipped in.
Alligator Wisdom (aka Brother NOT Exerting Vigorously by WTS standards)
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Alligator Wisdom
Yes. Don't most of them?
One in particular was very curious, in fact, extremely curious as to what I had in my CD collection. When he had visited my place, his eyes always darted to my CD rack as he couldn't keep eye contact with me while we were talking. Well, he finally asked for permission to "check-out" my CDs and being the case that I didn't have anything to "hide", I let him.
After perusing through, he pulled out all of the foreign language ones that I had collected during my world travels and seriously asked me if I really knew the content of each one. He insinuated that many could be immoral and degrading music that Satan has infiltrated and would like for me to be in his clutches in such a way. OH BOY! I thought. Another one of those demon scares initiated by the elders that I'm accustomed to hearing while growing up as a JW.
They poke their noses and try to make you feel guilty for something.
I could go on and on about countless of other episodes, but that may have to be published in a book format.
Alligator Wisdom (aka Brother NOT Exerting Vigorously by WTS standards)
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Alligator Wisdom
My congregation was a very similar reflection of freetosee's congregation as quoted above. We had 20 regular pioneers and 4 special pioneers. Among the other publishers in the congregation were about 6 or 7 who would auxillary pioneer during the course of a service year. Since my congregation was a foreign language one, we had many "elite" sent to us from the branch office or had some who was proficient with the language and was sent by the branch under special recommendations.
I know of one sign language congregation in the southern California area with 70 pioneers. That's right! SEVENTY! That must be a record. (Yes, you may be wondering as I did; how many in that congregation are actually deaf? From what I know, most of the members in the congregation are hearing and learned sign language and desired to pioneer where the need is great).
Alligator Wisdom (aka Brother NOT Exerting Vigorously by WTS standards) -
58
Are witnesses Christians?
by KW13 in.
i know that all religions have their flaws, so do you agree that witnesses should call themselves christians or are they 'too un-christian'?.
the baptism, i think proves its different, they are baptized into an organization, that forms part of the questions...agreeing that the society is god's earthly representation.. personally i feel they are not christians.
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Alligator Wisdom
Only when the letterhead says "The Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses".
Did you ever wonder why some letters from the Society had this printed on it while the other letters had WTBTS on it instead?
Alligator Wisdom (aka Brother NOT Exerting Vigorously)
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10
Has Anyone Moved To Start A New Life
by uwishufish in.
i have plans to try to move to a new place( a long ways away) and do a career change among other things.. has anyone here ever made such changes and what advice do any of you have to offer that would be helpful?.
uwishufish
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Alligator Wisdom
Yes. I made an international move about 7,000 miles away from my hometown. And yes, it was a start of a new life. Of course, just by moving doesn't mean that one will escape problems entirely. However, the change of pace and scenery (and in my case - culture) did wonders for my outlook on life. Besides, getting rid of "excess baggage" in simplifying when making this international move was part of the plan as well as my life style now provides me with freedoms beyone what I had imagined before. And speaking of career changes, am I ever grateful for the step that I took. It's great that you are making such an attempt. You will not have any regrets at all. Not many people can do what you are planning. Some may even envy you!
Advice = Simplify, simplify, simplify. Sell what you don't need. You can get anything else wherever you are going to fit your lifestyle at your new location.
Alligator Wisdom (aka Brother NOT Exerting Vigorously)
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40
Remember the Written Review
by 30girl inwhat exactly was the purpose of the written review?
it was extremely helpful that the society warned you on the calendars which night you had to skip... we had those boards that they passed out so you had a good writing surface, often covered with witness grafiti like, jesus or jehovah or something biblical.
remember the little grading sheet on the back; excellent, very good, good -- was there a poor?
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Alligator Wisdom
I believed they did away with the "written review" at the end of 2002. The "oral review" came in 2003.
One of the older sisters in my former congregation mentioned that when she was a little girl in the 1950's, they had these reviews (they were actually tests) unannounced. You had to always be prepared, something like a pop-quiz given at school now-a-days. Yes, they even did the grading and even posted on the information board at the next week's school as to who got the top scores. When I heard that they did this once-upon-a-time, the WTS must have taken the meaning of "school" seriously.
This method, as documented by previous posters, had toned down quite a bit as it now evolved into the oral review with the questions given out in advance in each publisher's copy of the Kingdom Ministry. Why the tapering off? Perhaps trying to make the school more "friendly" in the eyes of visitors and Bible students.
I didn't mind these written review sessions. It gave me time to really read my Bible without the side effects of non-Scriptural teaching from the platform.
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35
How deep did you search to finally quit being a JW?
by JH inin my case, i never did much research or read alot of apostate literature to get out of the jw religion.
all i looked at was their heart and how they treated me.
that alone spoke for itself..
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Alligator Wisdom
A Murph is when your underwear go up your ass and you have to pull it out
Where I come from it's called a "wedgie"!
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18
NOT accepting appointments/privileges
by Alligator Wisdom ini declined appointment to become an elder in two different congregations.
boy, was the elder body and co not happy about that!.
have any of you done so for any appointments (elder, ms, special pioneer)?
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Alligator Wisdom
Were they critical? Most definitely!
And yes, they did mention the account about Jonah. However, I used several scriptures to support my answer. Two simple ones that came to mind at the time was James 5:12b and 1John 2:6. Neither the elder body nor the CO could refute those example scriptures as the basis of my decision.
The elders have since eased up a bit, and only a bit, regarding appointments being that I'm keeping a very low profile now. However, that doesn't stop them from trying to get me to extend myself otherwise in other aspects regarding "functions" in the congregation. When the CO does visit our congregation, he always inquires if I am able to "do more" for the WTS. Is it odd that they never ask me if I wanted to do more for Jehovah?
Alligator Wisdom (aka Brother NOT Exerting Vigorously by WTS standards)
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18
NOT accepting appointments/privileges
by Alligator Wisdom ini declined appointment to become an elder in two different congregations.
boy, was the elder body and co not happy about that!.
have any of you done so for any appointments (elder, ms, special pioneer)?
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Alligator Wisdom
I have. Twice. I declined appointment to become an elder in two different congregations. Boy, was the elder body and CO not happy about that!
Have any of you done so for any appointments (Elder, MS, Special Pioneer)? What were the ramifications for doing such? Do you get much "heat" for refusing?
Alligator Wisdom (aka Brother NOT Exerting Vigorously by WTS standards)