usually, adults who attend meetings regularly and aren't baptized yet are encouraged to do so.
usually after 1 or 2 years a person who attends meetings regularly will get baptized.. i wonder what would happen if a person would go to meetings for years and not want to get baptized.
would the elders finally brand them as evil or start shunning them somehow?.
There is this one woman who continues to attend my former congregation for the past 25 years. She is an on-again off-again study. Never would get baptized. Since she has been there for many many years, everyone calls her Sister XXXXXXX. Wow! Being a part of the flock and identified as one too without getting dunked.
Her daughter and grandson even studied before, but no longer go to meetings. Needless to say, they never got baptized either.
Alligator Wisdom (aka Brother NOT Exerting Vigorously)
Current congregation : DOWN to upper 40's in attendance from the mid 60's five years ago. (25% decrease)
Former congregation : DOWN to low 50's in attendance from the upper 70's during the 1990's. (29% decrease)
The reasons vary, as some previous posters mentioned. However, the effects felt are obvious.
Alligator Wisdom (aka Brother NOT Exerting Vigorously)
i was talking to a pioneer yesterday; he was all excited over the new memorial tract, said how nice it looked.
he commented that the "society said we don't have to take not-at-homes for this campaign.".
i asked him what he thought of the campaigns and the fact that we have a convention campaign coming up soon.
I was wondering why this tract/flyer doesn't have the usual coupon on the back for literature/home Bible study. They usually do with these types of campaigns, whether the Kingdom News or last year's District Convention invites.
Alligator Wisdom (aka Brother NOT Exerting Vigorously)
watch out for the questions from readers in the may 1st 2007 watchtower.
"when does the calling of christians to a heavenly hope cease?
" it's a good'un.. included are the statements:.
What makes one group of a dozen partakers any different from another group?
My thoughts exactly. The GB have realized that they may eventually lose their grip on the worldwide brotherhood to other "prominent" annointed in the near future. They need to make it clear now that they (GB in NY specifically) are the chosen annointed that Jesus Christ left in charge.
With the wide range of demographics within the WTS, the days are coming where there will be many JW splinter groups and so-call JW reform.
And yes, they will have to eliminate publishing the number of partakers at the Memorial. Could very well be after next year's Memorial at the rate these changes are coming.
Alligator Wisdom (aka Brother NOT Exerting Vigorously)
i have wondered how jfr was able to support his wife and child, or did he even, he didn't work for anyone but the society, so just where did he get his money?????
did he even support his family??
?
Does anyone here know what happened to the child and if he/she continued on as a JW?
Alligator Wisdom (aka Brother NOT Exerting Vigorously)
ok i have listed all the intresting and thought provoking things.
hear they are from a to z.
<----------- yep nothing.. .
5go,
Thanks for your post. How many were baptized at your Circuit Assembly? What were the demographics (i.e. children of JWs or newly found converts)?
Alligator Wisdom (aka Brother NOT Exerting Vigorously)
what circumstances or age would allow a bethelite to retire?.
they don't get social security right?.
what if anything do they get paid when and if they retire?.
In the country where I'm currently living, the special pioneers get roughly $700 per month. Too difficult to live on their own, so the WTS eliminated all single special pioneers in this region. The only special pioneers are couples, which mean about $1400 per month for the both of them.
From what I was told by them, their monthly stipend will remain the same regardless to whatever country they are to be assigned. For example, if a couple from this country (getting $1400 a month) were to be assigned as a special pioneer in a third world country, let's say Viet Nam, then they will still retain most of that amount because that was the standard of living that they are used to. Imagine getting $1400 a month as a special pioneer couple in Viet Nam where it takes 6 months for a local native couple working 12 hour days 7 days a week to make the same amount.
Alligator Wisdom (aka Brother NOT Exerting Vigorously)
many years ago, a brother gave a public talk on prayer wherein he stated that "each prayer should be like a snowflake--no two should be exactly the same.
" i agreed with his sentiments, and as a good little jw boy, i resolved that each prayer i said to god would be unique.
however, there was a problem with my resolution: i could never see examples of older people making sure that each prayer was unique.
One elder rambled on and on about the condition of a sick sister in the congregation. From what I recall in gist...
"Jehovah, as you know sister XXXXX is sick in her condition. She is now preparing to make the travel arrangements to a facility that will take care of her needs. It will be expensive for her and besides that, her husband is an unbeliever, so we pray that you will give her the strength for a quick recovery and that her spirit will always be lifted and positive. We appreciated her service in this congregation. This sickness must be hard for her and the family, so let us be there for them. And as you know Jehovah, this makes us sad because that our dear sister is sick and we miss her at the meetings. This time is very stressful for her and she has to deal with many injustices in Satan's world, so she needs relief.............."
I'm not condemning prayers for those that are sick, but this elder MUST HAVE WANTED to seem compassionate in front of others. From my observation, this elder was never seen talking with her before. But now that she is sick and need of an operation, it seemed to me that this was for his time to shine in her misery. Most of the points he mentioned was already known by those close to her, and probably related to him by these other friends instead of his initiative of being by her as a supportive shepherd.
Alligator Wisdom (aka Brother NOT Exerting Vigorously)
this week.
they handed out the memorial invitations during the announcements.. they also gave 50 copies to each publisher.
technically, i am an active publisher until the end of the month.
So you were sitting there in the midst of all your brothers and sisters while the attendants handed packets of invitations to the audience and they reached over you to hand a packet to the person sitting next to you but completely ignored you? Am I envisioning this correctly?
I'm not so sure about that. All the publishers are to pick up their allotment at the literature/magazine counter where there are stocked. It may be that OTWO wasn't allowed to receive his share.
OTWO, did you at least receive your own personal copy of the invitation? If not, then your fade will have been punctuated right then and there!
Alligator Wisdom (aka Brother NOT Exerting Vigorously)
after reading crisis of conscience i got the impression that most on the gb actually believe all the doctrine themselves or at least that they believe that they are doing there best and god is helping/blessing them.. this sometimes seems unbelievable to me considering that they know about all the bad things in the org and see so many problems that the rank file normally does not notice or know about.
i'm currently reading combatting cult mind control by steve hassan.
when reading that book i can see that there are some cults that are far worse then the jws.
I'm sure that they all once did.......when they were baptized.
Now I bet they don't completely believe and they aren't going to tell anyone either.
Alligator Wisdom (aka Brother NOT Exerting Vigorously)
