willyloman

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Posts by willyloman

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  21

  Pangs of Conscience - June 2011 KM

  by dozy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  there is an article in the latest kingdom ministry about counting time spent in the ministry.

  one comment surprised me - it says that counting time wrongly can lead to "pangs of conscience".

  a bit of an ott expression , i can't help thinking.. the only pangs the local pioneers are concerned about here are hunger pangs as they head to dunkin donuts for a 40 minute "break".

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  willyloman

  Actually, in the original draft the writer used "crisis of conscience," but the WT proofreaders made him change it.
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  42

  Did You Tend To Question The Organization Or Did You Just WANT To Believe?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know some who always questioned the elders, the society, and others because they were typically skeptical.. there are those who just seemed to want to believe whatever they were told.. i was more a skeptic, during my last decade.. .

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  willyloman

  We always had questions but stifled them because being a dub family worked for us. After some years, it stopped working so we left.

  It really wasn't that simple at the time but in retrospect, that's what happened. We often talk about the fact that we just "outgrew" it. Once we were honest with each other about that, it was just a matter of planning our exit strategy.
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  27

  My Grandma's dying...I found out by way of an impersonal text message.

  by petitebrunette in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  yesterday at work i received a text message from my sister that my 91 yr old grandmother is unconscious, her organs are shutting down, and they're just keeping her comfortable.

  she said that they moved her to a group home, and gave me the address.

  i thanked her for letting me know.

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  willyloman

  This is one of those situations where the dubs "win" because they have you painted into a corner. As you point out, you are damned if you do, damned if you don't, as far as attendance at her memorial.

  I advise you to take the long view about such matters. What counts is that you remember your grandmother in an appropriate way. If they've closed the door to the KH to you, then just don't go. Hold your own informal memorial. You can do this later, at the gravesite, if there is one. Or you can be proactive in another way. If you know what your grandmother's interests were, make a donation to an appropriate charity (or just pick one you like) in her name. Then let your relatives know (by mail )that you did so, by way of honoring her memory.

  That way you'll always know that you paid your respects. And so will they.
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  13

  How To Properly Interpret The Watchtower Society

  by metatron in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have a long history in this cult, at various levels.

  a few of you, out there in cyberspace, share a similar experience - but many do not.. i'm going to tell you how to interpret things that happen in the organization, as well as what is written in the magazines.. it's not terribly difficult because they are so reactionary.

  a fellow bethelite corrected me on this point when i accused them of being fascists.

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  willyloman

  we aren't a [fill-in-the-blank] organization, our job is to preach..."

  Direct quote from a talk by the CO (godrulz: that's Circuit Overseer) in my old congo:

  "We aren't a social organization, we're a preaching organization."
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  21

  Top Mexican drug lord a Jehovah's Witness

  by dogon in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  has anyone seen this yet or am a i a bit late to the party?

  funny how giving money to the borg makes it all ok. they sure are fucking money grubbers at the top.

  what a bunch of fucking ass holes the jws are.

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  willyloman

  Y'all know that wikipedia is Latin for "anyone can write anything they want," right?
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  35

  Personal Grudges and Judicial Committees: is There a Link?

  by passwordprotected in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've received a submitted article for publication on my blog (http://thegoverningbody.org).

  this is from the introduction:.

  i have an issue i would like raise.

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  willyloman

  Back to the original point: There is no question in my mind that dub judicial matters are often handled in a kangaroo court fashion. I saw faders called to a JC after being inactive for many years, simply because a JW relative decided to make a federal case out of it.

  One example, from early 1976, concerned an elder who had been heavily promoting the WTS' October 1975 end-date. His daughter had quit high school in '74 in order to pioneer her way into the new system. Sometime in late '75, she began making frequent "return visits" on a college guy she met while going door-to-door. She was DF'd after she moved in with her new "Bible study."

  The father was furious about the action. He had a "fleshly" (sorry) brother who had stopped going to meetings in the late 1960s, who lived in another state. Apparently he had associated with our congregation many years back, however the congregation was in an area of rapid population growth and no one seemed to remember the guy. So when an elder announced that so-and-so was no longer one of JWs, those in the audience looked around in a collective "who dat?" moment.

  It turned out that elder of the DF'd daughter took the view, "Well, if she's DF'd, my brother deserves it even more" and he forced the issue on the other elders. It was one of those phone call deals where he was asked to come back to his hometown and face a JC and he just laughed them off. So, with the testimony of two witnesses - presumably the elder and his wife - he was DF'd in absentia. There's some irony in the fact that the elder and his wife became so disillusioned over the 1975 fiasco that they soon left the organization themselves.

  Sometimes there was simple procedural improprieties:
  
  One such case involved the fleshly brother (there's that phrase again) of an elder. I was a new elder in a small congo and there were only three of us. To my surprise, the third elder on the committee was the guy's brother! I questioned it but he said he could be impartial, and since it was my first JC I figured the other two knew the process better than I.

  The guy had a service business which meant he went to customers' homes to do some work. He confessed to banging one of his customers, a women he said was about 50 years of age who came on to him and wanted him to service her as well. This was a guy in his late 20s who was married to one of those virginal Barbie-doll sisters who was 19 or 20. It was difficult to imagine why'd he'd cheat. He was so matter of fact in his confession, I was stunned. The elder who was related to him asked him how he felt about it. He said he felt terrible and was sorry, and that he'd confessed to his wife and she had forgiven him. He swore it had never happened before. I asked him if he ever went back and provided another "service" to that customer. His response: "Only once." Meaning, one additional time.

  We asked him to move out of the room while we talked. I thought it was an open and shut case and he should be DF'd. I was over-ruled by the other two. His relative told us, "I know him and he doesn't express himself very well, but believe me, he's really torn up inside." The other elder said, "Since no one knows about it except his wife, this looks like private reproof to me." Case closed.

  I could go on all day. Many posters here have similar stories from their elder days.
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  64

  Can We Please Stop Referring To The Simplified English Watchtower A The Dumbed Down Version

  by Philadelphia Ponos in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i really shouldn't have to say any of this but as someone who is in the process of learning a second language, i can tell that simple language makes things a lot clearer when you are not familiar with the language.

  everyone on here started out reading simplified english while they were learning, including you native speakers.

  i'm sure no one here was reading on a college level in elementary school.

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  willyloman

  They can say it's for those who are English-learners (read: Spanish-speaking immigrants who are fueling the WT's skimpy growth these days). But in fact, those folks are already immersed in "Spanish" congregations, where meetings are conducted in their native tongue and the magazines they use are in Spanish.

  We'll know the real motive in a year when they announce that the "simplified version" is "a big success" and it becomes the standard version of the WT.
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  12

  So angry with myself right now....

  by Reality79 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  earlier today i was at a local tyre shop standing outside getting a couple of my wheels replaced when this 'sister' who i haven't seen for a number of years decided to approach me.

  i didn't even recognise her at first because her hairstyle was different and she was wearing these oversized shades, but this is someone who was always funny with me from day one and hardly ever said a word to me even when i used to be in her book study group that was in her home back in the 90s.. anyway, she asked if it was me and then she said who she was in case i didn't remember.

  she told me she saw my sister at the memorial last night (my sister who is inactive wasn't even going to attend that particular memorial, but because this f**king elder i used to hate called her out of the blue to "encourage" her to attend, she went along) blah blah blah but didn't get to speak to her for too long.. so she asked me what congregation i go to but then quickly asked if i'm still in the "truth".

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  willyloman

  Fading is an art.
  
  To be successful, learn to use what they taught you. They taught you to have a presentation ready when you go out in service so you'd know exactly what you'd say if someone answered the door. They even practiced these presentations at meetings. This was designed to make you confident when you spoke to people.

  So that's what you do. Right now, think about what you would like to say when you unexpectedly encounter your next dub - and you surely will. Go over it in your head until it sounds like the right response for you.

  If you get yourself mentally prepared, you'll be fearless. Especially after you use it the first time.

  Be strong. When confronted, remember: You are the righteous one because you had the courage to call b.s. on them and leave.
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  6

  New Simplified Watchtower Edition is up

  by factfinder in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i don't know if anyone else noticed this yet but jw.org has the first issue of the simplified english w (july 15,2011) issue up in pdf.

  a letter from the gb gives the reason for this trial edition.

  the regular study edition is up also in pdf and has some anti- apostate comments, including a warning against looking at apostate websites and commenting on their blogs.

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  willyloman

  diamondiiz: that pretty well sums it up!
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  95

  May 21, 2011 - The Rapture Cometh!

  by Billy the Ex-Bethelite in

  1. social
  2. current

  harold camping has promised that the rapture will be on may 21, 2011.. .

  they've put it on this van that "the bible guarantees it", so it must be true!.

  after all, would this face lie?.

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  willyloman

  He looks like Fred Franz with AIDS.

  Signs of the times:

  A guy who appears to be the resurrected Freddie Franz appears, preaching an end-time date.

  A huge increase in movies and TV shows about Zombies coming back from the dead.

  Coincidence? I don't think so.