well, here's the latest.
i'm almost inactive with regard to the ministry - i simply don't go out.
if i do the "guest star" thing, i never talk to anyone.
Many Elders know the deal and they are going through the motions. Who knows what is keeping them in their position of responsibilities. They are tired and worn out. They don't care, they just fill out the paperwork for when the C.O. comes around. They are stuck, some escape, some can't for personal reasons, family etc.
Some are diehards and won't lift a finger to care for or help a lost sheep, an elderly one, a sick one, etc. Wives have some elders under their thumb so to speak.
Blueblades
now that you're mentally out of the religion, do you have an expressed goal regarding the witnesses?
do you want to expose the religion for the fraud that it is (like i do)?.
do you want to set up a ministry devoted toward the destruction of everything watchtower?.
No goal. Just let each day take it's own course. If and when the opportunity should arise I will reveal the past history of the Watchtower to whomever were to talk to me about them.
I try to be helpful here on JWD Forum. I have seen only one sister and her small child going from house to house in a rush with the magazines rolled up in her hand on a Saturday morning in the two years here where I now live out in the country side. I did not have the opportunity to try and help her as we were driving somewhere and she was on the run.
Two years and that was the only time we seen anyone preaching around here.
Blueblades
there have been a number of posts discussing reform in the watchtower, mostly revolving around a letter on this thread.
i just wanted to put my two cents in on this issue.
because i am not attached to any of the main doctrines and teachings of the jws, i feel no personal need to reform them.
The Watchtower will not be reformed. They will not follow in the footsteps of The WorldWide Church Of God ala Herbert and Garner Ted Armstong. Which caused a schism in the church.
They are stuck because of legal issues that they can't back out of. The money will sart to dwindle, they will use the worldwide fund to sell out and settle as much as they can and try to avoid having to go to jail. Wrongful Death..Blood Doctrine. Child Abuse. The Tort of Misrepresentation. etc. They will do what any big and rich corperation does... wait it out and stick their heads in the sand like an ostrich.
Eventually, how long, is anyones guess, they will lose out and fade into a small cult with the diehards hanging on to the very end.
Blueblades
it was expected of me to get baptized and at 9 i was.
what about you?
BTW. Mini. Have you had your baptism annulled? I remember that the Watchtower asked us to write a letter to our church asking to have our baptism annulled from the Catholic church which I did at that time.
Now the situation is reversed. Is it worth the bother to ask to have our baptism annulled from the rolls of the Watchtower? I know that an announcement would follow from the platform that so and so is no longer one of Jehovah's Witness. It's been five years since I left the Watchtower by stepping down and doing the fade and finally moving away. I don't think that contacting them is worth the trouble to follow.
As far as I'm concerned my baptism never did count because the Society hid thier past history from me and was not truthful about passed changes that were made concerning the end times and other doctrines. So, I was duped from the get go.
Blueblades
it was expected of me to get baptized and at 9 i was.
what about you?
I willingly got baptized in 1970 and my wife in 1971. Our boys were born in 1972 and 1973. 1975 loomed big before us. "The Truth Book" known as "The Blue Bomb" was very persuasive.
It had "The Carrot" and the carrot kept getting bigger and bigger as the years went from 1969 the year I opened that door and started studying until 1975 came and went.
I was thinking of saving my self and my family from "The End" that was to come in 1975. I really did not know Jehovah and had no personal relationship with him. I wanted my family to live forever on a paradise earth. So, I willingly got baptized by the pressure induced from The Truth Book. I was not alone MILLIONS got baptized along with me because of the 1975 teaching that has yet to be fulfilled.
The numbers went up and up and up until 1975 then statred to decline and even out. Still many believe that "The End" is near and willingly submit to baptism. Many have left.
Blueblades
That's a good one, it could be just what the Society would print. It's like the saying from Russel or Rutherford, Someone cannot learn the Bible on their own, they need the Watchtower to understand it. When someone leaves the society they will soon forget all they learned from the Watchtower in short order.
Blueblades
think about it---witnesses proclaim that their identifying mark is love.
they are the "most loving organization in the world".
they personify christ and are the only "true christians".
A very personal experience that I will share with you. I was in line to inherit a huge sum of money as long as I would remain an Elder and continue to stay in the organization. This is "Simony" and I would not accept it. The so- called love was conditional. I left the organization and the money. I can't be bought when it comes to the Watchtower Society and it's so called loved ones.
Blueblades
think about it---witnesses proclaim that their identifying mark is love.
they are the "most loving organization in the world".
they personify christ and are the only "true christians".
The record and facts speak for themselves with a loud shout..NO! and NO! When they say "We Love You", "We Miss You", It's all a facade. I know from personal experience, and having been on the inside track with C.O's, Belthelites, and other higher ups.
Blueblades
to a better place he needs out love more than ever now
Gone but not forgottenand Jesus wept. We are sorry for your loss. She will be missed.
Blueblades
after the sunday culttower study is over, everyone will be expected to preach because the end is soooooooo close!.
[minimus i have added to the title so people can read yor correction.
otherwise i think people might just miss it.
Mini! You have always been true blue in my book even though you show up as a red dot. ( I remember when you, your red dot, used dance )
Moms get older and we can expect them to misunderstand some of the things that they hear.
You are well respected here. I know you will follow through and get to the bottom of what actually was said and that should be good enough for all of us here.
Blueblades
