We all know the majority of the society's elders are absolutely useless when it comes to dealing with family matters and as I was sat here reading a number of posts it suddenly occurred to me that Watchtower may have started to speed up its own demise.

Before I exited my old congregation a young elder was appointed. He was married without children (they don't want any). After I exited I heard of another young elder who was appointed (they, too, have no children and I don't think they want any either).

The service overseer was a young elder (a right big head and son of the P.O.). He and his wife didn't have children and they DEFINITELY didn't want any.

The Watchtower overseer was married, aged around late 40s-50, and he and his wife don't have any children. Also, I can think of a ministerial servant waiting in the wings - and he and his wife don't want any children!

So, just going off my old congregation, the latest crop of elders and their wives are youngish and don't want children so that they can further their work in Jehovah's service. This means:

1) They will be counselling members about family matters when they have no experience of raising children themselves and

2) Having no children, and already having to combine with another congregation, the numbers of members should drop further and faster!!

It's sad, really, for the young couples because one day they'll look back and realise they could have raised families but have wasted their years serving a false God.

What do you think? Have you found more and more elders are young and without children?

Ian

Not just elders, dear Ian.  If the WTS were truly aware of the problem, they would have the rank and file rear large families like the Mormons. 

I cannot count how many sisters in my age group that I have met who had their tubes tied, or brothers who had vasectomies (info which was related to me by their wives, of course).  I remember a conversation that I had with one particular sister. I was becoming ill, and had begun taking medications to control my illness, still my husband and I wanted children nonetheless, and we were worried about any possible side effects my medication would have on any future pregnancy.  I never forgot her reply:

"Well, that's nice, but if you don't have them now, you could always have them later -- in the new system."

I am sure that she meant well -- she was an elders' wife, very sweet, and not at all standoffish, as quite a few of them are.  But that just shows how much the Borgs' mind control affects even decent people.  And I agree that precious few of them fully realize the consequences of such actions. There were also a few sisters that thought that my wish to have a family was selfish; I was not putting Jehovah ahead of my base, physical desires.  Excuse me?  How could the desire for children be selfish?  I thought it was a divine commandment (Genesis 1:28).  This is a method of control that the Society has trotted out again (Rutherfords' 3rd Armageddon during WWII), and again (Knorrs' 1975 Armageddon).  There is this unwritten rule that you should sacrifice even the God-given gift of procreation upon the idolatrous altar that is the WatchTower Society.  It would be nice if the younger couples could talk to some of the childless older couples that regret listening to the asinine drivel that came from this most false of prophets.

Oh wait -- they cannot.  Either those older ones are dead, having sadly spent their lives in vain, or fled the Society without looking back, or are still there, effectively muzzled, because we all know that the WTS will let nothing interfere in its display of 'godly devotion' -- even if means persecuting elderly people who have dedicated their whole lives to what they thought was sacred service, but in reality were servicing only the wallets and egos of the ungodly men in Brooklyn.  

in my experience, the elder body, including single elders, believes it can direct a family by referring to " the family happiness book"..... yep, all the rich complexities of family dynamic and dysfunction covered in a 192 page book, with non-yellowing pages of course.....

yeah..... well....... not!!! i swear when things finally reached a breaking point, and a "shepherding call" was offered, i told them "if ALL you are going to do is suggest we study the "family happiness" book, NO THANK YOU!! 

havent heard a peep from the "body" since then..... nearly 3 years now.....

had i KNOWN it was that easy to shake these dedicated servants who truly are as useless as t!ts on a boar, i might have done it sooner........

i truly believe they do contribute to what is, i hope and pray, for the sake of the R & F, a steady decline and ultimate demise

OH Hell how I do remember the infamous District Assembly of 1988. There was a talk on the Saturday Afternoon. Responsible Chil Rearing in the Time of the End.. Basically dont have kids - the Big A is just around the corner- the system is wicked. PIONEER

My wife bless her soul said screw them and we carried on having kids

In places like Britain and the USA, they are feeling the shrink from discouraging
having children.  In the USA, the ones having children are immigrants and
the Spanish-speaking JW's.  They already got the small wave of post-1995 babies
from the "generation" change and many are already baptized.  A few are left to
try to boost their numbers in 2008-2010. 

The elders were already getting younger and childless more than 10 years ago.
Many C.O.'s are single, slightly younger men now.  Imagine the 40 year old C.O.
who is still a virgin, giving childrearing and marital counsel.  It will all just be WT
rhetoric. 

.............and there's always those reaching out to be COs and DOs - so they give up any chance of having children. In my own case, I never managed to get anyone to become a JW other than my own children. Others in the congregation found the same. So, the bulk expanse in my own congregation was through those of us who had children - but today, as shown, many are foregoing having any.

From what we can see, the Society is shrinking. So how do they get 7,000,000 members!

Ian

My sister and her husband are waiting until after the Big A.  So are my sister in law and her elder husband.  Both couples are nearing the age where it will soon be too late to change their minds!  And BOTH couples were around in 1995!!!

I've said this for many years to my sister:  "If no one has any kids, how is the organization going to survive into the next century?"

Her answer:  "Jehovah's blessing will bring in right-hearted ones."  LOL all the way to the bank!