The district conventions I went to always had signs in the restrooms asking people to only take one paper towel. I've heard other people mention this too. Is this typical at conventions? I used to think that this was just a local decision.
I thought that it was ironic that we were supposed to invite people to the district conventions even if they would have to travel a long distance and then greet them with a stingy message to use only one paper towel. It seemed very inhospitable and ungrateful.
I have big hands, so this "counsel" caused me some moral uncertainty when I was a believer. I wanted to be faithful in what is least, so I would try to carefully absorb the moisture from my hands. The towel would become soaked and my hands would still be damp. I believe it is important to fully dry your hands when leaving the restroom to avoid spreading germs, especially in a place where people are often eager to shake hands, so sometimes I would disregard the counsel and use two paper towels. You just couldn't win. I even worried that my little ritual of carefully soaking the water from my hands could be viewed as mocking the guidance and worried that using two could stumble someone. I eventually concluded that it was more important to be hygienic and considerate of others than to follow an arbitrary rule. I think this was a small step in breaking the mind control of that cult.
It's strange that they would be so careful in conserving paper in that situation when they are so wasteful of paper in other areas.