by Billy the Ex-Bethelite 141 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Billy:
Enlightening topic, and your lengthy post just now in reply to a long list of participants in this thread stands by itself as the definitive statement on JW field service and counting time. You touched almost every base in that response. Those of us who spent years toiling in the WT's "vineyard" can't help but recognize your assessment is absolute reality.
And yet, I have more to confess.
Dishonesty about reporting hours wasn't where it all started for me. From the time I was a kid, the strategy of "theocratic warfare" included being coached to tell lies. Yes, I was trained to say things like, "I don't miss getting gifts at holidays or birthdays because I get gifts all year round." Yet, I rarely got gifts. I had few toys and was embarassed of my terrible wardrobe. And I don't recall opening anything gift-wrapped until my graduation. "Gifts year round"... I wished it was true, but it didn't happen. And another line, "I enjoy talking to people about the Bible." No I didn't, but I couldn't tell the truth and face the wrath of everydubby around me. As I look back at my childhood, I was conditioned to deny many true feelings. And it became a sort of trap. My crazy religion made me an outsider at school, so the only world where I could find acceptance and approval was in the religion. And I went on to live an unhappy life for decades pretending to be happy.
But I never lived a "double life". I could see how easily that would happen though. It happened with lots of the JW kids I knew. While JWs boast about being the most honest people in the world, they're much more concerned about appearances and numbers. That's where the double lives come in. It seems to me that my friends had the same experience as me but reacted in different ways. After lying FOR the religion, it is equally easy to start lying TO the religion. My friends lied to the religion so they could look like good JWs and still find some fun in life. I lied to the religion to try to get approval and make "spiritual advancement", or at least not get hounded to death for low hours. If the GB is looking for this years baptized children to become the next pioneers, servants, and elders, I already see many of them that have learned to lie to make their parents and the elders happy.
Anyway, just another observation from my experience of how WTs history of 'theocratic warfare' has established a foundation of dishonesty for itself.
A more recent way to start time,is someone in the car group calls their return visit or Bible study,before even pulling out of the Kingdom Hall parking lot. And then,when they hang up,say,hey everybody we just started our time.
But,when I would stay out all day,maybe 5 hours,I would only get a chance to talk to one person for less than 5 minutes. And most people didn't like going out in service in the rain,but I liked it. It meant return visits,and I never really had any,so I was just along for the ride. All I needed was a fun car group and an easy service day.
And I still counted the hours sitting in the car waiting for other people on calls. Sometimes,I was in a car group with someone who suggested we do street work while we waited. I'd be like, do what you want,I'm staying here.
There were times where I sincerely was hoping to find an interested one. But,most of the time,the ministry was just something to get through.
I lied about my hours, some months didn't even go out but still put in 3-4 hours, & my placements I made big porkies on those, sometimes just put in a number or even every door leave a mag in the letterbox, sometimes not even bothering to knock.
When i was an attendant at the hall I would often up the count, or even decrease the count, just depending on how i felt. LOL
I would not count babies or kids not in their seats
if I was on the mikes I would do a count when the attendants did theirs & most of the time they were miles out.
As an attendant at conventions I would do the same, most of the time there was another attendant counting the same group, on all occasions we would get each total & meet in the middle.
On one occasion I was the only attendant counting a particular group, all i did was a quick guess of the average number of plp per row then times by the number of rows.
fsp
btt
Thanks for the bump Scott77.
And thank you Billy for this excellent, brutal stroll down memory lane.
Marked to share with the family later.
om
| The whole concept of the "truth" being negotiable (as in Theocratic Warfare) opens up a can of worms which leaves each individual to apply it as he sees fit. Those at the top have a reprehensible record of dishonesty in their literature, no doubt mitigated by preserving "Kingdom interests." The sad truth is that the WTS sanctions dishonesty in this way, and then creates the circumstances where it becomes desirable. Over time they subtley train you to be dishonest. Once you are no longer travelling that road . . . then that form of dishonesty is no longer a pressure . . . or desirable. | |
| sizemik |
I think, this is one of the many great responses on this thread I have just read. Kudos sizemik for your diagnosic insight into the Watchtower way misleading us. I wish I knew this long before I was mislead for 16 years.
Scott77
What year did they stop requiring Bible Study slips? I have statistics on number of B/S compared to number of publishers and baptisms, and it will be interesting to see if there was much change in the ratios after that year.
| "...There is no shame and should be no guilt with your story: when we lie to the liars who lied to us, we're just evening the score. The only difference is: they fucked up our lives. And nothing we could do or could not do, could ever fuck of their lives..." | |
| Farkel |
Mr. Farkel, I thought the above quoted part was one of your best point on this thread. :D
Scott77
| @ breakfast of champions: Yeah, well, Jehovah is also known as the greatest killer of all time! I mentioned Ananias and Sapphira in the OP for a reason. In one of the congregations I was secretary of, I went through the tons of old letters and crap in the file cabinet and came across a letter from the branch sent to the congregation because one of the young pioneer sisters, I think she was the only pioneer in the congregation at the time even, had confessed that she had reported more hours than she actually spent out in the ministry. What was the response from Brooklyn at this confession? The letter included explaining that Ananias and Sapphira were killed by Jehovah for giving a lying report to the brothers in charge of the congregation! I was disgusted that they would bring up such an ugly Bible account. It didn't matter that they then tried to give "comfort" by saying that the confession was the right thing to do and she would be removed as a pioneer, but no other punishment. Duh. Jehovah didn't strike her down for lying about her time because no worthwhile god would give a rats ass about such futile works orchestrated by a printing corporation. | |
| Billy the Ex-Bethelite |
I thought that was awesome and a terrific response :D
Scott77
