"We Love You All Very Much"

by Apognophos 38 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Apognophos

  I'm not sure if this has been discussed before. You guys might recall that when the 2013 Yearbook came out, the letter from the Governing Body ended a bit unusually:

  We love you all very much

  Your brothers ,

  Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

  Just today, the member sylvief wrote about a visit to a French congregation by Br. Splane of the GB:

  Hearing a GB member speak in french was something That every JW présent This day kept talking about many months later...especially because the first Word he said were "le collège central vous aime beaucoup beaucoup", in English "the Gb loves you very very much"

  This brought to mind a talk I heard at the last RC. Brother Splane gave a talk about youths, and he emphatically, at least once, said a phrase like, "We love all you children very much." His tone of voice was as if the GB considered themselves to be like fathers to the 'fatherless boys'.

  Have you guys heard this expression anywhere else in the literature or from the platform? Have you heard it from other GB members? It seems to me that Br. Splane is doing his best to be the "good cop" and really push the "love" angle. This seems to be in contrast to, say, Br. Morris, who likes to give stern counsel in his talks. I'm not really going anywhere with this, except to suggest that the closing of the GB letter may have had a lot to do with Splane.
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  Magnum

  It seems weird to me. It sort of puts them up on a pedestal as if they're so important that others would or should be concerned about whether they love them. Even when I was an active JW, such a statement would have been of zero importance to me. I would have thought "The GB members don't love me; they don't even know who I am, and I couldn't care less."

  Are JWs supposed to feel better knowing that seven paunchy old men say they love them? Are they supposed to feel better or be comforted knowing that David Splane says he loves them? He thinks too highly of himself. Somebody ought to say "Who the hell are you? I couldn't care less about whether you love me. I want you to keep true to your word and quit failing in your predicting the future. I want the paradise and eternal life and end of sufferng you promised. I'm not concerned about your love. What the hell does that do for me? Not a damned thing."
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  blondie

  Actions speak louder than words.........

  local jws would bump into me and say they missed me, yet not a phone call, a card, an e-mail, a letter....

  or worse yet they would tell a family to tell me that they missed me, often......but never contact me
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  steve2

  The royal "we" is almost always used to denote the beneficent actions or generosity of people who have power and influence over others who are usually "lesser" in status or less privileged.

  Those who worship rock stars or adore their country's royal family will know what I mean.

  So, when the Witnesses' Governing Body says, "We love you all very much",it reflects a world in which one group of humans has set itself up over another less privileged one. JWs go ga-ga at the "mere" mention that the GB loves them - pretty much like faithful Catholucs feel when the Pope looks at them and blesses them or a fan feels when their hero signs their name or allows a selfie to be taken. This star struck, religiously gullible world is one in which JWs and their "loving" GB fit in very, very easily.
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  Magnum

  steve2, that's exactly what I was thinking when I read the opening post.
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  label licker

  Blondie, I hear you.

  That was one of my pet peeves. Everytime someone would say I miss you, I would say Oh yeah, what do you miss about me? I would get a blank stare or well, I miss your comments and your smiling face. Liar!!!! Just like the GB members. They say they love us but ask yourselves, what is it do they love about us? Answer: your money and that's it. That's the only contact they have with their followers. It's their money they miss about them.
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  Hairtrigger

  The GB ,in this instance - inadvertently- is speaking the truth. They love all congregational members" very much". For swallowing their BS , and paying for their luxurious lifestile. While doing all the dirty work!!!
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  sparrowdown

  They don't love individuals they love the WWB/HOOD as a whole, (sooo comforting to know).

  Just like Jehovah will save JWs as a whole (also very comforting for the individual).

  Honestly,what kind of parent says to their children "I love all you kids as a group but individually I don't promise you anything"

  'Gee thanks Dad that just warms the cockles of my heart, to hear you say that"

  They couldn't give a toss about individuals, if you need proof of that just disagree with them.
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  Balaamsass2

  
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  designs

  "colle'ge central" College of Cardinals....how very RCC of them :D