How more vague can the society get at the assemblies?

by be wise 26 Replies latest jw friends

  • be wise
    be wise

    T his is a quote from the Give God Glory District Convention showing how they avoid their own questions and provide the usual vague answers that no JW understands.

    We don't want to be personally refuting these untruths unless Jehovah's organisation assigned us to do that, publicly. Now, are we talking people in our ministry or elsewhere about points about what they have heard, read? Sure, we do present the truth to them. But we don't want to be doing that publicly because that could just lead to worse reports about us.

    Basically they are saying,

    • Don’t talk to the media or anyone else publicly.

    • Don’t look into anything you hear or watch on any news or media reports or go on the Internet or any newspaper articles…etc.

    • Don’t talk about it on the ‘service’.

    Here is the quote without all the double-speak.

    We don't want to be personally commenting on the fact there are victims of physical and sexual abuse of the young people within our organisation unless the men from the Watchtower assigned us to do that, publicly. If you’re not an elder what has it got to do with you? Now, are we talking people in our ministry or elsewhere about points about what they have heard, read? Sure, preach to them but don’t talk about anything else. We don't want to be doing that publicly because that could just lead to worse reports about us.

    From the start of the talk, it only took the speaker 3 ½ minutes to mention Satan quoting, ‘the whole world is in the power of the wicked one’.

    I’m very impressed by the skill of the speaker on this one in making clear (all for the wrong reasons) only what he wants and avoiding the whole truth not only through what he says but the way he says it. The phrasing is perfect to avoid any other line of thought and the way he speeds up and mumbles points he wants to be half heard or mostly ignored but slows down at points he wants people to remember is very skilful or I could say, very manipulative. None of the information is fully explained - it’s all in the voice.

    It kind of puts a darker slant on the Theocratic ministry school in my opinion?

    For the first 5 minutes or so the speaker says - well, a lot of babble that could be summed up in a few words, which don’t have any substantial meaning anyway unless you have already been programmed as a JW.

    I’m guessing they have to stick really closely to the outlines because everything written has clearly been closely scrutinized.

    Does anyone know how closely the speakers have to follow the outlines provided by the society?

    be wise.

    ----------------------- EVER GET TIRED OF FEELING YOU DIDN’T BELONG – EVER GET TIRED OF SUCKING A LEMON – BUT THEY WERE WRONG – YOU ARE STRONG – AND YOU BELONG - TO YOURSELF – NO LONGER PUTTING YOUR MIND ON THE SHELF – AS REGARDS YOUR LIFE - YOU CAN MAKE IT IF YOU TRY – KEEP IT FOCUSED – THEN ATTACK THEM LIKE A BLIZZARD OF LOCUSTS – FROM ALL SIDES – KEEP YOUR MIND CLEAR – THERE LIES ARE MEANT TO HYPNOTISE – BUT WE CAN RISE ABOVE THIS WORLD AND FREE OUR MINDS OF ALL THE FEAR

  • obiwan
    obiwan

    Oh man, I have such a headache from reading that. Someone could get vertigo from that statement.

  • RunningMan
    RunningMan

    All of the paranoid, media-bashing, devil-talk that goes on at assemblies, and in particular, in that specific talk, must cause a certain number of people to see through them. There must be a good number of persons in attendance at any assembly (such as interested ones), who are nausiated by that display of control and superstition.

    I often wonder if they have dumbed-down the trooth to the point where even Witnesses are too smart for it.

  • stillajwexelder
    stillajwexelder

    Over the last few years there has been a trend to more manuscript talks and less outline talks at Circuit and District assemblies -- even the Public Talk went over to manuscript format a few years ago - lawyer speak for all saying the same thing -- so I would bet what was said was totally scripted

  • freedom96
    freedom96

    They certainly have a guideline to follow very closely. I have also heard that at assemblies the entire talk is laid out, word for word.

  • yxl1
    yxl1

    At a CO visit to my moms KH, he said that in response to the BBC panorama docu. "If someone asks you questions about recent television documentries, you are to tell them that they are all lies" I even got to read my mums notes on the subject. Looks like the light just got a little dimmer...

  • onacruse
    onacruse

    *** be p. 50 Preparing Talks for the Congregation *** (2002)

    Those who are assigned a manuscript talk should read the material word for word. They do not reword or rearrange the material. They study it to discern clearly what the main points are and how these are developed. They practice reading aloud until they can deliver the talk with proper sense stress, enthusiasm, warmth, feeling, earnestness, and conviction, as well as volume and intensity appropriate for a large audience.

    I was never directly involved with convention admin, but I remember seeing brothers sitting alongside the stage and quite obviously following along with (read policing) the speaker with a copy of the manuscript in hand. And for some years the "Special talk" has been a manuscript. Of course then all that the speaker can do is play with the voicing, and as you say this was usually done very "effectively."

    Craig

  • metatron
    metatron

    I thought all the District assembly talks were manuscript.

    I repeat, they carefully monitor talks at District assemblies. They assign a brother to follow, WORD FOR WORD, the

    talk as given. I'm not kidding, I've watched this process discreetly, with the manuscript on the monitor's lap,

    with his finger sweeping over each word.

    Never doubt that the Society is fully responsible for the lies you hear from the platform, particularily at assemblies.

    metatron

  • undercover
    undercover

    The DC talks are manuscript. I've seen the brother off to the side, with a copy of the talk, following word for word, what was being said. I've heard two reasons why: One, in case the brother croaks on stage, the guy keeping up can step over his body and take over and Two, in case the brother giving the talk decides to take matters into his own hands and changes the talk(protection against an apostate getting up there).

    In the last few years, the only brothers I've seen not go by a manuscript are of the GB and even this was the closing talk on Sunday as they went on and on and on and....

    The "Beware the Voice of Strangers" talk was probably one of the most paranoid talks that I have ever heard given at a DC. They are definately worried about how to control information among the rank and file. What was as troubling as the talk itself was the response by the R&F. Many praised the talk. Many swallowed it hook, line and sinker. Someone asked me what I thought of it and all I could say was, "You have to question the motive of any group or organization that seeks to control information about itself to it's members". They called me conspiratorial. Go figure.

  • Frannie Banannie
    Frannie Banannie

    <chews cud for a while>......I dunno, BeWise....if they get any vaguer, no one will know how to follow their tracks down the broad way, cher!

    Frannie B

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