The Worst Public Talk Ever

by onesong 60 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Sunspot

  One that sticks out in my mind (because it was directed to a member of my family) was way back in 1981 when my oldest daughter was engaged to a brother in another congregation. As she proceeded on in the "JW dating" aspect she realized that all was not well.

  There were many questionable practices that were accepted in that home, despite the dad was an elder (in name only-very old and practically "unused" in the KH) as was two of the three sons. The fiance in question was a lot younger than the other kids....and must have been born to them in their late 40's. He was spoiled and pretty well did what he wanted to do.

  He had told my daughter (among other things) that she belonged to the "itty-bitty-titty club" and teased her about that. She got fed up with the inappropriate "jokes" and ended up calling off the engagement. Like I said... there were MANY other things that contributed to this.

  Two Sundays after this, the oldest brother-elder gives the talk at our KH....."Living up to our VOWS"....and you can guess how THAT went! We were sitting three rows away from the dais---hard to miss his eyes and hateful expression. He glared at both me and my daughter so many times...when he was "making a point" on breaking our vows in Jehovah's eyes, blah-blah-blah.

  His arrogance and "smell ME" attitiude had always made me sick, (long before the engagement) but this incident was just so obvious and over-the-top as his personal platform to sneer at my daughter while dispensing WTS crap.

  I was burning with anger and frustration by the time he was finished. Needless to say....I didn't go up to him afterwards and congratulate him on his fine, fine talk.
• 

  stillAwitness

  My father used to give one on "Meditating on Gods Word". In this talk we were told that yoga is bad because it encourages you to empty your mind (think about nothing), which in turn can leave room for the devil. I would find myself spacing out, thinking of nothing, then terrified that maybe the demons had invaded my head. I now take yoga and LOVE IT!!

  LMAO!!!!!
• 

  daniel-p

  Worst public talk? It's got to be my own - Living, Not For Self, But to Do God's Will; Acquiring a Heart of Wisdom; Be Courageous and Trust in Jehovah; Decisions You Face - How Will You Make Them?
• 

  unclebruce

  I can't remember anyone ever laughing at our meetings. There was no joy there.

  We had 'immature' congregations like that. Mainly full of uptight English migrants. I went to one for several years and only three of us laughed out loud during meetings - it was truly weird. Helped me decide to leave though. How anyone holds a straight face when the marriage celebrant is asking the bride if she's sure she wants to commit to washing the grooms dirty underpants for ever is beyond me (Keith Kreiger - Long Time JW Elder and no sense of dignity). How can you hold a straight face while an Elder is lecturing a young girl to buy a car with a big donk up front for safety? How can any MS hold a straight face when an Elder is taking a stray cat from door to door offering it before the mags? How can any bush pioneer hold a straight face when careering sideways through the scrub at 100mph with a mad Elder at the wheel? How can anyone hold a straight face when someone lets one rip during a prayer?
• 

  unclebruce

  I would find myself spacing out, thinking of nothing, then terrified that maybe the demons had invaded my head.

  LOL!! Your real brain (buried deep below that fake new poisonality) was probly thinking about pussy cats and fluffy teddy bears and later just about sex, the whole sex and nothing but the sex.. lol.

  unclebruce
• 

  anewme

  I keep coming back to this thread to read what you people report about your experiences at your halls.
  I have to think I was really fortunate to have the many many great characters in my hall that I did.
  
  These old timers felt like survivors (of persecution during WWII) and they and their families had roots way back to Russell and they were not intimidated in the least by the elders and new rules! No way! I remember one old sister recount her day in field service where a young man teased her by threatening to drop his bath towel. She told over the microphone how she handled it by saying to the young man if it was anything she had never seen before she'd shoot it!!
  Oh yes, these old timers were very confident and spoke from their hearts and the laughter and singing was LOUD believe me in those days!
  I really felt like I was gaining a family by joining. Those were my best years in the org, the 70s.!
  I'll never forget a sister named Betty who's laughter was like a stack of lumber falling over! She would make herself crackup during every Watchtower Study no matter what the subject. I loved her and others like her so much. They made the study so alive!
  (Those were the days of very zealous Witnesses, now dead, all of them I knew)
  
  Now the Watchtower study goes so fast and the conductor wants everyone to use a scripture in his answer and to stick to the paragraph thankyou and keep the answer brief so everyone can have a chance to answer, that the old timers have fallen silent. Sad. Sad.
  
  I'm glad I was there in the 70s, but wished I had left in 80.
• 

  willyloman

  anewme: nice post. Many of us feel the same way.
• 

  Wild_Thing

  The worst public talk ever?

  This really old brother read the ENTIRE lyrics to "Wake Up Little Susie" to illustrate how today's music is debasing ... and this was in the late 1980s!!!!!!!!!!

  It was painful and hilarious at the same time.
• 

  valkyrie

  By far the best (i.e., most engaging, entertaining, and intelligent) public discourses I heard were delivered by Phil Wilson in the U.S. One could always rely on him to 'loosen up' an audience -- starting with his Alfred E. Neuman looks and endearingly goofy grin -- and following through with comic analogies, anecdotes from his earlier missionary experiences in Africa (with his wife, Alese), and personal, contemporary references. The occasional 'mispeak' was only further fodder for the topic to hand. Always a relief from the standard, plodding outline-readers.
• 

  Elsewhere

  The one I heard in Vernon,B.C. a few years back, when the visiting speaker,under guise of warning parents to be on guard for what their children were capable of,described a situation he personally was aware of as an elder. Apparantly,a young sister had had oral sex with a brother and had to be rushed to the hospital to get her stomach pumped out.Forgive me if this is too graphic but I am mentioning this as an example of some rather personal and private matters that were made public in very poor taste,and should have been kept confidential,IMO.Even at that time,despite being a clueless dub,I thought that this speaker must be a little bit "strange" and,needless to say, I was not motivated to invite him over for dinner after the public talk or get to know him any better!

  I've got to ask... what were they planning on pumping from her stomach? I've known several women who, well, you know... and none of them every suffered any ill effects. In fact they seemed quite eager to repeat the act on many occasions.