When you were a witness, did you ever wonder where the GOOD witnesses were?

BizzyBee

I grew up in the bOrg and can remember feeling a disconnect with the portrayal of witness behavior in the literature and what I actually experienced.

The stories from the Yearbook about people wanting to study with witnesses "thirsty for knowledge of the truth" were so different from the responses I got in the FS, where people just seemed annoyed.

The pictures of happy folk and families of all colors looking toward some ray of light, united in the love for Jehoober and each other, did not square with what was going on in my congo. Witnesses were gossipy, jealous, suspicious, scorekeeping, hierarchical, bored, critical, goofy, presumptuous, and nosy. And that was just MY family!

I always kind of figured that to observe the "real" witnesses you had to go somewhere else - third world countries or at least New York, where they drew the pictures.

Can anyone else relate?

luna2

I was always a bit puzzled that there were all these fab experiences and things in the magazines but, when it came to our congregation, I saw nothing like what they were describing. There'd be maybe one negative experience given (someone stealing or getting DF'd for conduct unbecoming, etc..) for every 50 glowing, gushing stories about superior dubbiness. It finally dawned on me that the mags were full of propaganda.

learntoswim

well i do sometimes look at the pictures of the family studies where they're sitting there all smiley and playing kingdom songs on the flute, and think, thank god no-one really does that.

looking_glass

But don't you think they have to do that ... it is all the rah, rah, rah stuff. If they showed what it was really like, people would never become JWs.

Also, those stories, some of them are fictionalized. We knew some of the missionaries that were written up in the Awake mags, and the side stories to the story printed in the Awake was far more interesting and would be a BAD reflection on them and the WTBTS. But that was never told. So I never really believed what was written.

Phil

I have read a lot of the comments about the activities at Bethel as well as at the various KHs and most of the comments are relating to conditions in the 90s and before. Are there any who have stories of recent years or are the younger generation happier with what is going on. There is very little spoken of the Patterson complex. What do they do there? Pray? I have read that all the printing is done in Wallkill,NY. Is this so? etc.,etc.,

Seeker4

You're dead on here!
I remember Disctrict Convention assignments where I would have to find a family that fit a certain description - and it would be almost impossible to find a family to fill the part!
For example, one in particular I remember - I had to find a family to interview that was a good spiritual example where the wife didn't work but instead pioneered, the husband was the sole breadwinner, and the wife and kids were really happy with the modest way of life they had.
We searched through ALL the congregations in the district, and couldn't find one family that really fit the part well.
This was quite common. In the circuit I was in, there were several years where, when an exemplary, spiritual-minded teenager was needed for a part, it was the same kid each time. He's now in college working on an advanced degree.
S4

sir82

Just sort of tangentially related, but the thoughts here stirred a thought...

Despite my profile's location, I really live in an area in the US that is undergoing a population explosion (legal and otherwise). In our particular part of this metropolitan area, it is booming even more. Congregations, even the English-speaking ones, are bursting at the seams and dividing.

We've had 2 comments from the platform in the past 2 weeks, one from the PO, about how "Jehovah's chariot is speeding up" and "the little one is becoming a thousand". The proof? All these new congregations, and the need for new Kingdom Halls in our immediate vicinity. Growth! Growth in the organization!

Of course, fully 100% of all the new members in all the congregations are persons from other states riding the real estate bubble. They move in from California, Washington, NY, etc. They sell their house there, move here, can buy a house with cash (no mortgage), and still have tens of $thousands left over (some use this newfound windfall to buy a Mercedes, Acura, Infiniti, etc....so you've got shelf-stockers at Costco driving a $50,000 vehicle...but that's another story)

I realize most JWs have little or no true thinking ability, but are they really that dense as to think that just because this particular corner of the universe, home to about 1/2 million persons out of the 300 million plus in the US, and out of the 6 billion+ in the world, is experiencing "growth", that it is like this everywhere?

Nitwits.

drew sagan

well i do sometimes look at the pictures of the family studies where they're sitting there all smiley and playing kingdom songs on the flute, and think, thank god no-one really does that.

LOL! Even when I was "in" I never understood why such obviously fake junk was printed in these magazines. I knew a few people whose expierances actaully where in the magazines, but those people are the expection to the rule.
It's amazing that you actually asked that question. My wife is convinced that our congregation is simply full of jerks but that all the "good" witnesses are still out there, we just haven't found them yet. Good grief!

Kudra

RE: sir82's comment-
wasn't there a topic posted here recently that was about this speaker visiting fromn bethel that said that "we know the end is here because the work is slowing down."???

man, I just don't get it.

Virgochik

When I saw all the mean spirit and cliques, gossip and backstabbing, I just thought maybe it was our congo, that we were spiritually weak. Then, I found out the reason my parents switched Halls, was because the last one was even worse!

I heard lots of dirt, as an elder's kid. The CO played politics with his favorite elders, and was mean to the others. The elders were rivals in popularity contests, and I couldn't figure out how they were guided by holy spirit, when they bad mouthed and back stabbed each other so much.

I get it now.

When you were a witness, did you ever wonder where the GOOD witnesses were?

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