I went to the Kingdum Hall last night....

by pratt1 11 Replies latest jw experiences

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  pratt1

  As some of you may know, I have a close friend who is still a dub that I am the "godfather" of his son. I mean this in the most literal sense, since it is in his and his wife's will, that if anything should happen to them, I would become their child's legal and custodial guardian.

  Anyway, I wento hear his second Minsistry School talk last night and I have a few observations about the meeting.

  1. I was not aware that the #2 talk is now just a bible reading without an introduction or conclusion by the speaker. when did this happen?

  2. The congo is located in a diverse mid to upper middle class neighborhood that surrounded on all 3 sides by lower income neighborhoods. There are two main halls that enables two separate congos to meet at the same time. I was very surprised to see that the spanish speaking cong was double the size of the english speaking congo.

  3. The congo was made up of middle aged to senior citizen couples with no present children, or single parent families with children under 10.

  4. Very few brothers at all, with many of the duties either being handled by very old brothers or sisters giving the number 4 talk in the main hall. In my old congo years age, we never allowed sisters to give the number 4 talk in the main hall.

  5. There appeared to be a general feeling of malise or boredom throughout the meeting with the speakers at times answering their own questions because no one volunteered.

  Could it be that many of the longsuffering dubs have "lost their zeal"? I strongly suspect the borg is being powered by the newer members and many of them are people lower on the social economic scale, new to theis country looking for a better way of life and under the dilusion that the dubs are a way to create a community, assimilate and attain a higher standard of life.

  Any comments?
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  dawg

  Pratt, the dumb bastarda are finally figuring out that the GB is full of crap!
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  FadingAway

  1. I was not aware that the #2 talk is now just a bible reading without an introduction or conclusion by the speaker. when did this happen?

  I think about 4-5 years ago. This changed when they started using the new Benfit from Theocratic Education book.
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  Dragonlady76

  5. There appeared to be a general feeling of malise or boredom throughout the meeting with the speakers at times answering their own questions because no one volunteered.

  Now that's really bad, LMAO!
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  emptywords

  Pratt, the dumb bastarda are finally figuring out that the GB is full of crap! Hope so.......death of the elite.
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  unique1

  Really?? Sisters gave the #4 talk about 75% of the time around here. That is just weird that they didnt' then. It makes the ladies feel as if they can contribute something considering the fact they aren't allowed to do anything else.

  I personally think the old ones are getting tired and the younger families that were raised in it and now have families of their own are all leading double lives to some extent. They are JW's only by meeting attendance and by 2 hours of preaching a month.
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  B_Deserter

  1. I was not aware that the #2 talk is now just a bible reading without an introduction or conclusion by the speaker. when did this happen?
  January 2003. The new Theocratic Ministry book reorganized the entire TMS. #2 talks are bible readings only and are 4 minutes instead of 5. #3 and #4 are the same I believe, except that the people giving them have to look up their own source material.
  2. The congo is located in a diverse mid to upper middle class neighborhood that surrounded on all 3 sides by lower income neighborhoods. There are two main halls that enables two separate congos to meet at the same time. I was very surprised to see that the spanish speaking cong was double the size of the english speaking congo.
  There's been a huge push for foreign language development the past few years. Immigrants tend not to question the society as much and since many are uneducated and/or poor, the appeal of paradise on earth is much stronger to them. In Latin american countries, many witnesses have a bible study waiting list because all their time is taken up with studies.
  3. The congo was made up of middle aged to senior citizen couples with no present children, or single parent families with children under 10.
  Not surprising, young adults and teens have been leaving the organization in droves and its been like this for at least a decade. In my old hall in the 90's, there were 10 teens my age. The only one still in the truth actually left for a while but is now back.
  4. Very few brothers at all, with many of the duties either being handled by very old brothers or sisters giving the number 4 talk in the main hall. In my old congo years age, we never allowed sisters to give the number 4 talk in the main hall.
  This was another 2003 change. The number 4 talk now alternates weekly between a brother and a sister.
  5. There appeared to be a general feeling of malise or boredom throughout the meeting with the speakers at times answering their own questions because no one volunteered."
  Of course. The meetings are boring and dull. They hear the same things every week (funny how they criticize other churches for "saying the same things over and over" but witnesses doing the same thing is actually glorified) and its hard to pay attention.
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  Open mind

  new to theis country looking for a better way of life and under the dilusion that the dubs are a way to create a community, assimilate and attain a higher standard of life.

  I know we can't tell what a person is really thinking, but I've often wondered if this is at least part of the motivation for some individuals.

  Open Mind
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  Mum

  :lower on the social economic scale, new to theis country looking for a better way of life and under the dilusion that the dubs are a way to create a community, assimilate and attain a higher standard of life.

  Interesting take on things. In fact, I saw a PBS documentary on Independent Lens about a real phenomenon among immigrants from Latin America. It seems that when they convert to Protestant evangelical Christianity, their standard of living goes up (according to the person who made the documentary anyway). They are seen as traitors to their culture by their fellow immigrants who are loyal to Catholicism, but they who have a home in the suburbs and a nice late model vehicle are very happy to leave their old culture behind.

  However, it is hard to believe they improve their lot by becoming JW's.

  Regards,

  SandraC
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  Elsewhere

  The bible does an excellent job of expressing how JWs are feeling these days:

  (Proverbs 13:12) . . .Expectation postponed is making the heart sick.

  (Psalm 69:3) . . .I have become tired by my calling out; My throat has become hoarse. My eyes have failed while waiting for my God.. . .

  (Psalm 143:7) . . .O hurry, answer me, O Jehovah. My spirit has come to an end. Do not conceal your face from me, Or else I must become comparable with those going down into the pit.