Our Kingdom Ministry 2009 tells sick & infirm NOT to view telephone hook-up as convenient alternative to being “personally present” at KH!

by LUKEWARM 53 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  undercover

  What concerns me is fellow Apostates waving this OKM around as some sort of evidence that the WT is a hard hearted pack of bar stewards when the article proves nothing of the sort.

  I respectfully disagree to a point. This is typical cult BS. It's slyly worded but upon closer inspection their true motive shows. They cannot control people when they aren't at the meetings. It's not just the talks or the so-called information in those talks. It's the entire experience that keeps you indoctrinated. The peer pressure of other JWs in attendance. The elders looking over your shoulder. You can't get these sitting at home, drifting off to sleep while some 12 year old reads Numbers chapter 3.

  Notice that they actually say in the article "nothing compares to being at the meetings personally". This is the sly method of using guilt to pressure people to not rely on the phone system but drag their sorry ass to the hall.

  No, it's not the scandal of the decade, but it is one in a long list of examples of how the Society uses guilt to control the flock.

  Another way of looking at it... How many articles that mention the infrim and elderly actually talk about charity and the congregation looking after them and feeding them, and assisiting them? Very few, if any. Christian charity among their own is not important as meeting attendance.

  I do agree that this isn't the article to show active JWs just what a cult the JWs are. Instead it's more proof to outsiders and ex-JWs how manipulative the Society can be when trying to control its members.
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  dozy

  Where the numbers who can dial in are restricted it can be a bit of a nightmare for the elders to determine who is "worthy" & who isn't. With the ageing JW membership (in the western world) and the increasing number of JWs with ME / chronic fatigue or other undefinable illnesses and allergies (real or imagined) , in some congregations there are 20 or 30 "listener ins".

  I did notice at the last district assembly I attended that there were numerous JWs sitting (or sleeping) in their cars listening to the program on the radio. Beats sitting on a hard plastic seat between Sister Flatulence & Brother B.O. I'm sure the writing committee have their pencils sharpened to condemn this method of slacking as well.
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  Mary

  Do they truly not have anything else to worry about at Crooklyn than this bullshit?
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  milola

  I am so sorry lukewarm, but I do not see what you apparently see in this article. It looks to me that they have no problem with shutins or temp. ill people using the phone. I read it to say that they think one gets more out of a meeting if they are there in person. Once again, I am sorry but if you can point out exactly what I am missing I would appreciate it.

  And while I am ranting, I think there is plenty wrong with the Jehovah's Witnesses to not resort to trivial complaints.
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  nelly136

  ***or a progressive Bible student who may be shut-in,***

  hot lines to the local prison?

  brother and sister incontinent.( hell theyre not getting in my car!) give em a phone line dammit.
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  dgp

  I agree with Undercover. What happens is that they want the people to attend the meeting. If they allowed everyone to just call or use a teleconference, how many wouldn't take advantage of the chance NOT TO BE THERE, and fake they are listening? How would they prevent people from having an easy time fading? If the sick have a right to stay home and call in, how many will pretend to be sick? This is a move to control you people.

  Just for the sake of comparison, the Catholic Chuch has let the sick to listen to the mass on the radio. There are regular broadcasts in every country. And the pope gives his "urbi et orbi" mass, and you're supposed to benefit from it just by turning on the TV. In every parish, there are groups organized for the specific purpose of visiting the sick and the elderly. A priest will take the host home if you need it. My purpose with this is not to say that the Catholic Church is best, or to find fault with individual witnesses. My purpose is to show the obvious: that it is possible to act otherwise if you just want to. They don't care after the sick.

  They just want to make damned sure that only the very sick will miss a meeting. Only those who just can't be there will miss a meeting, and, even in that case, they will HAVE to listen to it.
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  blondie

  Just to emphasize the point I made, the elders in this area control the password. They change it frequently. Even if you have the phone number, you can't access the meeting without the password. You can't get the password unless you go to an elder to get it. You can't get the password unless the elder judges that your situation warrants it. And you have to do this for every meeting. It is proving to be quite an irritant for older jws and the family that help them. The older jw has to make the request directly, their adult jw children cannot do it for them. I guess too many people were calling in that the elders did not think needed to.
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  minimus

  My mom has been on the phone for years. She probably goes to the Memorial and maybe the Special Talk if she can. This will make her feel like sh&t.

  I think it's also about $$$. If people aren't there, they aren't giving.
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  Mad Sweeney

  The motivation for this is twofold.

  One, as mentioned, is the control issue. Indoctrination depends a lot on peer pressure that you can only receive as part of the group.

  Two, which I didn't notice being mentioned in the thread is the $money$ issue. If you are phoning in from home you have no access to the contribution box.
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  WTWizard

  Well, that leaves the Internet. And that's how I get my "spiritual food", usually months ahead of when the active witlesses even hear about it. And, not only the hounders can't do a damn thing about it, but I get to make whatever comments I feel like that will undermine what the Filthful and Disgraceful Slavebugger is trying to tell me.