by Open mind 40 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
@ 21stcenturywoman: Wow. That elder went a tad beyond even Watchtower rules by making a reference to her appearance. You're right about identifying the person based on who was recently reproved.
Week 1: Brother Horny has been reproved.
Week 3: Local Needs: Beware of the snare of Bestiality.
Week 3: Local Needs: Beware of the snare of Bestiality.
I might go to a meeting to hear that one LMAO!!
Maybe bring some Internet clips to help out with the visuals LOL
Never had one given about me in particular- that I know of, but I stopped attending meetings over 7 years ago- who knows ?
Funny experience though concerning my 1st ex-wife , a fanatic JW I was married to 19 yrs. We had been divorced for years and my daughter complained to me that her mom ( my ex ) was spreading nasty rumors about a middle aged sister my daughter was living with. This sister was a massage therapist and men and women would come to the house where she lived and my daughter rented a room there. My JW ex-wife told people in the congregation that it was immoral for this sister to have men come over to have massages and that one of the men might sexually assault our daughter ! ( Who was then 18 yrs.old ) She spread this to many in the congregation that the sister who did massage was a bad example for our daughter and others because she did this for a living in her own home. ( Obviously my ex-wife was and still is insane. )
So even though I had not attended meetings in 3 years my daughter asked if I would call the P.O. in the congregation as this sister felt awful about the horrid gossip being spread about her and my daughter was horrified as well. So I called the P.O. who I knew from years before and told him he had someone robbing the congregation of peaceful relations by spreading untrue gossip about this sister. I told him it was my ex-wife and my daughter was horrified over it. I suggested he do something about it . Two days later my daughter said the P.O. gave a local needs talk telling the congregation that a " cancer " was spreading gossip in the congregation and it must stop ! My daughter said that her mom was so oblivious that she shook her head in a positive way with a concerned look on her face agreeing with the P.O. as he gave the talk ! So it was either a decoy to throw others off that the talk wasn't about her - or she was just plain in denial, ignorant, or both that the talk was for her !
So Open Mind - Even if some ARE at meetings when a local needs talk is given- there are no guarantees the person will apply what's being said to themselves. Actually- most people are in denial anyway. LOL ! Really strange experience
I remembered when I was getting disfellowshiped two years ago ( he was trying to convice me to stay in my parents home and not move out ). He said there would be a local needs talk about what I done, but would not name any names. I was like wtf!
Week 1 : Pitchess is no longer one of Jehovah's Witness
Week 3 : Local Needs on '' Dangers of Night Clubs and Sextexing ."
I was like now the whole congregation will know what I got disfellowshiped for anyway.
I do not remember what a single local needs talk that I attended was about. I never really realised they were supposed to be about congregation problems. If they were then they were stated in such vague terms that it was unrecognizable what they really were about.
If I ever got mentioned in a local needs, I don't know. But I do remember being the scapegoat for the "Halo-gate" at my hall, where wouldn't you know it, the "ringleader" of the Halo kids wasn't even there that night.
"Halo-gate"? Now that sounds like fun!
I was the obvious inspiration for a local needs talk back in my day... it was regarding physical appearance, and how important it was to not dress or look like a worldly person. I had just been counseled about how my dark hair made me look "goth" (my hair is naturally very dark, being that I'm Korean). Also, I didn't dress like a 97 year old woman (though I was still modest, and I'm sure the other sisters were searching for ANY reason to force me to wear a WTS-approved potato sack dress).
The main points of the talk were about how wearing trendy or fashionable clothing could make us "blend in" to the world, when we should be separating ourselves from it (i.e. "Tracy, quit wearing clothing that is relevant to this decade! It's making our fat ol' wives feel bad!"), and we wouldn't want to be mistaken for a worldly person, now would we?
Then they moved on to hair color, and how although it's not forbidden to dye our hair, we should only stick to "natural colors", and that certain hair styles or colors are associated with Satan worshippers and druggies. (i.e. "Tracy, we don't know what this 'asianness' is that you speak of, but it sounds like a lie! Your dark hair is clearly a sign of the devil! Go make yourself blonde!")
In response to being counseled for such BS and then enduring a passive-aggressive attack from the stage, I dyed my hair a ridiculously unnatural shade of red. It was seriously Ronald McDonald red.
I received a lot of compliments on my new look from those idiots. Apparently Elmo inspired hair is okay, but with my natural hair I might as well have 666 stamped on my forehead.
I continued to dress the same though. I wasnt buying a new fugly wardrobe just to appease a bunch of insecure middle-aged women. I got negative comments about my clothing until the day I formally disassociated myself. Whenver someone would say something to me, like, "You decided to wear THAT to the meeting?" and I would ask what was wrong with it, they would just say something vague like, "Don't you think it's a WORLDLY style of clothing?" I still don't even know what that means. Most of what I wore would have been appropriate for work or a job interview.
I'm sure as I was fading out that there were a few more talks about me, but at that point I had mastered the art of sleeping with my eyes open (unfortunately I never did master the art of not drooling while sleeping upright... don't worry, my NWT caught most of it).
"Halo-gate"? Now that sounds like fun!
Lol, well, it was fun to play. Looking back on it now I really could have spent my time not locked in a musty room with a bunch of dudes, but whatever. Basically what happened is this...I started playing Halo: CE way back in 2003 with my friends in the hall. I got decent at it quickly and it felt good to finally be part of the cool kids crowd. We'd play after bookstudy, or on weekends, or whenever. We'd find other JWs and pwn them into the ground with our l337 skills. This went on without incident for a year.
Then we let an outsider in the group.
He got hooked on the game, and promptly went and bought an Xbox to play. Boy did this kid play...he was up for long periods of time playing, so much so that his stepdad was both pissed at him and me. Especially me, because I was seen as his closest friend in the clique, and therefore the scapegoat.
Word got around about our playing. We stopped our after-bookstudy sessions, and cut down in other areas. Then the shite hit the fan. I was given a talk with the theme, "Why Violent Videogames Are Not for Christians." I really wanted to sink into a crevice and die at that point, because I knew the jig was up. Regardless, I soldiered on and wrote a damn good talk. I took on easy targets, like Grand Theft Auto (LOVE that game!!!) and some classics, like Mortal Kombat. Amazingly I didn't make any statements that I didn't disagree with.
Right after I got down from the stage, my face felt like it was on fire. And then it got worse. To paraphrase:
"What Br. [Nose] said was all very timely and useful, and something else needs to be mentioned. Halo is another game that has become very popular, and features graphic violence," said Br. P.O.
I wanted to diiiiiiiiieeeeeeee....oh, I couldn't believe he actually said that! But he did. The sneaky bastard. Suddenly the "rule" that you couldn't name anything specific unless the org had already done so was out the window.
And the kicker was, the guy who started it all wasn't even there.
Being a j-dub sucks.
watersprout: Belly button piercing? You've gotta be kidding me. Too bad we don't have audio of that gem.
It was soo stupid! I wish i had heard it too...Carrot just gave me a brief overview, he said it was really embarresing as everyone knew it was about me. Not sure if i was marked. Would they have to announce your name to mark you?
Peace
