Hi folks. Just taking a quick break from packing, and thought I'd pop in and say hey. Today i had a memory from field service pop up and I'd like to share it.
One day back in the early 2000's I was out in service with Bobby, an elder. We were working a street where the houses sat right on the bank of the Rio Grande river. It was fall, and a bit chilly. So, Bobby and I were walking up to a house and a man and woman came out.
Bobby's turn to speak at the door. He begins his presentation that had to do with war ending and a peaceful new world or something like that. The woman holds up a book and says they are studying about Revelation. Bobby listens to her and mentions that we too have a book about Revelation, and asks them if they would like to have one to study.
The woman said "I tell you what, if you take one of my Revelation books and look at it, I'll take the one you offered me..." Bobby accepted her deal with a smile and said he'd be sure to read her book as soon as possible. Shortly after that we left and walked back to the car since that was the last house on the street.
As we were walking we passed by a dumpster. Bobby quickly opened the dumpster and threw the book the nice lady game him inside. I didn't say anything but I wanted to. I wanted to ask him why he didn't look at her book like he promised. I wanted to ask him why it was ok to lie to that woman. What if he went back and she asked him what he thought about the book she gave him. He'd have to back peddle and explain why he didn't read it, or say he hadn't had the chance yet.
I wanted to tell Bobby he is a douche-bag. I would have looked at her Revelation book. If Bobby hadn't been there I would have accepted her book and read it. Maybe I would have seen something in there that would have cast doubt towards the JW teachings. Maybe I would have started looking at other non witness teachings. I could have possibly started down the road of discovery and eventually seen the jws for who they are.
Ok, it's ten years after and I'm out now. It took a while, but I'm here.
Chris-
Elder accepts literature from a lady at the door
by TimeBandit 8 Replies latest jw experiences
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TimeBandit
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Christ Alone
I wonder if her book said that the trumpet blasts of Revelation were district conventions too...
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RayPublisher
I wonder if she would've dumped his Rev. Climax book in the trash can also...
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steve2
Memories can still catch us years later. Humor helps - if needed. Perhaps this "nice"lady went back inside and ditched the book the elder gave her. You do portary her as the good party and the elder, the not so good party.
Sounds more like a case of white lie stuff rather than anything weighty. Hell, the number of times people have opened up to me after I left the organization telling me they politely accepted the witness literature then dumped it without reading it. Earth shattering. Not.
I presume he made a subsequent return visit which could have led to an interesting exchange. He'd ask has she read his book and she'd ask has he read hers. More social awkwardness - but hardly worth ruminating about all these years later, I'd say.
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Broken Promises
Woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, eh Steve2?
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steve2
Woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, eh Steve2?
Er, no. I thought Chris had...
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MrFreeze
steve, the elder probably thought her revelation book was demon-possessed and evil. I highly doubt the woman at the door thought the same thing about the Revelation GC book.
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smiddy
TimeBandit
That was a fair enough comment you made about your experience , but I had to laugh at some of the comments . Flip a coin :heads they read it , tails they dont .and if the coin stands on it`s edge ?
smiddy
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steve2
steve, the elder probably thought her revelation book was demon-possessed and evil. I highly doubt the woman at the door thought the same thing about the Revelation GC book.
Unless she was a Christian fundamentalist! Some of the so-called expose literature written by rabid fundamentalist groups makes the Watchtower prose seem tame.