I have been waiting for this moment, and it has finally come! I was actually in the middle of typing in the other thread, about householders who caused you doubts, when a JW rang my doorbell. My barking German Shepherd didnt scare him away, but did knock all his books out of his hand and onto a wet porch, which I really felt bad about. He had all his pubs in such a nice folder, luckily with lots of page protectors, etc. Interestingly, he never opened his bible...
I'm going to relay what just happened, and see if anyone has pointers for me. I was never baptized, but we got to the last chapter of the Bible Teach book, before we had to end our bible study and stop going to meetings. After discovering things about the society, we could no longer lie to our friends and pretend we were going along with it. (In a nutshell). We live right on the border, as far as territories go... We chose the "wrong" Kingdom Hall when we moved here, and even though a few jokes were made about it, we kind of get double service. Our friends visit a lady across the street in the nursing home, and use that as an excause to call on us once or twice a year.
This visit came from the cong in Holt, Michigan, where we never attended a single meeting (but apparently that's where we were "supposed" to go).
I answered the door, and was greeted by a man with an Awake magazine about Halloween. Interesting! I accepted it, and let him say his little speech.
He asked me if we read the Bible. I do read the Bible every day!
As we talked a little bit, I was upfront with him. We are former bible students, and used to attend meetings. I named the man who was our main teacher (mistake perhaps, if he talks to him this week). He was anxious to book a return visit with his wife. I don't know if this was due to time constraints, or why... The people in the car kept looking over, like they wanted to go. The driver of the car turned around in the driveway while we were talking. Finally, his daughter (about 12) got out of the car and came up the walk. At that cue, he left right away...
I told him we have been actually very aware of the new teachings of the watchtower. I asked him if he'd ever thought about the difference between serving jehovah god and serving an organization. what do you think about the 1914 generation? I find it interesting that they are clinging to this date, even though it is clearly inaccurate.
How far would you go for the society? I hope you will discuss with your wife, what your limits would be? He talked about the times of Noah, and the 8 people who survived. I asked if this was a comparison to the 8 men who are the FDS. He denied that, explaining that it was the 8 million JW's worldwide, who have been given this clear warning. Again, I said, "How far would you go?"
I asked him a few questions about himself, after he told me he was from Cambodia.
He has been a JW since 1982. "Oh! So you have been through this kind of upheaval before... I think this is going to be a historic time in your religion's history."
He is an elder in his congregation. "Oh! So you have the secret book! You probably already know what the instructions are..." I had mentioned my concerns about the actions and premonitons being published by the society. Moving to the country, warning people to be ready to obey... "History has shown us this type of pattern before, from religious leaders who start to feel like they are being backed into a corner." He smiled and said something about having instructions, so he could help the members of the cong.
I told him how sincere and gentle he was. I encouraged him to do his research about the society. "oh, but you're not allowed to read anything that is not published and approved by the watchtower society, are you?" He said they did do research on their own... (???) "you know, we watch the news..." Not for long!
I think he realized he needed reinforcements, very soon after we started talking. Either that, or they were in a hurry to meet friends for lunch. He was a very nice man (aren't they always). I was kind and gentle toward him, and made sure I listened intently to his responses. For the first time, I actually felt like I could speak up, and had enough information to be helpful (dangerous) to him.
He seemed impressed that my dad is a JW. I told him we are concerned for all the JW people right now, and are carefully watching what the society is telling them to do and believe next.
Any thoughts, based on what I have just shared? I have been given a calling, to reach out to JW's, and I believe this is a critical time, in which we are being given a window to access them, along with a deadline, as the GB is adding more bricks to the wall, and slamming all the windows shut in 2014.
I need to be careful about wasting too much time on message boards. I am susceptible to that, and avoiding my real responsibilities at home. I had to close my Facebook account for this vet reason... (A little confession time from an Internet addict). I hope I can use my time online wisely, and get info that might actually help someone.