Anyone recall asemblies actually being fun? (page 3)

Magnum

exwhyzee: You have to remember that this is a propaganda film. The music ,the carefully edited scenes with smiling faces and friends hugging eachother as violins play is meant to tug at your nostalgic heart strings. Change the music....show a few shots of kids sitting in the sun for hour upon hour listening to Fred Franz's manical voice....women waiting in line with children to use a bathroom, families sitting all day on hard bleachers under a plastic tarp as a rain squall passed over.... old ladies and pregnant women being hauled off on stretchers after passing out, Apostates picketing outside, a disfellowshipped person sitting all by himself and the film would take on a whole different feel.

I agree wholeheartedly with that astute observation. However, my feelings of nostalgia are based upon my own personal experiences. I really miss the old times when there was more depth and it was more exciting and we had hope. The film just reminded me of that. And even if there were hard, uncomfortable times at the convention in the film, many who were there might remember the event with nostalgia. I think a lot of us might remember with nostalgic feelings some old times even though there were hardships.

Do you agree that there was a different feel to the org in the times depicted in the film?

St George of England

I certainly remember that 1963 Assembly at Twickers, I was 16. We camped and I suppose it was fun, we knew of nothing else for 'holidays' each year.

I also remember meeting a very cute girl from Pudsey, near Leeds. I still have some photos of her somewhere. A couple of years later she wrote to me and told me she had left home and done a 'runner'. Clever girl. Often wonder how things worked out.

George

James Brown

When I was like 5 to 8 years old and the assemblies were at the masonic temple in Cleveland. The assemblies were fun.

The Masonic temple was a neat old place to be.

I would run and hide all over that place.

https://www.google.com/#q=masonic+temple+cleveland

Wasanelder Once

it was never the convention that was fun, it was working in the kitchen as a kid in those paper hats and aprons as tall as we were, stirring monster pots of sauce with huge wooden spoons while standing on a platform, now that was fun! Who ever heard any of the program? Being out of town, and in a huge tent dining area was the best. Looking for each other in the crowd was exciting for a tween. Of course every convention provided some pronouncement from on high in the from of a book full of speculation, Life Everlasting in the Freedom of the Sons of God, Babylon The Great Has Fallen, Then is Finished the Mystery of God. Heady days my friends. All turned out to be bullsh*t.

tornapart

Wow! that brings back some memories! I was a little kid then and went to that very one. It was always Twickers. I remember the food tents and those trays and sitting under the trestle table to eat it. It was like school food, stewed prunes and custard next to mash and peas. LOL This was after what seemed like hours queing.

8 day assemblies, morning, afternoon and evening sessions divided by lunch and teatime breaks. Don't know how my parents did it!! Strange thing is, it was quite a lot of fun as a kid!

exwhyzee

Do you agree that there was a different feel to the org in the times depicted in the film?

Yes I do MAGNUM and I completly understand your sentiments and for a moment I even found myself getting caught up in the mood of the movie.

At the same time I realized that when we were steeped in the JW mindset we tended to buy into the image they were trying to portray and we likely projected our own feelings and personal intentions onto other people or upon the events and occasions they organized for us .

I also realize that at a certain point in life we begin to look back on the past with rose colored glasses. That's not to say that I think it's impossible to have fond memories about the past that are based in reality but I know that one has to be careful that our overly glorified memories of the past aren't making us dissatisfied with the present or even causing us to contemplate ways to return to those bygone days.

Antioch

Very much fun. As a child growing up in the religion from the late 70s onward, I have great memories of camping every District Convention. Potato Creek! KOA campgrounds! The massive energy of the thousands of people, the served lunches and trying to nab extra pudding or fish-sticks and that cheap cheap cola. So good. For a kid, wandering the halls of the Notre Dame Edmund Joyce stadium was just awesome. Not to mention how exciting the Dramas were to a child.

During the circuit assemblies in Southbend, IN, my parents would often spend the weekdays prior doing work or cleaning prepping the Hall. My Dad was all manly in the shop in the back, welding, fixing, etc. We'd wander the kitchen, the stage, and find secret rooms. Wacky confession: I discovered masturbation at the Circuit Hall during one of those trips. No details, but man that day is hilarious in retrospect.

As I grew up, I remember cruising those same Assembly Hall corridors for girls. Us teens would create an awesome posse and it was electrifying thinking of who you might meet next. It was just tons of adventure.

Regarding the religious stuff, I remember a day when the JWs were much more focused on the qualities of Christian living. Integrity, honesty, kindness, truth seeking, etc. I miss the massive dose of encouragement to be a good person. I was of course, oblivious to the sinister side and the fact that I was being exposed to BITE mind control techniques. To me, everyone was my friend and it was a grand social family.

That. I miss. But I would not give up the facts of life, reason and integrity for all the bliss that ignorance brings ever again. I'm much more happy being authentic and informed. I can handle the facts, no matter how terrible, just give me the dignity of making my way in the real world. Ya know?

RubaDub

No.

Rub a Dub

kaik

Yes and no. I was in Prague 1991 on Strahov stadium which had over 100,000 JWs. While it was nice to be there with family, some people I met were great and the emotions were strong, it was tiring. It was brutally hot in the pan, long line to restroom, difficult to leave, and constant monitoring what everyone was doing.

Anyone recall asemblies actually being fun?

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