"The governing body has asked me to..."

by OverlappingGeneralizations 18 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  LoveUniHateExams

  @Punk

  I've never heard of 'puffery' either, and I'm also British. It sounds like something Oscar Wilde was imprisoned for ...
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  respectful_observer

  I've read more direct info on the subject than what I linked to below, but basically the theory is that when a person want to claim credit, they're much more likely to use words like "I", whereas someone who wants to deflect responsibility is much more likely to use a pronoun like "we", or third party pronouns.

  I heard a story on NPR where a professor listed to recordings of CFO's quarterly investor calls. When the CFO used "I" when discussing his/her views of the company's performance, the performance tended to be positive; when he/she used "we" or "the company thinks", the performance tended to be negative.

  Here's a broader discussion from a Harvard Business School article:

  http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/7234.html
  

  How to Spot a Liar

  • Liars used far more third-person pronouns than truth tellers or omitters. "This is a way of distancing themselves from and avoiding ownership of the lie," Van Swol explains.
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  Island Man

  I think I know the reason for that statement.

  It is usually given when the GB member is going to talk about something that is potentially controversial or new to JWs. On such potentially controversial issues, there is the risk that the GB member would either be hated or loved for presenting it.

  When it is a new or somewhat unconventional issue, there is also the potential for JWs to be wondering if the GB member is giving his own views or that of the organization.

  The statement: "the Governing Body has asked me to..." serves to separate the potentially controversial or unconventional message from the lone GB presenter, putting it squarely unto the Governing Body/Faithful and Discreet Slave collective. That way, JWs are being asked to accept the bitter pill as coming from the God appointed Faithful and Disreet Slave who must be obeyed, rather than merely being the view coming from rubber-faced Lett, or Uptight Tony.

  Any praise that a new, innovative or unconventional message brings must also go to the collective and not the lone GB presenter - so that the other GB members don't get jealous or suspicious about a lone GB member gaining more praise and prominence in the eyes of all JWs because of a message he happened to have presented.

  It might also be a way of suggesting to JWs that what is about to be said is a very important message coming from the faithful and discreet slave and may thus indicate to us awake ones that this is the real "meat" of the program - the key bit of indoctrination that Watchtower wants to feed the JWs with for the month.

  You see, the JW broadcast program is very similar to a study edition of the Watchtower. There are the experiences of JWs and other fluff pieces about the work of the organization. These mirror the supplementary articles for personal reading, found in the study edition. There there is the "the Governing Body has asked me to..." segment of the program which mirrors the congregation Watchtower study articles in the study edition.
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  DesirousOfChange

  I've never heard of 'puffery' before....it sounds like it would be nice covered in chocolate and sprinkles though.

  I think that is the only way that it is really palatable.

  I'll take 2 with a large Chocolate Mocha Cappuccino to go.

  Doc
  
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  username

  This was said to me by a couple of elders. "The body of elders have had a meeting about me" I asked why I hadn't been consulted beforehand, no answer to that so I told them to get out my house!

  All this because one of the elders was a lying dishonest Shmuel and I decided to fight my corner. I remember shaking with absolute rage at the fact non of this was my fault!
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  steve2

  You may not have heard of "puffery" before, but you can look it up. It's a noun of North American origin describing exaggerated claims that cannot be backed up. Sure, you can also equally describe the GB's exalted langusge as "bullshit". One noun does not preclude the other.
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  LoveUniHateExams

  You may not have heard of "puffery" before, but you can look it up - just did.

  Will blow me ... it apparently means 'exaggerated praise, especially when used in publicity' (American usage).

  Well done, Steve! I guess you have a larger vocabulary than me or Punk
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  sparrowdown

  Never mind steve, I knew of what puffery you spoke.
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  Phizzy

  Puffery they are good at, Weasel Words they are Masters of.