Older JW: not happy (page 3)

Xanthippe

Where are their loving brothers and sisters when these ones become elderly?

The congregation i grew up in used to average about 90 members per meeting. There were loads of families with kids. Just done a quick mental count and there were 29 kids of my "generation" plus their parents, grandparents and other members.

Now?

Of those 29 only 8 are still JWs. And of those 8 none of them are in that KH anymore.

That same congregation is made up of old dears and averages about 55 per meeting (so im told by my recently exit-ed brother). There are two sisters who were always put up on the platform as examples for us young ones. They'd fulltime pioneered since 1966! One of them has stopped pioneering entirely due to ill health, the other auxiliary pioneers. No savings. No insurance. They're 79yo now.

One of them is a lovely sister.

pale.emperor

Where are their loving brothers and sisters when these ones become elderly?

Watchtower August 15th 2008 answers, [bold mine for emphasis]:

para. 8 "Similarly, Jehovah is pleased when local congregations assist faithful older ones who are in need but have no believing or willing family members to care for them."

para. 9 "What burdens do older ones bear? Many tire easily. They may feel that doing even basic things—going to the doctor, doing paperwork, cleaning the house, preparing food—is beyond their capacity. Since appetite and thirst often diminish with age, they may think that they do not need to eat or drink as much as they really should. It can be similar with spiritual nourishment. Aging eyes and ears may make reading and listening to spiritual programs difficult, and just getting ready to go to Christian meetings may be exhausting. What, then, can others do for such older ones?"

para. 14 "If you are an older person, have you had such painful feelings? Or are there times when you feel that Jehovah may have abandoned you? The psalmist may have had similar feelings in his later years, for he petitioned Jehovah: “Do not throw me away in the time of old age; just when my power is failing, do not leave me. . . . Even until old age and gray-headedness, O God, do not leave me.” (Ps. 71:9, 18) Of course, Jehovah was not about to abandon the composer of that psalm, and He will not abandon you. In another psalm, David expressed his confidence in God’s support. (Read Psalm 68:19.) Rest assured that if you are a faithful elderly Christian, Jehovah is with you and will continue to sustain you day by day."

The full article focuses more on getting them to the meetings than it does practical help.

stillin

One thing that I am taking with me during my fade is the visiting of those older ones in their homes, when they're in the hospital or nursing home. Mostly the ones that I liked and that had some humor or humanity about them.

Why should I be a part of the problem? It's no skin off my nose to take a few minutes to cheer up some nice old person. Maybe do some chore, whatever.

It's not really pleasant, but they try to keep their chins up and as they say, "getting old is not for sissies."

"Jehovah" may or may not bless me for my effort. Or there may not be any Jehovah. But virtue is its' own reward. I feel good, the person feels good. Win, win.

Half banana

Yes PE the cult leaders wouldn't want members to spend precious preaching time on helping worn out brothers and sisters instead would they? Yet that sense of family care extended to believers was paramount in the early Christian churches and a reason to join it back then (Jas 1.27).

You said it Lois, they steal lives.

I would like to see all JW literature with a health warning printed at the top of every page:

WARNING: IF YOU JOIN JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES YOU MAY HAVE YOUR LIFE STOLEN FROM YOU.

BluesBrother

Definitely the case.....

The older ones of my family are not happy any more. They feel left behind by the on-line flash gizmos of the WTS . They hate the shallow simplified message , and the cong. Takes no notice of them.

I remind them that the growth areas are third world so that is where the focus now is..... they feel left out to dry despite decades of service......

Trouble is, they cannot connect the dots and see that it is all just wrong....

joe134cd

I was talking to my 60s+ cousin about all the clapping and dancing going on at the conventions. The reply I got was "keeping up with jehovahs charriot". BTW his 80s+ mother has a full size poster on her wall of all the governing body members. Yup there is still plenty still asleep in jw-land.

freddo

joe134cd wrote ...

"BTW his 80s+ mother has a full size poster on her wall of all the governing body members."

Vidiot

Let's be honest, folks.

What really is there for older folks in the Org to BE happy about?

Giordano

When I was 16 or 17 a fellow JW, admittedly not a really convinced JW, gave me a copy of Eric Hoffer's seminal book........ The True Believer which I still have to this day.

That book and my own ability to read and comprehend helped me out of the 'truth' by the time I was 23. I had nothing else to work with in those days.This is a good 50 years ago. My wife never believed so my announcement about leaving the truth was greeted in a joy full manner.

However I recently realized that time has truly passed when the little white haired lady I was helping across the street was my wife!

Just about all the JW's I grew up with are distant memories, dead or like me about to be.

I had one thought about the JW religion back then and to this day........Apart from the Mormons and Christian Scientist this is one of the dumbest religions........ EVER!

I am sorry many of you stayed in as long as you did. I was in for ten years. I did and still do have a really wonderful wife. Met her when I was pioneering where the need was great. So yes if I had to do it all over again....I would. Other then that it was like attending a third rate circus where the elephants had patches of dried skin and the lions had lost their teeth.

Older JW: not happy

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