Easier to be a JW now?

Xanthippe

Reading Konceptual's account of talking to cart 'witnesses' and it reminded me that when we left in '89 we thought the religion would do one of two things. Get more hardline, consequently lose members and eventually come to an end in some way. Or ease up on the members, fewer rules, less FS time, less meetings, just to keep them in.

All the recent apostate stuff, treatment of DFed kids and the hardline attitude to people who leave or try to fade has confused me, made me think they are harder on the R+F., but I don't think this is true. Except if you're a parent being made to shun your kids of course.

Realistically it is much easier now to be a JW. Three meetings a week down to two. Or is it one? One day conventions. You can even listen to meetings on the phone from your living room if you don't feel like going.

Now pioneering's down to what is it 30 hours a month or something? I did 100 and then 90 for ten years. Not proud of it, I was an idiot, just stating facts.

The door to door seems to be almost over. Just standing at carts for an hour or two chatting only to your friends. Hardly any literature to place. We had a bag full of hard bound books. The mags are barely worth opening, there's nothing there.

You can have blood fractions, IVF, transplants ( I think?). All forbidden when I was in. In fact I don't think blood factions were around.

So although the GB appear to be more hardline because of their attitude towards us, in fact for those left inside life is easier. Obviously as the converts keep dropping they are desperate to keep the members they have. The hardline attitude to apostates is all part of that. Don't let them 'poison you against the truth, brothers'. Meaning don't let someone who's seen the magician behind the curtain tell you what's really going on.

Chook

To be subjected to guilt riddled speeches and to conform to business dress codes is enough punishing for my soul. Non returnable time is why most won't go back ever.

freddo

They still go plodding slowly - "in the most urgent work to save mankind" - door to door - but they choose the time that is least likely to meet anyone. Apathetic low end rank and file (typically one third of the cong) will go out on Saturday mornings or mid week mornings when people are in bed, at the shops, working or off for the day.

Keener rank and file (including retired elders and those that occasionally aux pioneer at a pathetic 30 hrs) will go on each others return visits and bible studies to increase their time and will stand next to a local dummy cart from time to time.

The regular pioneers increasingly stand like stupified dummies next to metropolitan crap carts too. Oh and they'll study with Sister Gotmoorkids children and teens to "help" them (and get their time in).

The only men that go out in the early evening to find people home are the odd ball keen slightly deranged type which average one or two per congregation.

It really would be a joke if it wasn't a complete waste of time.

slimboyfat

A JW said to me the other week, why don't you come back to the meetings? There's only two meetings a week now, and you can go on the carts instead of door to door. As like a selling point. There's also the implied threat that you are "bad association" if you don't go back to meetings.

I think a few things are happening at once. They are reducing the literature published for cost reasons. They reduced the number of meetings for legal reasons and to reduce pressure on dwindling elder numbers. They are tidying up inconvenient doctrine like generations, types, faithful slave, some more successfully than others. They are also trying to stem the flow out of the organisation by 1) strongly discouraging education and 2) trying to cut ties between active JWs and former or inactive JWs.

Tameria2001

To me the JWs reminded me of a yo-yo, or a pendulum, going back and fourth on what they taught, what you could get kicked out for. One moment it's ok not to scream if one is being raped, while other times if one did not do it they would be dealt with harshly. The same for the blood issue. There were times it was ok to do certain things medically wise, and other times those very same things were a huge NO NO.

I too was one of those dummies that was a regular pioneer for a number of years putting in between 90 to a 120 hours a month, mainly because the 120 was making up for other times that I didn't quite make my quota with the hours. I was a dummy because I was just too honest in reporting my hours, looking back I just wished I would have said I put in the 90 hours... it wasn't like they paid me for my time wasted back then.

Talking about the decision on wither or not to scream when a rape is happening, I remember this one woman who was married and had some children. On this one night (her husband worked nights), this guy broke into her home, while she was sleeping, and raped her. She made the decision not to scream, because she did not want to wake up her children, and to possibly cause them harm. After he did his deed, he left, and she had called the police. Some time later, another woman in her neighborhood was also raped by the same man. But that woman was killed. They asked him why he did not kill his first victim, but he murdered the second. His reply was the first woman did not scream. When the second woman screamed, he was hoping for that to happen because he got some sick kind of pleasure out of it, and that escalated to a blood lust. He did say that if the first woman would have screamed he would have happily murdered her and her children that was in the home. But her punishment was not over with the JWs, she was ultimately disfellowshipped. I don't think I'll ever forget hearing about that.

Xanthippe

A JW said to me the other week, why don't you come back to the meetings? There's only two meetings a week now, and you can go on the carts instead of door to door. As like a selling point.

Yes exactly SBF. The cult is trying to hang on to their dwindling membership.

her punishment was not over with the JWs, she was ultimately disfellowshipped. I don't think I'll ever forget hearing about that

OMG Tameria what complete shits to disfellowship a woman for not screaming when she was raped! To protect her children! She did the right thing too in that situation, saved them all. Bastards!

To be subjected to guilt riddled speeches and to conform to business dress codes is enough punishing for my soul.

Yeah Chook I agree. I'm just comparing how it was with how it is now because I've been trying to work out what's going on with dropping meetings, pioneer hours, assembly days and so on for a while. The hardline bit towards apostates or even faders recently confuses the issue but it has started to make sense to me now.

konceptual99

A JW said to me the other week, why don't you come back to the meetings? There's only two meetings a week now, and you can go on the carts instead of door to door. As like a selling point. There's also the implied threat that you are "bad association" if you don't go back to meetings.

Indeed SBF. They view the reduction in meetings, carts and use of video messages (which is just a new version of the foot in the door and play a speech from Rutherford tactic from 80 years ago) on the ministry as "loving provisions" yet it's obvious that it's a strategy covering all the other points in your post.

pale.emperor

When JW broadcasting first came out almost all JW's i knew went out in droves to by a Roku so they could watch it on their TV screens (they could've come to me and got it on Kodi but never mind) - next thing you know someone somewhere in another congregation started selling Roku's to JW's and even asking them why they dont have one and promoting the benefits of JW Broadcasting. (Jesus and the moneychangers springs to mind).

I think it's easier to be JW nowadays in SOME ways but in other ways it isnt. When i was little Gilead and Bethel were advertised as a great thing to reach out for as a young one. Preach in foreign territory, make new friends etc. Now there's no incentive to better oneself as a JW. You cant even enjoy writing/giving a number 4 talk anymore since they done away with them. How are you supposed to prepare for becoming a Min Servant or Elder unless you practice public speaking?

I've been out since June 2016. Even when i was a good JW i openly said that "i dont believe all of it. About 10% i flatly dont believe, 20% im unsure of. And all that time my cognitive dissonance was destroying me. I was miserable, and even having doctrinal arguments in my head LITERALLY like two people talking the subject out. Not healthy. When i left and declared it all bullshit i felt a lot better.

Xanthippe

And all that time my cognitive dissonance was destroying me. I was miserable, and even having doctrinal arguments in my head LITERALLY like two people talking the subject out. Not healthy. When i left and declared it all bullshit i felt a lot better.

PA that sounds really stressful, I'm glad you made it out. I don't want people to misunderstand I'm not saying back in the day we had it much harder. Please don't think that. I'm saying the GB are making it easier for the R+F deliberately, to keep members.

Partly I'm thinking my eleven family members still in, one just a baby, may not make it out as it's getting easier to treat it like a church. One meeting a week perhaps and very little else. Without the cognitive dissonance you describe PA life is easier for those that don't think.

It must be surely, because some of my relatives are still in after sixty odd years, been though '75 and swallowed the overlapping generations shit whole. They know how to live with it all, they've found a way to cope with the CD.

TheOldHippie

"You cant even enjoy writing/giving a number 4 talk anymore since they done away with them. How are you supposed to prepare for becoming a Min Servant or Elder unless you practice public speaking?"

Very true.

Easier to be a JW now?

Share this