Were / Are the Governing Body "Rock Stars"

by Number 6 22 Replies latest jw experiences

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  LongHairGal

  NUMBER6:

  I saw that deferential treatment of the few JW ‘anointed’ I encountered years ago.

  I was rather turned-off by this creature worship nonsense. I was also put off by the cantankerous attitude that some of them had - as thought people were expected to tolerate them.

  When I finally found out the truth about the “Truth”, I was so angry and disgusted that I tore to shreds a personally inscribed songbook and some brochure one of these ‘esteemed’ individuals gave me when I was baptized. I didn’t even want it around anymore.
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  BluesBrother

  Number 6 speaks of Jack Barr in his o/p.....I met him once, went "on the work" with him just before he was called to the GB. The Scot was then at the London Bethel.

  Funny thing was that was a most humble and unassuming man , totally unlike the image we have of A Morris 3rd or Steve Left. He was 'old school" .I don't think he would fit the Televangelist GB of today.

  Regarding Hero worship, I recall once in around 1960 Bro Knorr was to be a speaker at a convention in the North . My older sister and her friends travelled up to attend, because HE was there. I remember my non witness dad grumbling about "hero worship".
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  JoenB75

  Typical US style network marketing
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  dozy

  The GB used to be a lot lower profile when I was young , but I do remember a "Special talk" that was organised in a city hall and Ewart Chitty ( who later resigned as a GB member , allegedly for homosexual tendencies and/or alcoholism ) gave a long talk. He was applauded onto the platform and the applause afterwards was the longest and loudest I have ever heard at a JW meeting. After the talk he appeared at the front of the hall and was virtually mobbed. Even as a child back then , I felt somewhat uncomfortable.

  One of our elders briefly met Fred Franz at a convention in the USA - he shook his hand and had a brief conversation lasting probably a minute at most. Franz apparently made some sort of comment to the effect that "Armageddon is very near , brother". This incident had a profound affect on the elder - he constantly referenced it in this answers , his talks and items and even in casual conversation - usually alluding to how "the GB know that the end is near" etc. ( The fact that this comment was made in the early 1960's didn't seem to diminish its long term effect. ) I remember once somewhat facetiously mentioning to him that he hadn't spoken about his conversation with Franz for at least two weeks and he suddenly got really angry with me.
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  FatFreek 2005

  The year was c1956 and I had not yet been dunked at age 16. Behind Freddy was my smiling dad. This was just before the public address on a Sunday afternoon where he usurped 1 hr 45 minutes of our precious time. Earlier that day he addressed the Portuguese bros for a whopping 2 hours.

  
  
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  Gorbatchov

  I shook the hands of Albert Schroeder in the early 1980s at a larger meeting in the Netherlands. I was around 12 years old. He was tall, gray and surrounded by a large group of admirers. My father said: "There is Brother Schroeder, give him a hand!". As always, I did what I was told and I approached Schroeder. "Do you speak German", asked Schroeder. I answered "Yes, a little". "A litle, okay," he answered and continued his conversation with someone else. I noticed that I didn't find Schroeder special, and rather arrogant. But I was used to that from older Watchtower personalities such as elders, circuit overseers, and Bethelites.

  It brings back memory's, and takes me back to that time, raised in a warm family but with hard JW standards in that family. It is a double feeling.

  G.
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  fulano

  I worked for a while at the Netherlands branch and we had Schroeder for a zone-visit. His wife who likes to speak Spanish had a long conversation with my than wife.

  He had a problem I think. In his meeting with us he kept talking and talking about his visit to Thailand and how grateful they were and how they grabbed his hand with two hands etc. The sad thing is we went into missionary-service because of his direct recommendation to the branch-committee that week.
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  mann377

  Yeah I remember Fred Franz.......He used to go to the Spanish Congo in Brooklyn off Atlantic Ave. (1970's). I went to the Times Plaza Congo that shared the hall with the Spanish. Their meetings were after ours and I was assigned to operate the elevator to the 3rd floor. This was the were the hall was located. Several times I stopped the elevator to fast and Freddie bounced like pop corn in the elevator. Funny to watch fred get off the elevator staggering like he had been in a fight. I would help him up off the floor of the elevator and brush him off. I never could get the elevator to operate right as I had never done it before. After a few months I was assigned another duty. Once the elevator hit the springs at the bottom and continued to bounce. You should have seen Fred as he went up and down and the look he gave me would kill. I sure miss the old days.
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  Betheliesalot

  I once connected phone service to Henchiel back in the 90,s at a plush apartment in Hawaii. As a fly on the wall, I knew then that he was just another tourist with plenty of money and wine and liquor bottles galore. I wish there were cell phones back then with cameras so I could have documented this encounter.
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  Finkelstein

  Watchtower Society was just a human organization disguising themselves as God's earthly organization!

  .......and this is the reason why these men strive to keep the organization ongoing so that they too can bask in that adoration, power, privilege and celebrity personal status.

  ......and the reason why this religious publishing house is self indulgently devious and corrupt.

  People (JWS) aren't serving Jehovah's will and purpose, they are serving the Watchtower Corporation's will and purpose which is to sustain itself and grow.