Rank & file are seeing the money-grubbing

by Zoos 26 Replies latest jw experiences

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  Zoos

  Spoke with a fellow apostate from my own area. She and I bailed out about the same time and kept in touch.

  She used to do secular work with one of the local elders in his cleaning business until she got DFed. This same elder was one of the more profound dickheads on my reinstatement committee, before I turned around two years later and DAed.

  Business required her to contact the elder on behalf of an old client. A conversation started between them and he related that he was fed up with a lot of what was happening. His wife has walked away from the org. He says he sees all the BS and has long since stopped donating money - calling what the GB is doing as "money grubbing". He claimed he used to be one of the biggest contributors in the congregation and now gives nothing. He still thinks there's truth there so he hangs on, but he's sick of it.

  I listened to my friend relate this story and wondered how common it is.
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  Magnum

  Wow. Interesting. I, too, wonder how common it is. Would love to know. Is this guy intelligent? What about his wife? I tend to think it's the smarter ones who see what's really going on.
  
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  Island Man

  There are many JWs who realize that all is not well with Watchtower, but they choose to remain, being psychologically chained by fear of missing out on paradise if they leave.

  Their rationalizations often involve separating "Jehovah's organization" from the "imperfect" or even "corrupt" leadership (GB) at the helm. They will agree with you on all the ills and hypocrisies of Watchtower as you point them out. But they draw the line when it comes to leaving Watchtower. They will tell you that even if the GB is teaching falsehoods or are corrupt, they must still stick with the organization out of loyalty to Jehovah and trust that Jehovah will rectify matters in his own time.

  They will sometimes draw parallels to Israel of old under the leadership of corrupt kings and say the Israelites were still God's people and one had to remain with the nation to please Jehovah. And I'm sure we're all familiar with the now ubiquitous, Watchtower cookie-cutter platitude of "Where else shall we go? Who has the truth?"

  They are awake, but they are afraid to get out of the Watchtower bed because they see it as the safest place to be, because they have been fooled into thinking that there is a monster under the bed waiting to grab them by the foot and pull them under and eat them alive, if they ever get out of the bed.
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  smiddy

  I agree with you Island Man in what you say and could add the fear of losing touch with family & friends also.

  smiddy
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  James Mixon

  I would love to see this billboard .... Are you overwhelmed, stressed,financially strapped?

  Do you want relief? There are thousands who have found relief, life is beautiful.

  We walked away from Jw.org.
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  aintenoughwiskey

  The rank and file are seeing all kinds of problems. When you are forbidden to even whisper a criticism. All you have left is your wallet to vote with. Smart companies use exit interviews and spend huge sums surveying customers and make adjustments. The Watchtower Corporation tells you, you have a bad attitude. Sit down and shut up.
  
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  stuckinarut2

  Too many are emotionally, financially and physically invested in the org to leave...the rest are waking up in large numbers and cutting their attachments....
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  scratchme1010

  Many people are growing disappointed at what's going on. I think that many of their changes are inevitable so the consequences are what we get now.

  I feel sorry for some members of my family of origin who have been in that org all their lives, only to end up in this disarray. Sad.
  
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  James Jack

  WOW

  I had to think on this and there is a trend toward less giving in our Hall(I'm the Account Servant).

  Our Accounts went from $6000 a year ago and now around the $1000 mark. One Elder(he is the biggest contributor) asked me any trends I have noticed. I told him" Everyone pays by check and yet only 2 Elders out of 7, and 2 MS's out of 6 and 1 Pioneer out of 14 give on a regular basis. Most of them I have never seen a check from them in 3 years! He paused and said:" The example of those taking the lead shows by the results, and I don't know how to fix it".
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  joe134cd

  I had an account servant/elder friend confirm to me when I tried to tell him the society is perhaps running out of money, that there was no way his congregation was covering the cost the literature. He said he was embarrassed about it. The area where this congregation was located was in a very wealthy up market area.