This is the reason why I brought this topic up, because I actually enjoyed when these issues came up before the conventions because it was the same horror stories and the same rules reminding. Then when this part was done at the meetings the brothers would throw in a few of thier own horror stories, such as one that I remember to this day. A Brother stated that during the program at a stadium someone spilled a soda and it just dripped all the way down the steps under the seats disrupting everyones enjoyment of the program. Oh dear!
Summer convention "warnings"
by got my forty homey? 48 Replies latest jw experiences
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Room 215
What I found most illuminating about the annual ``behave yourselves while at the assemblies" KM articles, apart from the fact that they lifted the lid for a candid look at how people really behave behind the facade of the ``spiritual paradise" was what it suggested it suggested about the JW demographic.
Fairly or otherwise, it paints a picture of a rabble that's unaccustomed to travel more than a few miles from home and oblvious to obvlious to standards of behavior at public venues such as hotels and restaurants.
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freelife
about the badge card thing. I think you wrer supposed to pin it to your peter when you were taking a shower. That way you could evern give the shower a good witness too.LOL
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Stephanus
But that is not what caught my eye about that paragraph. I know I've been out a long, long time, but this "closed session" attitude is 180 degees from what it used to be. JWs used to blitz the host city with the door-to-door during the convention with an open invitation to attend. For blocks around the convention site, JWs would stand wearing sandwich boards emblazoned with the logo of that years convention theme, passing out handbills with that days itinerary printed on it. Having "worldly people mixing in company with us" was considered the best possible witnessing of Jehovah's spiritual paradise that those poor wretches could ever hope to receive.
Apparently in the long-gone past, conventions were seen as another way of reaching out. Instead of staying in hotels during the convention period, JWs would be billeted out to homes in the area. The idea was that enthusiastic, starry-eyed Witnesses coming home from the "fine spiritual feast" to regale their long-suffering hosts with stories of "Jehovah's blessing" would be a witness in itself. Can't have been very effective - it hardly exists in living memory at all now.
As for the bit about mixing with "many worldly people", I think they mean the vendors themselves. And this is the hard to understand part: isn't the whole idea of witnessing one of going out there where the world is? How much better to bring some of the worldlings in where they can see Jehovah's minions at their finest?
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FlyingHighNow
Maybe some of the suggestions were redundant, but all in all I think they were good suggestions.
The rooming committees went out of their ways to prepare for the conventions. It only makes sense to be a good guest.
Don't you think that if the hotels think adults are this ill mannered that they will post their own detailed rules? Hotels don't post minutely detailed rules probably because most of their guests behave in a decent manner.
JWs would probably behave in a decent manner if they were treated like adults by the governing body and allowed to have their own consciences.
I seem to recall something in Crisis of Conscience about the governing body's decision on alternative service. The GB was afraid to make alternative service a conscience matter at one time because it was afraid young brothers would not make the right decision and then that would lead to other bad decisions. In other words, the governing body preferred to act as the conscience of these young brothers because they thought the young brothers incapable of making good decisions on their own.
The problem is that when you take over making someone's decisions and controlling their thoughts, then you will render that someone's mind helpless. Then you will have to micromanage that someone like you would a child. Basically they have turned millions of adults into helpless, mindless children who must have a "convention law code" or they won't know how to behave like the average adult who doesn't need the law code to know to behave.
Heather
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Momofmany
At some conventions, there continues to be a problem with many brothers and sisters and even young children milling about in the corridors during the sessions. Attendants will be instructed to ask such ones to return to the auditorium
We are now in an inside building. Myself, and several other women have been asked to leave the building, because there is no walking in the corridors. So there were some women and babies, and small children walking around outside. That's when I packed up all the kids, my mother, and left. I am not walking out in the city while my other children are with my mom.
This requires purchasing foodstuffs and beverages ahead of time and packing them in a small container or cooler that can fit under the seat
We used to have 4 coolers. One for sandwiches, two for drinks, and one with snacks, fruit and the like. I remember one person telling my Mother that this is a convention, not a picnic. I will never forget (because she never backtalked any man as far as I know) She told them, we have 6 children, three adults, and I will not let my grandchildren suffer without drink in the hot July sun in this stadium. The look on his face was pricless, and the kids still talk about Granny telling the man off.
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wednesday
Actually, the suggestions the GB give to the JWS for the conventions indicates they think the average JWS was raised in a barn .
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GentlyFeral
a rabble that's unaccustomed to travel more than a few miles from home and oblvious to obvlious to standards of behavior at public venues such as hotels and restaurants.
And this, of course, is a socioeconomic issue. When we were good little underpaid dubbies, we rarely went out to eat even at McDonalds, and never stayed in hotels -true, we lived within an hour's drive of the usual convention venue, but we never had enough money to take even a three-day trip out of town.
GentlyFeral
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Soledad
I look back now and I can't remember anyone saving rows of seats with rope, and wouldn't understand why the hell they would!
oh but I do remember seeing that. often times back in the days when food was prepared at the conventions the early morning volunteers would sneak away from their kitchen duties to section off seats in the main auditorium--one time at yankee stadium it was announced from the platform that almost 10,000 seats had been saved by 7:00am (and I dont know who in their right mind would actually count). this was always such a huge issue in my area.
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Mysterious
All this talk about nasty apostates coming in and mixing with them makes me want to get a suit, and see if anyone notices I'm not a guy whilst mingling.
