Observations at a District Convention

by truman 20 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  unique1

  Wow great account. It is amazing to me how logic either hits you or doesn't even at age 13 when my mom would drop me off at the laundry mat, I would read the religious tracts left there by other religions. Even though I had been warned against it, I always felt if you really had the truth, it would stand out against the lies, so if I read the tract and it made more sense than the religion I was in, the other religion was true and vice versa. As JW's we were always told to seek out those with an open heart and mind, but we weren't allowed to have either.

  I feel for you in not being close to your friend anymore. I think we all probably had a very dear friend in the truth that we couldn't share our new views with. It seems to put a weird barrier in between the two of you. You really want to tell them everything, but know if you do they would leave and break your heart. HANG IN THERE. It is sad, but the feeling passes with time. Alot of time mind you but it does pass.
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  BONEZZ

  Thanks for suffering thru it so that we may enjoy this great post.

  -BONEZZ
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  codeblue

  Truman, well done

  I felt like I was there with you!!!

  As I am fading, I enjoyed your thorough notes from this Sunday assembly.

  Codeblue
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  willyloman

  Very nice work, truman. You captured the sights and sounds, the flavor, of the convention, beautifully, and have a firm handle on the JW psyche.
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  Love, Me

  Enjoyed your post. Thank you. I was out to dinner last weekend when the restaurant became flooded with well-dressed families. I knew instantly they were J-dubs coming from a convention in a near by venue. I noticed that their name tags simply said "Walk with God" and didn't appear to have any reference to the WT org - but I didn't look up close at them so it may have been in fine print somewhere. I thought that was kind of odd.

  Anyway, sure felt good to be there eating with my family, knowing I am free and NEVER EVER EVER have to endure another summer vacation wasted by the WT.

  Love, Me
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  Undaunted Danny

  Good read truman my excerpt: [... We do not use guilt, fear, or shame to coerce people into obeying Christ as his disciples. Only wholesouled devotion is acceptable. Morbid fear would be a wrong motive for obeying Christ." ..]

  Again, a statement so at odds with the JW experience Real people,real sorrow,real watchtower family wrecking! I wasn't told even what year my beloved mother died!

  Now,you tell me what other religion that does this,think long and hard about this question?Would the Taliban,the Neo-Nazi's or even Charles Manson deny one of it's subjects/members the right to know WHAT YEAR their mother died !! Think!

  Name	Birth	Death	Last Residence	Last Benefit	SSN	Issued	Tools	Order Record?
  MARY ANN HASZARD	18 Sep 1937	13 Oct 2002 (V)	)	(none specified)

  I had to look up my mom's death certificate on the internet,when the database came up to speed.
  

  My family being held hostage by Jehovah's Witnesses Dedicated to my family members, nieces and nephew Lauren, Ashley and Kevin Haszard that have gone missing in the Jehovah's Witnesses.
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  cyber-sista

  Great reporting truman. Enjoyed reading about your day--I give you an award for a true test of endurance. These reports are interesting --keeps us in touch with all the reasons as to why we don't want to be there anymore.

  "We do not use guilt, fear, or shame to coerce people into obeying Christ as his disciples. Only wholesouled devotion is acceptable. Morbid fear would be a wrong motive for obeying Christ."

  I commented on this one in another post. The above is such a blatant lie. The whole Org doctrine is based on guilt and fear. "Morbid fear would be a wrong motive for obeying Christ" This statement should clue some honest thinking JWs into questioning the Org and its motives.
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  truman

  Thanks everyone for the comments. Just one note about that date I gave for the WT I quoted. That was the date of the assembly day...I think that the WT in question must have been an early July issue, just in case anyone was trying to check on it.
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  Xena

  The final talk of the day was given by (drum roll, please) Theodore Jaracz. My friend was very excited when she heard his name announced. A GB member speaking there! That?s only a little less than having the apostle Paul himself there on the platform, isn?t it?

  It always struck me how a group of people that stressed that fact that everyone was "brothers and sisters" and they were there to serve others...showed such reverence for certain ones. lol there were always name droppers in every cong too, huh?

  Thank you for posting this, it was interesting reading.
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  Nocturne

  I also noticed several times that the phrase ?raised around the truth? was used instead of ?raised in the truth?. Is this one of their progressive language adjustments, like calling themselves ?Christian Congregation of Jehovah?s Witnesses? instead of ?Watchtower Bible and Tract Society? in official correspondence?

  They reference themselves now in letters as the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses for legal purposes. In 2000 I believe, when the GB 'officially' stepped down from control of the wtbts, another corporation called the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses Inc. was formed to oversee the congregations, elders, DOs, COs etc... So basically they seperated the book publishing corporation from the JWs in the US, mostly for legal purposes. However this is only in the US if I'm not mistaken. Like for example, in Canada, it is still the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Canada Inc. that controls the congregations and all of the other stuff.

  As for the language change I don't see much to it. It might be that the speaker just made a mistake in his choice of words. I wouldn't read much into it since the expectations from the kids raised as jws are still the same. "Proper Youth" raised in the "truth" are still supposed to get baptized in their early teens, if not sooner, and are expected to pioneer right out of high school, or as soon as they're done a very quick post secondary course to help them make a living.