jw meetings and obedience to the society

by boy@crossroads 21 Replies latest jw friends

  • boy@crossroads
    boy@crossroads

    In what ways does each of the jw meetings play a part in instilling obedience to the mother organization? or maybe put another way, how does each weekly jw meeting contribute to the overall jw mindset?

    This thought came to me whilst drifting in and out of the watchtower study this morning.

    ministry school: helps jws strengthen their speaking skills for better defending their beliefs. the fact that this is a regular meeting and therefore of importance helps to reaffirm that at some point a witness will have to defend themselves. self-fulfilling prophecy

    book study : to get to know your brothers and sisters more intimately. This is not altogether a bad idea, however it could be if one has a sudden change of beliefs. guilt trips, spying on close friends

  • wizedup
    wizedup

    The JW mindset is firmly entrenched in any pattern the GB chooses. Not only is the same information given over and over again, 5 meetings a week, year after year, but by answering questions prepared for you with the answers given to you and told to put their answers into your own words. No matter how you slice it, it comes out their mindset predetermined for you from your own mouth. That's brainwashing.

    Then when that's not enough, we actually brainwashed ourself going out in service repeating the same things over and over expressing these same views (theirs) at every door when someone would listen.(Or to each other when no one was home.) We are told to keep our conversations "spiritual'". Learning to overcome objections before they arise, never really listening to any one else's view because of busying our own mind with Mother's thoughts and how we are going to get them across to the other person. After all, making Mother happy, is making Jehovah happy. We weren't bringing people to Christ, but to Mother.

    The Reasoning Book is a perfect example of this, every objection is laid out for us with memorized sermons. If I woke up every day and told myself I was ugly three times a day, day after day, and year after year, I would believe it in a short period of time whether it was true or not. Then take something we don't know to be true but strongly wish it were true, (paradise, never dieing, endless life, playing with the animals, joined with dead loved ones, etc.) wouldn't take us long to convince ourselves it was all true because we want to believe it. And to make sure that happens, the schedual is as outlined above. All our loyalty, submission, devotion, love and admiration is shown to Jehovah by giving it to the Mother organization. I see no difference in that than Mary worship, Holy Mother of the Catholics . Or Hitler's Mother organization, everyone in step!

    NOT ME, NO MORE

  • garybuss
    garybuss

    All Watch Tower Society (Corporation) activities have to do with the books the leaders published.

    Personal study is reading the books the leaders published. Meetings are studying the books the leaders published. Service is distributing the books the leaders published. Bible studies are sessions indoctrinating new workers by using the books the leaders published.

    Kingdom Halls are distribution centers where inventory is stocked and a special literature counter is provided and staffed with volunteer workers for the sales people to pick up the books the leaders published. Contribution boxes are conveniently placed for "publishers" to pay by donation for the literature the leaders published.

    The worldwide ministry is to increase the distribution of the books the leaders published. The Corporation's school for missionaries is called Gilead, and it's purpose is to teach members how to start new congregations using the books the leaders published.

    Member's weekly schedules revolve around the study and distribution of literature the leaders wrote and published. That schedule is set up by the Watch Tower Publishing Corporation.

    Saturday morning is devoted to distributing magazines the leaders wrote and published.

    Sunday public talk meeting is given from an outline the leaders wrote and published on a topic selected by the leaders and referenced by books the leaders wrote and published.

    Sunday Watchtower Study meeting is reading from and studying a magazine the leaders wrote and published.

    Tuesday book study meeting is reading from and studying a book the leaders wrote and published.

    Wednesday is preparing for Thursday night meetings by reading books the leaders wrote and published.

    Thursday Theocratic Ministry School is speaking from and reading from books the leaders wrote and published.

    Thursday Service Meeting is a sales meeting training for presentations to distribute books and magazines the leaders wrote and published. The Service Meeting is also used to announce staff additions, changes, or deletions as approved by the Watch Tower Publishing Corporation.

    Daily texts are read daily from a book the leaders wrote and published.

    Yearly conventions are sponsored by the Watch Tower Publishing Corporation. The highlight is the release of new publications the leaders wrote and published and the water baptism of new "Publishers" who agree to be identified with the Publishing Corporation, calling themselves the "Spirit Directed Organization".

    Members are called "publisher" and only qualify to be recognized as members if they engage in the distribution of books and magazines the leaders wrote and published and then report that engagement on Field Service Report forms that the leaders published.

    ("Publisher" is dictionary defined as One that is engaged in publishing printed material.)


  • wizedup
    wizedup

    ("Publisher" is dictionary defined as One that is engaged in publishing printed material.

    Exactly, Hubby always asks me,"Why do you think they call us publishers?" Why aren't we parishoners like other religions, or even disciples? Publishers?!!!

  • Maverick
    Maverick

    Succinct, a perfect breakdown of the methods and motivations of the WTS, Gary. Wonderful! Great job! I love how you cut out all the BS!

  • Mary
    Mary
    Not only is the same information given over and over again, 5 meetings a week, year after year, but by answering questions prepared for you with the answers given to you and told to put their answers into your own words.

    I remember when we were studying The Greatest Man book. We were on the chapter where Jesus was in the Garden praying that "this cup" be passed from him. In other words, he knew what what coming, he was very scared (as anyone would be, whether you're perfect or not) and basically was saying "hey, I'm really scared here and I really don't want to go through this. Any chance of things happening differently?" The GB, for some strange reason, decided that this meant that "this cup" meant that Jesus didn't want to bring shame onto his father's name by dying as a criminal, not that he was trying to back out the cruxification. However, in an earlier chapter in this very same book, it specifically states that "this cup" meant the torment and death he was going to have to endure.

    I spoke up at the bookstudy and clearly stated that this is what it meant and I got everyone to turn to the chapter where it showed this too. The reaction in the room was hilarious. Half of them were shocked because what I said made sense, but it was going directly against what the "F&DS Class" was saying and they didn't know what to say. A couple of people backed me up but one self-righteous asshole got into an argument with me right then and there about it. I said "if experiencing torture and a horrific death was absolutely no different for Jesus than eating a meal, then how exactly did he "prove himself faithful even to death"??

    The conductor quickly moved on but I had made my point. After the bookstudy was over, 3 or 4 people came up to me and told me that they secretly agreed with me, but they didn't want to appear to be going against the Society, so they said nothing.

    Sounds more and more like Nazi Germany every damn day.

  • boy@crossroads
    boy@crossroads

    Great posts everybody.

    "The reaction in the room was hilarious. Half of them were shocked because what I said made sense" . Yes, the witnesses aren't used to people not conforming. In the watchtower study past sunday, a new comer at the hall i was visiting gave a personal comment (which wasn't exactly in par with the watchtower study) and you could tell from the body language of most the witnesses that they didn't find his comment meritted any of their time and attention. IDIOTS !!

    watchtower: whats the point of the watchtower study? I know the witnesses are "parrots" to what those at the top say. It's so funny the way the questions in the watchtowers are asked though. The writers try to make every watchtower that comes out some big revelation so therefore every question in the study article is phrased in the most sensational way possible. Asked "who was the messiah?", a watchtower would have it " who was this man that came down to earth to die for our sins?" SENSATIONAL

    I know the Watchtower study like all the meetings are about control and obedience to the society but it's just funny that week after week the same damn thing is being said, "stick close to watchtower society Jehovah and stay away from rational thinking Satan !" IDIOTS !!

  • starfish422
    starfish422

    Mary, WTG!! Apostasy making sense? Their heads must have exploded. :) I truly hope that your comment 'began a good work in them'.

  • JustTickledPink
    JustTickledPink

    The brainwashing aspect is sooooo evident when instead of calling it a religion or faith, as other religions do, "thank you, I'm not interested I have my own faith" the JW's say "we're in the truth" The word TRUTH is said over and over and over and over again.... You start forgetting the meaning of the word and just start kinda chanting along that you have the truth and you forget to question the teachings because it's the truth.

    Instead of the meetings being about "studying the bible" as they continue to preach, it's really about using the same brainwashing words over and over and over so that you continue to believe the crap. The worst word they could have picked is TRUTH, because it's really the FALSE. My DF'd sister coined that phrase.... we were in the FALSE! Say that about a hundred million times. Next time you go to a meeting count how many times they use words like "truth" and replace it with "false" !!!! Their coined phrases are overused... and the meetings about going over the same material over and over and the same chit all the time, it's because if they quit cramming it down your throat, you might think about it for a few minutes and question it all.

  • Doubtfully Yours
    Doubtfully Yours

    Just by the mere repetition of it all, over and over and over again at each of the 5 meetings, has in itself the greatest form of mind-control effect ever!

    When I speak to the individual people, the ones that will venture a halfway normal conversation with me, I hear the very same words and expressions being said from the platform. Gosh, they are really brainwashed and believe this wholeheartedly, well some do!

    I try my best to stir clear of those key 'trademark' WTBTS expressions always mentioned at meetings.

    DY

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