by stopthepain 60 Replies latest jw friends
I had a friend say she thinks the end is soon, cos all the congregations have have big problems
She said so many are leaving or devorcing
They just think its persecution and they need to be stronger and more zealous. I think its going a be a long time yet before the org falls flat.
Blondie:
Amen to that. I was a young person when the 1969 Awake came out. I was told the same stuff that you were by my Mother, the Brothers the WTS, etc. We all have to get used to the idea that what we were told was wrong, and that we will die in this system of things. The only thing that anyone can do is maximize their life at this point in time. This will mean different things to different people. I feel sorry for the many people that I know and grew up with who are still involved and lived deprived lives at age 50-60, etc. They are staring down the barrel of becoming elderly and have little in the way of material things and substance to sustain them in their later years. they thought that Armageddon would rescue them at an earlier age and whisk them into the Paradise.
I think Jez hit the nail on the head, the information age is making it really hard on groups that rely on disinformation and outright lying to their members. It just too easy now a days to find out what's really going on. Think about it, 30 years ago outside of what went on at your kingdom hall and what you were told from the platform you had no idea of what was going on any place else. Each congreation was a little mushroom farm (kept in the dark and fed shit), now you can hop on the internet and chat with someone from across the country or across the world and find out what's going on in their neck of the woods. Also with the news stuff, 30 years ago you had the local newspaper and the local news which only gave you the biggest news from anywhere else. Now you can search online for news stories specfic to the JW's and find all these little local stories that never make it to the national level.
I really think the organization is like the Soviet Union was, they were not built for the long haul, and when it was obvious that the people were not going to take the totolitarian rule anymore they didn't have the mentality and flexability to adapt. I don't know if the Borg will fully implode, but I can see it shrinking on a large scale.
When it DOES finally go down, who gets all the money?
I wonder if we could all sue for all the lies and pain the organisation has caused?
Just looking around my own area and the fact that two congregations have recently shut down to almagamate with others encourages me that, YES, the org really is on its last legs! I couldn't drive around without seeing at least a couple of JWs out in field misery - now I rarely see any!
Just be ready to help those pour souls who need a shoulder to cry on when they finally realise they've been duped all this time. Hopefully, my family will be reunited again sooner rather than later!
Ian
vittvin------I do agree with you saying it will not fall completely flat,due to being able to manipulate poor,humble souls in other poor countries.Also you will have your certain few in well developed countries who believe that they are being persecuted and that the end must be close.But when someone like my mother,who has sacrificed time ,money,her childrens happiness,her immediate families love,and so many intangibles I can't even go on to list right now------that is not good for the borg.She finally I think has realized,to serve god the right way,you cannot slave for 2 masters,you must choose between all false organized reilgion or god.There doesn't need to be a middle man book publishing company for you to find peace.
STP
It's hard to go back to school or try to get another job, it's scary too! It's much easier to sit in place and say it's ok god will take care of me or even better I'm getting ahead by doing nothing!
And, in this statement, lies the subtle hook that so many are ensnared with..........giving over our power to someone else out of fear and/or perhaps laziness.............better to let a magical being "rescue" us and make everything all better........sort of like a magical fairy godmother or father in those old childhood stories...........
Elsewhere:
Can you please post or PM this awake page? A scanned copy maybe? I would like a hard document with this text. It is not on the CDROM, and I don't have the bound volume for that year. Any help you can give is appreciated. If you can't you can't.
Many members are feeling let down and disappointed due to the failure of the promise that a new world would come during the last century. They are bruised and, in some cases, angry. Thousands have left, some after a lifetime of dedicated service. If you have JW relatives who you want to help, it is essential to respect and sympathise with the situation that the Witness you care for has found his or her self in.
Most Witnesses are principled people who place honesty high on their list of priorities. Appealing to their sense of honesty as a legitimate reason to examine their beliefs, at a pace they can cope with, is a good place to start. Witnesses that find the courage to do this can find that although their conscious minds can make quite rapid changes, their emotional or unconscious minds take far longer to make adjustments. This is true of all people but more so with Witnesses because they have invested so much in their faith.
bluegrass tom,
Here's a scanned Awake from 1968 predicting the end in 1975.
that was sickening,JTP,thank you for" fuel at the proper time"to fuel my hate for the borg fire inside me.
