WillyLoman's post was excellent and spot on. I also think that you may not be getting the entire truth from the wife or anyone else connected to the issue. The wife may not be on board with him and be embarrassed by his doubts. Who knows?!
TheListener
JoinedPosts by TheListener
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48
Why is an elder removed?
by purplesofa inthere is an elder at my hall that was removed last week.. he was not df, he still is in good standing.
he did not request it.. how can an elder be removed?.
what is the process?.
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26
KM - Local Needs
by TheListener ini thought it would be interesting for those of us who still attend the meetings to let everyone know what our local needs part was/will be this week.
(the km allots 15 minutes to local needs at this weeks service meeting).
ours will be on meeting attendance.
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TheListener
Xjwms, Good point. The elder bodies I've served with have felt this way: you can at least beat the dubs who are in attendance and make sure they'll keep coming. We can get the ones who didn't show up later with a shepherding call and discuss the local needs part one-on-one.
What other local needs are planned? Or if you're not privy to the information or your meeting is on Thursday night please let us know on Friday.
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41
I've avoided the elders so far...but could this all change on SATURDAY?
by logansrun inwell, it has been almost three years since i silently and dramatically vanished from the world of the watchtower.
moving an hour away from my congregation's territory and not answering phone calls was all i needed to avoid having to wear the letter "a" on my chest.
but, that could all change this saturday.
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TheListener
Good luck LogansRun. If I were your sister or her husband I would have invited you to show you how friendly and nice everyone is and that no one whose faith has waned should be written off. We've had several articles/advice lately that encourage us to be kind to those whose faith has grown cold but they haven't taken a stand against the truth. Perhaps they are trying to win you back. Hey, free booze and repressed witness women, sounds like a good mix.
On second thought I'll repeat my first thought. Good Luck!
Wow!! Gilead!! You have to be a super-dub to get in.
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27
Tone of the current literature
by TheListener ini haven't started a thread in some time but this is something that has got me thinking.
i want to know if i'm off-base here or if others have noticed this too.is.. over the last several months (perhaps 6-9) i feel that the tone of the wts and kms have been very strong.
not strong in the sense of legalistic do's and don'ts but strong in the sense of do more!!!!
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TheListener
Steve2,
You are so right. Years ago we had time to get together and have fun with other witnesses because we weren't so focused on careers, families, houses, etc etc. The society killed the idea of congregation picnics, so now goody night is it. Except for the few halls who disobey and have multiple congregation bookstudy picnics on the same day at the same place - I guess it's ok to disobey the society if the entire elder body is involved (until the CO catches wind of it).
For example, missing a meeting because you have to work used to be completely unacceptable. It's still frowned on now, officially, but most of the congregations I know have members of their servant body miss meetings due to work at times. It's tolerated and they still serve as elders and ms. I'm sure some hall are very strict with things like this but I don't think that's the norm anymore.
If the witnesses from the 1940s and 1950s saw what passes as a devout witness today I think they'd roll over in their graves. I know some of the ones that I know who are still alive talk about how 'unfocused' (their word) current witnesses are.
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26
KM - Local Needs
by TheListener ini thought it would be interesting for those of us who still attend the meetings to let everyone know what our local needs part was/will be this week.
(the km allots 15 minutes to local needs at this weeks service meeting).
ours will be on meeting attendance.
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TheListener
I thought it would be interesting for those of us who still attend the meetings to let everyone know what our local needs part was/will be this week. (The KM allots 15 minutes to local needs at this weeks service meeting).
Ours will be on Meeting Attendance. How original. This is the face the elder will make while giving the talk - bit*^&ng and moaning.
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16
just a question?
by lilbit inim noticing something reading the post about things up at bethel.
whats the deal with so many of the old bethelites having so much money.
being at this site has made me remember my first marriage.
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TheListener
Welcome Lilbit. I've enjoyed your posts so far.
Do you happen to remember any of the advice your father in law gave to bethel? Please tell the juicy details.
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27
Tone of the current literature
by TheListener ini haven't started a thread in some time but this is something that has got me thinking.
i want to know if i'm off-base here or if others have noticed this too.is.. over the last several months (perhaps 6-9) i feel that the tone of the wts and kms have been very strong.
not strong in the sense of legalistic do's and don'ts but strong in the sense of do more!!!!
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TheListener
Franklin,
I think you're right. This isn't necessarily new, I've noticed over the years that the society goes in waves with their literature and talks. For example, for several years the focus was on immorality and porneia and such; also about 7-8 years ago we given tons of information about being loving and caring and just doing our best before the end. I believe the society is very reactionary. When a problem is reported up through the hierarchy (elder to CO to DO to HDQ) it is handled by WT articles, Assy. parts, Conv. parts and KM parts. I've known dubs who have watched the tone of the literature and from that draw conclusions about what the current dub trends are.
This might not be necessarily unique or new but it seems accurate.
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32
sad topic: my nan is dying.
by GetBusyLiving inhi, not my usual fluff topic today.
i just thought i would post this on here because i've found you guys to be really great to talk to over the past few months.
i hope some of you have time to read it.
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TheListener
GBL,
Your sense of sadness and loss comes across in your post. I'm sorry you have to deal with this situation. Losign a loved one is so hard. When you add religious differences into it as well it becomes almost unbearable. Please take the advice already given and make sure you have someone to confide your feelings in. I feel that you're doing the right thing being supportive of your mother. She needs someone to be non-judgemental and supportive and not trying to push their agenda.
You're a good son.
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27
Tone of the current literature
by TheListener ini haven't started a thread in some time but this is something that has got me thinking.
i want to know if i'm off-base here or if others have noticed this too.is.. over the last several months (perhaps 6-9) i feel that the tone of the wts and kms have been very strong.
not strong in the sense of legalistic do's and don'ts but strong in the sense of do more!!!!
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TheListener
I haven't started a thread in some time but this is something that has got me thinking. I want to know if I'm off-base here or if others have noticed this too.is.
Over the last several months (perhaps 6-9) I feel that the tone of the WTs and KMs have been very strong. Not strong in the sense of legalistic do's and don'ts but strong in the sense of DO MORE!!!! type of stuff. I know that the society has always been a do more institution, but lately perhaps in response to the release of the lastest statistics (Feb WT) to the friends, they've been beating us extra hard. There has been a lot of talk between dubs about what the numbers could mean. Some have said perhaps it's apostasy at the top like back in the early 80's (they're unaware of the UN), others are saying that it means the end of the preaching work because all right hearted people have responded , and still others are just confused because everyone sort of expects big increases, especially as the end draws near.
When the friends see the numbers slow and dip and perhaps in the future steadily decrease or remain stagnant, even though there are approx. 5,000 a week baptized, they get nervous. No one wants to be the last one clinging to an idea as everyone else abandons ship. I think that is why the friends talk about the numbers so much. They link statistics to armageddon. They've been conditioned to do so by mother.
When you're in a congregation and you see new people pop up from time to time it's exciting. But, oftentimes the new people trickle away as fast as they came in. You'll go to one meeting and meet a new family that's moving into your territory. You'll see them for a little while and then "poof" they're gone. Like they never existed in the first place. This happens pretty frequently. If you look over your cong. and think about the last couple years you realize that hardly anybody is new. Perhaps just some transplants from a nearby hall, but not that many totally new dubs.
I believe the literature is pushing the dubs more and more into feeling worthless. I was thinking over my own parts on the meetings over the years and realized that lately all my parts contain a DO MORE modern application. It seems that regardless of what a particular talk or article is about it contains DO MORE admonition as the solution. If something is wrong in your life it's your fault because you haven't DONE MORE.
Where is the joy that used to come from being a dub? The group WT studies on Friday or Saturday night to prepare for the Sunday meeting? The gatherings of several families laughing and singing and just generally having a good time? What about congregation picnics and regular book study goody nights? It seems as if all those things are past. Remember pioneer days when huge %s of the cong. would turn out for service and many would stop for a picnic lunch or something? Now a hall is lucky if 15% show up for service on Saturday. I don't know it just feels like the joy of being a witness is gone. For many that was the only joy there was. As I look around I think, 'man everyone is completely separate from each other living their own lives and only interacting with each other at the hall or perhaps elders meetings.' No wonder everyone looks so zoned out at the meetings. Of course, there are the cliques that still get together, but they refuse to widen out so they're association is limited to a specific few, which only makes everyone else feel worse.
Alright, I guess I covered more topics than I intended but I feel refreshed now.
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88
Am I right about the WT being wrong?
by FreedomFrog inhi everyone.... i was "raised" as a dub and got baptised in '86...so in total i had been a jw for over 20 years.
i came to realize that the "way of life" i was living was in fact made up of mostly lies.
i started "questioning" the borg about 6 years ago and finally came out with almostatheist last sept. i know in my heart that they are mostly wrong and very legalist.
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TheListener
FF, Like so many others have already said you're not alone in these feelings. The "what if I'm making a huge mistake" question comes up into my mind every so often. When that happens I try to focus on the issues that I know they are messed up on. For example how much control they have or the blood doctrine. Coming here and getting advice has been the best thing ever for me.
Keep posting and thinking about things. It's important to use your thinking and reasoning abilities (oh my- that sounded rather dublike).