Topics Started by Open mind

5
Current/recent Elders: WT Legal phone hours?
by Open mind in
1. watchtower
2. child-abuse
when i was serving as an elder about 10 years ago, the wt legal department's main number could not be reached on the weekends.

does anyone know if they have since made themselves available to elders 24/7?.

the most recent instructions i could find (october 1, 2012 letter to boe) still say the first thing elders are to do when becoming aware of an accusation of child sexual abuse is to "immediately" call watchtower legal.
14
Changing meanings of words: "Brother" and "Sister".
by Open mind in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
ever notice how most jws use the titles "brother" and "sister"?

in my experience, 99% of the time it was not a term of endearment.

it was actually a term of formality very much like "mister", "mrs.", "miss" or "ms.".
2
Once-in-a-lifetime relationships: despite the decades
by Open mind in
1. jw
2. experiences
my wife and several friends recently hiked to the top of half dome in yosemite.. it brought back memories of my very good friend (now deceased) clarise.. http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/142423/memory-clarice-musings-from-hills?size=10&page=1.

life is short.

make as many moments precious as you can.. om.
11
Shunning Styles 101. Any I missed? Care to elaborate?
by Open mind in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
my oldest brother got baptized at 12 and realized he was 100% gay at 12 1/2.

sucky timing huh?

he fought the fine fight of the abstinent until his mid-twenties and then decided he couldn't live like that anymore.
14
Faders: did local JWs give you a going away party?
by Open mind in
1. jw
2. experiences
for those who choose to fade, leaving your old congregation is often a first step.

did you switch congos while stll in "good standing" (tm)?

if so, did the local jws try to give you a going away party?
26
Ever tried "Dry January"? Join Ms. OM & me for a 30 day liver vacation!
by Open mind in
1. jw
2. friends
there are a few things i picked up from watchtowerism that i still find value in.

(although, i could have easily picked them up elsewhere.).

one of these is the 30-day test to abstain from all booze.. .
10
Testing to see if I can start a post at all
by Open mind in
1. jw
2. friends
i tried starting a thread with a picture of an irreverent nativity scene and i guess the hoooly spirit must have stopped it.. .

now just seeing if i can start a thread at all.. .

om.
24
A few verbatim quotes from Anthony Morris' talk during the Branch Visit.
by Open mind in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
haven't contributed much here in a while.

it's not modest and it's certainly not sound of mind.

you be spiritual man enough to tell these young fellows 'you don't go out in the ministry looking like that.
3
Ex 20:11. Two big problems for WT creation tradition. What's their best shot?
by Open mind in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
somehow the significance of exodus 20:11 has slipped right past my critical thinking skills for several decades.

"for in six days jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and he proceeded to rest on the seventh day.

that is why jehovah blessed the sabbath day and proceeded to make it sacred.".
5
AEDs: What's more important , $$ or lives? (You probably already know the WT answer. )
by Open mind in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
according to osha, approximately 1,000 americans die each day from sudden cardiac arrest.

the majority of these occur outside a hospital and survival rates in the absence of an automatic external defibrilator are very low, (1 to 5 %).. .

http://www.osha.gov/dts/tib/tib_data/tib20011217.pdf.