Posts by neverendingjourney

44

Be Honest: Were You Ever Jealous When Someone Was Appointed a Pioneer, MS or Elder?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i knew some that were very happy for you and others, along with their families, that were envious of someone's advancement.. .

.

neverendingjourney

In fact studies of elders were baptized and appointed after I got on the wheel.

At my old hall there was one alpha-elder who pretty much ran the show. He also had a lot of influence in neighboring congregations since they had resulted from splits and the elders there had once been under his influence. I don't remember the exact count, but at one point a very large percentage of elders both in his congregation and in neighboring ones were men whom had studied with this alpha-elder. A lot of sisters with UBMs wanted nothing more than to have their husbands study with this elder in hopes that one day their unbelieving mates would turn into congregation elders.

44

Be Honest: Were You Ever Jealous When Someone Was Appointed a Pioneer, MS or Elder?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i knew some that were very happy for you and others, along with their families, that were envious of someone's advancement.. .

.

neverendingjourney

I fell in love with the religion when I was 15. I got baptized when I was 16 and graduated a year early so I could get a head start on pioneering. I became I regular pioneer when I was 17.

Around that time a young man in the hall who was two or three years older than me decided he wanted to pioneer, too. He worked a full-time job and I barely saw him out in service. We would agree to meet early in the morning for service and he wouldn't show up. I had to go to his house to get him out of bed a few times. When the service year was at an end, I had to bust it to get my 1,000 hours in. Lo and behold somehow this other guy had already finished his time for the year a month ahead of time. I also knew that he liked to go partying with other young JWs and hit up the nightclubs. He often missed meetings...you get the picture.

After that first year was up he was appointed ministerial servant and I was passed over. Apparently I was too young. It took everything I had not to walk out of the kingdom hall when the announcement was made. Within a year or two he had been reproved for having sex with a married woman.

Thankfully, by that point I had seen too many inconsistencies in the religion and my zeal had begun to wane. I still stuck around for a few more years, but l'm glad I didn't get appointed. It would have made it harder to fade.

35

the new TV show, is it just me or is the guy really creepy??

by purrpurr in

jw
friends

neverendingjourney

That guy is a clown without any makeup on.

For my loved one's sake, I hope they put him front and center, shine a bright spotlight on him. Any witness who retains even the slightest ability to think critically will have to wonder what the hell he's doing following that guy.

12

100 yrs + 1000 yrs = 1100 yrs of Kingdon Rule ?

by Smiles in

does anyone one else have a problem with the celebrating '100 years kingdom rule' (1914-2014).

while at the same time teaching that the kingdom will rule for 1000 years?

(rev 20:6).

neverendingjourney

At the most, the Society could Biblically claim that people in the last days will get 120 years of warning like they did in Noah's day

I've been out for a while now and I'm getting a bit rusty on my JW doctrine, but didn't the WT say that Noah preached for 40 years?

Edit: I found an old thread I started on this topic years ago and there's a refefence in there to a WT where they say Noah preached for 40 years.

Link

35

the new TV show, is it just me or is the guy really creepy??

by purrpurr in

jw
friends

neverendingjourney

Putting the governing body front and center has the potential to blow up spectacularly in their faces. Some of those guys are downright creepy. It lifts the curtain and lets people see the wizard behind it.

About a decade ago I went to an international assembly held in Spanish. A few governing body members were there and gave talks in English, which were then translated in real time. I remember a bilingual JW confiding in me that he thought the governing body members sounded very silly. It wasn't what he was expecting. I believe his exact words were that it sounded like they "were reading fairy tales from children's books."

Lots of JWs imagine these men to be wise beyond comprehension and when they see geriatric buffoons instead, you have to wonder whether that will wake a few people up.

12

100 yrs + 1000 yrs = 1100 yrs of Kingdon Rule ?

by Smiles in

does anyone one else have a problem with the celebrating '100 years kingdom rule' (1914-2014).

while at the same time teaching that the kingdom will rule for 1000 years?

(rev 20:6).

neverendingjourney

The original explanation for the gap between Jesus' enthronment and the beginning of the millenium was that it allowed for mankind to be warned before Armageddon.

1. Why couldn't mankind be warned in the lead up to 1914?

2. Why would you need 100 years to warn mankind? Isn't the warning rendered pointless if everyone you warned in the outset way back in 1914 has already died?

280

the flood, mammoths, elphants, and food.

by Crazyguy in

my question is since it looks as though mammoths were alive after the flood and we know elephants are then how much food was needed to feed just these four animals for the time they were on the ark.

also was the ark, 500 feet long, big enough to hold the amount of food needed for just these 4 animals.. .

.

neverendingjourney

According to the WT evolution doesn't exist. Except for after the flood where a super, hyper fast evolution took place and created the abundance of species we see today but didn't result in any new "kinds."

Or something.

17

What? How did 25 years go by so fast ...

by Simon in

i'm sitting here listening to google music (which is great btw) and decided to put one of bob dylans newer albums on.. oh mercy.

it's a great album.

i remember it coming out.

neverendingjourney

How did 25 years go by so fast

It just means we're that much closer to Armageddon.

69

What Happened to the Religion I Left in 1995?

by JoshJeffries in

jw
friends

josh here, new to the board.

glad to know this site is here.. i would not be writing this if it were not 2014. i was a ministerial servant and regular pioneer who left the jehovahs witnesses back in 1995/96, around that time.

i left suddenly, didnt fade away, just left when something clicked one day in my head during the morning shower and made me realize this religion wasnt true.

neverendingjourney

Welcome, Josh. Great first post. Very well written.

The sad thing is that you can take your basic template, adjust the facts slightly and and apply it to just about any year in Watchtower history. I can't believe it's 1915! I can't believe it's 1945! I can't believe it's 1980! I' can't believe it's 2000! During each of those years there were "old timers" who never thought they'd see that year come.

Russell had promised that god's work would be wrapped up by 1914. In 1940/1941 Rutherford was teaching that only months remained before Armageddon. We all know about the 1975 fiasco. At one point the Watchtower said Armageddon would come during the 20th century, but they later scrubbed that reference in the bound volume edition. I was told I would never graduate high school. My 20 year anniversary is fast approaching.

Sadly, when it comes to the Watchtower and failed predictions, there is nothing new under the sun.

38

Are Congregation Picnics still forbidden? If so, Why???

by NAVYTOWN in

jw
friends

neverendingjourney

In my area, witnesses would throw large parties for every conceivable reason. Lots of graduation parties, wedding anniversaries, goodbye parties, welcome so-and-so parties. I'm not talking small get togethers in someone's backyard. I'm talking rented ballrooms, bands, catered food, etc.

A few hardass elders would crack down in their congregations, but there were so many of them being thrown in neighboring congregations that it was a losing battle. You'd see the same group of JW youth at virtually every one of them. It was a social thing. Word would get out (this was before social media) and some of the local JW youth would use these parties as a substitute for going to your local bar/nightclub.

As I began to drift away from the religion, I discovered that some did not use them simply as a substitute. They would simply head over to the club afterwards. Hell, I would even see groups of JWs at some nightclubs in suits and ties who'd just gotten out of that particular weekend's graduation party, elders kids puffing on cigarettes drinking gin and tonics. That sort of thing.