it seems to be the dream of many here to put the wt corperation out of business.
well, i hate to throw a bucket of cold water called reality on your dreams, but it is not likely to happen anytime soon.. the wt society has annual reveune of about $2.5 billion.
that figure was from recent disclosures they had to file as a not-for-profit company.
What an odd message. Is newguy proud of the Watchtower for their business success? I would agree that they are a business success. I certainly don't admire their business model.
I have never picked up that the reason for this message board was to destroy the Watchtower. I see this board as a way to virtually reach out to others who want to rebuild their life outside of the Watchtower organization and share stories and encouragement.
hugs to all
Joel
www.joelbear.com
i am a jehovah's witness until today, but i don't know if i'll continue to be one of them tomorrow.. i said that because for once my eyes are open to reallity and i can clearly see that there is not organization beyond our creators name.. i see a lot or imperfect man trying to do what is right, but allways those desires are corrupted by their pride or greediness.. i think that in the watch tower organization are really a lot of people who really wants to served god.
but i think too that there are a lot a people who doesn't have love and mercy for their brothers.
a well known saying says that you will catch more fly with honey than with vinager.. this doesn't mean that people are allowed to do whatever they want without any respect for god's word in the bible.
I know I have wasted too much time on both being bitter and viewing myself as a victim.
Stop analyzing it and start living. The best way to heal is to have a happy life and live every day to the fullest. Thats also the best revenge.
hugs
Joel
what i find bemusing is, if there are any disfellowshipped ones in your hall they have to sit at the back.
now without getting into the merits/rights/wrongs of whether this should be still acceptable, where do they sit in your hall?
you see i seem to remember that they would sit on the back row, come in quietly just after the song and prayer and leave at the end just as quick.
I only attended one meeting after being disfellowshipped and I was ushered to a chair in the back row. I stayed for the talk but not for the WT. I really just wanted once last glimpse at a number of my friends. I was about to move from Jacksonville Fla to Atlanta Ga.
The visit left me with one image burned in my mind, the image of shunning. One very spiritually mature brother walked by me with his head up and turned clearly away from me specifically to give me the message I was being shunned.
I guess I am grateful. If one person in the hall had smiled at me or patted my back or squeezed my shoulder I would probably still be a witness.
c'est la vie
Joel
www.joelbear.com
over 30 years ago i was forced as a jw kid to listen to,"the end will come in the fall of 1974 or 1975.as a reader of the bible i knew christ said," no man knows the day or hour".. i constantly doubted this 1975 garbage, but was still subjected to listen to it.the co. fred plumhoff would say on sunday, in his closing remarks," we don't know if next time we see each will be in new system or not.
" the anxiety it caused was high.. i'm reading from the harriet lane handbook from the johns hopkins hospital.
on page 556 under obsessive-compulsive disorder it states.
I am OCD myself. Good advice given above. I also recommend leading a very active life. My OCD is worst when I am idle.
My last panic attack was in November and it was a doozy. I somehow made it to my doctor's office and they kept me there for 4 hours.
OCD runs in my family although none of my witness relatives have sought treatment. I strongly encourage anyone here who thinks they may be affected by OCD to research it and/or see a therapist. Talking through it makes you aware of its affects and allows you to be ready for it when it starts coming on.
hugs
Joel
www.joelbear.com
those of us who've been around long enough will understand the title.
what we are looking for here are examples of the society's lack of taste.. for example, i'm sure our kingdom hall wasn't the only one in the 70's with dark brown carpeting that rose halfway up the walls and a nice trendy rubber plant in the corner of the platform!.
nic'.
I'm sure they print in whatever color is on sale.
You guys had it made. The first hall I remember was an old plumbing supply building that we rented. No decor, wooden chairs and an old piano that I learned to play from house to hous on from an annointed sister.
The thing I remember most was that the bathroom was behind the speaker stand, so it was either hold it or walk in front of the entire congregation and hope that the speaker had a loud voice.
hugs
Joel
www.joelbear.com
i was thinking about this the other day.
when i was a jw there were always stories circulating around concerning a certain entertainer hating jws.
i suppose it was some sort of jw urban legend but it goes like this.... a jw couple is at a concert by some artist while in another town for an assembly.
In Georgia, It was John Denver who was on the tonight show and asked JW's to stand up and then sang the star spangled banner to them. He was also rumored to have asked witnesses to leave his concerts.
Bing Crosby was also rumored to hate witnesses. I read a National Enquirer article one time that said Penny Marshall was sueing her witness husband for custody of their kids.
hugs
Joel
www.joelbear.com
for all of you that missed today's special talk, here are the highlights.... blah blah blah blah blah, etc.
Depends on how your define humanity and how you define life. I personally think that eventually the mental processes of humans will be stored in digital format allowing those processes to continue, interact, learn and experience.
Other than that, a lot of research is currently going on pertaining to longetivity.
hugs
Joel
www.joelbear.com
in order to survive both need a "sucker born every minute".
Even with the heavy downturn on Wall Street I have done very well in the 7 years I have been in the market. I have a lot more to show for it than from my 20 years in the watchtower.
I've almost paid off my house, have travelled all across the USA and have a nice little moth eaten rusty nest egg that I am very glad I have.
My father, who is a JW elder, has made fun of me the whole 7 years I have been involved in the stock market. I think he actually rejoices when it goes down do he can do the "I told you so" routine. Its quite sad. He waited his whole life for the end to come. He and mom became witnesses in 1945. He never made more than $25,000 his whole life (why find a better job when the end is so near), never bought a house until he was ready to retire (he raised onions on the weekends for 3 years and made enough to buy him and mom a spartan little house out in the country) and he and mom never travelled anywhere except to assemblies.
I take mom pictures of the places I have visited and she always sadly remarks how she would have loved to see the world. Their poor health won't allow for travel now.
My parents are not stupid people, but unfortunately they are far too trusting.
hugs
Joel
www.joelbear.com
....the king and his kingdom.
i am, of course talking about simon and his website!
joelbear had a great idea on the "memorial" thread, so i borrowed it for this one.. simon, can you have bumper stickers, or those static window stickers made up advertising this website?
Glad the idea is catching on. Along with it would come the responsibility of making sure this site offers good factual information and a caring spirit for those who are negatively affected by the Watchtower.
hugs
Joel
www.joelbear.com
i have a theory that i would like to bounce off some of you.. jw's are undoubtedly the most aggressive recruiting organization.
in the world.
they spend over 1 billion hours per year going door.
Stephen is correct. The Door to Door work is based on a business model.
However, if you count all members of the witnesses, you will get a much larger number than 6 million.
hugs
Joel
www.joelbear.com
