respectful_observer

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Posts by respectful_observer

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  29

  Help - I'm going to be conducting the watchtower study

  by Saltheart Foamfollower in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it looks like i'm going to have to take the watchtower study for a while so i thought i'd seek help.. i wont be outing myself or stating anything too controversial, but so far i have come up with the following tactics : 1) ask questions which will get people thinking even if it is about something insignificant - developing a questioning mind is the key to discovering ttat as far as i am concerned.

  2) highlight any extreme points so that some might realise they are extreme.

  3) highlight any good points - helping others in need for example - just because it is the right thing to do.. if anyone has any general comments which could help, please post them here.

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  respectful_observer

  Whenever the study article uses the term "faithful and discreet slave", "the slave", "the faithful slave", or similar, replace it with "the Governing Body" when you verbalize the discussion with the congregation.

  All (non-awake) J-dubs are very comfortable following the direction/teaching of "the faithful and discreet slave", but I've noticed some get a little uneasy when you talk about following the direction of "the Governing Body". It's a subtle shift, but it suddenly sounds like we're being directed to follow the teachings of men without question. Most J-dubs won't even notice or care, but I guarantee a few in the audience will get a little uneasy if you start talking about "the Governing Body-this", and "the Governing Body-that" all the time...and it will be all the time, because the phrase "the faithful and discreet slave" is used in virtually every single WT study.
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  17

  Can anyone allay my suspicions?

  by Nicholaus Kopernicus in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  can you allay my suspicions of wt associated activity?.

  during the last 3 to 4 co visits, i noticed a predeliction on the part of the ladt few co's for taking photos at fs meetings and photos of cong at end of visit.

  i'm beginning to suspect that such is not because the co's have a newly found socially engaging disposition (being cool).

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  respectful_observer

  I was still very much in when we we're asked to pose for a family pic by the CO wife including our names. And at the next meeting we got the pic back with a text below stipulating who it came from, etc. I thought back then (4-5 years ago) that it was nice yet very strange. Something just didn't feel right. I guess intuition.

  Yes, at my last CO visit, the CO and his wife handed out goodie bags to all the kids and asked for a pic of all the children (we have a LOT in our hall).

  It could very well be that the CO and his wife are tasked with the additional duty of serving as scouting out potential actors/models for the WT art and video departments. (Keep your eye out for photogenic families, kids, etc., snap some innocent group pics, and include in your congregation report back to HQ with their names and spiritual status.)

  I know first-hand they've plucked kids straight out of Bethel tour groups to use in video productions that day (after confirming their families spiritual "health", of course) when they're desperate.
  
  
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  71

  2016 Regional Convention - Sunday Morning synopsis

  by Jehalapeno in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  via reddit.

  here are the morning program highlights.

  will update for the afternoon once it's all over.

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  respectful_observer

  And time to start speculating about how the world's indifference to JWs will suddenly decide to attack them.

  Bingo! JWs make up less than 1% of the population. Quite simply, very few people have any real awareness of their existence, their beliefs, etc. Why would the rest of the world suddenly start caring about what microscopic pacifist group who doesn't even vote?
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  9

  STORY OF MY LIFE

  by COLLINS in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  hi my friends on the board i have decided to write a story of my life after all my various questions that i have been asking all this while.

  you are really true friends because you always provide all the answers to my questions which i really appreciate.

  this is my story.. i was born in the year 1997 on the 13th of november.

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  respectful_observer

  I was born in the year 1997 on the 13th of November. I am a born-in jw right from birth. I was baptized in the year 2008 on the 8th of March and I was judicially reproved in the same year I was baptized.

  Apologies if I'm doing the math wrong, but you were baptized at 10 or 11 years old, and also judicially reproved at 11 years old?
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  234

  New ANTI-GAY video for Kids on jw.org

  by ttdtt in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/family/children/become-jehovahs-friend/videos/one-man-one-woman-marriage/.

  disgusting!.

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  respectful_observer

  @1:55 "...people can change!" I'm sure LGBT would all agree with that statement.

  And what would she tell her classmate? The paradise, the animals (everyone gets a pet panda), and the resurrection. Hmmmm....nothing about God killing her moms first? I wonder why not?
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  8

  2016-03-11 US BOE Re: 2016 Bethel Visitors Information

  by wifibandit in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  march 11, 2016 to all congregations in the united states branch territory re: 2016 bethel visitors information

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  respectful_observer

  Patterson Bethel: The guided tour will describe the work being done at theocratic schools, such as the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead and the School for Branch Committee Members and Their Wives. You will also see displays describing the work done by departments, which include Art, Audio/Video Services, and Legal.
  
  

  Wallkill Bethel: The guided tour will enable you to see how Bible literature is printed, bound, and shipped to congregations in the United States, the Caribbean, and other parts of the world. A portion of this tour also includes the Bethel Home and an explanation of the production and processing of food for the United States Bethel family.

  It has been noted that when visiting Bethel, some brothers and sisters tend to be extremely casual in their dress. Such dress is not appropriate when visiting any of the Bethel homes.

  What a bunch of weirdos. Do either of those "tours" sound even slightly interesting? A tour describing a "school"? A tour describing how a pamphlet is printed and shipped? Fascinating. Oh, and make sure you wear a suit or dress to give it the proper dignity. Otherwise the forklifts and legal pads might get offended.
  
  
  
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  21

  My sister who is still in is going to Costa Rica as a missionary

  by time2keepmoving in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i left the organization in 2011 and never look back.

  i left behind my sister and her two daughters by mid 2015 both her daughters (both are in their early twenties) were disfellowshipped and left the organization.

  she has decided to go to costa rica as a missionary (i guess that's what they are still calling them, unless that has changed, been gone so long i don't know if they came up with a new term for it).

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  respectful_observer

  but it is not unheard of for JWs to just pack up and head to places like Costa Rica or Belize.

  I personally know several families that have done just that. It's interesting that when you go to visit and start hearing the background stories for all the other "need greaters" there, it becomes abundantly clear that a large portion of them have run away from really effed up situations in the States (e.g., fleeing from some child abuse scandal in the family, elders legally separated from their wives for 15 years, foreclosed home, etc.).
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  50

  Australia Branch to end magazine printing

  by no-zombie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just one week from the zone overseer's visit is the announcement that the magazine production by the australia branch will end in a few months.

  the task being transferred to the japan branch.

  while i'm not 100% certain, i understand that this effectively ends all major printing bar perhaps tracts, handbills and other loose items.

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  respectful_observer

  Downsize and sell assets now, move the money abroad and minimise funds available for any potential forced restitution as a result of the ARC.

  Good point. Isn't what they did in France years back during their tax case?
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  25

  Very Weird Experience During Recent Special Talk After Memorial

  by Tenacious in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hesitantly i attended this talk with my family and sat through it without batting an eye.. mentally i take myself out during the entire meeting some would describe this as daydreaming or zoning out.

  whatever the case may be, for some reason this particular speaker, whom i know of but not personally, got my attention the way he would say certain phrases.

  he cited some texts that directly advised the audience that faith in christ was the only way to salvation.

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  respectful_observer

  Has anyone else experienced the same or something similar?

  Yes, I personally know of an elder (the COBE) that had many of the same behaviors and speech you described. He eventually connected up with the anointedjw.org crowd and was summarily DF'd for apostasy. Rumor has it his wife is near to throwing in the towel as well.
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  49

  Last night's talk re sisters wearing head covering, puke making!

  by purrpurr in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  dear sisters,.

  when you are fortunate enough to be in the presence of a jw penis you must take care to show the proper respect for it!

  doesn't matter if said penis is prepubescent!

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  respectful_observer

  I was fighting off an urge to stand up and start screaming! I wonder how many other sisters were too?

  Not the sister sitting in front of me. She was bobbing her head in agreement throughout the entire part, like she was trying to keep the beat to some horribly outdated music.

  And we all know what it means when something is heavily suggested don't we?

  The brother delivering the part in my hall is older than dirt and spent quite a bit of time on that line from the article. Oh, and he also spent 15 minutes on this part (as opposed to the 5 minutes allotted in the schedule); I wanted to beat my head against a wall.