To just go to a jehovahs witness meeting?

[blobtobetter]

One of the older women at work is a Jehovah's Witness. I don't really know what they are but they don't like blood or birthdays. I thought they were just another type of Christian but apparently not.

She keeps asking me to go to a meeting and I keep putting her off. Thinking now that I should just go once and then never again!?

It sounds really shallow but I wouldn't want to give up Christmas!!

Part of me wonders what it would be like. Would they be over friendly? Would they be distant as I am a heathen type? Can't imagine it really.

This is a bit by the way, but I've often wondered if my choice of work is because of the time I spent preaching and door knocking a a child.

I cannot accept a passive stance though; I believe that we need to try to make the world a better place and actually encourage people to help themselves. I suppose JWs believe they do that by bringing them into the truth; I believe you actually do that by giving people life skills and confidence and supporting them to do positive things.

I'm over analysing sorry...

It is a very organised religion, unlike I believe the mormons who go to a door only if the spirit moves them to do so.

White, if I remember correctly, special pioneers were being phased out weren't they, mostly because they did get a very modest stipend from the society to live on as the hours they had to put in made it difficult to get work?

How many hours door knocking do JWs have to do?

The lady at work is part time and spends her days off work on ministry work. She didn't want an increase in hours when it was offered to her even though it meant more money.

White's right. The people are usually very well meaning and very concerned for peoples eternal well being. They are trying to save you and bring you into the protection that comes from being in the truth.

They are conditioned to believe that the hostility to the organisation originates with Satan and that it's actually proof that they are keeping on the right track. The only way that they can rationalise the nasty stuff that they can encounter on the doors is through this lens because they really, truly believe that they are the one true religion and that everyone needs the chance to hear their message.

As I say, i sometimes get calls from JWs because I have moved away from where I used to live. I don't tell them that I am disassociated, I just try to be polite to them without giving them any false hope, because I know how difficult it is.

blobtobetter JWs are encouraged to at least meet the international average (roughly 8-10 hours a month), which usually works out as a couple of hours every weekend plus a little topping up.

There is no requirement per se, but the more you do, the better your 'spiritual standing' in the congregation.

I don't know what it is now Blob, but it used to be that you were encouraged to spend a minimum of 10 hours a month in the preaching work, but the more the better. There was a whole load of stuff about setting yourself targets and the like I had a friend who spent 120hrs a month, every month. In the olden days, pioneers had to put in 90 hours a month an Aux Pioneers could volunteer to spend, I think, 70 hours a month for a short time (holiday periods and the like.) I think the requirements are lower now, though, because it is very difficult to spend that amount of time in the service and still be able to make a living, especially if you don't really have any qualifications.

Special pioneers and missionaries had to put in something in excess of 130 hours a month.

I don't know about nowadays, but all the pioneers I ever met were women. They pioneered, often taking their kids out with them, while their husbands went out to work.

There is no set limit on hours, but you report back monthly mans if you haven't been out for a month you will be spoken to (unless there is a very valid reason eg been very ill or similar). If it went on for a bit you would be noted as inactive and spoken to more strongly. It's not an optional part of being a witness.

You do have to be "allowed" to do it - you can do it before you are baptised but you need to firstly have a good grasp of the teachings and secondly be leading a life which meets all the rules and be on the path to baptism.

As a guide, there would be groups out on a Saturday morning and a sunday afternoon after the meeting, sometimes a Friday night and a couple of mornings during the week. You could also arrange privately to go out with someone at a other time. They are safety conscious, going out alone wasn't recommended unless perhaps to an ongoing study with a same sex person.

rhondajean I haven't seen any special pioneers for a while now, I don't really know if they are being phased out by the Society or not (hasn't been spoken about around here), but we don't have any. We do have a good handful of auxiliary and regular pioneers.

Yes, its very socially uncomfortable to be a JW and not be regularly preaching and handing in reports (my situation).

The elders regularly question me and my family about why I am not preaching, and 'is there anything they can do to help?' etc.

It is seen as a bit of a stain on my character as I am not following God's direction. But ultimately I am let off the hook (and escape any further discipline) by claiming depression and social anxiety (which I do have) as the reasons why I am not active.

They still keep an eye on me. ;)

Preaching and door knocking sounds beyond terrifying!

I tend to chat to anyone and everyone (at the supermarket / bus stop / cafe) but the idea of talking about something serious or important would make me really shy!

I absolutely dreaded it as a child, and unfortunately blamed myself for the fear as 'not having enough faith'.
Have a lot of problems with anxiety around people now (especially meeting new people), and have a huge amount of sympathy for the JWs who are still doing it despite their own difficulty.

Some people are just really shy though - not sure how they get through it. Shame it is an essential part of JW as there must be quite a few people who find it an ordeal.

I was a terribly shy child and forced to to the 'field service' every bloody Saturday and Sunday. particularly mortifying if you call on a school friend or teacher

Yep, another shy one here. I had to go out every weekend, also, and then when I graduated school, I was expected to pioneer, where I had to put in 90 hours a month. I got through it with a lot of ulcers, panic attacks, tears, and finally, medication.

Do the children do the talking or is it the adults?

Going on my own personal experience (of a few different congregations both here and overseas) -

The child starts off ringing the doorbells and then watching their adult partner speak several times.
Then the child will memorise a small presentation, which they will deliver themselves while the adult watches.

I started presenting about age 8, and it went something like this:
"Hi, we're calling on you and your neighbours today, offering this magazine that teaches about the bible (then I'd read the title of the magazine). Here is your free copy."

Then they'd either take it or not, or start speaking back, and the adult would take over.

As time went on, I was taught how to start answering common questions (about JW beliefs), and to do 'return visits' offering bible studies etc.

JWs generally always work in teams of pairs, and each member of the pair takes turns speaking to each homeowner.

Blob, the lady at your work will not want any more hours because she is making Jehovah her priority and not getting sucked into a materialistic, worldly mindset. JWs are encouraged to have a very basic standard of living and not to get distracted from the Kingdom hope by things.

1st Timothy 6:8 says - having food and raiment therewith let us be content. So as long as you have food, clothing and shelter, you are encouraged not to try to earn any more, really. Man cannot serve both God and Mammon and all that. Seeking to improve her financial lot would be seen as having her priorities wrong and would lower her spiritual standing in her congregation. Plus it would leave her with less time for study/publishing.

Just like White, I was going to say that children take an active part in the preaching. They learn by listening and watching and then by memorising a wee spiel. After they are confident in that, they move on to more complicated things like asking/answering questions until they are able to take the lead when they are a bit older and meet the other requirements.

Mme, I know, the pioneer thing was the be all and end all. It was what all us womenfolk were supposed to be aiming for. In one of my congregations, there was a sister who was unmarried and working part time. She was the butt of an unbelievable amount of bitchiness because she didn't pioneer, down to people commenting that she was never going to make it through Armageddon because of the amount of blood-guilt that she must have due to her perceived lack of preaching.

The way she walks about satan is weird. I mean I believe in the bible and God and the devil but I have never imagined the devil as someone who would target me personally. It is all so real to her - there is no doubt at all about her beliefs.

It's almost like conditioning isn't it ?

JWs believe that Satan is literally ruling and roaming the Earth, and that he uses his army of demons to target, persecute, and tempt the faithful.

This is absolutely believed to be real, and very dangerous.

I don't know. I was sort of jealous in a way - I still have so many doubts in my faith and question and pull back when things get hard. Being completely sure in your beliefs, in God and in His path for you must be an amazing feeling.

Satan is the Ruler of this system of things and roams the earth like a hungry lion waiting to devour the faithful and the interested. Any and all opposition/conflict is seen as Satan acting against the Truth. All temptation comes from Satan and any "wrong" acts, no matter how small, are a sign of succumbing to Satan and being led astray by him.

His influence is everywhere, in the music you listen to, the books you read, the television that you watch, even in your non believeing family who are a prime conduit for his influence. It used to be that JWs wouldn't buy anything second hand (except from each other) in case it came from a house with demonic influences . That could be something as simple as a house with a cross on the wall/ a buddha statue/ punk rock records/ a dungeons and dragons book....

The Devil is EVERYWHERE.

While I agree that it is lovely to have a strong and secure faith, it is much better to arrive at that through prayer and independent decision making than through the endless conditioning and fear that JWs are subject to.

blobtobetter

As someone who completely believed when I was very young (and was sure I would dedicate my life to it), I have to say the thing that was most appealing about it was that I had effectively no responsibility to make decisions for myself.

I showed up to my three-weekly meetings, prayed regularly, and preached, and felt safe and secure in the knowledge that if I just kept doing what I was told to do, my life would be eternally saved and I could stand before God without judgement.

It was only when I grew older that I realised there is no way to avoid that personal responsibility, that there was no guarantee the JWs were correct, and that I would still be personally guilty if they were wrong and I found myself standing before God (on judgement day) to justify why I spent my life following them. I realised saying "But they told me to do it," would be no defense at all.

Then came many secretive years of exploring the theories behind almost every religion I could research (from Paganism to Islam), before I realised all I was looking for was another variation on someone else telling me what to do.

It was then that I decided to use my own personal inner tools (mind, heart, conscience) and do the best I could. It is scary, because I live in the full knowledge that I am completely responsible for the way I live my life and everything I do.

The thing is that following a religion doesn't change that fact, it just makes it easier to forget the fact that you are still responsible.