The "Dumbing Down" of Jehovah's Witnesses 

We were hoodwinked, bamboozled, played the fool, manipulated,exploited, stolen from and even practically made accomplices to their criminal activity. We are hopefully clearing ourselves from this and we wonder how the “criminal body” will try to throw some of their elders and minions under the bus, to take the fall for THEM!😅

When I watch any governing body talks I always think why are they talking to their members as if they are little children. The tone of their voice, slow speech and mannerisms are how you would talk to a child. This is a technique of dumbing down, talking to them as if they are stupid and can't understand anything so they need to explain things over and over again. Soul destroying and brain damaging torture. I love listening to your great voice. Thanks for all the insightful vids. ❤

I was a 90 hour pioneer grinding away in the door to door work month after month. If someone would’ve told me that the day would come when I could count my time by standing mute beside a cart, I would’ve told them that they were nuts.

Wow I’m fully awake after 18 months free, it’s amazing it looks completely different from where I am now 18 months out. Although I came in as an adult I had experienced trauma so I was an easy target for them with their “good news”!!!! Still can’t believe I was hood winked by them and become indoctrinated for 30 years. Thank you Stacy another great show. I was already dumbed down by this cult prior to waking up.

Another thought came to mind....the carts. When I was a pioneer in the mid to late 1990's there were no such thing as the carts. And I remember the talks and mentioning the false religion preachers standing in one place preaching and how very wrong it all was as the bible commands us to preach from door to door......

I never thought about this but, you’re right. I once invited my cousin to a Sunday meeting when the circuit overseer was there, and after the meeting I asked her what she thought about the talk and she said that our teaching of the Bible was so simplistic like the preacher was talking to kindergartners. I was a little offended, and asked her how it could be bad to make Bible learning simple and understandable…? I did not get it back then, but after being awake for a year now, I totally get it!

Your valuable life experience as JW was not a waste of time. You are helping countless ExJWs, active JWs and all who need to know the truth about the “truth “.

Me too I worked so hard as a mother studying with my boys as a regular pioneer for 7 years always have a in-depth comment and as I look back all my research was out of the big green books I started my journey out around 2010 it took my family over 5 years to leave I’m thankful we made it out it has only been this year that Ì even started listening to RU-vid channels I just couldn’t hear any triggering words because all those fear thoughts would come up now I am really sickened how the cult trains you to turn on your self and all the critical thinking

I came in through the door to door ministry in around 1994. I thought I was the most fortunate person in the world; the education from my study delighted me. I had no idea that none of the historical dates were untrue😱.

We used to have the book study at our house. 70's kid here 👋

My husband gave a talk. After the talk, a JW sister came up to me and complimented it. I went up to my husband and asked, "What happened to the talk? It didn't make any sense." My husband answered, "I know, I just winged it." I was dumbfounded! At any rate, Stacey as usual, this is another great podcast. BTW, I was the sister who served the soft serve ice cream at assemblies. Yes, I remember collecting the food tickets.

You must be about my age, I'm 65 and remember working in food service at both the circuit and district conventions! I miss those days too; though it took so many away from the program. But your theme is right on point and I've commented on it in other channels about the JW organization. I was UNSCRIPTURALLY EXPELLED 2 years ago by a couple of stooges who didn't know their Bible from a nursery rhyme. So I've now got to look at the organization from the outside, in. And as I occasionally go to a local meeting; I am appalled at the spiritual "baby food" being served by the Society! I haven't seen a Watchtower study discuss Bible prophecies in Revelation or Daniel in many years! Nor the "book study", hypocritically called now, "the congregation Bible study",;; as if the meeting no longer uses a book as a theme medium! And the topics discussed are merely application of Bible principles that any Church of Christendom would teach at their meetings!!! REALLY? We used to study deeply the Revelation book, the "Life: How did it get here? By Evolution or Creation?" the prophecies of Daniel book, and the "Is the Bible Really the Word of God?" book. These went into the scriptures deeply and used secular and scientific sources to reason on hard hitting evidence. To develop "your powers of reason" as exhorted at Romans 12: 1. Eph. 5: 10, "keep on making sure of what is acceptable to the Lord", Acts 17: 11, ...."examining the scriptures daily, so as to see whether these things were so,"......"make sure of all things, hold fast to what is fine."--1 Thess. 5: 21 It's like what's more important to this current governing body of Pharisees is that you pledge allegiance to THEM, AND JUST TRUST THAT WHAT THEY INTERPRET IS BASED ON PROPER SCRIPTURAL APPLICATION AND UNDERSTANDING! JUST BLINDLY TRUST THAT THEY SOMEHOW ARE GETTING REVELATIONS FROM ANGELS ON WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO STUDY AND WHAT IS TRUTH! "Just blindly have faith in US, NOT THE BIBLE, EVEN IF WHAT WE SAY DOESN'T MAKE SENSE! Yet according to the 2/17 Watchtower pg. 26 and other references; "the faithful and discreet slave is not inspired nor are infallible. They can err in doctrinal matters or organizational direction."!!!!!!!! SO THEY'RE NOT INSPIRED OF GOD, BUT WE'RE TO STAKE OUR LIVES ON THEIR NARROW MINDED STUPIDITY AND SCRIPTURAL IGNORANCE IN MATTERS OF DOCTRINE AND ORGANIZATIONAL PROCEDURES! Good job, man, and I say these things as a former Bethelite, former ministerial servant, former elder/Watchtower study conductor, Theocratic Ministry School instructor and Regional Building Committee Engineering department technician; covering a span of 55 years with pioneering frequently. We need good ole' Freddie Franz and Ray Franz back on the GB, giving us "solid food which will train our perceptive powers" !! (Hebrew 5: 14)

That’s the most I have laughed for so long. Hilarious, and I was part of it for forty years. Thankyou so much for the giggles. Thankyou covid staying on zoom for three years then disassociated. The very reason I left. It was all a kindergarten and would you believe I grew up and didn’t need any of it anymore. Freedom.

When I was only 11 years old I learned 3-scripture sermons to try to get through at the doors! We learnt these at the Thursday ministry school. If I got through all 3 scriptures at a door, I was eleated! This was in the 1960s. Saturday was magazine work, and Sunday morning was book placements, preceeded by a sermon, usually about living in paradise. Btw in the late 60s and during the 70s if your bible study didn't get baptised within 6 months of studying, you were told to give up on them - the time was too short. This was the 'Truth book' days! I know, Im old! 😂😮😊

I remember since I worked in the accounting office of every assembly I attended, I would miss the all the talks and we were advised to attend the next assembly so that we would not miss the talks. Truthfully I never did, it was great.

Hello alll!!! I just realized, am actually eating popcorn (smartfood) while listening to this!!

"potent mushrooms". The fuel that drives every Governing Body meeting.

Question: If Jehovah knows the number of hairs on your head, why could he never make sure there was enough cheese danish at a convention?

Another excellent video. I think the older ones would find the shame of ‘leaving the truth’ too humiliating.

August 15th 1968 Watchowever Study Article "Why Are You Looking Forward To 1975?" 37 paragraphs. Sitting through that one was brutal! Then soon after the Defense Department called me in before the draft board! And they sent me to a big Hall where about 50 of us had to strip naked and do our physical to make sure we were healthy enough to be executed in battle in Vietnam! Oh but what was I thinking about? I was looking forward to 1975!!! That's all that was on my mind as the medic told me to turn my head and cough! 🙏 Oh Jehovah please start the tribulation early before a motor blows me to pieces! Or I end up in Federal Prison as a coward! 😮

I think we can see all this 'Dumbing Down" on the insistence by the governing body that one should not question but only obey what they say.

This was sooo great! So true! 50 yr old here newly out.

Excellent podcast as usual! The last 5 minutes of the podcast sums up why the organization is the way it is today. Fred Franz had the org in a doctrinal choke hold and no one dared to challenge him (see Crisis of Conciensce). Even while he was alive a lot of teachings were known to be untenable. He was so diefied by most in the organization that it has taken decades to dismantle some of the teachings and this current crop of leaders don't have a clue and are just making it up as they go along.

One of your best yet, Stacey. You had me on the edge of my seat. I remember the "Jonadab class" lol. If they can't dazzle 'em with brilliance anymore, they gotta baffle 'em with BS.

"Fixing Freddie's stupidly" thats what this is all about. that is the quote of the century. 👏🏿

Looking forward to this my favourite apostate channel

Good point. Experience differ even per country. I went to the kingdom Hall in Nigeria and America. The experiences were vastly different. In Nigeria, people were more warm, no strict dress code and more. America, people were more stand-off, had a strict dress code and other differences.

" I work in a special education with children with profound disabilities and if I even spoke to them the way Stephen Lett speaks to his audience my superiors would immediately remove me from being way too condescending. "

Food tickets....that brings back memories! Poor man egg mcmuffin....washed it down with a Shasta cola

Ah, the good old days... When there were fewer red flags and alarm bells... And it was harder to wake up (especially during the 90s, because we all KNEW the new system would arrive before the end of the 20th century; we had it in writing). The dumbing down has evidently been quite gradual (like putting a frog in cold water and boiling it slowly). I hadn't seen any JW Broadcasting until a couple of years ago - and the Infantilisation hit me straight away. it was such a weird feeling; seeing and hearing them all speak at half-speed. P.S. Sorry if you covered this aspect. I'm commenting 25 minutes into the video.

Spot On! Very Good! Thanks!

I LOVE IT! 🥰✌️👍

Stacy, that was excellent work. All those years of preparing public talks has translated well into your podcast. I grew up in the 80s and 90s and everything you said hit home! I lived very close to bethel in bklyn, it was just a train ride away. I wanted to add this tidbit of info; they used to have a simplified english version, and a standard english. I believe in the early 2000s. I knew this very well because i served in a foreign language cong, and the simplified english was popular among the immigrants. But the language became so easy and dumbed down, that they literally made the anouncement that they would just stick to the simple english! I remember giving my first talk and being handed the outline. I was told not to deviate from it or else. There is an elder assigned to follow your talk to closely monitor any deviations. Its a real gestapo like mentality! No pressure... lol. I remember being counseled for having a striped shirt for a talk, solid neutral colors were the mandate. Its refreshing to share experiences with cult survivors, its quite a unique experience. Fyi, for some reason I was obssessed with the hoagie sandwiches served during the conventions. The bathrooms were quite a disaster after lunch from eating those processed foods. 😅 Its a real dumbing down, they are slowly trying to walk back all their doctrines. I remember watching when the publication servant was dumping all their books during the great purge around 2015, it was surreal. I recently spoke to a young JW in their 20s and they had no idea why 1914 was so important!!! Thank you sir!

Geoffrey Jackson, aka the Clown from Down Under…

Vern keep the info coming bc you helped me wake up. Everything I suspected you helped confirm for me. Thank you. Your constant updates certainly are helping to waking people up that curiously surfing the internet for answers of the inner workings of this scam/cult.

I absolutely appreciate this type content. I’ve lost loved ones to JW, Scientology, etc. helps to bring light and also brings an empathy and understanding to those I love. ❤️

I completely missed the separate WT editions. When I finally heard about them, I knew that they had to hide some "truths" from the public. And it was a legality. It adds to the grandiosity for members to think they know "secrets"! When were the Bound Volumes discontinued? That was another legal move.

Great commentary. Sounds like you're about my age, I'm 53. I walked away in 2012. The Watchtower Society has morphed into something that bears no resemblance to the religion I remember. Dumbed down, indeed!

This podcast hits home; and yes, there was a little bit of nostalgia that set in at the outset of this podcast. I was a tike during these times, but was old enough to remember those dang good cheese danishes running out expeditiously. Lol. Fortunately, I was a lil bit of a charmer and had older sisters hold some out for ur boy. Lol Several things that came to mind: 1. You had Russell who believed he was the Faithful & Wise Servant in love w/ his own writings, then JF Rutherford who not only hijacked the organization, but was both in law and in love w/ his own voice, then the combo of Knorr & Fred Franz who championed themselves as bible scholars running the show. After Franz, (which u mentioned) slowly but surely the Charlatan Act began to erode. 2. It became apparent once the 8 guys declared themselves as the only Faithful & Discreet Slave, & not a class composite of the 144,000, the attention was going to be strictly how all bible prophecies, stories became about them. 3. Once they rewrote the Bible to remove words, phrases, & made it the ultimate JW theology friendly book, the articles had to coincide moving fwd 4. It became abundantly clear they, themselves, couldn’t explain the deeper things any longer w/ too much info becoming publicly available, therefore they had to switch gears 5. The congregants, as discussed on previous podcast, vastly are not bible readers nor are they article readers, so sitting back looking at music videos, “experience” videos, and cartoons are just fine for them 6. Many Elders were fine w/ the title in itself b/c it gave them power & prestige w/in the organization, so I personally know a lot who were just fine w/ the 30 minute reduction, + once the org provided all illustrations & visuals, it made their jobs 10x easier, while also becoming dumbed down as puppets. 7. It’s been a clever way to not only condition its members, but also strip them completely away of any individuality they had left.

I shared your video on the annual meeting everywhere I could I loved the way you presented it

Your best podcast to date!!! Simply brilliant.

Remember reading from the evolution book at the book study- my future wife and her mother were there, for some reason I kept reading orgasm instead of organism- several times!!

Great episode. Unless I missed it, you forgot the “simplified” version of the Watchtower. They had that for a few years and then decided to not make the regular Watchtower anymore, just the simplified.

Part of a poem I wrote a few years ago: "The food is now milk of the word A formulaic starter It feeds the masses, fills their tums They're waiting for a main course Which sadly never comes. They're blinded by the brand new light That keeps their thoughts at bay The first and second generations have died or are now dying And the third and fourth are showing signs of grey."

Oh this brings back memories. I remember the food and drink areas. My mum use to volunteer as she was in catering. I was often allowed to help as a kid. It was often better than the bore of some of the talks.... when they stopped the serving of food my mum and I volunteered in the mum and baby room or section if at a place where there wasn't a dedicated room. It was often very busy and very noisy but hey, at least it wasn't boring and I had reasons to be walking about during the talks as a volunteer or attendant. I also was an attendant for the toilets. Brothers did the male loos and sisters the female loo especially at soccer stadiums. One time there was a shortage of loo roll and I remember having to hand out a few rolls to each sister going into the loos. But it beats falling asleep during those boring talks....also great way to meet the opposite sex.....lol

When my wife asks if i've studied for the meeting i tell her, "it's the same info i've studied for 40 years, i could give their parts without even looking at the material", and if it's their ever changing "new light" i say " what's the point? Their understanding will just change again". Obviously she isn't thrilled but what can she say?🤣 Like the 4/22/1970 Awake says of the churches regarding changing doctrines ...."How can you have confidence in anything? How can you believe in the bible, god or have faith? Now the pope and our priests are telling us this is not the way to believe any more, but we are to believe the 'new things'. How do we know the 'new things' will be truth in five years." Enter JW's 'New Light' and the ever changing doctrines they condemned the Catholic church for. How do you know in 5 years 'the truth' will still be 'the truth'? You can be guaranteed it won't be and you could easily be DF'd if you followed the Old, 'New Light'. Not to mention the many that were DF'd in the past that were actually in line with what is now "New Light' approved. Absolutely ridiculous.

Right on, you nailed it👍

I remember the Swiss miss puddings, vanilla and chocolate. And the little individual bags of fruit. Even though the conventions were so boring and my parents wouldn’t even let me draw as kid, I was always excited to go to the cow palace in SF and loves the dramas! Oh man but the songs were horrible , maybe only 3 or 4 were tolerable. So glad that Jesus himself drew me out of this watchtower deception. 🙏

I think one of the reasons for dumbing down is to make JWs feel even more like children.

Anytime cheese danishes are mentioned I'm hooked. You got me! 😂

My most unforgettable memory was when going to a circuit convention in Fresno Ca, 1974 was working in the kitchen with a friend! We went from one job to another helping out. It was the funniest job and moment I ever experienced as a JW!! I got baptized at the age of 17 and got disfellowshipped by the age of 18. Given no real reason why… I was dressing up like a Vato and was accused of sinful living.. I’ve never been back since. I’ve been able to learn and live my life on my own. I am now a devoted Christian following the real truth!! Amen 🙏🏼!!

I remember all of that , the Danish, the tickets 😅... They are dumbing down, they used to speak faster, without all those prepared cards to read, we only had our bibles and we were flying through as fast as we could to keep up, taking notes at the same time ..

I totally remember the food tickets. Always thought that was kinda fun. My favorite food from those days was the burritos. Loved those.

Giving them baby food now. It’s all infantilizing their members.

Yes Stacy , those were the days. I used to remember the food tickets. I used to love cinnamon Danish. In the UK there wasn't that much of a selection. In Italy there was a full little lunch bag.

When you say “sarcasms ahead” I know it’s going to be funny!! No disappointment in this video!😀😄

Ohhhh I definitely remember the food service at assemblies. Those hoagies that were nothing but Ice Berg lettuce🤢

When I look back everything the org condemned they eventually embrace the end of going door to door meant the beginning of the great tribulation the tv ministry was worldly now they have their own broadcast cart witnessing just standing there would have been condemned you had to have knowledge which during the 70s and 80s older ones men and women displayed like scholars terrible what they have become

we were so fond of new explanations and new light! at this time, the english version was printed months or years before there translation, I remember that this was my biggest motivation for English learning. So proud to tell my family or fellow brothers some new detail about types and antitypes, analysing Elijah’s or Elisha’s lives and miracles as a type for modern history of jws… I liked this nonsense:) thinking now about it, it was for me a kind of cerebral biblical game, just as others like crosswords or sudokus. We thought FW Franz was a scholar chosen by Jesus! we had no internet or youtube to hear real scholars knowing so much more about the origin of the Bible and the biblical god…

Samson is The bible's Evil superhero.

Ohhh yeahhhhh. Here we go 🤜🏻🤛🏻💪🏼💪🏼.

Someone posted some of the newer magazines on the exjw subreddit. I suggested they read it in Elmo's voice in their head lol.

Thank you for another great video! Lots of specific examples. Funny AND powerful - I love your videos! 😀⭐⭐⭐

I agree 100% with you. Im nearly a decade ahead of you & I noticed the dumbing down in the 80's. Also, the 80's brought a heightening of "skinning & throwing the sheep about." I think that was brought on by the turmoil that was going on in Bethel. Hind sight. They had to tighten control. Its fascinating that I told my family that the org was going to a 5th grade level...& I hear the exact grade level echoed in comments now. Looking back the level of seriousness & GRANDIOSITY is frightening. Seeing the mental illness that was created by those elements along with lifelong fear, hate & lack of a real life is tragic! The mental illness is now coming out in truly mind blowingly destructive ways that we would never have believed that JW's were capable of. Once you are on dry land, looking back at the ones going down in the quick sand of the muddy waters is heart breaking. So many red flags. My brain does a wierd thing where it breaks everything down to its simpliest form. I think of it as finding the common denominator of fractions. I think my simplistic way of seeing things, the cruelty & my dads pointing out of red flags are what made me finally "see". Being subjected to hours of crazy Freddy talks at conventions has made me be so triggered by the sound of his voice that I wonder how on earth my mom thought that was ok. Really?

Those were the "Days" My Brother !

Wherever you may be- Bill Schonley. I think part of the dumbing down is a reflection of society as a whole. Tik Tok generation and all. Back in the 80s and 90s in field service I enjoyed running into Buddhists, Muslims, atheists, bahai, etc , at the door , interesting conversations. I've been out since, but sounds like they deflect from any deep discussions now. Enjoy your channel!

You'll all have to watch the film 'Idiocracy' - if you haven't already. It's on cue to this. 🤪

You make some excellent points! Great radio voice too 😊 I find that JW don’t want to talk to me about the Bible and they certainly are not able to defend their faith. I’ve spoken to elders (and recorded it!) and they were unable.

You lost me after cheese Danish and pretty sisters 😍 But seriously, another dumb statement from "the slave" was "if you've kept up with all your reading and studying of provided spiritual food that you have the equivalent of a college degree". Try adding that to your resume on your next job application. 😏

Another great one❤

You know what is interesting. When I was studying the Bible with my long-time JW elder, it was intimated to me that I would learn more about my own Catholic religion than when I was a Catholic - and of course, that's because they tear apart all their teachings. And, for many JWs, it appears that they learn more about their own JW religion from exJWs, like yourself Stacey!!!

👏 👏 👏 SO good!

You did it again, Stacey! Another great video that hit home. I remember when all the elders could embellish and prepare their talks. As a young, good JW girl in your generation, I never would have thought that's what you were thinking about us 😂 I was so naive.

And I thought that abolishing the Theocratic Ministry School was as far as the "dumbing down" would go. As a former pioneer, I can't believe what you shared in this podcast. Thanks, Stacy, for doing so. I do have one question: Where can I watch the video of Geoffrey Jackson's talk? I'd like to see it. Would you please provide a link to it? I was baptized in 1976, and disfellowshipped in 2005. So I remember many of the past features you discussed that Jehovah's Witnesses made an integral part of their worship. From what you have shared, it's clear I wouldn't recognize this organization today. I'm glad to be free and clear. Anyone who may think about returning to the organization to revive old relationships should remember this, "Just like a dog returning to its vomit, the stupid one is repeating his foolishness." --Proverbs 26:11

What do PIMO, POMI PIMI and POMO mean? The terms PIMO, POMI, PIMI, and POMO, are abbreviations commonly used within certain communities to describe different states of mind and belief. Here's a breakdown of their meanings: PIMO: Physically In and Mentally Out. This term is often used by individuals who are physically present within a particular group or organization (such as a religious or ideological group) but mentally have disassociated themselves or no longer believe in the teachings or principles of that group. It can be associated with a state of "waking up" to the inconsistencies or flaws within the group's beliefs. POMO: Physically Out and Mentally Out. This term refers to individuals who have both physically left the group or organization and mentally disassociated themselves from its beliefs and practices. It signifies a state of freedom, liberty, and happiness from the constraints or control of the group. PIMI: Physically In and Mentally In. This term is used to describe individuals who are both physically and mentally committed to a particular group or organization. They adhere to its beliefs, practices, and principles, often without questioning or critically evaluating them. It can be associated with a sense of being "enslaved" to the group's ideology or dogma. POMI: Physically Out but Mentally In. This term refers to individuals who have physically left the group or organization but still hold on to its beliefs or mindset. They may have left due to various reasons but haven't fully let go of the group's teachings or ideology. It can be associated with a state of fanatical adherence or being mentally trapped in the group's influence. These terms are primarily used within the context of religious or ideological communities and represent different stages of belief and disengagement. They serve as a way for individuals to express and identify their current mindset and relationship with a specific group or organization. What do PIMO, POMI PIMI and POMO mean? #PIMO = Physically In and Mentally Out = Wake-up #POMO = Physically Out and Mentally Out = Freedom / Liberty / Happiness #PIMI = Physically In and Mentally In = Slavery / Zombification #POMI = Physically Out but Mentally In= Fanaticism / Slavery To get your freedom you must change from PIMO to POMO if you do not want to be a POMI. #Oudjahramalegba #Zanmounda

5:00 you naughty naughty filthy elder yoou....! 🤣😂

Spiritual food coma😅

as a kid, circuit or district assemblies were our only theocratic distractions, I found it pleasant, we were told that they were our feasts, joyful as in ancient Israel:) we went there one day before, because dad was in charge of volunteer service, and my uncle supervised cafeteria and cooking. And we stayed at least one day after. We met with other children of the jw nomenklatura:)) At this time, songs were played by a small circuit orchestra, on Friday morning we used to meet our musician friends and trained together. We would try other instruments, it was a big fun. Later, we would experience our first theocratic romance to see and guess the smiles of the young sisters who distributed the meals:))) it was our nice and innocent world, a time when we thought we were blessed to live in the truth! On the other hand, we needed much more time to wake up than other jws who perhaps had bad experiences in their early jw life…

Wow the little white tickets with the red ten cents !!!! I remember those. And those nurdy guys lol

Wow - this was memory lane. I enjoyed the Tuesday night book study and I owe my reading skills to those meetings. We went through the Revelation Book twice in those days and I studied that book seriously. I came back after going to college and starting my career in my early 30's, (early 1990's) and the doctrine was still pretty deep and at it's peak imo. I married a pioneer and what I saw in her and her family was shocking, that was the most misery I lived through except in my childhood. I remember being lifted up by my hair in front of the class in grade school for not saluting the flag (and much worse). I curse the day Ms K brought that truth book to our door. She died and I didn't get the catch to tell her she only brought misery to our lives. My last day in a Kingdom Hall (now a church with a cross on top) was when I gave my first public talk. They didn't like me much (you get soft shunned if you have an education) and when I finished they didn't clap, they just sat there with that dim hillbilly look on their faces and time just stopped for me and I will never forget it. I've been hurt more by JW's than the big bad world. I was still POMI until I watched G Jackson's ARC testimony, that was such a gut punch. That was the day I realized I'm going into the grave like everyone else. It's a cold lonely realization but at least I'm not living a lie anymore. An elder I knew as a kid died recently and I would have loved to talk to him and hear what he thought, since he told me when I was 16 that in 5 years the end will be here (that was 45 years ago). He sold his business to preach full time. Like Voltaire said "more people are fooled by hope than by deceit".

Hear! Hear! That’s why I fell for dubs back in the 1970s!

In 2016 when my now wife were considering a relationship she asked me this question; Who is Gog Of Magog? I guess I answered correctly as were approaching our 7 years Anniversary!😊 She had a fetish on studying the Revelation Book! 😮 Types and Antitypes clarified in the True Worship Book!

Are you in 60 club, good old days

👋🏼Excellent information, as usual. I no longer try to comment at the meetings, just may offer to read a Bible text once in a blue moon. It’s too dumbed down and extremely repetitive now. Thanks, Stacey.❤👍🏼

I really hope the Friday gets knocked off from the Summer Regional Convention, and maybe have only one 1-day circuit assembly instead of two. Daydreaming…, assemblies are HUGE 🤑🤑🤑 makers for the WTBTS.

I remember the food tickets at the District Convention

You should read "The slow cancelation of the future" from the book Ghosts of my Life by Mark Fisher. It will help to further explain the "great dumbing down" of the watchtower.

Yes it was a Thing 😅. I was younger at that time and when I attended the MONROE, NJ Assembly, (Who Remembers) 🤚 But Me and my Brothers had to get the Dinner at lunch time!!! OH how I wanted a Sandwich and chips and Yes, that Delish Cheese Danish. So sad thats 1 of the only good memories, I had no friends because they were so much more better then Me, NOT!! 😂

Well, I think it is almost impossible for an educated person to read any of the literature; it is sooo patronizing, simple -- uses silly examples and simple words and so on. I guess that appeals to some but is boring -- at least it doesn't put paragraphs in ALL CAPS and use a lot of exclamation points, as we see in a lot of propaganda. I might say, though, that, as an old man, that it seems to me it has always been simplistic. Pity anyone who diverges in a public talk from the provided outline.

Sooo many great points in this! It truly is not the same religion I grew up in (1980’s to 2000). And the assembly memories about the food 🤣🤣 Keep up the good work.

Hey, I liked those apple danishes! Combined with the vanilla pudding, the assembly became slightly less painful.

You would think the disfellowshiping policy would be relaxed as well, to match the simplicity of the new ministry. Honestly if a person shows any kind of repentance, according to the bible, they should not be disfellowshipped

Another great video! I wish I was around for the cheese danish fiasco haha I got into philosophy after leaving the organization as well, Nietzsche is also one of my favourites! I believe his name is pronounced “Knee-Cha” but I could be wrong! Looking forward to next week episode

When you mentioned how you would get ready for a watchtower reading like your life depended on it I remembered how I would get ready every Saturday evening with that real thick brown bible it was that big one I hope you know the one I mean, well anyway I also had that same attitude like my life depended on it,,, great podcast Stacey.

49:20 Samson after Delilah got his hair shaved off.

If they bring back the cheezys the burritos and chicken sands and coffee certified from the farms I swear I would have a serious crisis of conscience. 😂 no lie.

❤

It was the pseudo scholarly veneer in the early 1970s that suckered me in with all those books! Decades later I woke up 😂

2 reasons why they had food stamps They could get interest on the money between the time you gave it (maybe a couple of months before assembly)and when you actually spent it at assembly And you always had some left over and never got cash back for it Win win all around for them

They can't reason anymore