TrueTomHarley

Many things should be given a rest

Did I not say you were warm and fuzzy? Nothing slanderous about that.
I am reminded, however, of the same eternal plea apostates make on any Witness board they invade:
Notwithstanding that few points they raise have not been raised, answered, the answer rejected, and the point raised again, countless times all over the internet.
One has to go to one's grave re-inventing the wheel?

To my own astonishment, I am coming to think of him as the house apostate, a warm and fuzzy version of what is really a very bad thing.
It is as has been previously observed: 'the internet is not the congregation.'

Lending support to what you have said, one of the situations in that symposium to be endured was "humbling experiences," discussing Galatians 2:11-14. That certainly must have humbled Peter, who was among those taking the lead at the time. Still, he endured it, and continued to take the lead.
I recall thinking then that the year would likely be the end of this system. However, as it wore on and nothing happened, it provoked no crisis. I dismissed it as 'one of those things.' I'm not sure why. Nor does it necessarily speak well for me. I simply was not tripped up in this instance.
 

I was counseled quite severely on this point. I had to give each of the brothers a quilt to get rid of them.

Having said that, and not disagreeing that there was great emphasis then on increased activity, most of the statements you have underlined have been continually said right down to today. If anything, the perception that one should pioneer whenever possible - that it is an activity 'right as rain' - as opposed to a special escalation of preaching, is more pervasive now than it was then.
I recall pushback from the Watchtower to those who wanted to have the faith, but live a 'normal life.' 'How can one lead a normal life in an abnormal world?' was the GB's answer. I think they have won that battle.
What is also true today, and it is a good thing,  is that there is far more emphasis on how one may acquire education 'a la carte,' so as to support oneself 'decently.' These days, after high school, we are encouraged to 'cherry pick' what we will need, rather than let an unbelieving world shovel indoctrination at us to undermine superior moral qualities.
Jehovah's Witnesses do not ignore education. We redefine it.

If you try, you may turn out like me.
"Oh Mother, tell your children not to doooo what I have done....And he's been the ruin of many a poor boy, and God, I know I'm one."
It's too late for me. It may not be for you.

America is bombing more countries than is he.
Look, he's not my pal, but we are wrong if we demonize anyone personally - it's just buying into Western media. Who is there knowing whether with him it will one day be: "The man who formerly persecuted us is not declaring the good news about the faith that he formerly devastated."
No, I don't think it likely, either. But neither was it with Paul. Why poison the well?
And you feel the same way, most likely. It's just that with such a blatant injustice, it is hard not to look for a human villain. That is easy to understand.
It's good that you are here, putting in the loyal comments that you do.

'And the loose cannons and the nutcases said to him: "by what authority do you do these things? Or who gave you this authority to do these things?" Jesus said to them: "I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things."
At that, they said to him:
 

Is your beef this time with God or with the organization that does its best to apply what he has inspired to be written?

Is your beef this time with God or with the organization that does its best to apply what he has inspired to be written?

Who can say what God is thinking? 
Perhaps it is a way a demonstrating he considers marriage a covenant sacrosanct. I can think of two who complied with it for many years before finally becoming free.
Much of it, I would think, depends upon how you regard this life. If this life is all there is, then such a policy is tremendously burdensome. If one regards this life as a forerunner to the real life of 1 Timothy 6:19, then it is less so.

Dr. Mike 'Ace' Inhibitor strode into the hospital to see his patient, who looked grim. "Nurse, get me this man's metrics." he said. 
His nurse, Hep See, was shocked. "Doctor, this is a person, not a collection of 'metrics!' she rebuked the man.
"All I meant was..." the doctor began.... "It's very clear what you meant!" she shot back. "You need more love!"
"Oh for crying out loud!" Dr. Inhibitor cried in disgust. "Give me a hack saw. We're going in blind."

Did they or didn't they?
Would you be upset if a doctor considered a person's 'metrics' before 'dealing with him?'

How many locusts can one pack in a courtroom after our people have gone home for the day?

Whenever Jesus spoke of 'hell,' he used one of two Greek words. Go find the meaning of those words and you've found the meaning of hell.

Oh? And those passing by a cart are all skipping and laughing over the sheer joy of life and banishment of cares?
In fact, doing good is much like exercising a muscle, or working out your brain. It triggers a bottomless capacity to do more. It is not the win-lose situation you seem to be stuck on. It is a win-win.
The '"ten hours" (your emphasis - not mine) is not a lot, and it represents helping people, as it is a measure of Jesus command to preach the good news. Generally speaking, people who do it will not be too busy to also visit the sick and the elderly. And people too self-absorbed to do it will not instead visit the sick and the elderly.

For whatever it is worth, when I was an elder, I kept my own personal check list of all attendees. During the course of the meeting I would discreetly (I hope) look about and place a check/no check by everyone's name. It is too easy to fall through the cracks when there are many things to occupy one's attention. To the extent possible, I wished to avoid that.
I stopped serving for a variety of reasons and forgot all about my lists. Two decades later, I visited my daughter's congregation and sat next to her. There in her lap was a list on which she was discretely entering check marks.
I don't claim that we are always good at human interaction. But we are head and shoulders above the world in general where people ask: "so, what do you do?" and if there is no interesting job or interest in something contemporary and silly, have no idea how to interact afterwards and sort of look forward to slipping away.
Some of it comes with age. But if age has conspired to make one self-centered, that does not help, either. Everyone is self-centered to some degree. More than any group I know, JW's help people to break away from that.

Well - it's very touching but it's hardly rocket science. There are not 500 people in a Kingdom Hall. There are usually under 100. I look around, and when I see someone I don't know, I walk up and talk to them.

People keep track of many numbers - blood pressure, age, speed at which they are driving, weight, exact bank balance. It's not wrong to do it and it doesn't interfere with one's appreciation for 'the real thing.' There will always be some anal people who obsess over any number, but that is them, not the number. 
It's a quick take on one's participation in the work Jesus said people should do. It makes possible an overall glimpse of the regional preaching activity enabling planning and allocation of resources.
Nobody drops people like the paid church preachers, where the only metric they track is donations - the one metric that no one ever knows about in the Christian congregation. Our elders are unpaid volunteers who often have much on their plates - working, and raising families. They do the best they can, feel bad when they fall short, and are continually trained to do better. They don't have to serve at all. 
It's not that your point is invalid, but to obsess over it too much is to show yourself as anal as the ones you gripe about.

Possibly that move made it hot for you, and you had to step adroitly.
Sigh...it also did away with soreheads saying Jehovah's way was 'not adjusted right' for simply saying it was 'wrong.' And no longer are 'faces' sharpened. But you can't just cater to the erudite. You must mainly reach the lowly ones who will actually do something about the Word. 
They straightened out the mess of the verb tenses. And they found a way to insert God's name a few more times. What's not to like about that?

Oh? And those passing by a cart are all skipping and laughing over the sheer joy of life and banishment of cares?
In fact, doing good is much like exercising a muscle, or working out your brain. It triggers a bottomless capacity to do more. It is not the win-lose situation you seem to be stuck on. It is a win-win.
The '"ten hours" (your emphasis - not mine) is not a lot, and it represents helping people, as it is a measure of Jesus command to preach the good news. Generally speaking, people who do it will not be too busy to also visit the sick and the elderly. And people too self-absorbed to do it will not instead visit the sick and the elderly.

Lengthy it is. Nonetheless, "if I want to do what is good with my own things, what is that to you?"
It's not a reproof. Please don't take it that way. i just like that line.

Lengthy it is. Nonetheless, "if I want to do what is good with my own things, what is that to you?"
It's not a reproof. Please don't take it that way. i just like that line.

Dr. Mike 'Ace' Inhibitor strode into the hospital to see his patient, who looked grim. "Nurse, get me this man's metrics." he said. 
His nurse, Hep See, was shocked. "Doctor, this is a person, not a collection of 'metrics!' she rebuked the man.
"All I meant was..." the doctor began.... "It's very clear what you meant!" she shot back. "You need more love!"
"Oh for crying out loud!" Dr. Inhibitor cried in disgust. "Give me a hack saw. We're going in blind."