A video has been uploaded to YouTube by a mother of four whose husband declared he was quitting his job moments after attending the 2013 Annual Meeting.
At nearly 16 minutes long, the video begins with mom Brittany struggling to get her children ready for a live screening of the Annual Meeting on October 6th. “This is the most incredible amount of stress that I’ve ever endured in one day,” she laments.
It isn’t long before the father Cedric’s job is hinted as being a cause for the family’s woes. While getting the children ready (at 2:14), Brittany explains, “Cedric worked last night. Cedric’s so stressed out about work coz he has to go on late tonight in order to make the meeting, and so he’s stressed out about losing his job. So yeah, it’s quite stressful today.”
To watch the video on YouTube, click here.
Footage then follows of the family attending their local Annual Meeting screening. Brittany is commended for her efforts in getting the family to the event, and the children are shown hugging their new bibles.
Then, after the Annual Meeting has ended, Brittany tells her viewers of a profound decision her husband has reached. (see 12:10)
“When we were coming out of the meeting we got all the kids loaded up, we get into the car and he says, ‘okay I’ve made a decision, I’m not going to work tonight’, and then he said that he’s not going to work tomorrow night or the night after that, or the night after that, and that they will consider that his resignation. So he basically quit his job.”
It soon becomes clear that Cedric’s decision has been motivated chiefly by a desire to attend more meetings.
“It was because we just don’t make our meetings like we should,” Brittany explains, “and it’s really hard on us to be apart a week at a time basically… So we are leaving it up to Jehovah and it feels really good actually. It’s like, this is such an exciting day!”
Footage is then shown of Cedric lining up for food in a Subway store as his family waits for him in the car. The viewer can’t help but feel baffled that this man is quitting his job, with no other job to go to, when he has four children dependent on him – the youngest of which is now only 8 months.
Worse still, the man is quitting by failing to turn up for work, which will almost guarantee that he will not get a positive reference. And this apparently motivated, at least in part, by a desire to attend more meetings.
Matthew 6:31-33 is quoted in the concluding minutes of the video as Brittany reaffirms her belief that Jehovah will come to the rescue by blessing her husband’s desire to “seek first the kingdom” – even with four young mouths at stake. (1 Tim 5:8)
The invocation of divine intervention is doubtless based on some of the Society’s recent claims about “Jehovah’s hand.” In fact, it was at the Annual Meeting that Geoffrey Jackson suggested that Jehovah manipulated the weather to assist the work of printing bibles at the Wallkill factory.
The families of the 27 Witnesses who died in last month’s typhoon in the Philippines would have good reason to ponder as to why Jehovah would intervene to print more bibles, but allow their loved ones to perish. They would likely be just as confused if finding Cedric a job to replace the one he has walked away from turns out to be higher on the Creator’s list of priorities than saving human life.
I guess, we will be picking up the bill for this when his family claim social security.
My mother has never worked and claimed benefit and now her pension. I do not begrudge her that choice, but it does mean tax payers have to pick up JW choices of going to meetings over going to work.
I have been wondering how to be more vocal. Many of us do not want to upset our relatives, but they have no concern about upsetting us (by their choices). This kind of exposure is so healthy.
Ask those in 1975 how that worked out. Most that sold houses and took the money to pioneer are now on some type of government help. I see the same old crap starting over again. They hype people up every few years to build the membership. I don’t think it will work this time. But die hard JW are pretty blind I know I was for years and my family still is . So very sad makes me very depressed to see this stuff. I have been watching it for most of my 65 years.
Unbelievable. I don’t know whether to feel anger to just waves of pity for these people. The ignorance!!
It was my understanding that men especially were expected to take care of their households. Isn’t that part of the qualification for becoming a MS or Elder? The GB really does seem to give off some mixed messages!
I just hope these kids are provided for.
This truly sickens me and brings back memories of my blind years. This is not right and talk about a stumbling stone for his wife. If anything the elders should approach this man and inform him of his duties of “father & provider”. What is he thinking? OH NVM….”Jehovah will provide”. SHeeeeeesh he needs a wake up slap!
Surely this was a freelance, rather than an official JW vid. Is this against JW rules or recommendations not to do any witnessing outside the strict control of the bosses?
(Brittany explains, “Cedric worked last night. Cedric’s so stressed out about work coz he has to go on late tonight in order to make the meeting, and so he’s stressed out about losing his job. So yeah, it’s quite stressful today.”)
I have not seen the video yet, so I may be speaking out of turn.
After reading this article and in view of how stressed out he was about losing his job, on face value, it would seem that this is more about finding an excuse for getting out of that stressful job situation.
He is neglecting his responsibilities to his dependants and using the statements made by the deceiving over-zealous governing body as his basis for his actions.
How sad for those four adorable little ones…they are completely innocent and have no one to speak up for them and what is in their best interests.
On his behalf, I can still remember the stress involved in preparing for all of the meetings with my un-believing husband and our child, all the while feeling guilty like I wasn’t doing as much as I felt obligated to do.
I don’t remember it being love of Jehovah that drove me, but rather a feeling of fear, that if I didn’t do everything the society said, I would be destroyed at armageddon and would never have a chance to see my beloved deceased father again. There was also the fear of reproachment and rejection from the “friends” and my family at the hall.
Learning the truth about the truth lifted a heavy, heavy burden from me. The fear is gone, the guilt is gone and all that stress is gone.
I still believe in Jehovah, and I can talk to him directly, instead of having to use the governing body to reach him.
I pray that Cedric will wake up from the hypnotsing effect of the GB…and become responsible for his own actions.
1 Timothy 5:8, Certainly if anyone does not provide for those who are his own, and especially for those who are members of his household, he has disowned the faith and is worse than a person without faith.
Yep! This is what I was talking about.
This comment was left on the video, apparently by Brittany, in response to a comment that her husband had been irresponsible…
“It was Extremely responsible and a choice that benefited our entire family. Most men aren’t willing to put their lives in the hands of Jehovah and rely on him to provide. He now is at a much better job where he can come home and have dinner with his family every night and tuck the kids in bed. He wouldn’t have been able to have that if he hadn’t had the integrity to quit and put Spiritual Matters First. :)”
Well I am glad, we are not going to be paying for his decision.
I wonder how she explains why Jehovah does not help others?
Very bizarre video – very bizarre people = poor kids
LOL. They have now disabled the comments on the video. Evidently they do not want their thinking to be questioned. As usual a one way dialogue, so they are able to keep control. So sad for them and more so for their kids.
I left a comment on their video which was deleted. I said she looks overwhelmed and can’t properly take care of her adorable kids and the house (what a mess!) I said I hope they learn how to use birth control. Lol.
What can I say… this happens more often than not. Hopefully these JW’s will eventually wake up and realize that what they’re working toward is merely an illusion.
Borderline “fanatic” after the Annual meeting if you ask me…………the hype got to that poor father.
These self appointed and annointed slaves have their meals everyday, their very underwears are washed for them. Why dont they distance themselves from the societies money and see how long jehovah would provide for them. no job, no income, no food how long?
It’s cult propaganda!
Hey Stillshocked,
Still Lol about your comment! Funny!
Again, thanks Cedars, sorry, but we found the whole thing reassuring to us and our kids we made the right choice not to stay! Again thanks so much, keep it up buddy.
So glad I am out of that mess! That father ought to be ashamed of himself!!!
These mental midgets living in filth aren’t the first and won’t be the last. I knew one single mom who quit job after job. Didn’t want to waitress because they wanted her to occasionally work meeting nights. Quit doing sign language translation because it required her to sign swear words and secrets told to attorneys and doctors that bothered her conscience. Lived in a dumpy shack in the worst neighborhood, her boys never had anything and they even went hungry sometimes. But she believed the new system would be here tomorrow and take it all away from her! That had to be the late ’80s. Any wonder both her boys quit the minute they were adults and have never had an interest in “the truth”?
HQ normally distances itself from this sort of rash behavior with statements such as ‘each person makes their own conscientious decisions in these matters’, just like they do with blood transfusions and other issues that we all know are mandates not choices if one wishes to remain a JW in “good standing”.
The push to attend meetings is in such demand, lately, that all “amenities” at assemblies that demanded volunteers to sacrifice meeting attendance is now “out”.
Likewise, HQ is shedding its staff of volunteers for cost-cutting measures, but also out of paranoia that these guys and gals (who are defecting–isn’t that right Mr. Watters?) are not getting enough indoctrination.
One might conclude that it is recognized that those who lack indoctrination on a regular basis were feared to be the “free thinkers” who challenged the society–from within its own HQ and outside.
But, enough of that, I’d like to point out the I-84 highway sign that flashes briefly in the video (5:30)–nailing down the location to either Pennsylvania-Massachusetts or Utah-Idaho-Oregon. You see this highway could be symbolic of the disjointed events unfolding during the film–it is a non-contiguous (non sequitor) highway and is not transcontinental, continuous flow. In the immediate moments of the film, the homemaker is stressed out because her husband is absent leaving the care of the home to the wife. Immediately, we can see that the home is not the ideal home pictured in Watchtower publications–the exemplary, everything-in-its-place, children quiet and settled, and homemaker reading bible stories while simmering home-cooking for the husband. It seems the quiet moments are reflecting on Mt Shasta and the beautiful scenery that could have been inspiration for a Wt publication picture spread as the car takes a risky free-way (autobahn) ride to make the meeting on time.
What isn’t evident from the video is what sort of reputation the husband has built at his former workplace. If it is stellar like the ideal Witness supposedly has, the scenario goes that the husband “quits” and the employer begs and pleads, makes allowances to reschedule the workload and pretty birds and “Sing to J*” songs play sweet melodies in the background as the children gain their father’s presence at home. Then, in the climatic part of the testimonial segment, the husband declares that he joined his wife in full-time service. Audience leaps to feet applauding wildly (or as wild as JW’s get during applause–2-3 minutes, never more than 5 minutes lest we disrupt the flow of the talk and cause program to go over time).
A different approach on this would be asking ourselves, how many times the husband asked his current employer to change work schedules? how many times denied? would tomorrow, or the day before, have been answered differently? It would seem the spouse did not have a strategy or plan of attack, and was led by impulse. Most JW’s (even those toweling off from the pool a few months prior) would know about the Annual Meeting month or more, in advance, and scheduled time away from work ahead of being swamped or locked into a busy work shift.
I also suspect the poster is banking on counting time from the “views” of the video (15 minutes * 400 views = 6,000 minutes or 100 hours–hot d__n, I’m a regular pioneer!!)
African-American woman holding the baby–full-time minister, and probably an elder-wife? Most likely she and husband-elder studied with the couple and brought them across the threshold–chaos and all, just as I am, with just enough reform to be suitable JW.
Of course, I probably need to revise estimates on the profit taking with the silver sword, but the first edition is free, the next copy [after wear and tear take toll in a year or so?] is donate-buy.
The melodies may have a different tempo but the words and notes are the same for the new songbook. Just like the words and phrases for the new bible have some scattered cosmetic tweaks here and there, but the bible remains as awkward in grammar/sentence structure to obfuscate the message with total dependence on literature to “interpret”. This is why reading the Bible is a chore–“I have to…”–for most JW’s, and those who do diligently strive to read cover-to-cover again and again, will fail to ever get that guiding Spirit that aids in integrating the messages that leads to Christ and highlights the wonderful relationship that abounds with Jehovah.
I will try again. He is a typical scum bag who was probably hanging around some non believers and they told him how much He could get off of welfare. Food stamps ,EBT cards. milk supplement s, free medical the list goes on and on. My mother in law a JW for 35 years new all about section eight housing, living supplement. house cleaning. free bus pass on and on, free medical. Tax money . never a JW came by to help only my wife a JW.
What happens in Jws’ families can be explained clearer in maths… Couples of are these types:
Type 1: Blind MAN+ Blind wife = “Happy couples”, but . . .”if a blind man guides a blind [woman], both will fall into a pit. . .(Matthew 15:14)
Type 2: Blind WOMAN + Blind man = “Happy couples”, but . . .”if a blind [woman] guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit. . .(Matthew 15:14)
Type 3: Blind MAN+ Normal wife = “Miserable couples” where the wife will be called “Jezabel. In revelation climax you can read ” In modern times, some such strong-willed women have induced their husbands to become apostates and have even instigated court action against Jehovah’s faithful servants” ( re chap. 10 p. 49 par. 8)!
“Some based their beliefs on the teachings of strong-minded women of the 19th century, such as Ellen White of the Seventh-Day Adventists and Mary Baker Eddy of the Christian Scientists, and more recently many women have been preaching from the pulpit (re chap. 10 p. 53 par. 20)!
Type 4: Normal MAN+ Blind woman = “Miserable couples” lead by Elders. The man will be called “STUPID” “Nabal”!!
You can read from “Imitate their faith”
“Abigail and Nabal were not a good match. Nabal could
hardly have chosen a better spouse, whereas Abigail found herself married to one who could hardly have been worse.”…”Jehovah struck Nabal, so that he died.” … With that righteous execution, Abigail’s long nightmare of a
marriage was over…”!
In this couple, the woman longs for the day Jehovah will struck her husband!!!!!!!!
Jehovah’s witnesses’ Bible tells them ” (Proverbs 30:12) . . .There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes but that has not been washed from its own excrement. . .
In couples type 1,2 and 4 (75%), the woman must be stupid enough to understand the answer of this question as provided by the Governing Body:
“In what situations is it appropriate for a Christian woman to wear a head covering for spiritual reasons?”
(http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2002526)!!
I have made these observation since 2008, only 6 months after I was married. Though my ife is (was) a Nurse by profession, my couple is type 4!! It is worse than “Hell” or “Armageddon”!!
Because comments have been disabled
I have sent her a private message as follows:
Its so sad that you have stopped comments on your video – the one where you have your children showing the Bibles.
Did you know that this is typical behaviour of those who are in mind controlling religions.
This is one definition:
Mind control religions operate secretly, allowing no public or organizational scrutiny, no checks and balances, no way of checking or monitonng misbehavior or abuses and no way to correct them.
That is why child abuse is so prevalent in the JW faith. Its such a shame that children are not allowed the freedom to think.
Some of these specific techniques for mind control include
Discouraging questions and critical thought
Encouraging feelings of extreme guilt and remorse
Using strong peer pressure, playing on member’s desire to be loved and accepted (a technique known as love-bombing)
Controlling channels of communication, cutting off members from outside sources of information
(education, books and internet are discouraged)
Manipulating language, assigning special meanings to words, which makes members feel they are part of an ellte, special group
Forcing embarrassing public confessions of misbehavior which can make members vulnerable to manipulation
Tightly controlling time and activities and allowing little or no privacy, so members have no time to think, question or to evaluate what they are being told.
For the sake of yourself and your children, get help. Your children will thank you one day.
Best wishes
She probably will not understand it, but rather than throw stones of criticism, I wonder if there is something else that can be done to wake people like this up?
Absolutely no! “…that is why God allows an operation
Of error….because they LIKE it that way…”
Only chance is for them to suffer a tremendous injustice that starts them wondering: “what am I doing here?”
It’s happened to all of us in some way or another.
I am glad to hear he got a job quickly. I gave up a job as a chemical analyst to pioneer. Jehovah did not provide for me, and neither is my ex JW hubby providing for me.
I can’t get a job after so long. The songs were really nauseating, I feel sick to my stomach but pity for them and countless others
Kate xx (Sam)
Why is anyone surprised? I’m not. It’s actually quite normal behavior for them. I grew up as JW and now that I’m no longer in that group I realize that their power to think and reason is turned off. No self respecting person that thinks and reasons would take such a irresponsible decision when the very well being of his children are at risk but again their minds have been programmed not to think. If he had been more responsible and thought about things in a more mature, adult like fashion. He would have prayed for Gods guidance and found another job first. Then he would have had the common decency to give is current employer notice, so as not to ruin his reputation and burn a bridge in the process. He would have realized that God helps those who help themselves.
Again none of these things surprise me in the least bit. They essentially all behave in the same way. I see stuff like this or hear of some thinking pattern from my JW family and just quietly laugh and giggle.
The casual lack of courtesy of this man appals me. Would it have been so hard to telephone his employer and tell them that he was leaving with immediate effect?
I was livid a few months ago. Some young witnesses were unable to pay for their new baby. My dear old mum was giving them extra cash until I hit the roof!!
Where is the WTBTS, eagerly handing out extra cash for the faithful? Not on your nelly! Oh no, that money isn’t for caring for struggling families, it’s for paying out on court cases and beautifying the GB’s new facilities!!
I’m glad, for the children’s sake, that the father got a new job.
The more you learn about what the GB actually do, the more you begin to loath them.
Keep up the good work, Cedars!
Peace be with you
Excelsior!
2 Thessalonians 3: 10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you: that if any would not work, neither should he eat. …
Seriously? let’s put the cards on the table, ? Did he really needed to use the Jehovah and meetings card as an excuse to leave a job that he was not happy with, and in the finale end just to get a better one as her wife said ? people do that all the time and has nothing to do with God and meetings. It was clear he did not like the hours he only did it out of need. So of course to cover himself from the displeasure of his wife, he used the meetings card to leave a job he was not happy in the first place..just to get another job that would be right for him…and now the wife thinks he did something out faith and courage oh please give me a break…lol
1 Timothy 5:7-8
King James Version (KJV)
7 And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless.
8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
Drama and more Drama is what these brainwashed folks feed off of at the expense of their children mentally,emotionally and physically. Making bad decisions about education that could have led to a higher paying job which in turn would lead to less stress in trying to provide for ones family is not the norm for folks wrapped up in this religion. Instead they just make bad choices that lead to problems in the end of it all. So Sad to be that brainwashed and not use proper thinking abilities especially when it comes to taking care of your family. Clearly a emotional response to words spoken(GB) that are so far from reality. Just plain STUPID!
If Cedric was of good moral character he would give notice at his place of employment. His decision to just not go to work and get fired doesn’t really warrant any blessing from Jehovah. (ya think) Is he concerned about his family’s welfare inlight of 1 Tim 5:8 when he’s thinks it’s okay to just walk away from a job? What about the other co-workers who will be covering until his position is filled? What a spiritual J-Dub; and to publish this no less?(just sayin)
I quit my job to Pioneer a year ago after one of those pumped up talks about how Jehovah is going to help us if we seek first the kingdom…suffice to say that my pioneering didn’t work out when I couldn’t find a job to support it. I am now in debt and secretly going to food banks(run by churches-because my loving brothers and sisters are not so loving after all) to help me through so I can pay back my debt! I am sure this is what Jesus meant when he said “Seek first the Kingdom…” Now I don’t even go to meetings.
The Mom doesn’t look like she has an approved WT hair do!
Another aspect of this, @crock, those “true-believer” JW’s (tbjw) and x-generation types typically had nothing to lose, or sell, when they hype wave caught up new recruits and the “driftwood” [those JW’s just getting by with token hours and service]. So, tbjw’s sit back and watch with amusement when folks get upset and stirred to do stupid stunts like this, since they have nothing to lose/gain except offloading some burdens onto the noobs who fall for the “hype” of urgency. It will pass, and tbjw’s fall back on the same rationalizations as before–human frailties, never-claimed-to-be-prophets, etc etc–and return to knocking and clocking hours until the next wave or death. Many, if not most, of the tbjw have already rationalized that “the end is near” equates to being “one heartbeat away” [curiously, you’ll hear this from 7DA, 2DA and AoG ministries, as well], and just like the GB that inherited the same dysfunctional belief system, they keep plugging the same verses and hoping for different results. Perseveration, but to some, it does appear insane.
Why are you looking forward to October 4/5, 2014?
Depending on the state of the household, the elders do have option of d/f the man and/or woman for failing to provide for family.
Whoa! So he doesn’t even do the right thing by his employer and call them to let them know he’s not coming so at least they can call someone else in? That’s just out and out inconsiderate.
I guess she was to poor to be help or not part of the rich JW’s peoples club at the kingdom hall. that is sad, where is the love?
It remains me of a brother whom I knew,who work for a company for a long time and he was let go from his position. He was homeless for a while, and ask the help of the elders but instead of helping him they told him it was his fault,now I ask,where is the love of the congregation and the ivory towers? fortunately A former bible study of his, help him out.
In viewing the video, I noticed that it flashes on the US Interstate 84 (East) sign. This carries a great symbolism whether the cinematographer intended or was an accidental slip of editing and filming. Interstate 84 is a non-sequitor in the freeway system, it has a section in the East running from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts separate and disconnected from the same labelled freeway running from Utah through Idaho into Oregon, which is where assume the video is sourced. Like this disjointed freeway, the content showed a life spiraling in chaotic whirlpool; it is clearly intended to demo needed spousal support, but it reveals a general entropy. In fact, it would seem the few serene moments are passing beside scenic Mt. Shasta vistas–yet another irony as we know the beauty it displays veils its destructive, eruptive history as a volcano [the USGS records it as dormant but with a certain future eruption and as a very high threat]. (Another irony for some who may have a JW history, Shasta was the chosen supplier of carbonated beverages for some regions’ conventions. But, digression.) The beautiful songs, the beautiful picturesque Paradise we see, how true it hides the disruptive, if not destructive, forces of the Wt Soc.
By turning off comments, the poster may have intended to make the video a “tract” counting the 15 minutes per viewing. 400+ times 15 minutes = 6,000 minutes, dividing by 60 minutes per hour–carry the one, and we get 100 hours, just enough to qualify as a full-time pioneer. Voila!!