Submitting an experience to WTS

Just curious, you always hear of the experiences in the yearbook or the WT about how Jehovah provided for some lowly pioneer or disadvantaged person, or someone that put Jehovah first. Were you ever personaly involved in one of the experiences or involved enough in the background to see how these experiences were authenticated for publications or assembly? I'm wondering how much of these stories we hear are exaggerated or just outright lies,and what they had to do to sell it to us to motivate us to pioneer. I'm interested to know what went on behind the scenes on these.

Futhermore when the CO's go on their 20 minute ramble at the end of the assembly it always felt like story telling time for me. Is there any former CO's that hang out in JWN that could speak to some of this?

Nope not personally, but I do know the crap a lot of pioneers put themselves through so that they can go out in field circus full time. 

Could it be that some stories get embellished or exaggerated in the pioneer or missionary's mind so that they can feel justified in their thankless work?

Something to think about. 

Talk about crap pioneers have to put up with. I remember my wife had an assembly part once, the next year they wanted her up there again ( because she puts a good face on the corporation go figure) and she remembers hearing the CO saying the type of experience he wanted to happen before the next assembly so he could work it into his part! So he wanted the elders to get the word out to the pioneers to "make it happen".

This coming from the same CO that said in pioneer school that women on their cycle should sit in the back of the hall and let brothers know so they understand why they might be grouchy...I can't make this stuff up

I think most R&F members are coached to give experiences. Always (over) emphasizing anything that will encourage others to dedicate more time / resources.

I remember being asked if I had any positive experiences.

My mom was enlisted to give a demonstration at an assembly of an experience she had. Mind you, my mom is very prone to exaggeration (seriously...she remembers things WAY more dramatic than they happened and somehow when someone is DF'ed, she "had a feeling she should keep her distance" beforehand). So they had fun and really played up what happened. I mean, something that happened when she was going door to door and lasted all of a minute turned into a 5 minute reinactment, followed by a Q&A session. It was ludicrous.

There was a guy who had an experience that was printed in one of the rags awhile back. Supposedly in his former life he was a badass and most people were afraid of him, blah blah. He gave his experience at an assembly and he is in my parents' circuit. My dad went and introduced himself and they became close friends. I know from quite a few people here who were called on to give assembly experiences that a lot of stuff is made more dramatic or severely embellished to make it look better to the crowd. Smoke and mirrors. 

So, while some of the experiences have a hint of truth to them SOMEWHERE, they're greatly embellished in order to make it look like these people are being BLESSED for their efforts...and you ain't gettin' crap!! 

Evidently they dont need 'submitted' experiences...

they tell them to make it up anyway!

oz

I know at least one instance where they made up the experience. In yearbook 2010 (or was it 2009?) there was an experience with a picture of 2 JW sisters witnessing to a village woman, passing her a literature. That village woman was actually a JW sister and has been for many years! 

My Brother and his wife had an "experience" used in a year book. It was picked up by the CO, used in an assembly and then escalated to the year book through the London Branch Office. We were soooooo proud

I had a friend who was trying her best to do what THEY wanted her to do by pious-sneering. Her and I were best friends and I knew her very well, so I was surprised when they wanted her to do a blow smoke up everyone's ass experience at the circus ass-em-bleed. The experience she gave must have been of another person entirely; she related how it was tough but she was getting by with jayhoovers help and didn't regret her decision to go into full time service because she was the happiest she'd ever been.

Complete lies!

Her mother is literally crazy, her father is a lazy fat-ass abuser and her sister had just recently divorced the conned-green-nation pedophile who sexually abused her (BTW the cong sided with the pedophile and told anyone involved to shut the hell up), she also had no car, no real place to live and no income so she never knew if she was going to have something to eat that day or have a roof over her head that night. 

Was she happy? Hell no! She was miserable and said so all the time!

She later admitted to me that they only chose her, and let her give an experience, because she was willing to spruce up her story and put on happy face while doing it.

DLL - wow now that's the kind of stuff no one in the org really sees outside of the rosy little picture they paint on the stage. Thanks for sharing that. My sister tried to start a business in order to continue pious-sneering many years back, i'll give you one guess how that one worked out with jahobers blessing.

My uncle was in the yearbook 10-15 (or more) years ago, and apparently they told the story very accurately. Of course, I've also heard stories about assembly experiences being faked, so who knows whether he was the exception or the rule.

EDIT: I think the yearbook was in the eighties... Wow time flies.

Yea I hear they might be under new management.