I am new to the forum!! Help!

by Jdarley 38 Replies latest jw friends

  • jgnat
    jgnat

    I think you were asking me, jdarley, why it might be that your family is opposing your study. Have they opposed other choices you have made, say, for instance, smoking, or drugs? How do you discern if their opposition is genuine or motivated by evil? I think Auld Soul asked for the specific bible references that suggested that this opposition is to be expected. I encourage you to look them up in context. I thought Van Gogh gave excellent advice here.

    Please do not alienate yourself from your loving parents Jdarley. Be gentle on them. They are the means by which Jehovah has given you the precious gift of life. They must be so concerned for the well being of their precious daughter. To me, you sound like a sincere and moral young person, so they must be very proud of you! Please respect them for that even if you do not agree with them. Why don't you make a deal with them and try to involve them in your decision-making process?

    I am reminded that Jesus remained with his family until he was of age, and he was likely in his thirties when he was baptized. At that age there was no question that he thorougly understood the implications of his decision. Nevertheless, he was not hindered in his study by his parents, and he was well able to defend his beliefs to the elders, even at twelve! So I think you can continue to study and learn without taking the rather permanent leap to baptism.

  • AuntieJane
    AuntieJane

    Hello and welcome to the forum ! I'm a mom and my daughter was about your age when she began dating a witness; that is why I came to the internet to learn about them. Let me first say if family is important to you at all, please take your time and read all the postings here. Family values as a JW are much different than family values as a Mormon....or as any other group. But if you value your family, you will listen to their concerns with an open mind.

    My daughter loved this boyfriend, but I told her about my concerns, the blood policy; the way they changed the Bible to remove Jesus as Divine; the holidays, of course, is a big deal. We agreed that the way most of us celebrate the holidays is not always good, much too commericalized, etc. but we also saw that the Bible actually does not tell us we are not to celebrate holidays. The fact that they have pagan origins is a good thing. The Christians were smart and took those pagan celebrations, taught the pagans about following Christ, and used the celebrations in a positive way. That way, the pagans did not resent the new teachings, and were much more open to following Christ...and Christians were able to have some fun, too!

    JW's are taught a very repressed way to follow Jehovah. Please take your time, and feel free to send me a message anytime. I'd be happy to talk to you one on one. My daughter is grown, married someone else, but I happen to have a niece and nephew who are JWs. They are the nicest people in the world and have the best intentions, but they have blinders on and follow the teachings of the Watchtower writings instead of the actual word of the Bible.

    Maybe you have issues with what Mormons teach. That is OK. You should question everything you are taught, you sound like a bright girl. Find your own way! But be sure and question, question, question the things you read from the WTS...look them up in a Bible, any Bible rather than their version...and read on when a verse is quoted...read the entire chapter, then say, "Is that what the writer intended us to believe, or could there be another way to look at this?"

    Take care.

    AJ

  • Kenneson
    Kenneson

    Jdarley,

    Welcome to the forum.

    I was baptized when I was 14, way toooooo young to make an informed decision. No need to rush into something that you may later regret. Before you do, make sure you look at both sides, the pros and the cons.

  • Golf
    Golf

    jd, welcome, feel free to ask any question, you'll get a variety of answers.


    Golf

  • mouthy
    mouthy

    What is a cult anyway?

    Websters Dictionary defines a cult as 1 A system of religious worship. 2 Devoted attachment to a person,principle,etc: 3 religious denomination...We might also say Counterfeit Christianity
    Like money that is counterfeit ( hard to detect) so is religions.... One has to hold it up to the light to really see if it is true.... We are warned in the Bible to watch out for false prophets- false doctrine,
    So lets hold up the WT to the Bible & lets Examine if THEIR "truths" held up!!!!

  • mouthy
    mouthy

    I should also add what John Ankerberg said in his book"The Facts On Jehovahs Witness"is very interesting & in my humble opinion quite true !!!

    "What attracts people to Jehovahs Witnesses ? Many people are!! because they claim to have authoritive answers to many of lifes problems, In a society torn by relative values & personal insecurities,any group is attractive >that> 1) claims to offer divine guidence,2)claims to provide genuine solutions to lifes problems ;3)stresses moral & family values. The WT Society is appealing to people who are looking for answers who are frightened about the future ,or who are tired of the lack of moral values in the world. They are drawn to the dedication & commitment that the Witnesses show.

    Also in the main line Churches many people have never been taught the Bible by their Pastors desire to know it better They are grateful to the Witnesess who devote a lot of time & effort to allegedly helping them understand the Bible better.

    But please be aware they twist the scripture to their own understanding in many many places....

  • Tez
    Tez

    Welcome Jdarley!!! Phew! looking at the many replies you have had you certainly have a lot of food for thought here. All I can add is that the people on here are genuine, caring people who will answer whatever questions you have to the best of their ability. Some have had many years of life experience as well as experience as JW's. Altogether we come on here to help each other make sense of belief systems. Many also have a lot of knowledge of the bible so where you may not get satisfactory answers from JW's you will always find someone here that can help. Don't take JW's answers as fact, check everything out. One very good source of information on here is Ignat, also Mouthy. Please don't make the mistake many make and rush into this for your boyfriend. If he truly cares for you he will be happy to wait until you are 100% sure it is right for you.

    Take care Sweetie, we look forward to hearing more from you.

  • Legolas
    Legolas

    Welcome to the board!

    Stick around you will learn much!

  • Spectrum
    Spectrum

    JD,

    One thing that you are going to learn quickly is that you will have to dump your beloved boyfriend.

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